It is easier if I put it in a table.
| Stats | Current Elite | Proposed Elite | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost | 45W 40G | 45W 45G | +5G |
| Train time | 14 secs. | 14 secs. | - |
| HP | 50 | 45 | -5 |
| Pierce attack | 6 | 7 | +1 |
| Attack bonus | +7 vs Cavalry | +5 vs Cavalry | -2 vs Cavalry |
| +7 vs War elephant | +5 vs War elephan | -2 vs War elephant | |
| +6 vs Camel | +4 vs Camel | -2 vs Camel | |
| +5 vs Ship | - | Remove | |
| +5 vs Fishing Ship | - | Remove | |
| - | +2 vs Spearman | New | |
| Reload time | 2 | 2 | - |
| Melee armour | 1 | 1 | - |
| Pierce armour | 0 | 1 | +1 |
| Speed | 0.96 | 0.96 | - |
Besides
- the idea of giving the Condottieri also an age before is interesting;
- Pavese can have a side effect whereby some units on foots move 15% faster.
Let us not stop at the name or skin of the unit, that is just a generic representation of a more abstract idea.
The point is that the Italians have never been an infantry civilisation. In fact, they should not even have access to the Champions too.
During the Battle of Legnano (1176, against Frederick Barbarossa) communal militias (peasants, armed with lance and shield) fought with the support of light cavalry. In fact, under the emblem of the autonomy of their municipalities, the municipal infantrymen resisted against a militarily superior army, and moreover on horseback.
Either way, the Italian city militia were the first to use the “Hand cannon” and that from Italy the “Hand cannon” passed into Flanders and from there spread to the Germanic Holy Roman Empire and England (1314). Soon all Italian municipalities, especially the Duchy of Milan, armed themselves with many gunpowder weapons. Combined with the fact that they began to use smaller regular armies, and not to call together all the men of the countryside.
Even if we see the history of the most famous mercenary companies, the story is about the same. This is because, on the Italian peninsula, major clashes can be considered a rare outcome of a tactic predominantly based on movement and the search for the best position to force the enemy to retreat or to discover the weakest side for a possible attack. Fighting ‘Italian style’ meant avoiding unnecessary bloodshed.
The only exception I can think of is against the Swiss. The Black Bands at Caprino had 200 heavy cavalrymen, 300 light cavalrymen and 3000 arquebusiers. They used so many cannons because the Italians had no heavy infantry, and had no idea how to stop the heavy infantry of the Swiss (ex: Landsknecht).
Edit. Should be easier to read