i cant make the first hero free becuz the buttons wont even be able to be clicked on then.
the best i can think to do it detect when gold is given to another player and not allow it.. but that doesnt protect from that player not buying a hero and just buying creeps and teching himself.
so i still dont really know how to do it in the best way

the versions where hero cost 1 wood, there wasnt pre-mass-pooling problems .

pew pew - hele killer style

at start, instead of a normal base with atk/def upgrades available only, how about you make options for hero there?
every single base in 4 teams would have this. all the options are same like in the tavern, except the fact heroes are for free.
of course starting gold for every single player will be 200. after you picked your hero, your base returns to normal one.

this should fix the problem.

first tell me this, what do ppl hate more? the extra gold they get if pooled from no hero or the extra xp at mass..

i think its mostly the extra gold that gives so much advantage with creeps and such

also it will take away some different strats that are semi fair like the player just keeping the gold to tech, but i guess its too much of a risk to leave it as it is for just that.

i thought of a way i can do it now but its gonna require some work to make it so first hero picking is free.. then i dont need to make it cost wood or gold for first hero.. but it will require me to change the whole system..