re-training Mercenaries

[Exarch]

i'm really not sure how it happened, but after a battle i had a unit of dismounted crusader knights, and over a turn their numbers started being replenished while beig in a city.
has any1else observed this?
can merc units be retrained??

[Rodrico Stak]

I have never noticed Crusade/Jihad mercenaries replenishing, but mercenaries can be retrained provided that they are available for recruitment in that province. I don't think that it is possible to retrain Crusaders/Jihaders.

[Exarch]

hmmm that's probably wat happened
have u noticed that some mercs especially merc dismounted feudal knights have better stats than regular feudl knights?

[Rodrico Stak]

hmmm that's probably wat happened
have u noticed that some mercs especially merc dismounted feudal knights have better stats than regular feudl knights?

I would guess that this is because since they are good enough to sell themselves as sell swords, then they must be exceptionally good, right?

[Pontifex Maximus]

mercenaries arent worth retraining

[Exarch]

i would agree with u on that count pontoifexmaximus; i tend to use mercs in sieges as arrow fodder, and/or to swamp the enemy; except for the fact that some mercs are so good and have exceptional veterancy, like the merc dismounted knights u can recruit on crusades...man i hd one with attack 23-25, and defence 22 or so.roughly

[Sith_Lord]

I personally hire a lot of mercs only available on crusades and them keep them in my armies after the crusade, because the Dismounted Fuedal knights are a good buy for what they can do. I had one unit of them walk through a street filled with spearmen. They just cut them up, got like 4 or 5 chevrons of experience out of it as well.

[Razbojnik]

When i'm crusading,80% of my army are mercs because they are better than regular units,and cheaper to buy while on crusade

[Exarch]

so do mercs in cities just automatically get retrained to full unit status, or do u have to do it urself? retrain them?

[Trajan]

If it's available, you have to retrain them yourself.

[Lost Crusader]

If an unit suffers heavy casualties, sometimes it auto-merges after the battle. That is probably what happened to you.

[loquar]

If an unit suffers heavy casualties, sometimes it auto-merges after the battle. That is probably what happened to you.

I have never experienced this auto-merge. Is it a regular thing? I wouldnt want it to happen as merged units can lose chevrons and i would rather retrain 2 units than have them merge unless the merge was my choice.

Ive seen enemy units merge after battles but never my own

[Exarch]

yeh, i find the dismounted merc knights only worthy enoguh to keep renewing their contracts. i have a 5 veteran units of dismounted merc knights as my generals' entourage and bodyguard in Antioch.
let's see the AI try an take down that city!

[Surgeon]

I usually maintain my mercs when I have too much money to throw around (tends to happen often) because I like "unique elite armies". That, and I usually keep them around after a successful crusade when they have to hold the fort while I build up the city and convert the populace. By the time I'm done, they're usually anywhere from two silver to one gold chevron up the rank ladder and I'm reluctant to disband them.

[Exarch]

yeh, mercs are bloody expensive tho!
even the ones i generally use as fodder....
i especially like the late period mercs u can recruit in europe like the free company men-at-arms or the condottieri

[Surgeon]

I think it happens when a unit's number of men falls beneath a certain value. Not sure if this applies to all units, but in general it seems to be somewhere around 5 men or less, at which point the unit will merge or disappear if there's nobody to merge with.

In some cases, like if you accept a ransom for 2 knights, they will stay as a separate unit. Also, more often than not, units with very few men remaining will heal a few casualties if they're victorious in battle, thus bringing their total number back up over the limit.

[Lost Crusader]

I've never seen an unit disappear (unless destroyed in the battle, ofc), but if it's down to cca 10% its original size, it will be merged.

[antaeus]

yeah it could be a merging unit thing. they do that after tough battles.

personally i love some mercs. there are plenty of powerful ones who really do damage. especially late in the game - they can provide added punch by diversifying your army.

[COMIS -3- ΠΑΝΙΩΝΑΡΑ]

Check the Serbian Knights and the Serbian Hussars mercs,they are the excellent,also you can hire the mercenary Monster Bombard,arquebusiers and i think Elephants(in african regions and after the Timurids invasion).For me playing as Byzantium the Monster Bombard and the gunners are great additions to my army