I think a few people like Ashanta are missing the point here. It I not about the balancing factor as that has been done with the nerfing of levels. It is about the addition nerfing that has been done on top of the level nerfing. A 150 attack hero in Age 1 does not have the same power as a 150 attack hero in Age 2. It has significantly more.
The following is your new construct times. They are based on a military science level of 10 so they are in essence your end game troop construction times. I have taken it up to 490 because that would theoretically be the highest level you could reach with a historical hero, base 100 attack with level 10 armor and 15 start levels.
http://img208.imageshack.us/img208/510/buildtimes.jpg
As you can see from this list a 130 attack hero in Age 1 has a quicker troop build time than a 430 attack hero in Age 2.
Some things in Age 2. You will never be able to build an archer quicker than 61 seconds based on 490 attack. Thats 1,416 a day per barrack. With a 16 barrack city that is 22,662 a day for a city. It will take 4.5 days for 1 city to muster up 100k of archers. In Age 1 you can build an archer in 10 seconds at the same level. Thats 8,640 per barrack per day. Thats 138,240 in a day for 1 city.
Now lets scale it back to say 70 attack. Something a level 1 hero from any inn can have. In Age 2 an archer takes 110 seconds based on 70 attack. Thats 785 a day per barrack. With a 16 barrack city that is 12,567 a day for a city. Only 10,000 less than an end game hero in Age 2. In Age 1 you can build an archer in 85 seconds at the same level. Thats 1,016 per barrack per day. Thats 16,263 in a day for 1 city. Thats 122,000 less.
If you look at these the end game hero in Age 1 gives you a considerable advantage over a level 1 hero which is reflective in the difference between a top player with months of solid game play behind him and someone brand new.
In Age 2 the advantage is virtually non existant between an elite end game hero with the very best gear and a level 1 hero anyone can pull out of an inn in the first hour of their game. The end game hero of the very best player on the server at best can build an archer maybe 80% faster than someone who just started the game.
Remember those good old days in the first week or two of a new server where troops took forever to build. This is the end game troop build speed of Age 2. Until they address it the game is far too slow to ever contemplate playing seriously.