Quote Originally Posted by Dayve
But how realistic is it to use mercenaries as death fodder, arrow sponges or just send them to a certain death to tire out the enemy before your own troops go in?
Storming walls and the like was always a business for first class elite troopers. They knew it was going to be nasty, they expected it to become nasty, and it always became nasty. That is the reason why the soldiers (mercs in particular) always run amok when the town was taken "by storming hand".

Mercenaries considered themselves to be elite soldiers, or at least better than the majority of your militia army, and better than the levy soldiers that were defending a town. So, it would be realistic for them to volunteer for such an assault, but only when it was guaranteed in advandce that they will have the opportunity to plunder the town afterwards. When you take the town by using mercs, you should click "exterminate" afterwards and destroy all unique buildings and all those high upgraded ones that give you a good sum in plunder.


On the other hand, beeing the "first on the wall" was also a question of honor. When you play the Sweboz or KH the most experinced bodyguard of a FM - if not the General himself - should lead the charge. The same with other factions when you have some factional elite unit, especially when this is experinced, among your army these soldiers will certainly demand to be the first to attack.

Casulties? Well, you don't pay your Agema units 700+ per season to act as spectators as soon as it becomes a little dangerous and to hide behind some hired foreigners.