Milan: Gameplay Information
Milan has a precarious starting position, being surrounded by potential enemies but luckily they come armed with some superb units to allow them annihilate armies that stand against them. In common with Venice, Milan has the ability to train quality troops in cities so lack of castles is no bar to progress when playing Milan. Indeed, there are some players who have played entire campaigns as Milan with no castles whatsoever. The famous Genoese Crossbowmen are easy to retrain and are available in both standard form and as militia units. They have a base missile attack of 13 and this is armour piercing. Virtually no unit can withstand sustained crossbow fire. Combined with Italian Spear militia, you can have a very effective early game army that is simple to re-train. Italian Spear militia units should not be confused with standard spear militias because they have better stats and once upgraded, they can easily fill the role of Armoured Sergeants. Broken Lances are also available in mounted & dismounted units. They are simple to re-train. The only downside of all these city units is their morale is not as high as Knights. This can be remedied with the use of Carroccio Standards. Milan are one of the few factions to have access to musketeers. Milan also have another ace-in-the-hole for online battles. The lowly Cavalry Militia is often ignored but the Italian versions are of better quality and quite cost-effective.
Table of Contents
Campaign Overview
Religion |
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Long Campaign Win Conditions |
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Short Campaign Win Conditions |
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Finances |
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Initial Settlements |
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Initial Generals |
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Initial Admirals |
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Initial Agents |
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Initial Troops |
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Milan may appear to have a difficult start and it is true that there is no shortage of potential enemies but there are 4 rebel provinces within easy reach. Taking Dijon, Marseilles & Bern will put the brakes on the ambitions of France & the Holy Roman Empire. Venice to the east is considerably less of a problem if Venice is taken. With the number of fellow Catholics bordering you, it is likely that you will come into conflict with the Pope. There are a number of ways around this. Firstly a boat with as many priests as possible should be dispatched to Tunis. They can begin converting North Africa to Christianity and gaining piety. This will allow you to begin the process of controlling the college of cardinals. Large cash donations to the Pope also help to gain favour. Crusading is a very necessary task for expanding and also appeasing the Pope. If a far-away and hard-to-hold province like Jerusalem is captured, be sure to gift this poisoned chalice to the Pope. The gift will do much for your papal standing. By keeping “in” with the Pope and fighting defensively in Italy, it is likely that one of your opponents will be excommunicated before long. The Holy Roman Empire are a likely candidate for this. Once this happens, you can expand but you need to move fast before they are brought back into the church.
France are an excellent target for expansion. By focusing your efforts on a mini-French & Italian empire, you will be rewarded with a relatively defensible (and rich) realm and possibilities of expansion into the Iberian peninsula or east into the lands of the Holy Roman Emperor.
Recruitable Units
The following table contains all of the units that Milan can recruit in Multiplayer and Custom Battles. For the Grand Campaign, use the “All” period with the following corrections:
- Units in (Brackets) are mercenaries and therefore cannot be trained in campaign, although any general can recruit them in the field if he has space in his army and there are some available.
- Units in [Square Brackets] cannot be recruited in campaign, they are for Multiplayer and Custom Battles only.
- Units in Italics can only be recruited in certain regions (eg. The New World) or after a certain event (eg. The discovery of gunpowder).
