Mercenaries...

[HotNifeThruButr]

Don't merc companies with less men cost less money?

I throw mercs into the blender all the time, they've got no real loyalty to me and I've none for them.

[Firebreath]

Originally posted by HotNifeThruButr:
Don't merc companies with less men cost less money?

Yes. Some. I think they loose maybe 1/3 of their original cost, without the troops. This doesn't seem logical, if you only look at unit commanders, but many merc leaders are also wizzards, and it would not make sense go 'give' wizzards away at ridiculously low prices, which is probably why it's only 1/3. As it is a (relatively) minor issue, the devs havn't bothered doing anything more complicated (i think).

I throw mercs into the blender all the time, they've got no real loyalty to me and I've none for them.

That's their purpose. You're paying them to either: kill lots of enemy in 3 turns, or else save lots of your own units being killed in those 3 turns by dying themselves. Since most mercs are ordinary heavy inf. or worse, the second choice is the only one. Anything else is either bluffing the AI into thinking you're stronger than or are, or else wasting you $.

And to answer the thread creator, when you hire a merc, it tells you 'bob has x men and costs y gold' - so you know exactly how many men he has with him. After a while, you remember what kind of men they are (usually heavy inf).

[LintMan]

Originally posted by Firebreath:
Yes. Some. I think they loose maybe 1/3 of their original cost, without the troops. This doesn't seem logical, if you only look at unit commanders, but many merc leaders are also wizzards, and it would not make sense go 'give' wizzards away at ridiculously low prices, which is probably why it's only 1/3. As it is a (relatively) minor issue, the devs havn't bothered doing anything more complicated (i think).

The way I thought it worked was that the mercs price remained constant, until no one bids on them, and then they start dropping the price. I know for sure that the depleted mercs I had mentioned originally still cost the same to rehire as when they had a full complement.

And to answer the thread creator, when you hire a merc, it tells you 'bob has x men and costs y gold' - so you know exactly how many men he has with him. After a while, you remember what kind of men they are (usually heavy inf).

Well, you know how many mercs they currently have, but not how many they started with (unless you happen to remember). In the case I mention with the "red-somthing" merc, it was something like "Red has 0 men and costs 80 gold". I (incorrectly) assumed Red was some sort of devil or other lone tough character, like Mighty Pak-ur, rather than a fairly standard commander with no troops, costing that much money. I guess the trick is to pay more attention to the mercs, so then as you say, after a while I'd have a better idea of what they are offering.

[Chris Byler]

Originally posted by HotNifeThruButr:
Don't merc companies with less men cost less money?

I throw mercs into the blender all the time, they've got no real loyalty to me and I've none for them.

No. Mercs that are unemployed lower their gold demand gradually, but mercs that take heavy casualties and are then released start at the same demand they were at before they were hired.

If you're in a game with highly competitive merc bidding, mangled merc companies might cost less, but their base cost is unaffected by casualties. If they entire merc company routs but the commander survives behind others of your troops, the lone commander tries to charge the cost of a full 50 man company, if anyone is foolish enough to hire him. That's exactly what happened in the original post.

[PhilD]

Originally posted by HotNifeThruButr:
Don't merc companies with less men cost less money?

I throw mercs into the blender all the time, they've got no real loyalty to me and I've none for them.

The real trick is to guess when someone will try to steal them from you, and blend them right on that turn. IIRC, movement and battles happen before merc hiring, so they bid on the full company, and buy what's left after the month's fighting. (even better if you send them in their blender)

[Taqwus]

Eh, you could give one a Bane Venom Charm right before the contract expires. It's not cursed so it can be removed, but with a bit of luck you'll disease somebody of whoever next hires 'em.

[PhilD]

Originally posted by Taqwus:
Eh, you could give one a Bane Venom Charm right before the contract expires. It's not cursed so it can be removed, but with a bit of luck you'll disease somebody of whoever next hires 'em.

You're an evil man, Taqwus, but that Bane Venom Charm is rather likely to come back under heavy stealth...

(plus, do Mercs accept to give away stuff that you equip them with?)