- For the With Fire & Sword troops, see Mercenaries (With Fire & Sword).
- For the Viking Conquest troops, see Mercenaries (Viking Conquest).
- For the Bannerlord troops, see Mercenaries (Bannerlord).
Mercenaries are hired, often very powerful soldiers that can be paid to fight by your side. They are easily found in taverns but can also be acquired by attacking caravans and then convincing the surviving Caravan Guards to join you. You can also rescue them from parties that have destroyed caravans. Faction parties will regularly attack any caravans that belong to their enemies, so it is quite common to find a faction party carrying a few Caravan Guards.
If recruited from taverns, they will demand an initial fee, which is based on the type of mercenaries and number available. The more mercenaries you find at once, the better a deal they will offer. If you do not have enough money for the whole group, they will allow you to hire only as many of them as you can currently afford. Beware, though, that mercenaries are not more powerful than normal units, but they can be reliably found and hired, sometimes already upgraded to higher tiers. They are effectively an exchange of money for time.
Mercenaries should be used sparingly, to supplement an army intent on besieging a town or castle or to fill in the roles of a particular unit a faction is lacking in. Their higher upkeep costs make them unattractive to most adventurers or captains but, as expendable soldiers, they are abundant and can put up a reasonable fight.
With Fire & Sword has mercenaries in non-player war parties much more frequently than the first games. They are still hired the same way.
Female Troops[]
- Note: Female troops are technically not mercenaries - they are not paid mercenary wages, which makes them significantly cheaper - but, for convenience's sake, they are classified as mercenaries here.
Female mercenaries are much harder to come by than their male counterparts and can only be hired by recruiting formerly captive women into your party.
