I know this glitch. and trust me it's not a small percentage of users who know it at least on my server unless the count included dead and noob accounts.
I have no problem with this specific fix however, because it's evony's game and we agreed to play it on your terms. And maybe every 1 player that quits because of this fix you save 2 players from quitting in the long term. But may I have a suggestion?
why did not only combine troops from same city with no leading hero? think about it, this way you can still play defense by hiding troops in valley without using multiple rally spots. And fast troop moving and free upkeep are prevented because a hero does not lead more troops than originally sent.
And I really do not like the way players are being treated right now -- sudden changes without warning. for example last time you changed the login mechanism to prevent alts but there's no warning -- what's the purpose of the announcement box on the bookmarked login page if it's not being used.
And when you say, you "will most likely be tweaking other mechanics over the next few weeks and months". May we know what these tweaks are? And if it's "to support game balance", I assume you are trying to reduce players troop size and make attacks harder so players dont get zeroed and quit, correct? The only reason a player quits is because he/she willingly does so and is not because he/she is forced by another player in the game, correct?
But what is going to happen and how 'fresh' are you going to make it like a different game?
for example,
* Is NPC farming going to have, say, 10% troop loss of all kind to discourage players from farming them as often? -- so people dont get tired of farmin and even if some players bot, they dont get massive resource gain.
* Is Scouting mission going to lose heroes? --- definitely makes attacks harder
* Is instant troop going to be removed to be at least 1 second? -- makes troop building slower
* Is bot going to be removed or will they be kept to balance spending players --- more truce/holiday
I am losing interest because I dont want to spend another several months to end up playing a game I do not like.
I wish Evony keep being profitable, while still being a fun game to your customers.

