Improving trade caravans

[Fabricia Gracilis]

As an alternative to the recommendations here: https://forums.taleworlds.com/index.php?threads/caravans-more-levels.441095/

Late game caravans become pointless - they become too vulnerable to attack from larger parties of bandits. Even with 5000 back for each caravan loss (trade perk) they struggle to pay back their initial purchase cost (22K) before they are captured.

I suggest two possible alternatives to the above linked improvements that may be more in line with the game's architecture.

Firstly, I suggest that we have access to caravan parties in the same way we have access to our other parties - to allow us to manually add troops to a caravan up to the level that is sustainable for the companion leading it - to improve it's survivability.

Secondly, I suggest having a control over the caravan's troop budget in the same way we now do with parties and garrisons - so that a caravan can upgrade itself up to the level that the companion can manage.

These two suggestions could work separately, or together, and might address late game caravan attrition of the kind that can see 100s of thousands in cash losses in very short timeframes.

Thanks.

 

[Bleda Shieldbearer]

I dont know why they hard capped the amount of troops, they used to have numbers based on the party size that the companion could manage. Which makes sense.

It would great if they were parties again, and became better traders the more troops they had (more troops means more mules means more carry capacity means more trading).

The current format is silly and as you say the party eventually gets destroyed once your level is high enough to start spawning 50+ looter parties as a smaller party nearby will hit your caravan then get stomped when the 50+ party of looters joins.

As a side note workshops need a buff as well.

 

[Quartius Putridus]

As an alternative to the recommendations here: https://forums.taleworlds.com/index.php?threads/caravans-more-levels.441095/

Nice to see my neglected suggestion linked somewhere Thanks for that.

I think it should be less static than I earlier suggested though.

I don't think they should make a caravan party like any other parties. BUT I do like the option number 2, or a tweak of it! Where you can move the slider to change the wage. As you do, caravan-troops should get XP from successfull trades. As the caravan improves(guards are upgraded), they "unlock" more partysize. What I mean is something like, "There can allways be 20% T2 traders in a caravan". Is there only 15%, unlock and fill up in next friendly city.

The slider limits could be based on the caravan-leaders tradevalue somehow. The 22500 composition could require 100 tradeskill. Meaning above 100 trade is required to improve beyond the 22500 template, and be required to get such a party started. 50 for the regular, 17500 composition.. And there should be one for 0 trade and 25 trade as well. Companions running caravans starts getting trade XP.

With this change, successfull caravans would distinguish on the map, make a difference over time and really utilize trade skill.

 

[Athawulf Stormchaser]

Caravans are quite useless... as he said, the initial cost is high, money gaining is low and is very easy to lost them.