[BUG] No mercenaries available

[Señor Mustacho]

I have this weird bug where fewer and fewer mercenaries are available in the game.
This gets worse to the point no mercenaries are available anymore. They did not refresh each month anymore.

Anyone else got this bug or knows how to fix this?

[Scaristotle]

Yeah, it's currently an issue with the AI Lord sharing the merc pool with the player. There is a mod that fixes it on Nexus. As for an official fix, there was a poll about it on the official Discord, so a solution is being worked on.

[Monk]

Not a bug, it's the way they're currently implemented. There's a limited amount available throughout the game.

The AI Baron will buy them if you don’t and once purchased, they’re gone. Get your treasury running early (busting raider camps) and purchase the merc group within your budget and don’t dismiss them. Once dismissed they can't be re-hired.

[Silent Hunter]

Yeahh mee to I have this bug every round in the final part where you have to battle against the baron, I thought it was to put more difficulty to the game after losing every time against the baron because I couldn't contract any mercenary, then I realised it was a bug xd. I will ask to Greg on the official discord to fix it.

[IveGotNoIdea]

Originally posted by Monk:

Not a bug, it's the way they're currently implemented. There's a limited amount available throughout the game.

It is a bug. AI does not pay upkeep, so it can buy all the mercs and keep them indifinitelly.

[Monk]

Originally posted by IveGotNoIdea:

It is a bug. AI does not pay upkeep, so it can buy all the mercs and keep them indifinitelly.

It’s not a bug if it’s the way the dev intended the mechanic to work. You can call it a strong slant towards the AI but it’s not a bug.

You can eventually overcome this early advantage.

[Señor Mustacho]

It wasnt this way in the earliers version wasnt it? I used to be able to dismiss the mercenares and be able to rehire them later on.

[Monk]

Originally posted by Señor Mustacho:

It wasnt this way in the earliers version wasnt it? I used to be able to dismiss the mercenares and be able to rehire them later on.

Were you able to re-hire the same group of mercs?

MY first pre-patch "learn the game" playthrough lasted about a year (realized the importance of early raider camps), dismissed a group and they were no longer available.

[IveGotNoIdea]

You can rehire mercs, but if the AI grabs them first, you are out of luck. And it IS a bug. It makes mercs a useless mechanic after year 3-4 as the AI hires them all. If it was intended, just scrap the mechanic, give the AI bigger army and call it a day.

[Señor Mustacho]

Hildebolt seems te be able to add mercenaries indefinately, while i have no option. So this is gamebreaking in my opnion.

[Monk]

Originally posted by Señor Mustacho:

Hildebolt seems te be able to add mercenaries indefinately, while i have no option. So this is gamebreaking in my opnion.

Wouldn’t call it a bug, more like “you’re not going to fly through this game” mechanic.

You can eventually get back the military advantage but it’s going to require claiming regions, maximizing retinue, and having a male population in your home region large enough to fill a potential 180 militia positions. That’s going to take some time.

The implementation of the audacious royal tax will now add even more time than initially expected to max out the retinue. Personally, I like the idea behind the concept of stretching the game out (still needs some tweaking).

Too easy, too fast doesn’t make a good candidate for repeat playability.

*edited to correct potential militia to 180

[safeguardgetamped]

Originally posted by Monk:

Originally posted by IveGotNoIdea:

It is a bug. AI does not pay upkeep, so it can buy all the mercs and keep them indifinitelly.

It’s not a bug if it’s the way the dev intended the mechanic to work. You can call it a strong slant towards the AI but it’s not a bug.

You can eventually overcome this early advantage.

It's a bug. I don't have a problem dealing with enemies using my armies.
The problem is not just that. I hired Local Thug to fight enemies and broken.
The Thug fled (not all thugs died) and then AI hired them.
now I have a new problem. I pay them -15 every month even though I don't have them.

https://imgur.com/a/LpcGpFO

I can't hire them back (AI hired) but I keep paying for them. they are real thugs.
I beat another field of AI and also prevented them from claiming.
there are no other ways to get them back on the market for hiring.
I can claim All maps but this is an Endless goal setup for improving my Hugh Towns.
I leave them alive for entertainment. if AI hired them,
there should be some ways to bring them back when fighting them. not all GONE.

[silent mike]

If all the mercs were available late game would be too easy combined with militia. Try playing on the relaxed preset if you want more mercs to stay in the pool longer.

[lukeliu]

Originally posted by Monk:

Originally posted by Señor Mustacho:

Hildebolt seems te be able to add mercenaries indefinately, while i have no option. So this is gamebreaking in my opnion.

Wouldn’t call it a bug, more like “you’re not going to fly through this game” mechanic.

You can eventually get back the military advantage but it’s going to require claiming regions, maximizing retinue, and having a male population in your home region large enough to fill a potential 180 militia positions. That’s going to take some time.

The implementation of the audacious royal tax will now add even more time than initially expected to max out the retinue. Personally, I like the idea behind the concept of stretching the game out (still needs some tweaking).

Too easy, too fast doesn’t make a good candidate for repeat playability.

*edited to correct potential militia to 180

Yes, you can always rehire. Even if your entire group of mercenaries is wiped out, they reappear after a while. However, they start to disappear at certain points during the game. It doesn't really matter whether the AI hires them or not. They sometimes just disappear forever suddenly after disbanding in a very random way. The randomness of this behavior is what makes it seem like a bug.

[8BitEnjoyer]

Its almost impossible to get the only merc achievement when u cant hire anything after year 3-4 how can i kill 10 units on the last spot with 4-5 units of mercs, i already have tried it at least 10 times restarting over and over again but there is no chance u can get enough mercs to take over the last spot. Any tipps?

[naykkija]

I have similar issue. But I got merc's but they died and I'm still paying them, unable to get them back as well. Lol