Events and army planning
Mercenary Exchanges: prepare, travel and buy wisely
Plan your Trade Routes purchases, prepare a fast Captain and choose mercenaries you can use before they expire.
By ClanOps · Updated
Buy an army for a plan
Mercenary Exchanges can give you troops for an upcoming battle, but a purchase is useful only if the army fits your target, budget and playing schedule. Decide what you will do with the troops before choosing an offer.
Set aside the Silver needed for normal training and recovery first. Then give the Exchange trip its own budget, including any march speedups. Avoid spending your entire reserve on troops whose first battle would leave you unable to recover the rest of your army.
Check whether you can participate
Trade Routes lets Captains buy mercenaries for Silver at Exchanges in other Kingdoms. You need a Caravan, and a closed Kingdom cannot participate. Exchanges in your own Kingdom cannot be used for purchases.
The normal maximum outbound march time is two hours. Ayrin removes that limit. Check the preview before planning a purchase; speedups are not a workaround for a march the game will not let you launch.
Use current coordinates shared by your Clan or an Exchange chat, then verify the target on the map. Old coordinates may no longer lead to a usable Exchange.
Prepare a fast Captain
Tengel is a natural choice because his own bonuses support march speed and range. Consider the Thunder Drum and suitable march-speed equipment, then inspect the final travel time. Do not assume every bonus applies to this particular destination.
If you use another Captain, compare their actual equipped setup. Stror wearing useful travel gear may be quicker than a poorly equipped alternative, but his gathering and carrying bonuses are not themselves a replacement for Tengel's native march-speed bonus.
Before borrowing equipment from another Captain, note what needs to be restored afterwards. Keep your main activity in mind: a fast purchase is less useful if it disrupts the setup you need for the battle you are buying troops for.
See Equipment that earns its keep for a practical way to prioritise your travel and combat gear.
Compare the offers with your intended target
| Question | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Which battle will these troops fight? | A clear target gives the purchase a purpose. |
| Do their troop type and bonuses suit that target? | A large number alone does not prove an offer is useful. |
| Can they fit the march I intend to send? | Check the relevant army limits before paying. |
| How much useful time will remain? | Include travel and your actual availability before expiry. |
| What will the whole plan cost? | Include Silver, speedups and likely follow-up spending. |
Compare offers on the contribution they make to your planned army, not just the largest stack or the most event points. For a new formation, leave room in the budget for a small test and read its report before spending more.
Mercenary scouts may be useful for a scouting plan when offered. Check their exact statistics and the need for them; buying a temporary specialist force without a target can waste much of its lifetime.
Understand the purchase and refresh
Offers are personal and refresh every seven hours, while Exchange purchase progress is shared. Sold-out Exchanges disappear. Silver is deducted at departure; hiring occurs on arrival and the Captain returns with the troops. If the purchase fails, the Silver returns with the Captain.
A journey in progress is therefore not a completed purchase. Check the Journal and the returning army before counting the mercenaries as available for your next battle. Use the timer shown for your offers rather than assuming a universal refresh time.
Do not spend extra simply to chase the final purchase on a nearly depleted Exchange. Competition and travel time can change the result before you arrive.
Use speedups deliberately
A faster trip can help when an Exchange is busy or your event window is short. Decide in advance what you are willing to spend, and use the live march controls to judge the benefit of each speedup.
Do not blindly apply the same number on every journey. A short remaining trip may not justify the cost, while a more distant offer may leave too little time to use its troops even after accelerating travel.
Check your portal situation if the journey relies on one. Agree return timing with its owner and avoid leaving an unnecessary route into a City open after the trip.
Put the new troops to work
Confirm the purchased units and their expiry timers, restore the right combat equipment and check the complete army before sending it. Start with a battle that answers a useful question: do these units improve the result enough to justify repeating the setup?
Use Read your battle reports to compare casualties and rewards. A good purchase should support the goal you chose, not force a series of increasingly expensive battles merely because the troops are temporary.
As expiry approaches, follow Before mercenaries expire. Stop buying when you have enough for the time and targets you can realistically manage.
Check current requirements in-game before committing troops or resources.
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