Ability system is a planned feature right? I hope it will be added to the current workload and be included in the next alpha release. It can buff the current gameplay, specially at this period, where some of the long time players have started to become less contented with the game. During the past months, most of the topics that were discussed here was about, how to tweak the current gameplay, whether economically or gameplay combat mechanics.. I'm thinking of something similar to the ability system of Battle Realms and Warcraft (as what was also suggested in trac), units from both games became special because of the associated ability on them. Aside from counters, units can also be useful because of their ability. Some examples, -Auto-cast upon enemy detection or manual shield/defend ability (this is where the armor bonus becomes active) Battle ready animation should still be different from defend animation. (i.e. battle ready anim. is more like a taunting anim.) -Temporary invulnerability (for for frenzied fighters like naked warriors and berserkers) -Critical strike and stun bonus with downed or stunned animation (Makes combat even better, charge attacks may cause an enemy unit to fall down or become disoriented, also works well with animals like wolves or dogs -More unit conditions like, disease infected or burning or affected with cowardice (Just like in Warcraft where, an UI indicator displays a certain spell or condition which affects the unit) -Throwing weapons with a certain cool down period -Active ability battle cry (Can stack with passive attack/defense bonus)