The enemy merchants have huge advantage over mine merchants!

**Handel** · 12-08-2006, 04:15

Some guy here explained how successfull is he when attacking with his merchants. This is simply not true even on medium. My merchant 7 points vs enemy merchants 7 points has only 21% chance of win. So I decided to wait the enem yattack. Well, from 6 attacks all the 6 were successfull. So with equal merchant or even close point the enemy merchants are killing machines.
Of course you can spend half an hour reloading until you win - but it is much quicker simply to activate the cheats.

**BigTex** · 12-08-2006, 05:28

It isnt a straightforward 21%. There's a significant bonus if the merchant is in it's own factions territory. There is also have a significant penalty if the merchant is in foriegn lands. Other then that it's luck.

**Musashi** · 12-08-2006, 05:52

Yeah... it says 21%, but the attacker will always win more often than the defender, as far as I can see. So hit his merchants instead of waiting for him to hit yours.

**andrewt** · 12-08-2006, 05:55

That might explain why my merchants got completely owned in my territory by an attack from a merchant with the same or +1 skill against me. =

**Shahed** · 12-08-2006, 11:17

I hide my merchants till they have at least +4 Finance. Then I pick a spot for them, best one that I can. Leave them for 2-3 years. If the pick up another +1 Finance I move them. Once they are at about +6 Finance, I try to hunt as many merchants as I can. If they hit 50 years, I don't care if they are still finance +1, I send them hunting. If they get wtfpwnedbbqed who cares.

Usually by 50 they are +5 -> +7 Finance, and then you can use them to take out n00b merchants.

Best congestion spots are next to Venice, those mountain passes in Tyrolia/Bavaria, Constantinople (doh!), basically send them out to aggressively kill merchants.

**Lord of the Isles** · 12-08-2006, 12:51

Originally Posted by Handel

Some guy here explained how successfull is he when attacking with his merchants. This is simply not true even on medium. My merchant 7 points vs enemy merchants 7 points has only 21% chance of win. So I decided to wait the enem yattack. Well, from 6 attacks all the 6 were successfull. So with equal merchant or even close point the enemy merchants are killing machines.
Of course you can spend half an hour reloading until you win - but it is much quicker simply to activate the cheats.

Don't take on level 7s with your own level 7s.

Like Sinan, I farm my merchants. Once they get to 5-7 (not too tough if you only produce them in cities with a Merchant's Guild), I send them out to attack enemy merchants with much lower stats. I'd only go for an enemy 7 with a level 10 (and even then, I might just leave a level 7 alone unless my merchant was at such an advanced age that he'd be dying in a few years anyway).

**Handel** · 12-08-2006, 13:29

Originally Posted by Lord of the Isles

Don't take on level 7s with your own level 7s.

I didn't - I just decided to test the "attack enemy merchants" thingy. Otherwise it is simple - just remove your merchant from the resource and no one attacks him.

**Musashi** · 12-08-2006, 16:28

I send my merchants out attacking the moment they come out... That way the ones who survive get up to max finance fast, and since you get 1-2000 gold for every acquisition, you tend to come out ahead in the long run. Once they hit6-8 finance I send them to timbuktu.

**Handel** · 12-08-2006, 17:21

Originally Posted by Musashi

I send my merchants out attacking the moment they come out... That way the ones who survive get up to max finance fast, and since you get 1-2000 gold for every acquisition, you tend to come out ahead in the long run. Once they hit6-8 finance I send them to timbuktu.

Well, if you aren't a fan of non-stop reloading, you will lose much more money attacking because of the cost of newly recruited merchants replacements. Merchants with 3-4 starts have less then 15% chance of success even against low starts enemy merchants. But again, the reloading rullz...