Currently blacksmith technologies, the vast majority of time, are still only researched a while into Phase 3. They’re just too expensive for what they provide and without any bonuses for phasing up or specific unit upgrades, like in AoE2, phase 2 is generally just a step on the way to p3. Place the 4 buildings, maybe get eco upgrades and go up. Making blacksmith upgrades more accessible will help encourage aggression in phase 2. In addition, I believe there should be a 3rd level of upgrades