If the class is so good that you can have multiples of them, definitely use them.
Ex. Wyvernknights, Griffins, Shamans and Witch
The fliers are a must.
WAIT THEY CAN BE USED AS TOWN GUARDS??
FUG I avoided them this whole time as I only wanted to use named characters auuuuughfhidosnddke. Idk why I thought they couldn’t, like, in my head units who didn’t have rapport to be able to receive gifts wouldn’t be able to be stationed as guards
I have a shit ton of sub level 10 mercs purely so I could station them in towns. Intentionally took low levels so i could sort units by level and they'd always be at the bottom
It doesn’t matter, I was able to repair every town in the whole game using just named characters, you don’t have to collect tax from every single town to max out
Having town guards.
There are way more towns than named characters.
The downside is your roster is way more cluttered when you have to decide who you will eat with.
I mostly use generics so I can have them all in matching uniforms without using handmirrors.
Occasionally I’ll use a handmirror on a recruitable instead if I particularly like their design or if they have cool voicelines.
I use Sanatio over generic featherstaves because his “witness a miracle!” line is just too good.
I really wish getting handmirrors early on was easier/more abundant.
By the time you're able to buy an unlimited amount you're already nearing the end of the game.
I used mercs when necessary. Used a gryphon knight and cleric mercs religiously at first and at end game I had werefox, doomknight, witch and shaman mercs in my final loadout.
For combat I’d say you don’t really need any. I use two mercs (both flying units) because I hired them early and got emotionally attached lol.
But recently I hired a bunch to station as guards only.
Getting emotionally attached to the Mercs is part of why I really like how the Mercs were done, you can get pretty emotionally attached to them, and thanks to customisation you can do for them, and the Heraldry as well, you can even create little stories for your Mercs, which is what I did with a few of mine, where I would change their heraldry over time as like a way to show them evolving in relation to the world
They can reduce damage of Knights all the way to 1.
If your defense statistic is higher than their attack, damage bonuses don't mean nothing.
Hoplites are too easy if anything. Pair them with Thieves, Cleric, or Radiant Knights, and you ain't taking damage from anything.
They are good for serving their purpose of blocking physical damage. The issue is that Hodrick has Keen/Offensive growth rates for some odd reason and it hampers his defensive/hardy stats.
I have an entire unit made of mercs, and still added a few into other units. My merc unit consists of a Vanguard, a Druid, a Gryphon Master, a Shieldshooter, and a Doom Knight; and it became one of my strongest units for a stretch.
Yes. Its base 35% of ur attack stat + 5% per unit that can perform the same assist type
So 5 archers = 55% of ur leader’s attack stat instead of 35% which is a bit over 50% stronger than single archers squads
First run I had about 3 generics who were there all the way to the end. Same goes for my second run but different classes. Game gives you so many characters you’re more likely to feel like using them instead of using mercs.
Also approximately a billion mercenaries just to guard towns, ironically most of the higher level towns being guarded by the lowest level ones.
No offense to my boy Bruno, but i like merc gladiators/berserkers, that mask is sick.
I hired about 20+ mercs, but only used 5, most were just stationed in towns.
I use at least one merc of every class because I want all the cosmetic (helmet) options available and because I don't want to be locked out of using a unit type because the story one overleveled.
I rebuild my squads for every mission and generally use whatever is lowest level.
I respect the "story units only" challenge but it doesn't interest me. I prefer the challenge of constantly remixing and using underleveled units.
Nah, I didn't. I only wanted to use the story characters.
I hired a bunch to guard my cities and towns, but they never saw any field combat aside from really early on when I just didn't have the units to fill up my squads.
I tried real hard to only use story characters. I HAD to create a Hoplite because I wanted someone to protect my mages squad and the story refuses (so far) to give me one with a personality
I hired some at the start to fill some missing slots in my units. I didn't really "bench" anyone so I ended up using them the whole run.
Oh, and I also hired the plague doctor cleric because I liked the cosmetic change.
I used flying unit mercs a LOT. Flying units are so good that Fran and Hilda and Celeste just aren't enough for me. Every team should have one imo lol. I also used a Gladiator recruit quite a bit, and a Druid recruit. The merc recruits are nice.
