Reducing hard counters helps alleviate imbalances like the Roman swordsmen slaughtering Spartan hoplites right at the beginning of the game. So, here's what we'd do for units. At the beginning of a match, melee units and then ranged units would all be very similar in function. So, swordsmen and spearmen would be nearly identical in stats, and archers and skirmishers would be nearly identical in stats (the minor differences would be a small difference in range and attack and maybe small differences in cost). And as the game progresses, technology research, formation fighting, and running and charging differentiates the units more and more. So, by the end of the match, for example archers would have much greater range than skirmishers, but skirmishers would have much higher attack. Archers would be used to sit back and snipe at the enemy, but the skirmishers would be much more up close and personal, used to try and devastate the opponent's melee units from the flanks. And by mid-match, hoplite or pikeman-heavy civs will have the phalanx and syntagma formations which will make them behave and function much differently than swordsmen: more prone to flanking damage, but much tougher from the front, with longer melee range, heavier armor, and slower movement. Swordsmen would remain faster and more agile. So, swordsmen could have a higher charge attack and faster speed, while the pikemen/hoplites/spearmen are slower, tougher, and more durable. Looking at cavalry, cavalry spearmen would be good with charging and trampling attacks, while having lower default attack strength. The reverse would be true with cavalry swordsmen: higher default attack, but lower charge and trample attacks. What makes them different is how the players will use them, rather than using hard counters like 2x vs. swordsmen and 1.5x vs. skirmishers. Now, I think hard counters can still be useful, but in a much more targeted way. So, maybe spearmen retain an attack bonus vs. all cavalry, but they don't get the full bonus unless the enemy cavalry do something stupid like attacking your phalanx on its front.