I though I'd contribute to the beta process by sharing an idea I had.

Problem: Generals don't really feel like Generals not because of their "direct" abilities but because of the shallowness of their General abilities.

What we need to address:

-Adding Stragetic choice to summoning units.

Problem: All this system is basically "cycling" through the troops while trying to get as much gold as possible to get the higher "up" troops, totally ignoring any stragety what so ever. There is no choice to what units you pick and there is no choice how you pick them. I cannot choose to have 10 minotaur guards and 2 Priests because I am limited to four. If the standard set up is to force players to chose 4 of every unit it will make no option in how you choose your group = no tactics = no fun

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-Adding power to Summoning Units

Problem: They are currently underpowered in that I do not focus my energy on "Leading" them. Rather I use them as "auxillary" troops instead of actually commanding them in combat. Further, the units themselves are very flat and stale, with no "power" tto them. You could make them "really powerful" but the nature of the game is set up that a minion's true apperciation can only come from it's quantity.

A Solution:

Starting changes-

Remove all Idols: You may summon all three of the main minions at the beginning of the game.

Minion Summoning: Minions are summoned one at a time with a minor cooldown and a sizable mana cost. (So I can spam all my minions quickly, just won't be able to do my skills) Minions must come in HORDES rather then a few elite troops for the reasons I have stated below. If they come in hordes, then each minion will have a "minion point" to them.  For Instance, a Minotaur =1 point. Archer =2 point. Priest =5 point Catapult Dinosaur =8 point* (none of the numbers balanced, it's just a model). That way, you can spam priests, but just not as much as you can minotaurs.

The more powerful a General gets, the more minions  he is able to control.

Commands

Insert "Commands": Instead of having idols that make minions stronger, players should be able to buy commands that make minions do something better. Each General has three "command slots" where he can buy a command. These commands give the minions special properties at different moments to add stragetic depth. Generals can have only one command at a a a time. I recommend that commands should cost mana and has a channel cost to sustain them so that players have a consequence toward indefinetly keeping commands)

I've made a list of how this could work

Scenario: I need to break them quickly before I go down. Example Command: One command could be "Glory to the death" where minions take damage but do more damage

Scenario: I need to send my minions to capture a flag and run back to the battle. Example Command: "Take arms to the fight" minions move faster

Scenario: I'm sitting here, doing nothing, and my priests aren't healing my guys fast enough "Rest your bodies, prepare your souls" where all minions heal over time while not in combat.

Scenario: I have a horde of guys, I need to siege this tower. Example Command: Do not stop till the siege is done. Minions are resistant to Tower Damage.

Scenario: I need my minions to kill this Demigod quickly. Example Command: Kill the Pretender. Minions deal X more damage to Demigods, (take X more damage from minions?)

Scenario: I need to hold these guys off until other reinforcmments come. Example Command: Hold the Line. Minions gain more defense.

Scenario: I'm dying, I need my minions to protect me. Example Command: Protect our God. Minions take a small percentage of damage divided equally amongst them/

Scenario: I'm about to die. Example Command: Our souls for the Gods All your minions die and you gain 10-30% of their life total.

I have about 10 more Scenarios I could write but I think the picture is made.

Now imagine this. I can choose THREE of these powers from above and can only use ONE of these powers at a time. Depending on the situation, depending on the demigod, depending on the buildstyle, I will make a General that will suit what I want. That's deep. That's fun.

About Minions:

I strongly, strongly recommend, that GENERALS SHOULD BE A WALKING WAVE. Generals don't fight. ARMIES FIGHT. Your not getting the satisfication of being a General without having an Army to command. Your not a precision fighter, your a mosh pit overlord. To be bluntly honest, this game is a tug of war slugfest, not a Fantasy RPG.

A level 10 General should have 20-30 Guys running around him. The player should say "I'm a God-General. Oh look, there's my God army." Not only should these 20-30 guys be different in terms of what makes them up, they should be given orders to handle certain situations, and they should be plentifully regenerated.

Players would find it incredibly fun if Generals could say "I'll create extra Catapult dinosaurs to siege the towers while you protect me from the minions." The Assasin says, okay. General then issues Command to give longer range to ranged Units and then battle begins. Instead, it's just grab all the guys, right click a tower, and have at it.

Magicscissors' recommendation overall:

Generals have 3 slots for commands that they buy in item shops. Commands cost mana to start and continue to eat mana as they are on

Generals are given X amount of points to summon Y amount of points worth of minions. I gain more minion points as I level. Some minions are cheap, some minions are expensive. Late Game Generals become walking minion waves, or an ARMY.

Minions are easily replienished. They have a rapid cooldown time and are summoned instantly. However, they eat mana like wildfire. So rebuilding your army after it's decimating will not allow you to do your actual "Abilities". (If you need those extra Siege monsters or keep the mana to finish off that demigod, you can do both efficently but not at the same time.)

In case General is OP, simple balance changes is all that will be necessary.

Thank you for reading this.

I have full confidence in Stardock.

Sincere Regards.