Actually I’m playing through Ice and Fire now, and I have found there is scaling it’s just been cut back.
For example, Leadership flags at the start of the game they gave say 2-8 Leadership, this has gradually improved and now I’m in Darion they give up to around 60. So it looks like they cut the bonuses back to prevent you getting as big a benefit for “mining” all the maps for goodies.
I don’t know if this is a change for I&F or if it was in WOTN from the start, but it does make the game a bit more fun for me.
I’m quite enjoying I&F, the new units are interesting, and pushing back when you get your Pegasus makes things more challenging. I also love unit XP, very refreshing.
Daniel.