MERCENARIES : you opinion ?

[Draksen]

Hi all!

Just few questions about mercenaries.
I tend to use them a lot, cause they are easy to hire and are usually good quality soldiers.

How do you use them ?
What is your average% of mercenary soldiers in your armies ?
Are they really very expensive to keep compared to traditional soldiers ?
thx

------------------
http://www.saosnois.com/blasons/blason-normand.gif
"De gueules aux deux léopards d'or, armés et lampassés d'azur, passant l'un sur l'autre."

[Yoko Kono]

i use merceneries for surprise assaults and multiple assaults
for example if i control poland and want to launch an invasion of HRE i will build up a decent sized army then bolster it with mercs and attack two seperate provinces
they cost twice as much so i norally disband after a year or 2
i just wish the ai used them as well
imagine ur surprise at seeing a 100 man army turn to 800 men and invade you

[ltj]

the ai pulls its punches anyway so that's unlikely

i never use them...i won't invade unless ive got a miltary that could sustain damages + hold and mercs are too expensive..

[Emperor Theodoripiklos IV]

I do it the good old Byzantine way.
Keep a standing Byzantine army and a seperate MErc army which i only hire when im going to war and always have a top Byz general command the mercs.
When fighting i dont like wasting good Byzantine troops but i dont care for merc losses...i even send them on suicde missions.
I dont keep them in service for more then 4 years ,I also noticed that the loyalty in some provinces drops when mercs are present

[andrewt]

I keep some for quite a few years but I keep attacking using them. Once, I defended a newly conquered province against the Byzantines using a mostly merc army. Only a group of camels and 2 groups of nubian spearmen were mine. I managed to inflict many casualties while losing almost all the mercs. I kept my real forces out of the battle and kept them near the bridge in case the enemy breaks through my mercs. I only lost 1-2 nubian spearmen because of the horse archers shooting from the bridge.

[Mithrandir]

I just discovered them today, and I love it!

The best troops I have are mercenaries, great feature, it adds a lot of fun, this way you get an advantage sometimes, and tis fun to play with other factions units knowing they are only available in limited amounts to you.

Very fun imho http://www.totalwar.org/ubb/biggrin.gif.

------------------
http://members.home.nl/jvanbaars/icons/icon1.gif http://members.home.nl/jvanbaars/icons/icon2.gif http://members.home.nl/jvanbaars/icons/icon3.gif
Check out the Fantasy Total War mod! (http://www.totalwar.org/ubb/Forum5/HTML/000587.html)
Think about it :
"There is no alternative for death"-J van Baars,Book of lore.

[Major Robert Dump]

Maybe I'm crazy, but the two early campaigns I have played I have noticed an eery similarity..... If I have a province with several mercenary units present the province seems to get attacked -- without warning -- by countries who are nuetral or allied with me.

[Yoko Kono]

mercs are short term solutions
the fact they are available instanstly with no build time and their double support costs proves this
now perhaps the ai attacked you as a form of counterattack
i mean i would start to get worried if a mercenary army appeared next to my province
people dont pay double for soldiers unless they intend to use them or at least thats how i see it

[Dawood]

In Almohad we have a saying "Dead mercs don't require pay" http://www.totalwar.org/ubb/biggrin.gif
I usually hire mercs for three different reasons...
1. Playing as the almohads I have no heavy cavalery
2. It is always good to have someone you can send on suicide missions.
3. I like when kuffars die for my country! http://www.totalwar.org/ubb/biggrin.gif

[Kraellin]

there are two VERY good uses for mercs. one of the first buildings i tend to build any more is inns. but i build them not in border provinces, but in the provinces behind these. the reason for this is simple. an enemy attacks your border, you simply raise a very quick 'ready reserve' army of mercs and counter attack quickly.

the other use comes from an old tactic we used to use in my youth when playing the board game Risk. it's the old rape, pillage, plunder tactic, or slash and burn tactic...whatever you want to call it. you raise a large army of very expendable mercs and simply send them out like a crusade to burn their way thru the countrysides of your enemies. they simply cut a path through everything and destroy his facilities to make war. this forces a severe 'introversion' to your opponent and while he's trying to recover from that you bring in your 'regulars' and start taking control. this is the old tactic used so well by sherman in his march to georgia during the american civil war, though i dont think he used mercs. you'll take a big hit on your economy at first, but you'll make it back as your regulars move in and take control and your mercs start dwindling in numbers.

K.


------------------
The only absolute is that there are no absolutes.

[+DOC+]

i think mercs are fantaastic. http://www.totalwar.org/ubb/smile.gif

1. Great for a last gasp stand when things are looking very vulnerable and you need a quick army.

2. Great for allowing you to hire and try out units from other factions that you yourself can't build. Nice having longbows as the Byzantines. http://www.totalwar.org/ubb/smile.gif

3. I would like to see the AI use them more though.

4. The troops are usually very good quality.