MTW Mercenaries

Mercenaries are hired from Inns. If a province has an Inn, when opening the unit recruitment scroll, tabs will appear to choose between normal recruitment and hiring mercenaries. Mercenaries purchased are available immediately, and can be moved before the end of the turn they are hired on.

Availability

Mercenaries show up according to the mercenary "magnetism" of the province. The higher the magnetism, the more likely mercenaries will appear. The magnetism increases the closer the province is to another faction's border. Certain buildings will also affect this value.

• Fort: -10%
• Keep: -15%
• Castle: -20%
• Citadel: -30%
• Fortress: -40%
• Inn: +40%
• Constable's Palace: -10%
• Marshal's Palace: -10%

The types of mercenaries that appear depend on many factors. Some provinces allow special unit types, both recruitable and mercenary-only. Some units are available in certain eras only.

Uses

Mercenaries can be useful in lots of different ways. Their main advantage is quick recruitment of units to fill a pressing need. Some units available for hire may perform a role that the faction could not normally fill, while others are ideal for cannon fodder.

Mercenary units can be put into crusades and jihads. Doing so eliminates the annual upkeep cost, and is a good way to pad out a crusade.

Limitations

Mercenary units cannot be retrained or merged with other units, so eventually they will get smaller and less useful as they take casualties. This means they also cannot be upgraded for armour or weapons.

The AI will not hire mercenaries, so some people believe using mercenaries give the human player an advantage.