Loads of mercenaries and loads of gold in mid game

[4th Regiment]

I guess most of you have encountered this issue while playing in VH, where AI, due to the infinite money it has, spam merc stack likes there is no tomorrow. This not only causes problems in game play, but also in historical realism. For example, now as Dacia, I can hire full stack (even more) of mercenaries in most of the territory (because I am in the mid game, I can afford it). In some mods, like DLV for Kingdoms, merc are much rarer and can be “depleted” in some region for some time. Is it somehow possible to do here?

Also side note...speaking about mid game (some 30 years in game, which is no too much at all). Now I had more money than I can rationally spend...and it is getting worse every turn…while in early game you are totally broke and in big minus...Well...I do not think why you should be totally broke in some point of time and latter you do not know what to do with gold. Not realistic at all. I hope this will be solved in EB2, because game become too easy after some (short) time

[Megas Methuselah]

This is a nice post and all, but before you start saying it's historically inaccurate, you're going to need some sources to back up your claim before the EB Team.

[Mediolanicus]

I guess most of you have encountered this issue while playing in VH, where AI, due to the infinite money it has, spam merc stack likes there is no tomorrow. This not only causes problems in game play, but also in historical realism. For example, now as Dacia, I can hire full stack (even more) of mercenaries in most of the territory (because I am in the mid game, I can afford it). In some mods, like DLV for Kingdoms, merc are much rarer and can be “depleted” in some region for some time. Is it somehow possible to do here?

Also side note...speaking about mid game (some 30 years in game, which is no too much at all). Now I had more money than I can rationally spend...and it is getting worse every turn…while in early game you are totally broke and in big minus...Well...I do not think why you should be totally broke in some point of time and latter you do not know what to do with gold. Not realistic at all. I hope this will be solved in EB2, because game become too easy after some (short) time

That's how the RTW engine works...

You solve that by playing slowly instead of blitzing. In my Romani mid-game (150BC) I had somewhere around 40-50 regions and 20000-60000 mnai.

It was a fun game, to bad my videocard decided to quit on me. And then my motherbord fried...

Anyway, RTW is a game. If you play to win, you win.
EB is an experience, so experience it.


About the mercenaries: they were a very, very, very common sight in during this time. Often whole armies were indeed hired, both from local warriors who saw their opportunity and from professional mercenaries.

Playing on H instead of VH will reduce the number of mercenaries in AI armies.

[Megas Methuselah]

Anyway, RTW is a game. If you play to win, you win.
EB is an experience, so experience it.

Hey, that's a nice way of putting it. Whenever I see someone who plays EB to win the game by blitzing the required amount of provinces in 40 turns and then immediately quitting the campaign, something inside me dies and I lose further faith in humanity.

[4th Regiment]

Ah..come one guys..I am old fun of EB...I enjoy to read every single description and historical year overview during game....veteran of TW, I am not blizing (if you do not count first few turns, when it is only other option instead of disbanding 90% of your army). After I jump out of debt, I spend last bit of money to rise every single building...while trying to slow down the game...

Merc were common...but not to rise full stack or more, in one turn at one place....of course many locals were paid to serve in armies, but this can be simulated through regular recruitment from local barracks - which is basically it. Or eventually to have special "merc buildings" as suggestion for EB2 (like it is in some MTW2 mods)

[XSamatan]

You can always change the maximum amount of mercenaries found in EB\Data\world\maps\campaign\imperial_campaign\DESCR_MERCENARIES.TXT
Simply change the values behind 'max' to 1. Furthermore you can decrease the replenishment rate.
This will have massive influence on gameplay, as the AI isn't clever enough to build good barracks and government types to recruit high-tier troops outside expansion regions. The availability of mercs helps the AI to get armies to conquer.

If you want to prove it is a-historical to have many mercs inside a army, you have to come with some academic resources to prove your sight.

XSamatan

[4th Regiment]

I think good option in future EB2 would be ability to build some monumental building, awersome wonders of the ancient world, which will improve your king's infulence and prestige and solve problem with too much money in late/mid game (I simply do not want to spent money on huge armies, since it will make game too easy )

[Spike]

then you can try to not build mines.....

