The way that I think about it, is that they have integrated the choice of stats, with your other skills. This further distinguishes between the classes, because your rune spread effects which stats you can level up. Playing as a warrior, you will focus on getting more rage and stats than anything else. Further more, the 'choice' on level up was rarely interesting. Leadership after a point was *always* the best thing to choose, and every when else, it would often be a very functional rage or mana increase, vs a minor stat bump. +1 defense, or +4 mana for a mage? Gee.