[JimMorrison]

Well personally I think the 1rp/M is a bit steep as well, but if you really think about the reasoning behind it, I think it makes sense as the best solution, really.

The thing with magic scale, is that like 90% of pretenders now are either M1 OR D2. Sometimes it's left even, but why leave it even when only 40 points gets you that extra rp? And likewise, if you are not in dire need of the extra rp, going drain2 gains you 80 points (120 net over the nations that have poor researchers and NEED the M). So in CBM, the paradigm is shifted, such that the choice is not so easily defined.

Ultimately though, I think a deeper change is needed in order to make the magic scale work out better. The problem is that the range of rp available on researchers, sort of works best when most people operate in a range of +/-1. It's rare to see M3 or D3, and with good reason. So in realistic terms, if CBM added 2 rp to most mages (or a bonus of 3 if they were 7/8+ already), and then recommended that for "normal" research speed you play on hard, and for "hard" research speed you play on very hard, I think you would strike the best balance for the scale.


As for pretenders, they're hard to tweak properly without testing afterwards, which isn't always going to tell the story. It does make sense not to buff a pretender that frequently gets used already though. And perhaps bumping the Lady of Rivers to 4W gems/turn was a bit much, especially considering the value of clamming. I tried her once, and I was swimming in water gems..... literally. :O