Introduction to the Age of Empires Mobile MercenarySystem

The Mercenary System in Age of Empires Mobile introduces a dynamic layer to your strategic gameplay, allowing you to recruit specialized combat units from various civilizations, regardless of your chosen faction. These mercenaries come with unique abilities that can significantly influence the outcome of battles, offering fresh tactical opportunities and diverse army compositions.

Unlocking the Mercenary System

To access the Mercenary System, you need to upgrade your Town Center to Level 26 and advance into the Glorious Age. This progression ensures that the feature is tailored for players who have developed their cities extensively and are ready to explore advanced strategic options.

Strategic Advantages

The primary benefit of the Mercenary System is the flexibility to incorporate units from different civilizations into your army. For instance, if you’re leading a civilization that specializes in archers, such as the British or Koreans, you can hire mercenaries like the Indian Battle Elephants to bolster your cavalry forces. This cross-civilization unit integration allows for innovative strategies and counters to various battlefield scenarios.

Current Availability

As of March 2025, the Mercenary System is active and available to players who meet the necessary requirements. Engaging with this system can provide a competitive edge and enrich your gameplay experience by diversifying your military options.

Considerations for Implementation

While the Mercenary System offers exciting possibilities, it’s essential to integrate these units thoughtfully into your existing army. Consider how the unique abilities of mercenaries align with your overall strategy and the specific challenges you face. Effective use of mercenaries can turn the tide of battle, but reliance without proper planning may lead to resource inefficiencies.

Incorporating mercenaries into your forces not only enhances your tactical repertoire but also reflects the dynamic and unpredictable nature of warfare in Age of Empires Mobile. Embrace this feature to experiment with new strategies and assert your dominance on the battlefield.

Unlocking the Mercenary Camp

To integrate mercenaries into your forces in Age of Empires Mobile, follow these steps:

1. Prerequisites for Unlocking

  • Town Center Level 26: Ensure your Town Center is upgraded to Level 26.
  • Advancement to the Glorious Age: After reaching the required Town Center level, progress your civilization into the Glorious Age.

2. Accessing Castle Facilities

  • Enter the Castle: Once prerequisites are met, tap on the Castle building within your town.
  • Navigate to Facilities: Inside the Castle interface, select the ‘Facilities’ tab to view available options.

3. Unlocking the Mercenary Camp Facility

  • Requirement of Technique Points: Unlocking the Mercenary Camp necessitates a new currency called Technique Points.
  • Cost: The initial unlock of the Mercenary Camp requires 200 Technique Points.

4. Earning Technique Points

  • Exploration: Scout the map and complete exploration tasks to earn Technique Points.
  • Events: Participate in in-game events, such as the “Battlefield Legend” event, which can grant significant amounts of Technique Points.
  • Mall (Shop): Technique Points may also be available for purchase in the in-game Mall.

5. Building the Mercenary Camp

  • Unlocking: After accumulating the necessary Technique Points, unlock the Mercenary Camp within the Castle’s Facilities tab.
  • Placement: Once unlocked, place the Mercenary Camp in your military building area.
  • Construction: The construction of the Mercenary Camp is instant and does not require further upgrades. It functions as a standalone building dedicated to managing your mercenaries.

By following these steps, you can effectively integrate mercenaries into your army, enhancing your strategic options and battlefield prowess in Age of Empires Mobile.

Hiring and Using Mercenaries

To effectively integrate mercenaries into your army in Age of Empires Mobile, follow these steps:

1. Hiring Mercenaries

  • Interact with the Mercenary Camp: Once the Mercenary Camp is established, access it to view available mercenary contracts.
  • Unlock Contracts with Technique Points: Invest Technique Points to unlock specific mercenary contracts. Each contract corresponds to a unique mercenary unit, expanding your tactical options.

2. Immediate Deployment

  • No Training Required: Unlike regular units, mercenaries do not require training in buildings like barracks or archery ranges. Upon unlocking a contract, the mercenary unit is immediately available for deployment.

3. Integrating Mercenaries into Formations

  • Access Formation Screen: Navigate to your army’s formation interface.
  • Assign Mercenaries to Slots: Select a unit slot within your march and assign the desired mercenary unit from your unlocked contracts. This allows for seamless integration without altering existing troop counts.

