Hello all, 

I've played the game a decent amount on all of the higher difficulties, and wanted to suggest something that I think may provide more utility for Support units. 

I think that more activated abilities would allow for even more engaging tactical battles. 

I have mainly been playing as the Allayi, and would love to have an active ability on the Skyfin to encourage the use of it in battle. Currently, I don't need the higher Initiative/Morale that it provides in order to defeat the AI on Endless. 

Thus, there is hardly ever a time (except maybe early game) where I would ever strategically decide to bring the Skyfin into battle. It's a decision that could cripple my economy, and is too easy to make. 

I'm a lover of the game, and am always looking to make gameplay more complex. This change could actually have negative consequences for the already slightly overwhelmed AI, but I think it might even be fun in a multiplayer setting.

Perhaps giving it some spells that cost Pearls in order to cast, further enhancing the "Natural Magic" theme that the Allayi have going for them. 

Maybe all of these spells could be Blessings that are available for purchase only from a Level 2 Altar. You could even give the Allayi the ability to get level 3 Altars that would then unlock this function.

I always liked the idea of the Ardent Mages having much more spells to cast than all of the other races, but it seems weird that they have the ONLY real spells in the game. 

Taking the idea a bit further, perhaps the neglected Agache Shaman (spelling may be incorrect) could finally gain some new abilities as well. Maybe get a tech that unlocks access to "the Sharing" that is mentioned in the text at times. 

These spells can be further buffs like the current Defensive one that they cast on target. 

Again, these are just the ramblings of someone who loves your game and would love to see even further diversity brought to the already wildly differing factions. Things such as balance and bug fixing are going to be top priority, but I think all of us 4x players love new systems no matter what! :D

Keep up the awesome work with your amazing game! 

Also, this is my first post here! Yay :)

(Edit: Not enough coffee before posting)