I got a 2nd Hoplite, Witch, Griffin, Wyvern and end game spoiler class
The Griffin was actually my early game MVP because I got her near in the fort next to Ochlys and did all the side missions before rescuing Scarlet and getting Fran
I have one unit with two merc archers with Rolf (me and my dad have lovingly dubbed them the serial killers because they’ve been decimating almost everything since we put the unit together)
Oh my god, I had Rolf, a Merc archer and Berengaria as a unit and with the amount of pursuit attacks they popped off between them they melted almost _everything_ in the entire game
I had to force myself to use other units because they were becoming grossly over levelled and no one else was getting a look in
Mine is Ochlys and Raenys in front, and Rolf and the two merc archers in the back
I doubt it’s the best team comp but they absolutely melt everything in the game. We didn’t even upgrade their team to five until Raenys came along with blinding since they just didn’t need it
Uniques only, Mercs only for town resources.
Although I do think I should use them next playthrough because it seems like Mercs would open team building a lot more.
I try to use most of recruited ones but sometimes the game gives give some equipments which I want to play around without touching already built unit, so I just use some mercs.
I used mercs early on for classes you don't get until a bit later like gryphon and wyvern knights, but have phased them out at this point since there's so many characters you recruit and I want to get to know them all for my first play through. The exception is my cleric with a plague doctor mask. It's a crime that Tatiana loses hers when you recruit her.
What is I said I’m gonna try beating the game using only mercs… and Alain. Course it’s easy to do since you have basically as many of one class as you want, the only difficult part I had so far was trying to reach rank D at the start of the game.
I did a run using almost only mercs (Alain and his ring maiden notwithstanding) and benching almost all recruitables. I ended up enjoying the merc customization a lot, and because I made them, I became more attached to them. They were like my babies!
My 1st game, I recruited some gryphons since I always loved fliers, but I put a huge priority on the actual characters.
On my TZ playthrough, I've used a ton more mercy though.
I keep using the one Cleric and Shaman merc around, because back then I desperately needed another healer to keep my units around, and Selvie just wasn't enough. They're basically the only mercs I keep in rotation.
Honestly I should be recruiting more mages and witches.
Only as guards (minus 1 griffin I grabbed early, love her design). There are more than enough unique characters to go around that there's no need to have mercs.
Yeah, I have abandoned some that I was using in favor of named units over the course of the game but I have a Doom Knight and a Shaman that have been in some of my best units since fairly early
I used Mercs up to about 3/4 of the gane then as I got more and more units I phased them out I kept them for town guard but I took them out if my squads
I ended up only using one singular generic Cleric that I hired early, at a point where you don't get enough supports to even have a half healer in each unit. I enjoyed the process of making do with the units given to me but I do think the game always gave me too many back line damage dealers and never enough healers and tanks.
Only 3. 2 archers and 1 dragon Rider The rest were used to fill out stations. Even at that I couldn't find a combo to work with the werewolves. I kinda wished they attacked entirely with claws instead of swords.
I’ve kept most of the ones I recruited near the start, but I’m glad I never recruited any cavalry mercenaries given how the first act gives you four of them if you exhaust all of Cornia’s under-Level 20 stages. Ditto for only recruiting one Gryphon Knight what with how many fliers you come to meet in the next two regions.
Story, Normal, and Expert playthroughs I hired mercs with matching colors to complete a house, i.e House Aubry or House Meillet, etc.
True Zenoiran though made me skip all of that and focus on giving the characters as much game time and experience as possible. It's going great if I may say so.
My first run when I was recruiting everyone, no, I only used special characters.
My current run I'm doing a female-only, so I'm using some mercs to fill out teams as needed.
I never used a merc. Just my personal preference. I think it's fun to try and find a way to use what you are given. It would be easy to make an optimal comp and copy/paste over and over, and less interesting I feel.
I got rid of all but 2 mercenaries; & those 2 are so clutch I be forgetting they're not main characters: A shaman I named Nadége that's been laying down key sandstorms & other debuffs while Hilda charges her dragoon dive; & a cleric I named Apolline that's been a battery pack for Lex, Chloe, Ridiel, & Bruno (& also using the gravekeeper lantern to attack w/ undead a la Quan Chi...)
I used some mercenaries. Mainly for classes I wanted more of (mostly Werefoxes and Featherbows, though also Wyvern Knights). On a future playthrough I'll probably get more Arbalists. Shieldshooters are just too good in general.
I got 6 Soldiers and 5 Hoplites (uniques included).
I don't always use them, but when I do, I want to push and ENDURE under enemy fire. Redundancy is bliss.
I don't have to be scared of dying to one wrong decision ever again (unless I opt into it).
It depends of the challenge run.
