Actually, the game lets you use them in fights - eating salted pork or drinking nectar doesn't use any action points either. Pop 20 or so on your heroes and you're golden. Glutton yourself on either during battle! Who needs 6hp magic heals?

Well, while there's nothing essentially wrong with turning gold into some other benefit, be able to do so with no limit is probably bad in any case. Turning gold into defense by buying a shield is no problem, but there's a reason you can't put five on the same hero. Likewise, you probably shouldn't be able to eat limitless pork in the middle of combat without even using action points. Trading some gold for health seems fine, trading as much gold as you have for as much health as you can afford, instantly with no limitation, is begging for players to abuse it to absurd extremes. As much as I want to see AI improve, that sounds more like a balance problem that should be fixed rather than a legitimate strategy the AI should be 'taught'.

No no no, i'm saying i don't think is ai is doing this >.>

I thought the point was to not have anything in the game the ai could not do >.>

that all i was saying - and i have not been able to get potions or meat to work properly during fights - are they hero only or can units use them. I see my heroes carry them and my units have access, it's a little weird and i avoid it/ don't count on it.

I would say, for each healing pot or jerky brought increase the price; the price goes back down over time when not being brought. Likewise, for the effect of the health restoration, each item used decreases the effect with the effect increasing back over time (for that unit).

For instance..

I buy 2 jerky for 100 on turn 1.

-Jerky price goes up to 110 then 130.

I use a piece on turn 1 and get back 100 health.

- I eat a second piece of jerky, I only get back 90.

Turn 2, the price of jerky drops down to 115, and the healing effect (for me) increases back to 95.

-If I wait another turn, price and effect return to base. But if I buy another jerky, the price goes up to 145. If I use another piece, the effect drops to 75.

This would allow people to still use them in mass quantities (after all, later on, you're gonna have a lot of troops), but forces them pace themselves and decide who really needs the healing.