Italians

⚜️ Italians

Overview

The Italians are labeled as an archer and naval civilization, yet their performance doesn’t match either description.
They have a solid crossbow line and a strong trade bonus, but their design lacks focus.
Historically, Italy’s strength came from maritime trade, engineering, and mercenary professionalism, yet none of these strengths are well represented in-game.
The result is a civilization that feels incomplete and misaligned with its historical identity.

Strengths

• Trade: The Silk Road technology makes trade units (including trade cogs) 50% cheaper, providing strong late-game scaling.

• Crossbows: Have extra armor and perform well against cavalry.
  
  

Weaknesses

• Condottieri: Underpowered. Their low pierce armor makes them ineffective against the very gunpowder units they’re meant to counter.

• No real naval power: Despite being called a naval civilization, Italians have no bonuses to ship combat or durability.

• Hand Cannoneer redundancy: The Pirotechnia bonus is largely wasted — crossbows already do the same job more efficiently.

• Unfocused design: Bonuses are scattered across unrelated areas, creating no clear strategic identity.
  
  

Proposed Fixes

• Condottieri: +1 pierce armor to make them viable against ranged and gunpowder units.

• Add a naval identity: Ships +10% HP or +1 attack to give Italians a genuine maritime advantage.

• Rework Pirotechnia: Replace it with a naval or trade-related technology that better fits the civ’s identity.

• Rework Dock/University discount: Replace it with a bonus tied to architecture or shipbuilding.
  
  

Design Reasoning

The Italians should represent trade, craftsmanship, and naval power, not a list of unrelated discounts.
A modest Condottieri armor increase and a true naval bonus would bring the civ in line with its history and theme.
These focused adjustments make the Italians consistent, competitive, and finally worthy of their historical reputation.