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I'm big on hiring mercenaries, but they can be expensive so you have to be careful about when and where you hire them and how to get your moneys worth out of them.
Aside from siege engines, I always hire Vikings whenever they are available, I will not pass them up. Compared to other merc units, especially calvary, they give a lot of bang for the buck. For an effective infantry unit, they are low maintenance and low cost. I usually try to build for producing high value spears, pikes, and halbediers, so I'm usually a little short of swordsmen. The Viking mercs fill the gap well. There are lots of merc units that are useful for a lot of different situations, but these are the only ones I never pass up without fail.
If Alans and Steppe Heavy Calvary are available, I will almost never pass them up - again the most bang for the buck. Druhzinas, Faris, and Byzantines are great calvary but very expensive - they will drain your treasury quickly.
Which mercenaries, if any, will you never pass up at the Inn?
http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cg...ons/cheers.gif
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I use mercs when I really need to, so I take all troops available except some really crab ones, such spears etc and let them go. I use mercenaries especially on attacking and when you can expect to have a heavy casualties.
Only ones that I buy for reserve, are siege engines. They are cheap and common, so there´s no need to waste a time for build siege guilds etc..
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I don't use mrecenaries too much, but when I hire them, it depends on the faction I'm playing.
Playing as the Byzantines, for example, I usually hire feudal sargents, chivalric sargents and pikemen, because the I can only train simple spearmen.
As a Catholic faction, different horse archers units can be my choice of mercenaries.
But on the whole, I mostly try to do the job with the national troops.
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The mercs I cant pass up or when i unexpectedly get futuwas in while in Denmark http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cg...nquisitive.gif
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full or near full strenght crusaders. But they're expensive. Alan cav., pikes, LBs, Bulgarian brigands, Biz. cav. and inf. http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cg...s/gc-book2.gif
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Italian Light Infantry and Ghazi Infantry , the best spears and the fastest anti armour that I cannot build . But Chivalric sergants do build better than I.L.Inf if you build morale boosting buildings and weapons upgrades .
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In early I cannot pass up Druzhina cav. Those 60-man units of Feudal foot knights are absolutely devastating. http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cg...ns/biggrin.gif
Other than that the mercs I buy mostly are HA because I usually play catholic and cannot build them. I just had a game where I crusaded to Palestine and every year both the turks and egyptians attacked. My armies were nearly all mercs. It made me poor untill I got my boats built and got my trade going.
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I always get Calvary archers because I'm usually English and I hate how mounted crossbowmen reload so slow. Alan horsemen are always good for being quick and good charge.
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I would buy alans, but I never ever have gotten them in my games as Mercs.
In early going, I'll buy any advanced units that pop up like Italian Infantry or Kwharzim(sp?) cavalry, but only to use them immediately. That high maintainance cost is brutal.
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I use mercenaries quite a lot, I always build Inns in my border provinces. I use them especially when my country is not yet develped and cant produce good troops.
Regards,
EC
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As soon as I enter the high era I hire every arqubusier unit I can find, at least until I can build them myself. Their effect against low morale troops is just so devastating.
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As to the mercs, the very best of them, on a price/valour rating, are Dhruzina Cavalry, Armoured Spearmen, Alan Mercenary Cavalry.
Not to neglect the Arbalests if you can't produce them.
