I've read tons of posts recommending dates (for loyalty/training/etc) --They're very much a core part of the game, & central to most strategies. IMHO they're invaluable. [since they affect mood & loyalty, they also affect OBEDIENCE; Nerfing obedience + Dates is way *WAY* too much!
The obedience nerf is difficult---but doable. [ALONE]
Less dates = lower stats, less loyalty, [+ fewer time periods (shorter "days") mean everything takes too long, [something that used to take 4h now takes 6! etc]
Actually how much of a stat boost u get depended a *LOT* upon their factors--buying/luck [ F5 ---quite rare----much bigger boost than F1!] ----& b4 the change, again, u only got 1 date /day; If you're really good at something & it's a habit (every day!) then yes it can become trivial---but I think that was only for some.
+ Dates only worked @ Mansion, so if you're too far away... (lost track of how many [new] games I've played, but very difficult to *NEVER* miss a date 1st 40 days (B4 ~ Civil War/Mayor))
Games like this don't have a "easy/Med/Hard" mode, It's all about playing style. Lots & lots of ways to make it harder---but that should be an individual choice, not something forced on everybody .
Some used lots of combat----boost XP, gold, maybe another slave, etc people will always try to find a shortcut or easy way of doing things. (& usually in a game that shouldn't be wrong.)
If anyone that used to use dates a lot, has (NEW GAME) hints/strategies they want to share (that'd be 6.0+) Would love to hear from you. (or a mod 2 change back?)
Some R just playing from old saves [which means they used all the old Time/Date [lol!] rules] ----But when there's major changes like this, I think best 2 start new.