Call me stupid but I don't really understand the Mercenary System

[MasterAub]

Hi guys and gals,
Can someone explain to me (like if I was 4) how the mercenary system works?
Thanks

[Jarmer]

Okay little Billy, here's the deal, if you do bad things like hurt people or take things that arent yours, bad men will come to hurt you. If you hurt the bad men, stronger bad men will come. They will never stop trying to hurt you until you stop doing bad things.

[MasterAub]

Thanks Jarmer. So there is an infinite number of mercenary that will come after the player if the player continues on stealing things ? There is no way for me to kill them all?

I guess when I take drachme or things that display a red pin when I am hovering above those it's called stealing?

Finally can I recruit them for my ship and if yes does this count as winning fight?

[Darth Revan]

Originally posted by MasterAub:

Thanks Jarmer. So there is an infinite number of mercenary that will come after the player if the player continues on stealing things ? There is no way for me to kill them all?

I guess when I take drachme or things that display a red pin when I am hovering above those it's called stealing?

Finally can I recruit them for my ship and if yes does this count as winning fight?

they get randomly generated and fill up the slots of those you killed.

they come after you whenever you get a bounty on your head.

you can recruit them for your crew

[MasterAub]

Originally posted by Legatus Lucanus:

they get randomly generated and fill up the slots of those you killed.

they come after you whenever you get a bounty on your head.

you can recruit them for your crew

Cool thanks mate

[TonyGun]

Originally posted by MasterAub:

I guess when I take drachme or things that display a red pin when I am hovering above those it's called stealing?

Finally can I recruit them for my ship and if yes does this count as winning fight?

Because the higher your bounty level, the more mercs will come at you at once, you probably should know how to control your bounty level.

Your bounty level rises when do bad things WHILE people are seeing you doing them.

- Therefore, if you want to do bad things while not wanting to raise bounty level, make sure you do them outside of their audio / vision cone... while you remain hidden, or blocked from their view, etc.

- If you want to steal things while civilians are nearby, you can try to scare them away, ie, pointing your bow at them, shooting arrows at their feet, cast Flaming / Poison Attacks etc.

- Defeating your target non-lethally will not raise your bounty level in the eyes of the public. So you can first knock someone out and then carry them away from the public or into cover bushes to finish them off.

- Yes, mercs & other enemies are considered defeated when you recruit them*. Some mercs will have notes / clues on other mercs and quest-specific targets that you obtain when you loot them.

* Some quest-specific mercs and NPCs are not recruitable and must be confirmed as killed.

[MasterAub]

Originally posted by TonyGun:

Because the higher your bounty level, the more mercs will come at you at once, you probably should know how to control your bounty level.

Your bounty level rises when do bad things WHILE people are seeing you doing them.

- Therefore, if you want to do bad things while not wanting to raise bounty level, make sure you do them outside of their audio / vision cone... while you remain hidden, or blocked from their view, etc.

- If you want to steal things while civilians are nearby, you can try to scare them away, ie, pointing your bow at them, shooting arrows at their feet, cast Flaming / Poison Attacks etc.

- Defeating your target non-lethally will not raise your bounty level in the eyes of the public. So you can first knock someone out and then carry them away from the public or into cover bushes to finish them off.

- Yes, mercs & other enemies are considered defeated when you recruit them*. Some mercs will have notes / clues on other mercs and quest-specific targets that you obtain when you loot them.

* Some quest-specific mercs and NPCs are not recruitable and must be confirmed as killed.

Thanks mate, that helps a lot.

[MF]

Originally posted by MasterAub:

Hi guys and gals,
Can someone explain to me (like if I was 4) how the mercenary system works?
Thanks

When you get tired of fighting off the mercs (because they can totally mess with you if you're trying to complete a quest), look at your map and find the guy who sponsored the bounty (a red bag icon on your map). Go murder him and the bounty is cleared. He's invariably a soldier in a warehouse/fort/camp. Or just pay the bounty off if you can afford it and are in a hurry. Or...... wait it out.

And don't think of trying to wait it out on your ship. The mercs have elite ships too and they'll come for you.

[MasterAub]

Originally posted by MF:

Originally posted by MasterAub:

Hi guys and gals,
Can someone explain to me (like if I was 4) how the mercenary system works?
Thanks

When you get tired of fighting off the mercs (because they can totally mess with you if you're trying to complete a quest), look at your map and find the guy who sponsored the bounty (a red bag icon on your map). Go murder him and the bounty is cleared. He's invariably a soldier in a warehouse/fort/camp. Or just pay the bounty off if you can afford it and are in a hurry. Or...... wait it out.

And don't think of trying to wait it out on your ship. The mercs have elite ships too and they'll come for you.

Ok thanks mate that's also very helpful. An finally the mercs system isn't that simple after all. There're much more than meets the eye.

[TristanMike]

In case you hadn't noticed as well, because I didn't for a long time, each "tier" on the "Mercenary" tab has bonuses you unlock as you increase in tiers (there's a button/key you must press to see them). To increase in tier level, You must kill a mercenary above your current position on the "Mercenary" tab. For each mercenary killed above your current position, you move up one spot, this is regardless of how many spots ahead of you they may be. For example, you're at the first position of tier 8 and you kill someone at the start of tier 7, you don't take their position, instead everyone below them shifts up one position.

[MasterAub]

Originally posted by TristanMike:

In case you hadn't noticed as well, because I didn't for a long time, each "tier" on the "Mercenary" tab has bonuses you unlock as you increase in tiers (there's a button/key you must press to see them).

I did NOT notice it. Thanks for pointing that out to me. I am thinking of making a summary of all those great tips on mercs system.

[TristanMike]

A little "trick" I use if I'm trying to find a merc just above my current position and I don't want to travel all over hell's creation to find them is I'll get myself a nice bounty going, level 2 or even 3, this will bring the merc's around, 1 for each level of bounty. This will usually bring at least 1 or 2 that are above your current position. Then I'll run away, track down the soldier that has the bounty on me and kill them. This eliminates my bounty but keeps all the bounty hunters close by so I can kill them easier without being hunted.

[MasterAub]

Thanks guys that helps greatly