Bandits not so bad

[Mangudai]

I noticed that devastation caused by bandits does little to reduce your income. Playing as Russia I noticed that bandits usually reduce income by 24f or so when they are standing on my farmland. They also cause some unrest, but this is only about two icons worth, not a serious problem. The only real threat I've encountered has been bandits ambushing me when i move family members about.

I conclude from this that it is not worth recruiting troops just to take out bandits. And, if you have the troops it is usually not worth using them to beat bandits.

Bandits help your defense. If someone invades you, bandits will get in their way. The AI seems drawn to bandits, it almost never bypasses them. On a cost basis this is the best deal in defense when there is any chance of an enemy faction going that way.

I'm still fairly new at this game so I'm not sure if bandits sometimes inflict more serious damage. Has anyone seem them interfere with ports or mines? Or do anything that causes >100f of damage per turn?

[Nikos_Rouvelas]

When they stood on my road in Constantinople province my income went fro 3800 to 2300. I guess it depends.

[Midnight]

No idea, really - I generally ignore them, unless they're directly blocking my path. I'd rather kill the troops of another faction than bandits and rebels, since I'll lose a few of my own men in the process (most of the time).

[icek]

i always kill them, your general may think that by doing this hes more important to you and gain loyalty bonuses. armies without generals can produce addoption option also

[WhiskeyGhost]

I think the income hit from having devastation is based on how many soldiers are present too. I had a single unit of rebel peasants only hit me for about 1 florin, while that mean stack of about 3 DCK's, 4Longbowmen, a General, and 2 or so Chivalric Knights was making my territory damned near unprofitable.....

may just be a personal observation though, also, don't forget to add in any factors like hidden armies, i think they still devastate even though they are in an ambush....

[Zarky]

As said, rebels are good practise to generals, good way to get either BattleChivalry or -Dread.
And that they will stand on your roads blocking trade, they will also take over your watchtowers if one is nearby, and they mostly retreat if too strong AI attacks, and sometimes their retreat might be little weird (like go to other side of river, when there´s no crossing point for example)