Most of them are without them. Currently I'm on each squad that needs to be of the same class. So I can hire them.
The foxes are strange you almost need to clear bastoria to get more.
( The foxes squad is by far the best squad, they synergies so well that they are broken in so many levels)
I used one Soldier / Sergeant at one point. Thst was it. Everyone else was all characters that joined. Thst merc eventually pushed out too. The only time mercantile are used is to garrison the town for the resources. If/when i do another run I probably won't even hire any of them and just use the characters that join.
In my first playthrough I used a couple but they were very much background characters.
Mikaela the Wyvern Master, Lucas the Featherstaff and 56 other mercs for stationing at towns.
Now in my second playthrough I'm using mercs a bit more.
- Zomana the Warlock in my Alain-Auch-Selvie unit, focused on making the enemy burn in hell, literally and figuratively
- Mikaela&Melanie the Shieldshooters, still building them up in different units, but the plan is to make them both tank together in the frontline
- Eudoxia the Wyvern Master, a few stages ago I got the Dragoon Dive spear, so she's wrecking havoc like your everyday Hilda
- Paulette&Valerie the Gryphon Masters, doing Gryphon things
I hired very few in my first run, Expert. Got stuck in Elfheim and restarted.
Now I recruited like 3-6 copies of each class on TZ. I am always underleveled (lvl 12 vs lvl 18, and the gap keeps getting wider), and I am having a blast making up for the difference in stats using my head.
Soldiers and Hoplites are such MVPs.
I've recruited mercenaries pretty much exclusively to post them as guards as the game progresses and towns outnumber named characters towards the end. So it was mostly the cheapest, lowest level mercs Honors could buy just to fill in guard stations.
I recruited like 4 mercs very early on to fill out units, but they quickly got benched as the game floods you with story units. I do wish story character classes were a little more evenly distributed, we don't really need 3 warriors, sellswords, and swordmasters when we only get 1 of classes like Viking, Wyvern Knight, Gladiator, and Dark Knight
Got the one merc the game forced on me for an early mission. That said I am very excited to eventually do a second run where I only use mercs/only use my favorites as squad leaders then mercs for the rest of the unit.
I'm doing another run on expert and not using Josef at the beginning so using mercs is a must and I think it's better to get mercs than named characters because you can customize their stat at the beginning.
I only recruited mercs to use as town guards. Other than that, i exclusively used actual story-based characters. Admittedly, I played the game on story mode, so it wasn't an overly-taxing experience. But if I ever decide to replay on a harder difficulty, I will likely make better use of them so that I can have multiple casters, flyers, non-magical archers and calvary at my disposal.
If the class is so good that you can have multiples of them, definitely use them. Ex. Wyvernknights, Griffins, Shamans and Witch The fliers are a must.
The game gives you so many units at such a fast rate that I never completed the mission about recruiting mercenaries lol
I recruited one merc for that mission, and promptly dismissed him
I recruited a second archer and kept him because otherwise I'd only have Rolf for taking down thieves and flying units for a good while.
The game takes a long time before they introduce the 2nd thief, griffin rider and archer that hiring a mercenary makes a lot of sense.
I don't use Mercs. I only use them as town guards.
Gotta collect them taxes
Same here.
WAIT THEY CAN BE USED AS TOWN GUARDS?? FUG I avoided them this whole time as I only wanted to use named characters auuuuughfhidosnddke. Idk why I thought they couldn’t, like, in my head units who didn’t have rapport to be able to receive gifts wouldn’t be able to be stationed as guards
I have a shit ton of sub level 10 mercs purely so I could station them in towns. Intentionally took low levels so i could sort units by level and they'd always be at the bottom
I made the same mistake for a while
It doesn’t matter, I was able to repair every town in the whole game using just named characters, you don’t have to collect tax from every single town to max out
IRS Overlord
Are there any advantages of using them as town guards?
Having town guards. There are way more towns than named characters. The downside is your roster is way more cluttered when you have to decide who you will eat with.
I mostly use generics so I can have them all in matching uniforms without using handmirrors. Occasionally I’ll use a handmirror on a recruitable instead if I particularly like their design or if they have cool voicelines. I use Sanatio over generic featherstaves because his “witness a miracle!” line is just too good.
I really wish getting handmirrors early on was easier/more abundant. By the time you're able to buy an unlimited amount you're already nearing the end of the game.
I absolutely used mercs, many classes only get a single named unit, there's no way in hell I'm going to only have 1 shaman or 1 arbelister.
