Faction overview

• Economic Adepts: Commerce research 33% cheaper
• Exotica Entrepot: Start with a Market and 2 free Merchants
• Masters of Trade: For every 100 of a resource in your treasury beyond starting level, receive +5 income for that resource. This income can exceed your Commerce Cap by 100.
• The Arsenale: Receive two Light Ships whenever a New Dockyard is built.

Strengths

Strong economic bonuses, fairly proficient navy - possibly the best in all of this mod. Good infantry.

Weakness

Somewhat deficient siege unit component, economic bonuses are micromanagement-intensive and prevent rushing from being used in order to be of any use.

There is little need for a large introduction to what Venexia is capable of, given the historic reputation of her historical real life equivalent: in Kings & Conquerors, Venexia is primarily a maritime power, alongside the Russians, Outremer to the far southeast, and the Byzantines, who have the most sophisticated and prominent naval force, with whom Venexia shares access to the Heavy Galley. This is further augmented by her ability to spawn Barques with each new Dockyard constructed, thus allowing a Venetian player to effectively colonise the seas fairly quickly, and protect expansion to new tracts of dry land fairly quickly in the early game. Because heavy ships in Temüjin cost more and build more slowly (albeit being stronger) being able to rapidly expand your medium fleet in a short period of time can often mean the difference between success and being raided or prevented from expanding on a map with considerable aqueous bodies.

On land, though, it is another story: Venexia has the classic Kings & Conquerors tech tree, consisting mainly of Mansions, Peasant Hovels (and Peasant Communes) for most of its fighting force, but in general lacks access to heavy infantry and cavalry - even though it can raise Scholarioi like the Byzantines (and the Bulgars), early on - but there, the similarities end. With Tier I Reforms and Republic researched, Venexia can then upgrade Scholarioi into Knights - who, unlike their cousins further north, are trained not from a Meeting House or a Palace, but rather from the Mansion. This provides Venexia with a quick and fast access to some good early game heavy cavalry from the early to mid-game onward, but only if there is Wealth to spend. Other factions may well have far better units - especially if they are Christian civs with access to a Nobles' Court - they can then recruit Chivalric Orders, which often have an anti-infantry bonus that makes them nearly unstoppable in battle.

Nevertheless, heavy cavalry aside, Venexia still has a fairly decent army owing to her infantry - she starts off with Spear Sergeants in the Barracks, receives Crossbow Infantry with Tier I Reforms, and later on can obtain either Swordsmen (with more authoritarian governments at the Meeting House) or instead supplement her armies with Pavise Arbalests (provided Republic AND Defensive Doctrine were researched instead). These units aside, Venice like most other Latin nations can also receive the Berrovier (a replacement for Horsemen, if Populism was researched) but like Dai Viet, cannot get the Trebuchet. The result, however, is that Venexia is often pushed into a boom/turtling game, given how Venexia's economic bonuses work, which require the Venetian player, as with Rajputana, to refrain from early fighting to get any effect from them. Thus an ideal game always sees Venexia work with water, and either as a defender/boomer, or a support faction "feeding" factions with stronger late game units to get them up to speed so that they can then create a powerful army using Venexia's resources.

Unique units and structures gallery

Heavy Galley
Strong heavy ship, shared with Byzantium. meant to counter fortifications, but can also be used against enemy ships and infantry.

Barque
Light galley, sturdier and stronger than the Dromond, ideal for escort duty and/or raiding. Each Dockyard built by Venexia spawns a number of these for free.

Leader names

• Pietro Ziani
• Orio Mastropiero
• Vitale II Mihiel
• Sebastiano Ziani
• Jacopo Tiepolo
• Enrico Dandolo

Settlement names