Mmmkay
I don't mind adding more Mercs, but removing the old Merc Troops feels a bit dirty. I mean if I manage to keep a "Hired Blade" alive from an old save for like a year do I get some kind of achievement LOL? (I'm kidding)
I mean the Western Mercs really aren't all that different from what Vlandia offers normally
(Also why is the name nomenclature different between Crossbowmen and Pikemen for Elites?)
Eastern Mercs make even less sense, so you got "Sellswords" without swords (I know it's just a phrase, but come on) and then you've got Khuzait style troops that just turn into Sturgian Outrider mercenaries?
Sword Sisters are a nice throwback for Warband folks, but without helmets they are real liability in-game (armor is pretty poor in general). Like because they are women do you want them to underperform? I thought Sword Sisters were supposed to be more the proverbial Amazons of this setting?
I sure hope no EA player was seriously doing a Mercenary only playthrough, cause you kind of threw a massive wrench in their unit composition if that's the case.
I would have given Watchmen a shield, upped their wages, done a little tweaking with Hired Blades so they aren't total garbage, and called it a day. I mean sure add in Sword Sisters, but the old Merc Troop Tree was fine. I mean since Mercs are generally just extra troops you hire to pad out a Party after taking losses, you kind of want them to be generalists.
That or you make Mercs exotic troops that no one has anything comparable to - so they add more diversity as it were.
IDK I think the old single Merc Troop Tree was better, made more sense thematically, even if it was underwhelming. But wasn't that the point?