Outis

Then we should have countermining as well since there should be a way to... well... counter it.

Ladders are a common early siege method. It may be a good way to compensate for erm... less complex civs in case siege tower has a prominant role for others.

You beat me to it

There is a theory that the Trojan Horse was a battering ram, and that the works of Homer reflect his time period at times rather than the period the stories take place, so I suppose an Archaic Greek battering ram is not inconceivable.

Snow Red and the Seven Helots

I would call this feature not sell but salvage for resources.

Suggestion: call the aura Romanitas

Ardashir I: progenitor of the Sasanian dynasty, reinvigorated the idea of a Persian empire as a successor of Achaemenid Persia. May have an aura or tech about adding vigor to the civ, for example increases building construction speed. Maybe enables Immortals (Zhayedan). Shapur I: tolerance for religions other than the prevailing Zoroastrianism such as Manichaeism or Judaism may present an interesting opportunity. Especially Manichaeism as a potential world religion in a what-if scenario perhaps? May give increased influence over the map such as increased territory bonus. Maybe also enable some Armenian unit via his conquest of Armenia and governorship of his son and successor. Shapur II: counter to Shapur I, something about religious doctrine, such as stronger priests or temples? Also enables or strengthens war elephants. See the references in this article for reference: https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/elephant-ii-sasanian-army/ Khosrow I: tax reform giving increased resources per resource obtained from sources, and bonuses to noble Aswaran cavalry. See: https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/kosrow-1-parent/kosrow-i-ii-reforms/ Khosrow II: not sure, he appears to be partly responsible to bring the empire down? Why not something to represent quick expansion and loss, such as globally reducing building capture, or to make it a bonus, reduce own building capture and while reducing capturing enemy building even more.

If i remember correctly, Age of Mythology had this, and it looked pretty well. So ranking up does not impact visually except the rank icon right?

I am rather fond of techs. In fact, i recommend to check this mod for unit specific upgrades. I think it is a great way to differentiate civs. Some civs may need to research some upgrades, some civs could have the upgrade for free, some civs could be missing some completely.

My opinion: why differentiate shields only for spearmen? If you are going that route, i would base movement speed on the complete gear. However, keep in mind: this will be complex for both the team to balance as well as for casual player to notice the nuances. I say go for it and let's see how it works .

This sounds good to me . Meaning, as the game progresses, you need to keep them alive somehow. Im curious why you have this though. Just to counteract the fact you will have less champions and consequently less helots?

What i meant was: you can make hoplites, Macedonian phalanx, Roman infantry etc benefit from auras, and make tribal warriors a bit beefier and not benefit from auras so they pack a punch in single combat but lose to formations in similar group numbers. But, of course, the differences should be small enough so as not to break the game.

I agree with @Thalatta, idea is to only restrict Champion spearmen for Spartans additionally. And balance the stats so they kick backsides even in low numbers.

Maybe have a look at DE? @wowgetoffyourcellphonehas aura-based formation bonuses such as shield wall for hoplites and massed pikes for Macedonian phalanx.