War flag of the Most Serene Republic of Venice, mid-1600s to 1797. In times of peace, the flag was changed so that the Lion of St. Mark (symbol of the city’s patron saint) was holding an open Bible instead of a sword.

Availability: Base game
Focus: Balanced, Cavalry, Naval (formerly)
Playstyle: European

Venice is without question the most unique faction in the game. No other country has such a radically different and entertaining playstyle as this one. Its numerous unique units offer a wide variety of fun army builds to experiment with, its special buildings shake things up from the European norm, and its many tech discounts are so well thought out and creatively implemented that you’ll wonder why every nation in Cossacks doesn’t play more like them.

…

Pfffffft…

Okay, all jokes aside, Venice is the most generic nation in all of Cossacks. They have TWO tech discounts and ONE building cost alteration to set them apart and that’s it; no unique units or structures or anything. Nearly everything about Venice is standard European fare from the early 17th century all the way up to the late 18th century. They’re the baseline; the average joe that everyone else compares themselves to.

It wasn’t always like this, though. Back in Cossacks: Art of War, a standalone expansion for Cossacks: European Wars (which this game is technically a remake of), Venice boasted a unique warship, the Galleass, a fusion of a galley and a galleon that was popular in the Mediterranean during the 16th and 17th centuries. Sadly, the Galleass hasn’t made the jump into Cossacks 3, leaving Venice as the sole nation with only generic European units in its roster.

However, “generic” doesn’t mean “bad”, and what Venice lacks in uniqueness it makes up for in solid dependability and flexibility. Whereas other countries usually force players to make tradeoffs or are locked into a certain playstyle, Venice has no such restrictions. They’re a classic jack-of-all-trades faction that’s good at everything without being great at anything. This allows skilled Venetian players to adapt their gameplan to the needs of the match, whether that’s rushing a Prussian player before they become too strong or outbooming an Islamic player and smashing them later in the 18th century.

If you like reacting to your opponent’s strategy, think lavish bonuses and unique units are for chumps, or just want a balanced and flexible country that can age up quickly and isn’t wedded to any particular playstyle, Venice is a great nation for you.

+ Armored 17c. Pikeman
+ 18c. Musketeer
+ Balloon to reveal the map
+ 18th century upgrade costs 2,000 less gold but more food, coal, and iron
+ Tech cost discounts:

• Cavalry recruit speed (Blacksmith)

~ Academies cost less wood but more stone

Just because Venice is the most generic faction in Cossacks doesn’t mean there’s nothing unique about them. There are three Venetian bonuses to set them apart. The first is their Academy cost change, which isn’t really that meaningful: Just assign a few more Peasants to stone instead of wood and you’ll be fine.

Their next two bonuses are much more interesting and beneficial. The first is their discounted 18th century upgrade, which only costs three-fifths the gold:

Normal: 30,000 food, 5,000 gold, 2,000 iron, 2,000 coal
Venice: 40,000 food, 3,000 gold, 2,500 iron, 2,500 coal

This by far is the lowest gold cost of any nation’s 18th century upgrade, giving Venice arguably the most affordable age-up in the game. Not only does this save you money, but it could also allow a player who’s good with numbers to reach the 18th century ahead of other countries, gaining access to their strongest units before anyone else.

The other Venetian discount is for the cavalry recruitment speed tech at the Blacksmith. This nice bonus allows Venice to snag the upgrade early and ramp up cavalry production before most other countries, all while saving a bit of money.


Like the Stradioti of yore: Venetian Hussars charge Swiss heretics. Getting the training time reduction tech early allows Venice to reach a critical mass of cavalry before other factions.

