View Full Version : The enemy merchants have huge advantage over mine merchants!
Some guy here explained how successfull is he when attacking with his merchants. This is simply not true even on medium. My merchant 7 points vs enemy merchants 7 points has only 21% chance of win. So I decided to wait the enem yattack. Well, from 6 attacks all the 6 were successfull. So with equal merchant or even close point the enemy merchants are killing machines.
Of course you can spend half an hour reloading until you win - but it is much quicker simply to activate the cheats.
It isnt a straightforward 21%. There's a significant bonus if the merchant is in it's own factions territory. There is also have a significant penalty if the merchant is in foriegn lands. Other then that it's luck.
Yeah... it says 21%, but the attacker will always win more often than the defender, as far as I can see. So hit his merchants instead of waiting for him to hit yours.
That might explain why my merchants got completely owned in my territory by an attack from a merchant with the same or +1 skill against me. =:furious3:
I hide my merchants till they have at least +4 Finance. Then I pick a spot for them, best one that I can. Leave them for 2-3 years. If the pick up another +1 Finance I move them. Once they are at about +6 Finance, I try to hunt as many merchants as I can. If they hit 50 years, I don't care if they are still finance +1, I send them hunting. If they get wtfpwnedbbqed who cares.
Usually by 50 they are +5 -> +7 Finance, and then you can use them to take out n00b merchants.
Best congestion spots are next to Venice, those mountain passes in Tyrolia/Bavaria, Constantinople (doh!), basically send them out to aggressively kill merchants.
Lord of the Isles
12-08-2006, 12:51
Some guy here explained how successfull is he when attacking with his merchants. This is simply not true even on medium. My merchant 7 points vs enemy merchants 7 points has only 21% chance of win. So I decided to wait the enem yattack. Well, from 6 attacks all the 6 were successfull. So with equal merchant or even close point the enemy merchants are killing machines.
Of course you can spend half an hour reloading until you win - but it is much quicker simply to activate the cheats.
Don't take on level 7s with your own level 7s.
Like Sinan, I farm my merchants. Once they get to 5-7 (not too tough if you only produce them in cities with a Merchant's Guild), I send them out to attack enemy merchants with much lower stats. I'd only go for an enemy 7 with a level 10 (and even then, I might just leave a level 7 alone unless my merchant was at such an advanced age that he'd be dying in a few years anyway).
Don't take on level 7s with your own level 7s.
I didn't - I just decided to test the "attack enemy merchants" thingy. Otherwise it is simple - just remove your merchant from the resource and no one attacks him.
I send my merchants out attacking the moment they come out... That way the ones who survive get up to max finance fast, and since you get 1-2000 gold for every acquisition, you tend to come out ahead in the long run. Once they hit6-8 finance I send them to timbuktu.
I send my merchants out attacking the moment they come out... That way the ones who survive get up to max finance fast, and since you get 1-2000 gold for every acquisition, you tend to come out ahead in the long run. Once they hit6-8 finance I send them to timbuktu.
Well, if you aren't a fan of non-stop reloading, you will lose much more money attacking because of the cost of newly recruited merchants replacements. Merchants with 3-4 starts have less then 15% chance of success even against low starts enemy merchants. But again, the reloading rullz...
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