AOR / Mercenary

[CaptainB]

Hey guys!

Sorry, guess this has been asked some time before ... However, since I cannot find the issue, I hope you won't mind too much if I ask it here again:

Can anybody explain to me the difference between a mercenary unit and an AOR unit? I mean, both are bought via the mercenary menu, both are more or less in style with the current region, and I seem not to be able to retrain any of those units.

Thanks for the reading!
CaptainB

[Voice of Treason]

...Mercenaries are recruited from the open countryside of regions by Generals...
...AOR seems when as one faction you conquer a AOR CAPITAL Region of another. A prime example is Bavacum, where for arguments sake, as Gauls, if conquered and developed you now have access to loads more Germanic units. These AOR can be replenished. AOR is a very good idea to keep the game refreshing considering all the units look very good...

[CaptainB]

Oh, wow. Guess you're right, then. I only had the one AOR celtic archer you begin with when playing the Averns, and I couldn't replenish that at one of my cities even though I could produce regular celtic archers there. So when those AOR units started appearing in the mercenary screen, I started to be confused.

Thanks for your answer!

[MasterOfThessus]

Thre are three types of units: Faction, AOR and Mercenary.

Faction: Can only be hired by a specific faction, often at specific places on the map. Sacred Band (Carthage) and the Roman legions are a good example.

AOR: Can be recruited by all, or most, factions if they have the rigth type of government in the rigth place on the map. You'll only find gallic AOR in the gallic areas, and a good example of this is the various types of Caetraeta (Iberia) and Poleis Hoplite (Greece)

Mercenaries: Can be recruited by any general with enough money. They are devided into "pools", so you are more likely to find warbands in the north and hoplites in the south.

[Visarion]

hey I have a question Carthaginians are able to recruit Iberians, Celtiberians, Celts and/or Italics only as mercs or from the cities too?

[Bull3pr00f de Bodemloze]

From cities as well. While it is often said that Carthage only used "mercenaries" the term is, as you know, misleading.