Quote Originally Posted by Kiron Drayga View Post
Finally, it's all about taking Milan out early -- any way you can -- and you'll need an excuse to take Sicily out soon thereafter. If you succeed in consolidating Italy (minus Rome) as any one of the three Italian factions, and if you've done so without risking excommunication, you've basically won the game.
You said a mouthful there, pardner.

To comment on what I have read on this thread:

I'm suprised that some people pay so much for Bolonga. I never pay more than 4000 florin (Alliance + Trade Rights + Map Info + 1000/turn X 4 turns). I occasionally get them to take the same deal as above but with 3600 (1200 X 3 turn)! It's insult to injury, though...the HRE will sell the same deal to Milan for 2800 cash! It's discrimination, I tell you...anyway, this price is usually good all the way to turn four, so I often wait while I take Zagreb and return the army to Italy.

In agreement with your quoted statement above, and to quell my natural aggressive instinct, I insist on taking out both Zagreb and Bologna without loses. It's fairly easy to siege those cities (as both have fairly minimal seige supplies) with sufficient force to make the populace surrender without sallying forth. No casualties taken, the Venice-Bologna-Florence triad in place with Zagreb starting to show as a true earner by turn 6 to 8. I find that having an intact and supplemented order of battle can really make the difference when push comes to shove, which happens right about...turn 7 or 8!

Iraklion is a royal pain. I have actually had good luck ceding it to the Pope and either taking Rhodes and Smyrna with the garrison or sending them home to help assure a timely annexation of the Nothern Italian Quintet. I have watched in horror as wave after wave of Sicilians and Byzentines wore the Garrison down and finally took it (I autoresolve all battles, no heroic gate defenses). It's positionally very attractive, but one CAN make do without it.

The funnest thing about Venice is that it's one of the few factions that can actually TAKE all the way to the advent of gunpowder and beyond to win. I can't think I ever made it past the bombard stage with Milan, even on VH.

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