I could end it there but, just for fun, here’s a cost comparison showing the tech’s basic price plus all three nations who get it cheaply:

Normal: 3,650 gold, 5,300 iron, 8,200 coal
England: 3,550 gold, 4,100 iron, 6,700 coal
Prussia: 3,650 gold, 4,300 iron, 5,200 coal
Venice: 650 gold, 9,800 iron, 530 coal

So Venice pays barely any gold or coal but almost twice as much iron as other factions. This works out in their favor as the price of the gold and coal saved outweighs the cost of the extra iron (plus gold tends to be far more in demand at game start compared to iron, making it easier to save up for the tech even as you expand your early economy and military). Also, unlike England and Prussia, Venice doesn’t pay for this bonus with a major cost increase to their +5 cavalry attack tech: They get the discount with no drawbacks or penalties, which is pretty awesome.

That’s it for Venice’s bonuses. What else can I say to drag this section out?

…Um, I guess their Town Halls are kinda fat.



I mean, they look great and Venetian houses are super small which more than makes up for it, but still, that Town Hall needs to go on a diet, heh heh…

…Yeah, that’s all I got. Moving on.

This is the Galleass. It was introduced in Art of War as Venice’s unique unit and was (apparently) pretty cool. Too bad it’s not in this game.

…Actually, while looking through the old games, I realized that there’s a lot of naval units from Cossacks: European Wars and its expansions that didn’t make it into Cossacks 3 like the Cutter, Ketch, and even 18th century Frigates and Ships of the Line. There are also a handful of land units missing like Bedouin camel gunners for the Islamic factions and a bunch of early Swiss infantry.

Then again, we also got a ton of new things in Cossacks 3, such as:

- Spanish Coseletes
- Swedish Hakkapeliitta
- Dutch Dragoons
- Piedmontese Dragoons
- Polish Pospolite ruszenie
- Portuguese Pikemen and Volunteers
- Turkish Heavy Sipahis
- Literally the entire Scottish faction
- And Swiss Pikemen to replace their lost units (which, to be fair, were pretty out of place historically and visually, being based on Swiss armies during their heyday around a century before gamestart)

This stuff all together is honestly a lot cooler than what we missed out on, so I guess it balances out.

Still, it would have been nice to see the Galleass again to give Venice a bit more flavor. But with the situation at GSC World being so rough right now (since real-life wars for national survival take precedence over updating years-old strategy games), I doubt it’ll be added anytime soon.

NOTE: This section assumes you’re only playing with Venetian units and buildings. That means it largely ignores capturing, although the advice given can easily be applied to games that allow it.



The long war for Crete: An early-game Venetian base.

Being the average joe of nations means Venice is pretty middle-of-the-road in most eras. That’s not to say they have nothing going on in the early game, though, as their discounted cavalry recruit speed tech allows them to create a bigger cavalry force sooner than most other nations. This is nice and can help tip the scales in a closely-matched battle, but that’s about it.

Venice uses all the standard European build orders: Go for pikes in low-peacetime games, go for muskets and an extra Town Hall in longer peacetimes, etc. Same old stuff save that you might want to prioritize that cavalry recruit speed tech a bit earlier.

In terms of matchups, Venice does best when playing around other nations’ strengths and weaknesses. In the early game, this means either attacking late-game countries like Prussia and Denmark before they get strong or defending against the era’s powerhouses like Scotland and the Islamic factions in the hopes of crushing them later. It’s not easy and it requires knowledge of your opponents’ factions, but it can be done.



Rebuilding the empire through trade and war: A mid-game Venetian base, having just reached the 18th century with cash to spare.

The same is true for the mid-game: Target countries that are weak or not yet at full power while trying to avoid or defend against the era’s juggernauts like Ukraine and Portugal.

That said, the mid game is arguably when Venice is strongest thanks to their discounted 18th century upgrade. By aging up early (or at least cheaply), you can get a head start on ramping up your economy and building late-game units and infrastructure. It’s only a temporary advantage, but it can make a key difference by allowing Venice to raise a strong 18th century army before other European countries.

As always, the standard European build orders apply: Lay down some 18c. Barracks, spam a few hundred 18c. Pikemen to bulk out your army’s numbers, then shift over to 18c. Musketeers while expanding your economy, artillery, and cavalry production. Any of the three late-game cavalry units are viable picks for Venice so feel free to use whichever you prefer.