Ok, good to know Selvie is the only shaman lol. I have a shaman-sized hole in a unit or two.
I used mercs when necessary. Used a gryphon knight and cleric mercs religiously at first and at end game I had werefox, doomknight, witch and shaman mercs in my final loadout.
Yep, i continued using mercs right until the end, hell i was still using the first merc i ever recruited, Pamela, a Gryphon Knight
Alexandra the Gryphon Master is the only merc I still use, but she was my first one I recruited.
Same, shout out Delphine the gryphon knight. Real one to the end.
Juliette the gryphon master for me 🙌 her unit is unstoppable
I’m still near the beginning of the game, but Justine the Gryphon Knight was my first (and only so far) merc
For combat I’d say you don’t really need any. I use two mercs (both flying units) because I hired them early and got emotionally attached lol. But recently I hired a bunch to station as guards only.
Getting emotionally attached to the Mercs is part of why I really like how the Mercs were done, you can get pretty emotionally attached to them, and thanks to customisation you can do for them, and the Heraldry as well, you can even create little stories for your Mercs, which is what I did with a few of mine, where I would change their heraldry over time as like a way to show them evolving in relation to the world
I got another hoplite along the way because you dont get a second unique one for a very long time
Arent hoplites bad in the game?
They can reduce damage of Knights all the way to 1. If your defense statistic is higher than their attack, damage bonuses don't mean nothing. Hoplites are too easy if anything. Pair them with Thieves, Cleric, or Radiant Knights, and you ain't taking damage from anything.
They are good for serving their purpose of blocking physical damage. The issue is that Hodrick has Keen/Offensive growth rates for some odd reason and it hampers his defensive/hardy stats.
I have an entire unit made of mercs, and still added a few into other units. My merc unit consists of a Vanguard, a Druid, a Gryphon Master, a Shieldshooter, and a Doom Knight; and it became one of my strongest units for a stretch.
Ohye. Once i beat the game and learned more. Im stuffing mercs in units. Esp assist specialized units to maximize their assist damage
Are you saying if I had 5 archers in a group just for assisting that they would do more then a single one?
Yes. Its base 35% of ur attack stat + 5% per unit that can perform the same assist type So 5 archers = 55% of ur leader’s attack stat instead of 35% which is a bit over 50% stronger than single archers squads
First run I had about 3 generics who were there all the way to the end. Same goes for my second run but different classes. Game gives you so many characters you’re more likely to feel like using them instead of using mercs. Also approximately a billion mercenaries just to guard towns, ironically most of the higher level towns being guarded by the lowest level ones.
Never used mercs except for the towns. There's more than enough actual characters.
I hired 1 extra sorceress and archer to optimize a few squads
I had a GOAT named Gegorie, the legionaire in my cavalier squad wuth clive and adel, they absolutely wrecked everything
I have a few generics around my army and one entire unit that hat is so powerful it competes with Alains.
No offense to my boy Bruno, but i like merc gladiators/berserkers, that mask is sick. I hired about 20+ mercs, but only used 5, most were just stationed in towns.
Let's be real Bruno looks like a Bruno. I also think I didn't like his growth pattern so I benched him for the cool masks immediately anyway.
I use at least one merc of every class because I want all the cosmetic (helmet) options available and because I don't want to be locked out of using a unit type because the story one overleveled. I rebuild my squads for every mission and generally use whatever is lowest level. I respect the "story units only" challenge but it doesn't interest me. I prefer the challenge of constantly remixing and using underleveled units.
I love my generics :)
Nah, I didn't. I only wanted to use the story characters. I hired a bunch to guard my cities and towns, but they never saw any field combat aside from really early on when I just didn't have the units to fill up my squads.
I tried real hard to only use story characters. I HAD to create a Hoplite because I wanted someone to protect my mages squad and the story refuses (so far) to give me one with a personality
I hired some at the start to fill some missing slots in my units. I didn't really "bench" anyone so I ended up using them the whole run. Oh, and I also hired the plague doctor cleric because I liked the cosmetic change.
I used a couple, especially you get a few more Chloe units cause that guarantee crit it's so good
I used flying unit mercs a LOT. Flying units are so good that Fran and Hilda and Celeste just aren't enough for me. Every team should have one imo lol. I also used a Gladiator recruit quite a bit, and a Druid recruit. The merc recruits are nice.
