Hadn't played in a while, decided to go with Moria since my previous playthrough with them got stalled by a bug (unsiegeable settlement - I think it got fixed since then). I was all excited to reach rank 9 aaaand no more poison arrows. I get that they were extremely strong, but that was a nice thing to get when reaching rank 9 with a faction that's purposefully among the weakest. Especially since there are very few archery-focused items on Isengard's side.

Wouldn't be as sad about it if the replacement wasn't so terrible. I know you guys don't want everything to be "balanced" like in some MMO but still, the Drums of the Deep are not even worth an inventory slot, let alone the influence cost you have to pay. By the time you get this item, an influx of dozens of mountain globlins is not gonna do anything, at all. I tested it with 18 Strength and 15 Charisma but as far as I can tell, it only "scales" the number of goblins you get.

20 mid-tier units of most factions can beat 200 mountain goblins without breaking a sweat. The only thing they'll do is eat your food and dilute your actual troops during battles, making the fight harder. If it was upgradeable troops, even snagas, then that'd be different since it could be used to sustain a campaign in enemy territory (orc-based armies do suffer from a lot of attrition by design, especially when fighting elves)