4. Managing Mercenary Assignments

  • Cooldown on Removal: Removing a mercenary from a formation initiates a cooldown period before another can be assigned to the same slot. This mechanic encourages thoughtful deployment strategies.

5. Strategic Pairing with Legendary Heroes

  • Enhance Synergies: Combine mercenary units with legendary heroes to create powerful synergies. For example, pairing a cavalry-focused hero with cavalry mercenaries can amplify offensive capabilities.

By thoughtfully incorporating mercenaries and leveraging hero pairings, you can diversify your strategies and gain a competitive edge on the battlefield.

Types of Mercenary Units (with Recommendations)

The Mercenary System in Age of Empires Mobile introduces a diverse array of specialized units, each offering unique abilities that can significantly influence your battlefield strategy. Here’s an overview of the available mercenary types and expert recommendations based on their strengths:

Infantry Units

  • Japanese Samurai: These units enhance the activation chance of all troops’ heroes’ secondary strikes and active skills by 1%. They also possess a passive ability that reduces all damage taken by 2%. Recommendation: Ideal for warrior infantry formations, especially under heroes like Miyamoto Musashi, as the increased skill activation can substantially boost combat effectiveness.
  • Persian Immortals: Focused on skill damage, they provide a 2% increase to all troops’ hero skill damage. Additionally, after dealing skill damage, they reduce all damage taken by your troops by 3.5%, offering a more resilient infantry option.

Pikeman Units

  • Swiss Pikemen: These units grant a 2% defensive penetration, allowing your troops to ignore a portion of the enemy’s defense, and reduce all damage taken by 2%. Recommendation: Highly effective for warrior or marshal pikeman formations, as the defense penetration significantly enhances overall damage output.
  • Roman Centurions: They increase all troops’ hero skill damage by 2% and, after dealing skill damage, reduce all damage taken by 3.5%. While beneficial, the Swiss Pikemen’s defense penetration often makes them a more preferred choice.

Cavalry Units

  • Indian Battle Elephants (Trumble): These formidable units offer each hero in the troop a 5% chance to launch two normal attacks per turn, stacking with other double attack skills. They also reduce skill damage taken by 4%. Recommendation: Top priority for any cavalry-focused march due to their substantial damage potential.
  • Brynian/Ty Kaax: They provide a 2% increase to all troops’ hero skill damage and a 3.5% reduction to all damage taken after dealing skill damage. However, they lack the burst damage potential of the Indian Battle Elephants, making the latter a superior choice for offensive strategies.

Archer Units

  • Korean Archers: These units increase the activation chance of all heroes’ secondary strikes and active skills by 1% and consistently reduce damage taken by 2%. Recommendation: Highly recommended for archer-focused formations, whether led by warrior or tactician heroes, due to the enhanced skill activation consistency.
  • Egyptian Chariots: They boost all troops’ hero skill damage by 2% and, after dealing skill damage, reduce all damage taken by 3.5%, offering a more durable archer option.

Incorporating these mercenaries into your army compositions allows for tailored strategies that leverage their unique abilities, providing a competitive edge on the battlefield.

Mercenary Techniques

To maximize the potential of your mercenary units in Age of Empires Mobile, it’s essential to invest in Mercenary Techniques within the Mercenary Camp. Here’s a comprehensive guide to understanding and upgrading these techniques:

Accessing Mercenary Techniques

  • Mercenary Camp Interface: Within the Mercenary Camp building, navigate to the section dedicated to Mercenary Techniques. This area allows you to allocate resources to enhance your mercenary units’ capabilities.

Utilizing Research Speed-Ups

  • Accelerating Upgrades: Enhancing Mercenary Techniques requires time and resources. To expedite this process, utilize research speed-ups, which can significantly reduce upgrade durations.

