Is there a penalty to fighting weaker armies?

[MaroonMaurader]

Hero xp is not effected by hero level. It's based on the total combined leadership of the troops you're fighting, plus some multiplicative factors when there's a hero, fortress, or other unique feature.

Dragon xp is effected by hero level. If your hero level is higher than your dragon level, you get more dragon XP (so your dragon level tends to be "dragged" up or down towards your hero level... so kiting to gain hero experience before fighting actually gives you more dragon xp). It is also effected by the ratio of your army's leadership to the enemy army's leadership - so if you fight with a stack that is much smaller than the enemy stack, your dragon gets far more xp. If you fight with a stack that has much more leadership than the enemy stack, your dragon gets less xp. If you're trying to maximize your dragon xp, try to use the minimum troops you need to win a fight.