Queen of the Adriatic: A late-game Venetian base.

By now, most nations will be well-established with mighty economies supporting large armies of powerful, upgraded 18th century units. Venice is no exception, being a European country with the same strong generic units as their peers. They may not be a late-game juggernaut, but they’re still competent and can go toe-to-toe with most other factions in the game. Now’s the time to turn the tables on those troublesome early-game nations who were bugging you earlier.

Something I haven’t mentioned in other guides is that the biggest strength of generic 18th century units compared to their unique variants (with a few exceptions like French Dragoons, Prussian Hussars, and Saxon Musketeers) is their shorter training times. Late-game Venetian armies don’t have the same raw power as, say, French or Bavarian ones, but they can be raised and rebuilt faster, often significantly so. If you can attrite the enemy’s stronger but slower-training troops down while keeping your army alive (not an easy task, to be sure), you could potentially reclaim the advantage.


Reclaiming power in northern Italy: A late-game Venetian army drives the Spanish back to Naples. The Pikemen and Roundshiers are out front to soak up bullets and keep opposing melee troops away from the Musketeers, who are the army’s main damage-dealers. Meanwhile, Hussars are inbound from the north to attack the enemy Musketeers and force them into melee, which will prevent them from firing.

Hammer and anvil: Caught between Venetian infantry and Hussars, the last of Portugal’s army melts away. (I know I use Hussars a lot in these pics, but that’s just because I really like fast cavalry. Pick whatever horseman suits your preference and army composition.)

Being perhaps the most balanced nation in the game, Venice doesn’t really have any map preferences. They work well in all types of games without ever truly exceling. This makes them great for random maps where you don’t know what you’re getting until the game starts. If, on the other hand, you know the settings beforehand, you should probably pick a more specialized country that’s better suited to the match at hand.

In team games, Venice is solid and dependable. They probably won’t dominate at any point in the match, but they’ll always be a competent and capable addition to the team. This makes them great for players who like to keep their options open and enjoy tailoring their strategies to best support their allies and/or counter the enemy.


For the republic: A large Venetian force of 18c. Musketeers advances behind a thick screen of Pikemen and Roundshiers.

A collection of great Venice games and tutorials showing how to skillfully play the nation. If you have any video recommendations, send me a link through Steam or YouTube (username 1Korlash) or Reddit (Effective_Can72)!

1. The first of two classic guides from top player colorfit. A must-watch for people looking to dive into multiplayer or just get better at the game.
https://youtu.be/XP19ocvOIg0

2. The second colorfit guide, this time covering how to micro your armies in battle. Again, a must-watch.
https://youtu.be/t6JE59Gnesk?list=PL9MM6y8GRIFcfOaVMvUGSZ7s3HANGpEPd

3. A very long 2v2v2v2 from colorfit featuring Venice, massive armies, and lengthy sieges.
https://youtu.be/XprtaLoqkrY

4. A unique 15pt build from Ukrainian player SwanUav where by skimping on unit upgrades and going heavy on wood he's able to get 4 Stables up and snag Venice's cheap cavalry recruit speed tech around the 11-minute mark, allowing him to amass a large force of 17c. Dragoons before the peacetime ends. (Special thanks to Sweet_Lane for sharing this cool replay with me!)
https://youtu.be/J3wmUGV90Vg

Modern flag of Veneto, the region of Italy encompassing Venice and most of its old territory. The seals on the tails represent the region’s seven provincial capitals. Even to this day, most of Veneto’s citizens speak Venetian as well as Italian and refer to themselves collectively in their laws as “the Venetian people”.

That’s Venice! I know a lot of people don’t see the point of them, especially without their Galleass, but I think there’s a place in Cossacks for jack-of-all-trades nations and they fill that role quite well. At the very least, they’re a reminder that being generic is not necessarily bad in a game like Cossacks and there’s always a certain satisfaction you get for beating your opponent with only standard units–no tricks or overpowered gimmicks, just pure strategy and good generalship.

Regardless, happy April Fools Day and thanks for reading!

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