there was some confusion on our end regarding mercenary equipments, and wrong stuff slipped thorugh the cracks. thanks for feedback, they will be in line with whats been intended soon.
availability was also increased, let me check the numbers again
no, ai party use formations just like the player, but will only have 1 banner to give to a formation since there is only 1 character in each party. so only 1 formation will benefit from banner bonus, just like a player with no companions in the party.
not too soon. as it was mercenary troops were severely lacking in content. primarily we want them to be expensive but fast way to get some decent troops but they should not have the same potential as state troops (both cost and power wise), so they will not override regular troop raising methods. we want to do more with them but not just by simply adding more troops into the mix. at this stage we wanted to have some mercs that both feel out of place in their regions but will also will fill same gaps if you were to hire them with other factions.
no troops do not time out at border egde, they try to avoid it but still can get out of border edges due to being a cavlary or in heat of combat, but they will not pathfind through border edge if they can help it. they will only disappear at border edge if they are fleeing.
you can use your companions as formation captains and equip them with banners as well, but for ai they will only have one formation with banner yes
we track availability heatmaps, avarage high and low prices, price indexes, prosperity trends of towns, caravan survival times, workshop counts, etc