i can't find anything about them in the XL guides forum but after looking at their unit roster, i'm kinda intrigued by them and torn between trying them, the Danes, or Sicily in my next campaign. i'm kinda leaning towards Genoa over Sicily(even though i've heard from several people that Sicily is a really fun faction to play) because of their unit roster. the Genoese can build Italian Infantry and Gothic units and it doesn't seem like Sicily can produce either of those.

do the valor bonuses for Urban Militia really add anything to the game? i usually hardly ever build more than 3-4 UMs with other factions , so i'm not really that familiar with how long that they can be relevant in the game. from what i can tell from past experience though, UMs aren't totally worthless with a little valor, armor, and weapons upgrades added into the mix. does a valor bonus for Genoese Sailors really benefit that unit very much? my archers hardly ever get valor from battle, so i've never really been able to tell if valor really matters for ranged units.

how about income? it seems like Corsica and Sardinia are extremely poor and would be a major burden on your economy until you can get some infrastructure in place.

without any rebel provinces on your borders, what province do you typically go after first? Provence? Venice?

any advice or input would be greatly appreciated. TIA