Mercenaries, Morale and Munchies

[aldin]

So in the interest of exploring the concepts a bit further:

Mercs: Why do they seem SO powerful early in the game? It almost feels like cheating to amass a few armies of mercs in an SP game and go stomping through the countryside. Do experienced players limit themselves to a single merc contract at any given time to keep the challenge up?

Also, in MP, how much do these guys go for? Double the asking price?

Morale: I seem to notice I lose a lot of combats I would win with a morale reinforcing priest. Are morale boosting items as good as having a priest along? Should you always try to send a priest with a merc army?

Munchies: How bad is the starvation effect? I've had it happen for a couple of turns but it didn't seem to have a big effect on my army. Is it worse the more you exceed the supply cap?

Thanks for the enlightenment!

~Aldin

[NTJedi]

Mercs: Why do they seem SO powerful early in the game?

I would agree that in the beginning too many mercenaries appear... plus the computer opponents don't offer any competition during the bidding. Even worse is the AI opponents will go and hire mercenaries which have only 2 men left out of 50... and still paying full price. AI design flaw


*****

Another issue about mercenaries is that usually by day_100 players don't see mercenaries anymore. Hopefully future patches will have new mercenaries appear late in the game for long games.

[Taqwus]

Mercenaries are powerful early because they're experienced, frequently decently equipped, sometimes very numerous (pikemen formations, notably) or otherwise extra-spiffy (amphibious, for instance). You're also normally dealing with indies early, which aren't that powerful compared to late-game armies.
Getting those troops early on, often far faster than you could recruit equivalent national or indy troops, can boost your expansion prospects considerably.

Starvation can hurt badly: all starving units have a -4 morale. If their morale wasn't all that good already (e.g. Mictlan slaves, all sorts of militia) or other negative modifiers apply (e.g. Dark Skies) they'll be VERY brittle. Too much starvation can cause the (terminal) disease affliction. Sieging a long-held Dead Ermor citadel is Not Fun; bring your own supply items or pay the price.

Priests will help not only due to Sermon of Courage but also Blessing / Divine Blessing, at least if you have sacred troops. The morale-boosting standards also only operate in a radius around the commander, while prayers have long range.

[ December 19, 2003, 22:23: Message edited by: Taqwus ]

[Gandalf Parker]

In multiplayer games the mercs are popular but not as much as you might think. In a solo game ANY set of mercs are useful when you can get them at only a few gold above the asking price. Im MP games it depends on the mercs. Some nations badly need a strong front-line to add to the units they start with. Others have a strong front-line and badly need support units. Some need researchers and item makers more than others. And Pangaea is so penalized (the mercs demand much more) that they are willing to bid high on the few mercs that look on them with favor.

As for starvation, you can stand it for short periods. It will lower your fighting ability but you can come out of it quickly if the next province has enough food to feed you. But if you stay too long in a starving position I believe you will get the big red hearts showing more permanent afflictions.

[aldin]

Great info as always gang! Boy am I starting to get the itch to try out MP. A few follow up questions if I might:

1) So starvation is a gradual thing, that explains why a turn or two never killed me. Does starvation apply to everyone in the province or only to a random selection of those 'above the cap'?

2) Do you see a lot of 'merc stealing' in MP?

3) Anyone ever give items to mercs?

4) Are the morale boosting items the equivalent of a priest spell (i.e. horn=sermon)?

~Aldin

[PvK]

Originally posted by aldin:
...

1) So starvation is a gradual thing, that explains why a turn or two never killed me. Does starvation apply to everyone in the province or only to a random selection of those 'above the cap'?

Yes. You can check, if you want to spend the time, to see exactly who is hungry and who isn't. You can then send the hungry troops somewhere with food, if you want to take the time, and you have the spare commanders to do so.

...
3) Anyone ever give items to mercs?

I have done it a few times.

4) Are the morale boosting items the equivalent of a priest spell (i.e. horn=sermon)?
...

I don't think so. I think they give a bonus to the morale of nearby units. Priest spells restore lost morale, I think. So, for example, an item will help units before they start getting hurt, while priest spells can be cast repeatedly for more and more effect. At least, that's been my reading.

PvK