Stage One Upgrades

The initial stage of Mercenary Techniques offers a variety of enhancements:

  • Standard Attribute Boosts:
    • Defense Boost: Increases the defensive capabilities of your mercenaries.
    • Health Boost: Enhances the overall health of mercenary units, improving their survivability.
    • Attack Boost: Augments the offensive power of your mercenaries, leading to increased damage output.
  • Specific Mercenary Type Bonuses:
    • Pikemen:
      • Reduce counter damage taken.
      • Increase damage bonus.
      • Enhance counter damage bonus.
    • Archers:
      • Increase military archer damage.
      • Provide bonuses to counter damage dealt.
      • Improve health, defense, and attack attributes.
    • Cavalry:
      • Enhance mercenary counter damage bonus.
      • Reduce damage taken from counterattacks.
      • Increase overall damage dealt.

Stage Two Upgrades

After upgrading a substantial portion (e.g., approximately 70%) of Stage One techniques for a specific mercenary type, Stage Two upgrades become accessible. These advanced enhancements offer more specialized and potent improvements, further amplifying your mercenaries’ effectiveness.

Investing in Mercenary Techniques is a strategic approach to bolster your army’s performance. By thoughtfully selecting and upgrading these techniques, you can tailor your mercenary forces to align with your overall battle strategies, ensuring a formidable presence on the battlefield.

Strategic Considerations

The Mercenary System in Age of Empires Mobile offers unprecedented flexibility in army composition, providing players with exciting new strategic opportunities. Here’s how to make the most of it:

Unprecedented Flexibility in Army Composition

  • Cross-Civilization Integration: You can now combine mercenaries from various civilizations with your chosen army. This breaks the traditional limitations of relying solely on civilization-specific units.
  • Customized Strategies: Tailor your formations to counter specific enemies or excel in particular scenarios by mixing and matching mercenary units with your regular troops.

Maximizing Hero Skill Synergies

  • Pairing Mercenaries with Heroes: To get the most out of your mercenaries, consider how their abilities complement your heroes’ skills.
  • Skill Activation Boosters:
    • Japanese Samurai & Korean Archers: These units increase the activation chance of heroes’ secondary strikes and active skills, making them ideal for hero-centric strategies.
  • Skill Damage Enhancers:
    • Persian Immortals & Roman Centurions: Both units enhance hero skill damage, providing consistent damage output improvements.

Considering Unit Roles

  • Damage Dealers:
    • Indian Battle Elephants (Trumble): With their double-attack chance, they are the most powerful offensive option for cavalry-focused marches.
  • Tanks and Survivability:
    • Persian Immortals & Egyptian Chariots: Designed to absorb damage effectively, providing resilience to your formations.
  • Skill Support Units:
    • Japanese Samurai & Korean Archers: Improve skill activation rates, ensuring reliable and consistent special ability usage.

By carefully analyzing your heroes’ strengths and identifying the roles your army needs, you can create powerful combinations that exploit the full potential of the Mercenary System. Experimenting with different mercenary setups will help you find the perfect strategy to dominate the battlefield.

Related Citadel Facilities and Technique Points

The Mercenary System in Age of Empires Mobile offers unprecedented flexibility in army composition, providing players with exciting new strategic opportunities. Here’s how to make the most of it:

Unprecedented Flexibility in Army Composition

  • Cross-Civilization Integration: You can now combine mercenaries from various civilizations with your chosen army. This breaks the traditional limitations of relying solely on civilization-specific units.
  • Customized Strategies: Tailor your formations to counter specific enemies or excel in particular scenarios by mixing and matching mercenary units with your regular troops.

Maximizing Hero Skill Synergies

  • Pairing Mercenaries with Heroes: To get the most out of your mercenaries, consider how their abilities complement your heroes’ skills.
  • Skill Activation Boosters:
    • Japanese Samurai & Korean Archers: These units increase the activation chance of heroes’ secondary strikes and active skills, making them ideal for hero-centric strategies.
  • Skill Damage Enhancers:
    • Persian Immortals & Roman Centurions: Both units enhance hero skill damage, providing consistent damage output improvements.

Considering Unit Roles

  • Damage Dealers:
    • Indian Battle Elephants (Trumble): With their double-attack chance, they are the most powerful offensive option for cavalry-focused marches.
  • Tanks and Survivability:
    • Persian Immortals & Egyptian Chariots: Designed to absorb damage effectively, providing resilience to your formations.
  • Skill Support Units:
    • Japanese Samurai & Korean Archers: Improve skill activation rates, ensuring reliable and consistent special ability usage.

