1. Heroes levelling. A lot was said about it, I think. How come only a defender can be healer?
2. Armies health regen in cities is too low. Defender is a must, but defender is otherwise useless
3. Assasins and criticals are useless
i'm not sure we actually play the same game after reading this.
1. every (kingdom) champ with life spellbook and every (altar blood) henchman (with life adept) can be a healer. as a matter of fact, a mage with life spellbooks is a lot better at healing than a defender. the campaign faction (Altar) is the only kingdom faction whose sovereign doesn't have life magic; everyone else can at the very least use the "regeneration" spell (life 1) to fully heal units between seasons. Altar can train as many healer henchmen as they like once they unlock the henchmen tech, though.
2. the Defender's main job is to tank. they are far from useless. IMHO, they are the best champion path in the game. nothing beats a solid defender when it comes to surviving melee attacks.
3. depends on what weapons you pick up. with a standard issue troop weapon, they aren't stellar. with a razor longsword (or a decent bow if you play them as an archer) they are the most deadly class.