How do you thrive financially?

[uruk-hai]

i know a great way to make money all you need to look out for is the mongols and timurids.take over all holy lands.with the holy lands under your power you will most likely never run out of money even agian unless you build many many many armys.i have seen the holys lands make a lot of money even more if you have alot of trade rights .

[GFX707]

Merchants, in my experience at least (which is almost none because they seem like a waste of time to me) don't seem to justify their cost.

On spices, slaves and ivory, my average merchants make about 200 per turn....I think my total merchant income is 2000 per turn with all that micromanagement, whereas plain old trade gets me 60000 per turn from just building up ports and bazaars etc.

Can someone let me in on the tricks?

[BadGenome]

Merchants, in my experience at least (which is almost none because they seem like a waste of time to me) don't seem to justify their cost.

On spices, slaves and ivory, my average merchants make about 200 per turn....I think my total merchant income is 2000 per turn with all that micromanagement, whereas plain old trade gets me 60000 per turn from just building up ports and bazaars etc.

Can someone let me in on the tricks?

It probably depends on which faction you're playing. I personally play Venice a lot and find that I can make a killing off of merchants, as northern Italy is pretty much a merchant free-for-all. If you manage to monopolize the textiles there long enough to get the monopolist line of traits and also go aggressively after the early low level AI merchants (who often have zero financial ability, due to being trained in settlements without town halls), you can usually have three or four nearly maxed-out merchants by turn 20ish. Then these moguls can acquire pretty much any two-bit trader that stumbles into their range, thus making you piles of money. But yeah, it is a bit micromanagement intensive.

[icek]

if you play england you can concentrate on building income giving buildings in cities and army in castles, especially after you conquer much of britania.

[Seabourch]

There is path that will give you unlimited money. Simply use cheat codes. I expect to get blasted after posting for using the dark side

[Patricius]

A good merchant on spices will get 600+. The problem with some factions in the Middle East is that a lot of castles and troops are needed to hold back the Mongols. I concentrate development on one or two areas. A navy is rather important to keep trade open. I try to reduce one area entirely to my power, so garrisons there are barely needed. Development, clear trade routes and expansion is a key. Concentrate on maintaining cost efficient armies. e.g. Varangian guards cost only around 150 per turn and fight well. It is helpful that unlike MTW trade is internal as well as external, as in my current Byz game every other faction (except Portugal) is at war with me despite a high (for me) reputation of deceitful. The Moors went to war after I gave them two useless provinces.