Castle Facilities and Technique Points

  • The Mercenary System is integrated with a broader set of features unlocked through Castle Facilities, all requiring Technique Points for progression.
  • Unlocking Castle Facilities: Becoming available after reaching Town Center Level 26 and advancing to the Glorious Age.
  • Technique Points: The key currency for unlocking and upgrading all Castle Facilities. Earned primarily through exploration, participating in events, or purchasing through the Mall.

Citadel Renovation

  • Unlocks after all buildings reach Level 30 and specific Technique Point levels are achieved.
  • Allows enhancement of units by renovating existing buildings, providing additional buffs to specific troop types.
  • Each building can be renovated up to five times, offering stacking stat bonuses (e.g., increased defense for archers by upgrading the Archer-related building).
  • Unlocking higher tiers requires significant Technique Point investment.

New Research Institute

  • Unlocks after Citadel Renovation, introducing a new technology tree at the University.
  • Provides further stat bonuses and progression opportunities, considered end-game content.

By carefully analyzing your heroes’ strengths and identifying the roles your army needs, you can create powerful combinations that exploit the full potential of the Mercenary System. Experimenting with different mercenary setups will help you find the perfect strategy to dominate the battlefield.

Getting Your First Mercenaries for Free

The Mercenary System in Age of Empires Mobile offers unprecedented flexibility in army composition, providing players with exciting new strategic opportunities. Here’s how to make the most of it:

Unprecedented Flexibility in Army Composition

  • Cross-Civilization Integration: You can now combine mercenaries from various civilizations with your chosen army. This breaks the traditional limitations of relying solely on civilization-specific units.
  • Customized Strategies: Tailor your formations to counter specific enemies or excel in particular scenarios by mixing and matching mercenary units with your regular troops.

Maximizing Hero Skill Synergies

  • Pairing Mercenaries with Heroes: To get the most out of your mercenaries, consider how their abilities complement your heroes’ skills.
  • Skill Activation Boosters:
    • Japanese Samurai & Korean Archers: These units increase the activation chance of heroes’ secondary strikes and active skills, making them ideal for hero-centric strategies.
  • Skill Damage Enhancers:
    • Persian Immortals & Roman Centurions: Both units enhance hero skill damage, providing consistent damage output improvements.

Considering Unit Roles

  • Damage Dealers:
    • Indian Battle Elephants (Trumble): With their double-attack chance, they are the most powerful offensive option for cavalry-focused marches.
  • Tanks and Survivability:
    • Persian Immortals & Egyptian Chariots: Designed to absorb damage effectively, providing resilience to your formations.
  • Skill Support Units:
    • Japanese Samurai & Korean Archers: Improve skill activation rates, ensuring reliable and consistent special ability usage.

Castle Facilities and Technique Points

  • The Mercenary System is integrated with a broader set of features unlocked through Castle Facilities, all requiring Technique Points for progression.
  • Unlocking Castle Facilities: Becoming available after reaching Town Center Level 26 and advancing to the Glorious Age.
  • Technique Points: The key currency for unlocking and upgrading all Castle Facilities. Earned primarily through exploration, participating in events, or purchasing through the Mall.

Citadel Renovation

  • Unlocks after all buildings reach Level 30 and specific Technique Point levels are achieved.
  • Allows enhancement of units by renovating existing buildings, providing additional buffs to specific troop types.
  • Each building can be renovated up to five times, offering stacking stat bonuses (e.g., increased defense for archers by upgrading the Archer-related building).
  • Unlocking higher tiers requires significant Technique Point investment.

New Research Institute

  • Unlocks after Citadel Renovation, introducing a new technology tree at the University.
  • Provides further stat bonuses and progression opportunities, considered end-game content.

Free Mercenary Event

  • During the official announcement, it was mentioned that players could secure their first Mercenaries for free by completing a new event available at the time of the update.
  • While the specifics of this initial event may change, keep an eye out for similar introductory events that may offer free mercenary contracts or Technique Points to kickstart your mercenary journey.

By carefully analyzing your heroes’ strengths and identifying the roles your army needs, you can create powerful combinations that exploit the full potential of the Mercenary System. Experimenting with different mercenary setups will help you find the perfect strategy to dominate the battlefield. Good luck, Commander!