I think that the option to Tenaril should be limited to the first city founded on any account.  I think that the option to Tenaril ANY city should be removed after the Exodus spell has been used for any city on the account.

"Terraforming" with Exodus followed by Tenaril is a popular option, but personally I think it fails the "fun" test.  Yes, it can make a "good" square out of one that previously wasn't so good, but I think the pressure especially on new players to do this process early in their game careers results in people getting bored trying to build up level 20 warehouses and increases attrition.

Yes, this is a self-imposed misery, and rational people could choose to Tenaril in the usual way, but I think new players are often led by extremely well-intentioned established players to feel that Exo-Tenaril is the best option in the long term.

The ability for established players to create alts that then terraform a city that can be captured also eliminates some of the trade-offs that would otherwise occur in some regions (such as arctic and desert).  I think this makes the game less interesting and results in a lack of creativity and diversity in game approaches; instead terraforming has become a one-size-fits-all answer.

My alliance makes extensive use of terraforming, and I would strongly consider using it myself.  I don't consider it somehow "wrong."  However, I do think it has negative effects on new players and existing players and that the game could be far more interesting without this option.

My general hope for Illy is that it should be a game that encourages many ways to approach problems, many paths to success, and also that the best solutions should be those that require some level of thoughtfulness.  Terraforming with Exo-Tenaril fails this:  It's a one-size-fits-all solution that anyone can do if they are willing to click enough.  If Illyriad is a sandbox, then Exo-Tenaril is like a mold that creates a perfect -- and exactly the same -- copy of a castle upon being filled with enough sand and then upended.  This may create an attractive scene but not a particularly interesting one.

This is Illyriad Warming!

Honestly, I don't disagree with your points on the 'fun' factor.  However...  as Elessar states in his final sentence, this does give new players a viable option for a 'good' food city.

If you want to change this - the Devs need to do something about the food-army-gold link...  oh wait, they did that already!

Maybe a little less perfectionist answers and tipps for newbies in GC would be the better solution... Otherwise I see the problem just as Rill, it can really take the fun out of the game for those who feel they HAVE to do it in order to be able to compete.

With the severe disadvantage that 5 food tiles cause in the mid/late game, I think it is a fundamental design issue rather than anything else.  You start on a 5 food and have no idea that it is horrible in the end.  By the time you realize, you may not want to take the severe hit exodus causes to correct the problem, leading to a lack of interest in a very difficult problem to now overcome.  It is much easier to get help in the beginning from your alliance to exo/tenaril when it doesn't hurt you and start on a much better foundation for lasting.

As it currently is if you do care about city locations being as good as you can get then terraforming really is the only option. I only started in December and out the cities I've settled  2 have been 7 crops without the need for a terra and I've not been able to find any other good ones nearby without terraforming. I really like the little details so want to have as good locations for cities as i can without spreading a mile over the map and terraforming is the only way i can have that. It takes more work but I'm happy doing it so i can achieve my goal of better city locations. 

I get it isn't really feasible for someone with 2 cities to run a terraform alt but i'm always happy to help out one of our alliance members by doing their first for them using my alt as i don't have the time to play 2 accounts. If big alliances take on someone smaller who is keen on terraforming I can't see it being too big a problem for someone bigger to help out initially until they can do it themselves.

By taking it out I only see it benefitting those who have played for the longest, those who already have their cities and don't need to worry about finding new ones. Without the option to terra it would put new accounts at a disadvantage so I would hope it never changed.

We should have a building and diplo/trade units that change deserts into grasslands, tundra into grasslands, grasslands into mountians, you get the idea. 

I actually think it would be a great thing to do for those at 10 cities and simply have nothing else left to do.  Let them slowly improve on each of their cities.  

Everyone knows my love of terraforming, I don't need to repeat myself here. I hope it is never taken away and I've not known any newbie who was unhappy to do it. I wish I'd had the option as a newbie, exodusing later was brutal and heartbreaking. 

Every game has many players join and 90% quit. I actually encourage terraform more for the server itself than the newbie in question. If the newbie quits, they have at least created a better square which someone else can take thus not wasting the millions of resources sent to them. Interest can be raised in other ways - Q&S run quizzes, encourage quests/mysteries early on, try to get them talking in AC/GC etc. The biggest turn off for most newbies is that they can't smash other newbies, not terraform.

 

The newbies who terraform do so because it gives them an advantage. The defensive power of a mountain combined with the good sense of settling on a 7 food square is a good combination. This is obvious; were it not, then newbies would not be advised to do it. So those new players who have taken the time out of their lives to sort that out have been rewarded for their dedication.

 

If this was then banned, those players would be at a permanent advantage which can never be oversome. It would unbalance the game.

If you put new players at a disadvantage though it is also damaging for brining in a constant flow of new players which any game needs.

It may not stem it as most won't know at the time but it will harm their chances of getting good cities which will put some people off when they find out. I mean if i had to just make do with what was left now most the good spots are gone i'd probably be less enthused about playing as i am now as i would know even in time i couldn't match a lot of accounts merely because they were there first.

I get the introduction of 7 crops would be a pain meaning you had to exodus but it doesn't give the new players an advantage just made it more annoying for older ones as you had to go through exodussing. New players still had nothing and would take much longer to get set up. 

Getting rid of tenarils would leave no work around and would be more than an annoyance imo to newer players. The map can only support so many good city locations and without tenarils the number is much lower.