[Faramir D'Andunie]

Try building massive fleets? They can sure soak up money very well.

[Boriak]

In my current Roman campaign (229 BC) I could be rolling in cash but everytime my profit goes up I build additional armies and/or fleets. So far I have managed to stay under 100k treasury. I want to have some money at hand to hire mercenaries if the need is dire.

If you have too much cash you can always go bribing enemy armies or at least their family members.

[Momus]

(I simply do not want to spent money on huge armies, since it will make game too easy )

What I do to combat the readiness of funds is to raise regional armies - these I just use for my own personal satisfaction to name them in my head, for example in my Makedon campaign I had the 1st, 5th and 6th Thrakian battalions stationed in or near major cities or choke points on my borders to the north of Makedon. These composed of 4-6 elite units and the rest whatever I fancied really.

This helps keep funds lower and also gives you another thing to do and maintain - naming and keeping track of them adds to the depth of gameplay for me. They never go off campaigning - I very really have more than two mobile armies - an offensive army to take cities and then an occupation army that I split up and use as garrison forces as needed.

These regional armies I use to deal with rebels and minor incursions into my kingdom.

[Drewski]

This will have massive influence on gameplay, as the AI isn't clever enough to build good barracks and government types to recruit high-tier troops outside expansion regions. The availability of mercs helps the AI to get armies to conquer.

XSamatan

With all respect to Samatan, this isn't true in any way. I use to play hard and very hard, but got sick and tired of fighting endless battles (generally fighting the same battle time after time), in which you know you are going to win without breaking sweat anyway. Now I only play medium campaigns, a level in which the ai recruits very few (if any) mercs. The key here is giving the ai time. If you blitz the map, then of course it will be easy (but doesn't hard and very hard campaign almost force you to blitz in most cases?) Give the ai time, and you'll still be facing very solid armies.

What made me swap, was the insanity of facing a 4000 man strong army, the enemy general was the SOLE (I kid you not) survivior, pursuing the general-not quite enough MP to catch him- next turn he's sitting there with a 20 stack full of mercs. Loony. About as much fun as kicking yourself in the lower regions.

Also, the govt buildings are automatically constucted for the ai, it doesn't have any choice in the matter.

Anyways, basically what I'm saying, is that on medium campaign difficulty, without mercs, the ai does absolutely fine, and also behaves a little less moronically in the diplomacy dept.

[4th Regiment]

Well, yes, I am playing on M/VH, as suggested by EB team, and AI recruits loads of merc. I am afraid at M, AI will get too passive and not agressive, especially rebels. I am trying to slow down the game..but still...In future EB2, you guys should reduce amount of recruitable merc at one spot of the map. Also, ability to spend lot of money to build ancient wonders will be good thing.

Massive fleets yes....but it is just useless thing...you can also keep money in treasury and do not care...

I was not asking you the ways how to waste your money - What I was trying to say is - in mid and late game, player should also have problems with money. Maybe, even more than in start, since corruption, problems with control over distant governors and incorporation of various tribes/cultures into empire would rise..Now, we have ridiculous shortage of cash in start, forcing you to bliz first few turns, or to disband armies and wait next X turns, more or less doing nothing. And having total abundance of gold later on. It is hard to maintain control under big kingdom, harder than under small one. I hope you understood

This is thing which should be more balanced in next EB2 version, and will make game hard and challenging until the end

[Faramir D'Andunie]

I wouldn't say you are forced to blitz, many factions on start are better off disbanding their armies/reorganising/buidling up something they can afford and then see what they can do.

About keeping the money in the treasure, they eventually start giving negative traits to generals.

By the way you can always modify the merc availability and see how it works.

[Manoflooks]

I never blitz, but I think not blitzing makes it even easier. Okay, admittedly I'm playing as Rome atm, but it's around 210 BC I believe, I have all Italy, destroyed Carthage, and half of Spain, and I havent dropped below 200000 for about 200 turns ish. This is with 60K a turn military upkeep, and when I see an enemy army and I'm not ready, I recruit a full stack of mercenaries and destroy it. Getting money in this game is too easy if you are in the Mediterranean, I'd wager.