Since the latest update I have found it nearly impossible to defeat players with whom I used to be competitive. The simple reason is that I have always favored army games, and everyone else decided to focus on hero matches once sKILL points were introduced. So even though I have an army at level 41 and used to win about 75% of my 1v1 hero games, my hero is no longer a match for people who devoted hours to farming low level players just to upgrade their hero.
There is little long-term benefit to playing army games anymore, so few people will. A simple solution would be to award sKILL points for army matches. I propose 1 sKILL point per kill in these games. While winning a 1v1 army game would thus yield more than winning a 1v1 hero, it is merited due to the fact that such a game takes more time, and requires more skill.
Another good change would be to vary the number of sKILL points awarded based upon how many the slain target has acquired. This would discourage noob farming and reward the occasional victory over a powerful foe. Perhaps 1 sKILL point per 1000 that the target has amassed would work well (1 sKILL point for 0-999, 2 sKILL points for 1000-1999, etc.).
The current format richly rewards people who spend tons of time on the site rather than people who actually play well but do so only occasionally. There is a problem of scaring off new players, I think the risk of alienating long-time players is just as great. If no change is made then the game will lose players and languish once again.
