Merchants

[easytarget]

So, often times I find myself sending out my merchants to locate good trade and after only a few turns a rival merchant from one of the other nations shows up and buys him out, my merchants rarely win this little turf battle.

As a result, because I find this rather annoying, whether because I sent to the trouble of sending my guy half way across the planet or because the other nations also proceed to invade my homeland with merchant spam, I then proceed to recruit an army of assassins and proceed to lay slaughter to anything and everything that moves and claims to be a merchant, otherwise I never have mine stick around long enough to rank up and be able to successfully compete with rival merchants.

Once I get some merchants developed I ease up on the assassin business and use merchants to take over the other nation's merchants.

For those of you who prefer not to take the hit on your traits by the use of assassins how do you deal with the waves of never ending merchants coming at you?

[jackfruitguy69]

put merchants on a boat...send them to denmark/timbuktu/anything with a land bridge...send them to the resources....block the land bridge with your boat.

[easytarget]

Thanks, I'll keep that trick in mind when it's possible, but narrow application I'm afraid. What other solutions are there more generally other than killing them off constantly?

[Gregoshi]

I've not run into my merchants being killed or put out of business yet. Guess I have something to look forward too. I'm still trying to wrap my head around how to use them.

[easytarget]

Yeah, it's not that major of an issue, not remotely game breaking as it is in Rome 2 (where due to agent spam and the refusal after 12 patches to fix it by CA I've stopped playing the game altogether).

Here you just have other Nation's merchants often just appear out of nowhere and buy out either your merchants out in the field or inside your own provinces right under your nose.

I've taken to killing them, which leaves my leader with a bit of a reputation. ;) And I suppose I could just ignore it, it's not like merchants are my main source of income, but I don't know why, but I just can't seem to ignore having this happen, I find it particularly annoying that merchants from my allies poach up all of my merchants.

So, figured I'd hit the forum and see how others handle it.

[Myth]

Just park a unit on them. And don't place more than one merchant on a resource with a unit or fort on top of it. It's called merchant fort and it's a very game-breaking exploit.

[Gregoshi]

I've not run into my merchants being killed or put out of business yet.

I spoke too soon. Two bought out right after they setup shop. Rather annoying.

[TinnedCan]

The problem is, that ive been putting merchants on, lets say, 10 florin per turn resources, only for a turn before moving on, and then I get bought out. Then the rival merchant just moves on. Whats up with that!?