As I rarely get to play multiplayer with the Edain Mod, I spent a lot of my time playing against computer opponents in skirmish mode. Unfortunately, since day one of the Battle for Middle Earth, the A.I. has always been programmed somewhat poorly. The computer is always swarming everyone with infantry and making beelines for enemy citadels whenever possible, even though the arrow towers and walls will get their soldiers killed. Even worse, the computer players always have free visibility of every spot on the map, have free resources, and free command points, meaning they will always have a larger and better-equipped army than you, especially in the late game. On higher difficulties, the strategy of the computers don't change much--they only get even more free resources and command points, and free power-points so that they have access to spellbook powers earlier than should be possible.
Suffice to say, this has led to a lot of frustration. As a lot of people in the Discord group host Edain Mod games much too early in the morning, while I'm asleep, I really don't have much of a choice besides fighting computer players. Is it too much to ask that there be an overhaul of the enemy A.I.? The only way to make things remotely fair is to impose harsh handicaps on them, because they will always have an advantage over you, even on easy mode, because of the free stuff they get. It's not as bad a cheat as invincible units or something, but it's still pretty cheeky, and it's a sign of a lazily, poorly programmed AI.
In the future, I would really like to see a more lifelike A.I. in the computer players. Good Faction computers would be more defensive, while Evil Faction computers would be more aggressive. They don't have free resources or command points, so they have to be more careful about what they do with their units instead of sending them after faraway targets without regard to their losses. The computers should be aware of the strengths and weaknesses of their faction, as well as the faction's play style. They shouldn't leave their fortress gates wide open just to let out one battalion of foot-soldiers at a time. They utilize their hero units better and actually use their abilities in combat. Instead of the computer difficulty increasing how much stuff they get, it should decide the effectiveness of their strategies and their determination to stay alive. I expect to fight "easy" opponents when I'm busy fooling around and trying new things, and then "Normal" for more serious games where I have to actually think about what I'm doing.
This is becoming a real problem. It's common for strategy games to give computer players advantages in resources or strength to bolster the difficulty, but there comes a point where it's a blatant and cheesy way to make up for a poorly programmed AI. I really want an overhaul, because if I'm going to be spending most of my time not on multiplayer, I at least want the computer to be "challenging" rather than "unfair".