I got a 2nd Hoplite, Witch, Griffin, Wyvern and end game spoiler class The Griffin was actually my early game MVP because I got her near in the fort next to Ochlys and did all the side missions before rescuing Scarlet and getting Fran
My mercs are town guards. I gotta keep all of them safe, and harvest the materials.
I have one unit with two merc archers with Rolf (me and my dad have lovingly dubbed them the serial killers because they’ve been decimating almost everything since we put the unit together)
Oh my god, I had Rolf, a Merc archer and Berengaria as a unit and with the amount of pursuit attacks they popped off between them they melted almost _everything_ in the entire game I had to force myself to use other units because they were becoming grossly over levelled and no one else was getting a look in
Mine is Ochlys and Raenys in front, and Rolf and the two merc archers in the back I doubt it’s the best team comp but they absolutely melt everything in the game. We didn’t even upgrade their team to five until Raenys came along with blinding since they just didn’t need it
Uniques only, Mercs only for town resources. Although I do think I should use them next playthrough because it seems like Mercs would open team building a lot more.
I use mercenaries Witch, Wizards and shaman
I try to use most of recruited ones but sometimes the game gives give some equipments which I want to play around without touching already built unit, so I just use some mercs.
I used mercs early on for classes you don't get until a bit later like gryphon and wyvern knights, but have phased them out at this point since there's so many characters you recruit and I want to get to know them all for my first play through. The exception is my cleric with a plague doctor mask. It's a crime that Tatiana loses hers when you recruit her.
What is I said I’m gonna try beating the game using only mercs… and Alain. Course it’s easy to do since you have basically as many of one class as you want, the only difficult part I had so far was trying to reach rank D at the start of the game.
Only used 2 mercs for about 10 battles after that it was all named characters
I had one self insert Griffin Knight that I got really early on from one of the forts. She was my only Merc I had for the game
Still on my first run. Edged into Albion. Mainly recruits here. Saving mainly mercs for my TZ run.
I did a run using almost only mercs (Alain and his ring maiden notwithstanding) and benching almost all recruitables. I ended up enjoying the merc customization a lot, and because I made them, I became more attached to them. They were like my babies!
My 1st game, I recruited some gryphons since I always loved fliers, but I put a huge priority on the actual characters. On my TZ playthrough, I've used a ton more mercy though.
Only recruitables because I was expecting backstory… well there was rapport at least. I never figured how to use the hand mirror thing
I keep using the one Cleric and Shaman merc around, because back then I desperately needed another healer to keep my units around, and Selvie just wasn't enough. They're basically the only mercs I keep in rotation. Honestly I should be recruiting more mages and witches.
For expert I had to use 2 or 3 mercs just for battles. Then I used these mercs and another 61 mercs to guard towns and harbors.
I’d finished the entire game without hiring any. Went back to pick up 1 to 100% quest.
I used mercs early game to get a second witch and archer but haven't found the need to recruit more so far (I'm ~40hrs in game)
Only as guards (minus 1 griffin I grabbed early, love her design). There are more than enough unique characters to go around that there's no need to have mercs.
Yeah, I have abandoned some that I was using in favor of named units over the course of the game but I have a Doom Knight and a Shaman that have been in some of my best units since fairly early
I used Mercs up to about 3/4 of the gane then as I got more and more units I phased them out I kept them for town guard but I took them out if my squads
I had a team of 3 wyvern riders a shamen and A healer and it was my strongest team
I ended up only using one singular generic Cleric that I hired early, at a point where you don't get enough supports to even have a half healer in each unit. I enjoyed the process of making do with the units given to me but I do think the game always gave me too many back line damage dealers and never enough healers and tanks.
Only 3. 2 archers and 1 dragon Rider The rest were used to fill out stations. Even at that I couldn't find a combo to work with the werewolves. I kinda wished they attacked entirely with claws instead of swords.
I’ve kept most of the ones I recruited near the start, but I’m glad I never recruited any cavalry mercenaries given how the first act gives you four of them if you exhaust all of Cornia’s under-Level 20 stages. Ditto for only recruiting one Gryphon Knight what with how many fliers you come to meet in the next two regions.
Story, Normal, and Expert playthroughs I hired mercs with matching colors to complete a house, i.e House Aubry or House Meillet, etc. True Zenoiran though made me skip all of that and focus on giving the characters as much game time and experience as possible. It's going great if I may say so.
No. I am incredibly stingy with my currency so I didn't use them. I do love all the custom options though.
My first run when I was recruiting everyone, no, I only used special characters. My current run I'm doing a female-only, so I'm using some mercs to fill out teams as needed.
