Republics gonna get destroyed

[napoleon3010]

Hey,
I was playing as one Patrician in Braavos for round about 100 years when the other republics got either liberated or conquered by ambition by rival republics.
so far so good but instead of continuing as patricians of lower tiers they instead became demoted to city vassals who are not playable.
My fear now is that Braavos will also become a subjugated republic and switch to a non playable form and my game will be over.
Looking forward to an answer and thank you in advance.

 

[Toccs]

Merchant Republics cannot be vassals of another Merchant Republic. Reverting to unplayable city vassals is what happens to them in the event one conquers another.

 

[napoleon3010]

So that means if I my liege is gonna be conquered by one of the big rival merchant republics it's game over for me.
Are there any possibilities to avoid this instead of just conquering everything by myself cause this is just not my playstyle.

 

[SgtSmuckers]

Get some relatives landed titles, anywhere, so as to have a backup in case. Play the long game and become/conquer a merchant republic again in a different generation.

AI ain't the smartest, out-think them by killing an heir so their daughter you married a relative to inherits their(your) dynasty the next generation.