Execute or release prisoners?

[General SnuSnu]

Which is better

[Rack]

Depends on the situation

[valky]

If money is high - release; else kill
Some factions can eat/replenish specific or all enemies and go on killing, so that depends.
A few factions have downsides with killing them (Bretonnia & VCoast, if am not mistaken)...others do just fine with any option.

Whatever you prefer...

(release/ransom might have the downside of the enemies' army getting away - while killing it would destroy it, because of the few troops left alive - correct me if am wrong. But you'd get extra XP in destroying it again ^^)

[Garatgh Deloi]

Originally posted by General SnuSnu:

Which is better

Are we talking after battle actions or the new high elf Eltharion prison mechanic?

[mweilbuchner]

hmmm... asking the populus of the US: the first ^^

[valky]

In that case: I so 2nd aboves' opinion.
For a variety of reasons....

[Dominic]

Originally posted by General SnuSnu:

Which is better

I almost always release for the money
Some mission stuff is contingent on other options, unlocking Manfreds buddy requires 10 dominations of prisoners
If it was a close run battle, killing the prisoners probably destroys the enemy army, if your melee army just about beat a war machine / archer force, you might not want a second match

Skaven generally need food more than money, eat the hostages.
Dark Elves need slaves more than ransoms over the medium term.

There are diplomacy penalties for releasing prisoners.
You can wipe out an Orc Factions, and the Dwarfs will be furious you let prisoners go, even if you killed the faction.

[Fryskar]

Originally posted by valky:

If money is high - release; else kill
Some factions can eat/replenish specific or all enemies and go on killing, so that depends.
A few factions have downsides with killing them (Bretonnia & VCoast, if am not mistaken)...others do just fine with any option.

Whatever you prefer...

(release/ransom might have the downside of the enemies' army getting away - while killing it would destroy it, because of the few troops left alive - correct me if am wrong. But you'd get extra XP in destroying it again ^^)

I'm pretty sure that has no effect on the defeated army.

Over all it depends on the situation.
Sometimes you rater want to get + hp, sometimes you need gold and then you maybe don't need either so you pick xp.
Some races have special cases lile vcoast and loyality.

[valky]

Originally posted by Fryskar:

I'm pretty sure that has no effect on the defeated army.

yeah, it's most likely my imagination - without sarcasm!
Sometimes they run away, sometimes they don't....even if the kill-ratio is roughly the same.
And am not talking stances, like forced march or tunneling...

But I have usually agents nearby, that can do one or the other sneaky stuff, like blocking.

edit: but usually it's the kill option for me ^^

[Fryskar]

Originally posted by valky:

Originally posted by Fryskar:

I'm pretty sure that has no effect on the defeated army.

yeah, it's most likely my imagination - without sarcasm!
Sometimes they run away, sometimes they don't....even if the kill-ratio is roughly the same.
And am not talking stances, like forced march or tunneling...

But I have usually agents nearby, that can do one or the other sneaky stuff, like blocking.

edit: but usually it's the kill option for me ^^

An army can run away if:
They aren't in march stance.
Their lord got killed (even in marching stance).

They can't if:
They are in marching or underway.
They are ambushed.
They are in a settlement (garnisoned).
Autoresolve.
Killed below 10% of each's units strenght (dead).

I likely missed some cases.

[srscorpion]

Eat them.

[Tanaka Khan]

Originally posted by srscorpion:

Eat them.

Empire sorta frown upon that...

[valky]

and even after a few couple of hours, you always learn something new in the game ^^
I often like, if they run away - gives me some precious extra XP; specially early on.

Blocking kills them usually always as well - their movement for running away has to be more than 50% of their inherent movement. That's why I got them running away with a fresh agent, but not with my sophisticated blocker....
Or their path is blocked otherwise...

again: agents, they do serve a purpose!

[Fryskar]

Originally posted by valky:

and even after a few couple of hours, you always learn something new in the game ^^
I often like, if they run away - gives me some precious extra XP; specially early on.

Blocking kills them usually always as well - their movement for running away has to be more than 50% of their inherent movement. That's why I got them running away with a fresh agent, but not with my sophisticated blocker....
Or their path is blocked otherwise...

again: agents, they do serve a purpose!

Erm, no.
Their rest movement range can be 0 and they can retreat.

[Mountain King]

If I have an option that replenishes my troops I usually go with that first unless I took barely any casualties. Then my second choice is to look at how much money I'll get for ransom, if it's like 1k+ and I need money then I'll do it but otherwise I won't take the hit to reinforcement (unless there is no hit, i.e. Greenskins, then it's always a strong choice). If I neither need reinforcements nor money that much then I'll go with the middle option, but it's always a last choice because 75 exp and +5 leadership is barely noticeable and if you really want those things you're better off planting a martial hero in your army.

[valky]

Originally posted by Fryskar:

Erm, no.
Their rest movement range can be 0 and they can retreat.

it is measured by their full movement they would have otherwise - it does not matter, what movement they would have otherwise, and that is usually zero!
I had several cases with that...and experimented a few times and that was just my own conclusion: if the movement, they would have usually is restricted to less of 50% their retreat is impossible!
I wonder, why a few armies could retreat, even if blocked otherwise - but that involved a fresh agent with no traits & skills in that particular example.
(it's a very rare case, though! I might give it another shot - but am pretty sure of it)