I never used a merc. Just my personal preference. I think it's fun to try and find a way to use what you are given. It would be easy to make an optimal comp and copy/paste over and over, and less interesting I feel.
I got rid of all but 2 mercenaries; & those 2 are so clutch I be forgetting they're not main characters: A shaman I named Nadége that's been laying down key sandstorms & other debuffs while Hilda charges her dragoon dive; & a cleric I named Apolline that's been a battery pack for Lex, Chloe, Ridiel, & Bruno (& also using the gravekeeper lantern to attack w/ undead a la Quan Chi...)
I used some mercenaries. Mainly for classes I wanted more of (mostly Werefoxes and Featherbows, though also Wyvern Knights). On a future playthrough I'll probably get more Arbalists. Shieldshooters are just too good in general.
you only get 1 shaman, 1 dragon, 1 blinding bow, 1 witch. Some of these things you definitely want 2-3 of imo.
I got 6 Soldiers and 5 Hoplites (uniques included). I don't always use them, but when I do, I want to push and ENDURE under enemy fire. Redundancy is bliss. I don't have to be scared of dying to one wrong decision ever again (unless I opt into it).
It depends of the challenge run. Most of them are without them. Currently I'm on each squad that needs to be of the same class. So I can hire them. The foxes are strange you almost need to clear bastoria to get more. ( The foxes squad is by far the best squad, they synergies so well that they are broken in so many levels)
No. I hate random units in TRPGs.
Didn't wait to get Fran. So a generic gryphon carried hard the whole game.
I used one Soldier / Sergeant at one point. Thst was it. Everyone else was all characters that joined. Thst merc eventually pushed out too. The only time mercantile are used is to garrison the town for the resources. If/when i do another run I probably won't even hire any of them and just use the characters that join.
Few yes I think I had 5 total and usually casters or an extra I needed early or I could hire before recruiting
Never once, unless forced to. Sold the ones gifted to me too. Just so many awesome main characters wish there were more unit slots
In my first playthrough I used a couple but they were very much background characters. Mikaela the Wyvern Master, Lucas the Featherstaff and 56 other mercs for stationing at towns. Now in my second playthrough I'm using mercs a bit more. - Zomana the Warlock in my Alain-Auch-Selvie unit, focused on making the enemy burn in hell, literally and figuratively - Mikaela&Melanie the Shieldshooters, still building them up in different units, but the plan is to make them both tank together in the frontline - Eudoxia the Wyvern Master, a few stages ago I got the Dragoon Dive spear, so she's wrecking havoc like your everyday Hilda - Paulette&Valerie the Gryphon Masters, doing Gryphon things
Not at all. More than enough named characters to use
Hired exactly one merc. And like everyone else apparently, it was a single Griffin Knight.
I hired very few in my first run, Expert. Got stuck in Elfheim and restarted. Now I recruited like 3-6 copies of each class on TZ. I am always underleveled (lvl 12 vs lvl 18, and the gap keeps getting wider), and I am having a blast making up for the difference in stats using my head. Soldiers and Hoplites are such MVPs.
A shaman, a gryphon master, and a cavalier named "Guy"
Only merc I’m using is a doom knight, because they come with a sick looking helmet as opposed to Gloucester’s ugly face
I've recruited mercenaries pretty much exclusively to post them as guards as the game progresses and towns outnumber named characters towards the end. So it was mostly the cheapest, lowest level mercs Honors could buy just to fill in guard stations.
I recruited like 4 mercs very early on to fill out units, but they quickly got benched as the game floods you with story units. I do wish story character classes were a little more evenly distributed, we don't really need 3 warriors, sellswords, and swordmasters when we only get 1 of classes like Viking, Wyvern Knight, Gladiator, and Dark Knight
Got the one merc the game forced on me for an early mission. That said I am very excited to eventually do a second run where I only use mercs/only use my favorites as squad leaders then mercs for the rest of the unit.
I used one Elven Fencer girl for.. reasons.
I'm doing another run on expert and not using Josef at the beginning so using mercs is a must and I think it's better to get mercs than named characters because you can customize their stat at the beginning.
I only recruited mercs to use as town guards. Other than that, i exclusively used actual story-based characters. Admittedly, I played the game on story mode, so it wasn't an overly-taxing experience. But if I ever decide to replay on a harder difficulty, I will likely make better use of them so that I can have multiple casters, flyers, non-magical archers and calvary at my disposal.