Here's the problem I've had with this game, including WoM, for a very long time.  The AI is just too tough, and that includes both monster and kingdom/empire factions.

The problem lies with the fact that a lot of us players simply want to enjoy a large fantasy sandbox to role-play in, when others, including the developers, want us on-edge, sweating out every minute to "win".  It's a disconnect between gameplay styles when we're given loads of tools to customize and experiment in the game, but we're expected to create a narrow "build" and play one way or lose - and lose very quickly.

There is also a fundamental disconnect between the many hardcore players who live their lives on these forums and have played this game every week for the past 2 years, and the player who occasionally visit the site for basic updates.  "The squeaky wheel gets the grease", in other words, the most hardcore gamers who love difficult challenges are being given what they want, while the rest of us are getting our asses kicked.  Even Easy mode is tough, games are barely started before the AI, in near-unison, declares war on you.

In recent days, you have new or returning players who are getting cluster-effed because this game hasn't been designed for them, it's been designed for the vocal crowd who gets all of Wardell's attention.

This game should not, I repeat, SHOULD NOT, be designed to work like an RTS where one miss-click or one poor choice in the first 10 minutes screws your entire game.  But that's basically what is happening here far too often.