Excuse my ignorance regarding MP, but what happens with the units of those who resign? If they are basically removed from the game, couldn’t the AI take over them, not to make the change too drastic? At least as an intermediate solution, since I’ve seen this happening in some online boardgames.

Yet I can’t imagine how speed could be affected negatively. What about range? The whole point is, what is a normal peltast? It’s not like there was peltast training. Roles were more or less determined by status, that is, wealth. Roughly, either you had money for a horse, if not, maybe for the panoply, if not, maybe for a bow, or javelins, and if not, then sling or even throw stones by hand, or be an oarsman. Much of our impression that cavalry and heavy infantry were the really relevant troops while the rest almost cannon (arrow?) fodder comes from the fact that those who wrote down the stories were in that position, from having some wealth (thus, the time and education to write). Yet unprotected hoplites could be obliterated by peltasts (as Iphicrates knew), the idea that they were impervious to that is just a myth. But I digress. My point is that I don’t see a speed handicap between a helot farmer and a free potter (if anything, the opposite). Then, helots would be given weapons that one might imagine were not ideal, giving a penalty on attack or defense, but you don’t want that. One could instead generously think that, because the potter owns a javelin, he should have thrown it a few times (even when peltast training was not really a thing, although what I said about a lack of hoplomachia applies mostly to hoplites), putting him at some advantage when comparing with a helot (although ignoring that a farmer might tend to be in better physical shape than a potter). Because of this, a penalty on range would make a bit more sense.

no, that's actually quite an interesting thing to note @Thalatta I'm sure even you were surprised when you first learnt that the warrior class civilisation did not do weapons training, atleast I was when I heard it from you hahaha. okay, I agree -8 might be too harsh.. maybe -5% ? I'm not decreasing their damage or resistance because that already happens due to the CC tech they have I'm just saying, helots, a slave class for most of spartan history, should be inferior to a normal peltast

Hello @wzyas and welcome to the community! Thank you for your hint on CBA. Someone already tried to offer such a mod for 0 A.D.: