Influence for Heroes

A bit more complex idea, almost a subsystem: Create new interactions between Influence and Heroes so that Influence can be used as the currency of Heroes and their mechanics, such as purchasing Heroes directly through the Academy Embassy using Influence, spending Influence to purchase XP for Heroes, and greatly expanding the scope and depth of Heroes to allow Influence based empires to grow through their Heroes.

Right now Religious politics have a weird split focus on Influence, Experience Points, and the Academy, which makes sense from a thematic point of view as Influence has typically had a religious bent in the Endless series and the best known Religious/Influence factions in the series- the Cultists and Drakken- made excellent use of their Heroes as a path to long term success, such that their Heroes were considered a vital resource in any match where they were present.

The Religious party in Endless Space 2 officially recognizes these common themes and attempts to bring them together under one political ideal, where poor and unhappy worlds (as well as weak and unadvanced armies) are exalted and made ecstatic by powerful God-Aristocrats and Hero-Saints, who make up for a lack of planetary development and fleet tech with inspired loyalty and their own nearly supernatural blessings of Dust, while bringing more worlds and peoples into the fold with Influence bonuses and passive conversion. An empire built through faith and zeal, whether throwing more manpower and ships at a problem, leveling up ships with Hero skills to make up for lack of tech with abundance of levels, or skirting around their own poor scientific development with powerful Heroes who substitute their intangible blessings for tangible development.

These mechanics don't quite all fit together though- Heroes have no special mechanical interaction with Influence, and aren't necessarily powerful enough for an empire to rely on them to the same extent as Science or Trade. If Influence could be used to develop Heroes, and Heroes had deeper and more powerful skill pools to counterbalance their significant limitations (they can only affect one system or fleet at a time, barring Senate abilities), then Religious politics and factions could rely on these effects to create a new and more interesting playstyle constructed around Heroes, while other factions could see Heroes not simply as garnish on their strategies, but as a competing alternative, as well as having a new mechanic to sink extra Influence into.