Period | Militia Units | Infantry | Missile Infantry | Cavalry | Missile Cavalry | Artillery |
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High |
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Late |
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All |
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Constructable Buildings
Cities
Building Type | Village | Town | Large Town | Minor City | Large City | Huge City | ||||||
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Walls | Wooden Palisade (Upgrade) | Wooden Wall (Upgrade) | Stone Wall (Upgrade) | Large Stone Wall (Upgrade) | Huge Stone Wall (Upgrade) | |||||||
Improved Towers | Ballista Towers | |||||||||||
Barracks | Town Watch | Town Guard | City Watch | Militia Drill Square | Militia Barracks | Army Barracks | Royal Barracks | |||||
Siege | Ballista Maker | Catapult Maker | Siege Works | |||||||||
Smiths | Leather Tanner | Blacksmith | Armourer | Heavy Armourer | Master Armourer | Armour Factory | ||||||
Ports | Port | Shipwright | ||||||||||
Sea Trade | Merchants’ Wharf | Warehouse | Docklands | |||||||||
Trade | Grain Exchange | Market | Fairground | Great Market | Merchants’ Quarter | |||||||
Roads | Dirt Roads | Paved Roads | ||||||||||
Farms | Land Clearance | Communal Farming | Crop Rotation | Irrigation | ||||||||
Academia | University | |||||||||||
Churches | Small Church | Church | Abbey | Cathedral | Huge Cathedral | |||||||
Inns | Brothel | Inn | Tavern | Coaching House | Pleasure Palace | |||||||
Town Hall | Town Hall | Council Chambers | City Hall | Mayor’s Palace | ||||||||
Art | Artist’s Studio | Art Gallery | ||||||||||
Banks | Merchant Bank | Merchant Bank | ||||||||||
Assassins’ Guild | Assassins’ Guild | Master Assassins’ Guild | Assassins’ Guild Headquarters | |||||||||
Masons’ Guild | Masons’ Guild | Master Masons’ Guild | Masons’ Guild Headquarters | |||||||||
Theologians’ Guild | Theologians’ Guild | Master Masons’ Guild | Masons’ Guild Headquarters | |||||||||
Merchants’ Guild | Merchants’ Guild | Master Merchants’ Guild | Merchants’ Guild Headquarters | |||||||||
Alchemists’ Guild | Alchemists’ Guild | Master Alchemists’ Guild | Alchemists’ Guild Headquarters | |||||||||
Thieves’ Guild | Thieves’ Guild | Master Thieves’ Guild | Thieves’ Guild Headquarters | |||||||||
Explorers’ Guild | Explorers’ Guild | Master Explorers’ Guild | Explorers’ Guild Headquarters | |||||||||
Swordsmiths’ Guild | Swordsmiths’ Guild | Master Swordsmiths’ Guild | Swordsmiths’ Guild Headquarters | |||||||||
Knights Templar | Knights Templar Minor Chapter House | Knights Templar Major Chapter House | Knights Templar Headquarters | |||||||||
Hospitallier Knights | St. John’s Minor Chapter House | St. John’s Major Chapter House | St. John’s Headquarters | |||||||||
Horse Breeders’ Guild | Horse Breeders’ Guild | Master Horse Breeders’ Guild | Horse Breeders’ Guild Headquarters |
Castles
Building Type | Village | Motte and Bailey | Wooden Castle | Castle | Fortress | Citadel | |||||
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Castle | Motte and Bailey (Upgrade) | Wooden Castle (Upgrade) | Castle (Upgrade) | Fortress (Upgrade) | Citadel (Upgrade) | ||||||
Improved Towers | Ballista Towers | Cannon Towers | |||||||||
Stables | Stables | Knight’s Stables | Baron’s Stables | Earl’s Stables | |||||||
Barracks | Mustering Hall | Garrisson Quarters | Drill Square | Barracks | |||||||
Ranges | Bowyer | Practice Range | Archery Range | Marksman’s Range | |||||||
Siege | Ballista Maker | Catapult Maker | Siege Works | ||||||||
Cannons | Gunsmith | Cannon Maker | Cannon Foundry | Royal Arsenal | |||||||
Smiths | Leather Tanner | Blacksmith | Armourer | Heavy Armourer | Master Armourer | Armour Factory | |||||
Ports | Port | Shipwright | Dockyard | Naval Drydock | |||||||
Roads | Dirt Roads | Paved Roads | |||||||||
Farms | Land Clearance | Communal Farming | Crop Rotation | Irrigation | |||||||
Mines | Mines | Mining Network | |||||||||
Churches | Chapel | Large Chapel | |||||||||
Swordsmiths’ Guild | Swordsmiths’ Guild | Master Swordsmiths’ Guild | Swordsmiths’ Guild Headquarters | ||||||||
Knights Templar | Knights Templar Minor Chapter House | Knights Templar Major Chapter House | Knights Templar Headquarters | ||||||||
Hospitallier Knights | St. John’s Minor Chapter House | St. John’s Major Chapter House | St. John’s Headquarters |