Venice

Venice

Leader	Enrico Dandolo
Benefit	Serenissima
Unique Units	Merchant of Venice, Great Galleass

Introduction

Venice is a tricky trade nation to play, and they're equally rewarding and powerful once you figure them out. Venetians have a huge number of International Trade Routes, and their income eventually gets quite high. You can spread your religion easily, gain bonus Science if other nations have research that you don't, and take over City-States without firing a shot. Unlike Austria, you won't even have to pay a dime. Beyond that, you won't even need to be allies with your target. Venice has the money, and its Great Merchants are able to buy City-States outright.

What makes Venice fair is that they're not allowed to assume direct control of anything beyond their Capital. Your City-States and puppeted enemies are always going to be off doing their own thing. You still get rich off of their improvements, but it's strange when you're used to fine tuning everything within your nation.

Venice is a great choice if you want Gold, trade, expansion, and a naval power. They're less ideal if you're trying to rush for a specific victory type. With so many puppets, your strength comes in over time. Venice isn't a sprinter; they're more of an endurance runner.

Passive Benefits

Serenissima

Venice cannot gain Settlers nor annex cities. They do receive double the normal number of International Trade Routes. After researching Optics, a free Merchant of Venice appears. Venice may purchase things from their puppeted cities.

Serenissima is the most complex passive ability in the game. This ability has multiple benefits, but it also comes at a cost.

On the upside, Venice gets extra International Trade Routes. That's practically free Gold and some Science in the making. You have the potential to rake in money throughout the entire game. As long as you're able to defend your Trade Routes, all will be well.

Venice is allowed to purchase items for their puppeted cities. That's useful, but they also need this power because Venice has very little control over their own nation otherwise.

Optics is a very important research point for Venice because it gets you a free unique Great Merchant and because it's part of the naval improvements that are almost required for Venice to grow and maintain itself. Hurry toward Optics, and continue to push naval research throughout most games.

The cost of all these perks is that Venice can't settle new cities or annex enemy cities that it defeats. You have a great Capital, and that's all you get. Everything else is just a puppet to you. You're free to stick to your Capital or expand through conquest, but be aware that you will have little control over the rest of your domain.

Unique Strengths

Merchant of Venice

Merchants of Venice are Great Merchants with two upgrades. Their Trade Missions provide twice the Gold and Influence that they normally would. That's already pretty great, but it's the lesser of their powers. Great Merchants are also able to instantly convert a City-State to your nation. You receive a free puppet at absolutely no cost. Wow! Working toward these Great People is a constant pursuit for a Venetian player. You can earn yourself even more money, gain access to more Luxuries, and take over critical parts of the map to prevent rivals from gaining Influence, bonuses, or protection.

Great Galleass

These expensive ships are tougher and harder hitting than their generic counterpart. They'll help you control coastal waters during the early to mid-game, but they're not a huge portion of Venice's long-term strategy. Instead, they're better for aiding with attacks on barbarians and any enemies that you have along the coast. Use them to eliminate these threats so that they don't get in the way of your growing Trade Routes.

The Big Picture

Venice is a good nation for Tradition, Commerce, and Exploration. Depending on how you play, they even get some good benefits from Liberty, despite their inability to train Settlers. Venice gets a free Merchant of Venice from taking Collective Rule. Beyond this, Venice is sometimes played with an eye for expansion. They need an amazing Capital, but they also end up with quite a few puppets.

To get the most out of your city as Venice, use one or two of your Trade Routes domestically. Send Food into the Capital to help it grow, and get Production in there as well, if you could use the extra building power. Together, these let you make a city that is mighty without sacrificing a large trade network. Building Wonders and various buildings in the Capital becomes much easier, and you're then in a position to pursue any victory.

You can always switch your Caravans/Cargo Ships toward more lucrative trade later, after Venice is too big to fail.

One big downside to Venice that’s already been mentioned is your lack of control. You can spend Gold to purchase essential buildings in your best puppet cities, but that can only go so far. You're never going to get exactly what you want out of them. That's fine. Your Capital is going to be almost untouchable when it comes to Culture and Gold. Use Research Agreements to supplement your Science, and it shouldn't be too hard to keep up with or surpass your rivals in terms of Technology.

The next downside is defense. Venice has Trade Routes to defend, potential puppets to worry about, and few special perks to help in times of war. You have to make friendships with other nations. Otherwise, they'll get jealous of your Wonders and high score. You don't want them to start picking off your City-States. Wield diplomacy well to keep your rivals at bay. Switch around the targets of your Trade Routes so that you're always making money with a variety of people. Patrol those routes well to avoid barbarian or raider problems, and play it cool. If the other nations let you reach the late game, you're likely to pull off the victory.