Imagine being the Germans, they used to be the mercenary faction.
-More mercenaries per shipment.
-age 3 improved mercs card. +20%
-Wallensteins Contracts makes merc shipments free! (useless lol)
-All 3 army shipments infinite with the DE (Wallensteins doesnt work on those ofc)
-Thats it lol… They dont even have the mercenary contractor to get assured mercs in the saloon.
compared to the new toy Sweden
-Black Rider and Jaeger always in the Saloon
-Cheaper merc shipments
-merc shipments unlock them in regular military buildings.
-They arrive faster
-age IV merc contracts that give +25% and gives all 3 german mercenaries in military buildings.
-Infinite Mameluke mercs in age IV, and the highlander army I guess.
-the mercenary contractor that allows jaeger and black rider in regular military buildings.
Germany has 7 non-infinite merc shipments, all 3 infinite army shipments and 1 team/infinite 5 jeager shipment.
Sweden had 6 non-infinite merc shipments, only the highlander army and the infinite mamelukes card.
However Sweden ofc get them cheaper and faster AND unlocks them in their regular buildings. Germany can improve them one age earlier and gets a few more mercs and has too wait much longer ofc to get them.
more mercs though? in age 2 Germany has 1 shipment… 4 landsknecht for 400 gold. Sweden gets… 4 landsknecht for 360 gold? Germans dont get more and Sweden’s is cheaper? In addition Sweden gets the 3 Fusilier shipment for 360 gold in age 2. Remember that Sweden gets them faster and unlocks them. Where is the German advantage here?
In age 3 both get 4 shipments and Germany can send the mercenary contracts (+2Uhlan I guess).
for Germans:
-10 Landsknecht
-9 Black Rider
-12 Jaeger
-8 Harqebusiers
all cost 1000 gold.
For Sweden:
-9 Highlander
-7 Black Rider
-10 Jaeger
-12 Swiss Pikes
all cost 900 gold.
Germans look better here, but Sweden still has the speed advantage and unlocks them ofc.
In age IV Sweden gets their own and better mercenary contracts and their Mameluke and highlander army cards. Please note that these dont unlock mamelukes or the highlander units in the stables and barracks.
Germany gets 2 one time shipments (10 fusilier and 7 Elmeti 1000g each). All three armies and the TEAM 5 Jaegers shipment. At this point Sweden has better mercenaries and can replenish them more easily, while the Germans only really have army shipments that cost a ton of pop and might send units you don’t even want. And as a bonus take forever to arrive, very nice holding 45 pop while waiting for that shipment.
side note: the German mercenaries (Landsknecht, Black Rider, Jaeger) make up 4 of the 7 standard German merc shipments. These units are basically variants of the standard German units (Doppelsoldner, War Wagon, Needle Gunner) Making them less usefull for filling up holes in your army. Where these same units have no counterpart in the Swedish army, making them even more usefull for them.
I get that Sweden is the shiny new thing, but the OG merc civ feels like it has been left in the dust quite hard.
There is room to improve the German merc game ofc, Wallensteins contracts could do with a rework, the Saloon build limit could be upped (for everyone pls) and Germans could actually get the mercenary contractor unlocking usefull mercs for them, a musk like the Highlander for example.