Re: Mercenaries, Morale and Munchies
 

If I were going to give up mercenaries, and especially if I believed that somebody else wanted them, and I had the gems, I might consider giving them items that would either make them a lot less useful (e.g. a berserk-causing item for a mage, or two eyes of aiming http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif to blind them). Or one might give 'em items that'll really hurt the buyer more, like Bane Venom Charms (which *would* be removable if the owner weren't a mercenary...).

As for rebids -- the game's default bid (if you choose to bid) is your original bid, but whatever number you use will be doubled in effect. Hence, if it's a mercenary team that normally wants a minimum of 240 gold, you could get away with bidding 120 if they're currently in your service and nobody else bids more than 240.

[ December 20, 2003, 20:40: Message edited by: Taqwus ]

Re: Mercenaries, Morale and Munchies
 

I have noticed that sometimes you need to bid more than exactly half on the re-bid. Previously, I would frequently have mercs leave, but not be taken by another. I check the math and upped my bids tiny bit, to cover rounding off errors. It helped, but once in a while they would still take off. Now I just put in ten or so gold pieces more (larger for more expensive Groups) and the problem seems solved.

Anyone else face this problem?

Re: Mercenaries, Morale and Munchies
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">There's little I find more irritating than losing a rebid so I always pour a bit of extra gold in to grease the wheels. I figure a dozen gold here or there ain't gonna break the bank.

~Aldin

Re: Mercenaries, Morale and Munchies
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">I never bid for mercs in SP, at least early, because it bias completely your appraisal of the race you test. But thats because SP for me is always a preparation for MP.

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">really depend. If you get the shambler company and you really want to wet your feet, then yes doubling what they want can (should in MP) be done. On the other hand, if its turn 30 and you just want mercs to renforce slightly one of your army, then you will not want to pay much above the regular price.

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">morale boosting items can act like a standard, that is they suppress partly the morale penalty incurred by troops which already failed there morale loss check. I would think that the spells does somehow the same thing, and dont really boost the base morale.

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">each supply point that you dont have will result in a starvation icon given randomly (I think!) to a unit. Starvation give -4 morale. Next turn, if you are still undersupplied, units which are already starving and get again a starvation pick can become diseased. And then they are generally doomed (loose 1 hp a turn, cant recuperate except by battle spells). You might not notice the problem but it can be a battle looser.

Re: Mercenaries, Morale and Munchies
 

Bump!

My old observation still stands. Over multiple re-hiring, the price of a mercenary seems to go up. If I stick at the offer of about 55% of their asking price, they will eventually leave. They do not go to another nation, they go back into the pool.

Have others noticed this or, as many would suggest, am I living in my own reality?

Re: Mercenaries, Morale and Munchies
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">I have not noticed this. If I ever manage to find and hire, say, the Eternal Knights, I do my best to keep them forever or kill them off. And they always ask for 50 during rebidding time.

Since the original posters mentioned this, I would also like to add that it would be wonderful if computer-AI nations would either bid more competitively on mercs or that mercs would be less frequent and/or numerous in the early game. And they will actually ruin themselves by spending insane amounts of money on, say, Guiseppe IV who normally commands 100 men but now commands only 2 because I killed them all.

And one (tiny) bug (?): I purchased Guiseppe at some point in a SP and when I wanted to change some gems around, noticed that he had "-1" fire gems. How can he have negative gems?

Re: Mercenaries, Morale and Munchies
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Yep. Another thing that would help 'fix' mercenaries would be if they recruited when their strength was down. Possibly not while actively hired, but ... What mercenary captain, out of work and out of men, isn't going to recruit?

In MP, I've noticed there'll sometimes be 4 or 5 mercenary companies open for employment. Sadly, they're all combat companies, and they've been used and discarded, sometimes with no men, sometimes with 1 or 2 out of a full complement of 20-60. And still asking very near full price. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon9.gif