[sector24]

I did generalize for emphasis, but I will be happy to explain my position a bit more. I have played about 50 tactical battles, mostly against wilderness creatures (spiders, bandits, etc.). Those fights have virtually no impassable terrain. In one (and only one) fight, I saw a rock that blocked one square. So there isn't really anything you can plan a strategy around there.

I fought one battle near a town and there was a fence (exciting!) but there were three open squares in said fence. To deny the opponent access to your back line, you'd have to block the area with 5 units (because units can move diagonally). In my opinion if it takes 50% of your army to block a choke point, it's not a choke point. Due to AI "issues" there are never 5+ defenders in a city. More often than not the city is undefended.

You are correct that some tiles provide a defensive bonus or penalty, but surprisingly that doesn't add anything to combat either. I was all about taking the high ground in my first few fights, but honestly I can't tell if the defensive bonus matters in any substantive way or even works at all. First of all as you pointed out they are hard to spot and the terrain does not always indicate the presence of the bonus which is unfortunate. But the real problem is that the battle is always won before it has begun. For instance I found a sand golem in one of the goodie huts and its stats are ridiculous: 36 HP, 17 attack, 9 defense. The golem can kill an unlimited number of bandits, spiders, wolves, etc. It can also attack and then move back a square, effectively kiting enemies that can't be killed in one shot. The defense bonus just doesn't factor into the player's decision making.

Sun Tzu would be proud of my strategy. In real life you are supposed to win the battle before your men take the field. But it doesn't make for a fun game.

You also pointed out that not all spells are infinite range which is correct. In my defense I said "most" spells, and to elaborate my point the problem is that magic is only good in the very early game. As soon as you get Warfare 1, you can choose logistics which allows you to make peasant stacks. 10 turns later the first stack will be done and magic is already on its last legs. I only use offensive magic in the early expansion phase when I'm grabbing all the free goodie huts. So from a tactical point of view, the only spells you'll ever use are infinite range. However, I must admit that this is a playstyle choice. You could certainly choose to use magic but it's like casting Summon Animals with all your nature gems. Just not a good use of your resources. Personally I save all my mana for teleport, because for 5 mana you have an instant army anywhere you want. It's ridiculously overpowered.

I apologize if I was being inflammatory and to be honest Elemental is occasionally fun. But I think we agree in general that the tactical combat is a tragic failure that needs several hundred man hours (minimum) just to get it to 1993 standards. Speaking of Age of Wonders, Elemental does not allow you to drag adjacent units into combat so you can't set up 2-pronged attacks or battles between 3+ factions. Another disappointment that I meant to mention in the previous post.