Imagine if Goths' infantry discount bonus is reverted back to being in effect starting Feudal Age, and instead they get a new bonus that makes them less one-dimensional. What kind of bonus would that be?

Common consensus among pro players is that Dark Age Goth spam is exceedingly annoying to play against because of how effective it is, yet for many spectators, the focus on the basic Militia unit makes it utterly boring to watch.

Allegedly the reason that Goths even got that freakin' buff was that they were getting power creep'd by the likes of free-militia-upgrades-Bulgarians, instant-drush-Lithuanians and free-supplies-Slavs. But arguably the main thing that makes those three civs outclass the Goths is that their multi-dimensional civ bonuses and tech trees make them much more appealing to watch and play, as they can effectively go for lots of different options besides infantry:

• Bulgarians can also do rapid-fire FU Hussars, FU Paladins, spammable Konniks from Kreposts, Cavalry Archers that have everything but the final archer armor upgrade and FU Siege Onagers/Siege Rams.
• Lithuanians can also do Popeye FU Paladins, Popeye Leičai, FU Monks that spawn as fast as mice breed, FU Hand Cannoneers, Usain Bolt FU skirms and Tyson Gay Halberdiers.
• Slavs can also do yard-sale FU Siege Onagers/Siege Rams, FU Monks with bulletproof vests and the mighty Boyars.

Goths on the other hand have really nothing going on besides their infantry. To understand this, let's take a good look at their civ bonuses:

• Infantry are 35% cheaper.
• Infantry has +1 attack against buildings.
• Villagers have +5 attack against boars and carry +15 food from hunting.
• +10 population cap in the Imperial Age.
• Team Bonus: Barracks work 20% faster.
• Unique unit: Huskarl (anti-archer infantry)
• Castle Age UT: Anarchy (Huskarls can be created at barracks)
• Imperial age UT: Perfusion (Barracks create units 100% faster)

Out of 8 items on that list, 5 are direct infantry bonuses, one is an infantry UU, and the remaining two are a very weak eco bonus with negligible effects and a population bonus that synergises well with the Imperial Age Zerg rush strat that every Goth player is pigeonholed in doing. The only other one-trick pony civ I can possibly think of are the Britons with their over-reliance on archers, but at least they get a wicked sick Treb bonus and their two decent eco bonuses make it feasible for them to amass a sizable number of FU infantry to protect their archers.

Instead of promoting toxic drush spam, why not give Goths a chance to do something else besides infantry?

Historically, heavy cavalry with rounded shields and lances was the second most prominent unit type in Gothic armies after infantry. Some historians claim that such shock troop cavalry was actually the direct descendant of medieval west european knight, which makes quite a lot of sense if you consider the fact that French, Italians, Germans, Portuguese and Spanish had evolved from various different Gothic kingdoms. In-game, Goths have a good potential for cavalry since they have Cavaliers and Hussars with Bloodlines but they lack the final armor upgrade. Giving their cavalry a slight civ bonus like "+1 melee armor in Castle Age" or "Stable technologies are 20% cheaper" could prop them up to become an interesting alternative playstyle pick -- similar to what free-upgrade Hussars and Sipahi Cavalry Archers represent for the gold-guzzling, gunpowder-reliant Turks.

TL;DR revert "Infantry are 35% cheaper" to "Infantry are 35% cheaper starting in Feudal Age". Instead, give the Goths a cavalry bonus.