How many merchants to send?

[unmerged(2899)]

I keep thinking I'll be out of newbie mode soon, but alas, the amount of time I have to play the game is limited, and there are so many interesting questions....

Anyway, I am a bit confused on adding merchants to CoT properly. I turned off auto-send merchants based on all the advice here (hey, and suddenly I have some money to spend!) but now I am struggling with the ins and outs of trade center management.

My question is basic: How many merchants do I need to send to have an impact in a CoT? I know there is a competitive aspect to it, but how do the rules work?

Let me give an example: Let's say I have three merchants in Venice. When I first started playing, I thought that if I sent one more merchant there, he would then compete for additional trade. He'd either get it and I'd have 4 merchants, or not get it and I'd still have three. But then I realized that sending one additional merchant never got me additional trade, and furthermore, I never even got a "failed to expand trade" message.

So then I thought maybe to expand from three to four merchants I need to send 4 additional merchants over, since they build up along the right hand column of the trade center report graph. But this doesn't seem right either as in this case I'll often jump from level three to level 5.

So at the end of it, I remain muddled and confused. Can anyone help me out? Thanks!

 

[unmerged(3388)]

So Basically here you go...

Each of the merchants that you send only have a % chance to succeed and start business. That is basically dependant on your Trade Tech level and the other countries level that are already there and you have to compete against to gain the trading spot.

You will almost definatly get the place in the CoT if there is a space (ie less than the per CoT maximun of 20 merchants). So look out for these.

The game does not announce when you fail to get a merchant placed only when you succeed or when an exisiting merchant gets kicked out of a CoT.

Oh, and if the CoT is in your Province you get a positive bonus.

Cheers, Ice

 

[WhiteHojo]

My help will be limited to my own observations but I'll try....

Seems that whenever I send a merchant to a CoT 1 of 3 things will always happen:

1) nothin - don't know why or what happens but sometimes the merchant simply disappears w/o accomplishing anything

2) some other nations merchant that is currently at the CoT will be kicked out

3) My presence at the CoT will increase

and maybe 4) not absolutely sure of this but I believe I have seen a combination of 2 & 3 - that is, another nation will lose a merchant while at the same time my share will increase (but this is not actually confirmed, just a vague recollection while I sit here dodging work)

Hope it helps (or at least someone else posts more info)

 

[unmerged(2724)]

merchants

I've found that going for a monopoly is a sure way to increase competition. I always try and keep 5 merchants in any COT since going for the 6th always causes someone to go after him. Also, I send in pairs since, using WhiteHojo's example I will sometimes bump someone and sometimes bump someone take his place. So if the first merchant only bumps someone then my second merchant is assured of a place. But if the first one bumps and replaces then if the second one bumps my % of the trade increases for the merchant in place and if he bumps and replaces I'm even better off.

 

[unmerged(372)]

I usually send no merchants out at all for the first few decades, at least until I get a good tech level. Send a merchant somewhere for $7 when he will end up making $0.3 a year is a big waste of money. Only if you have high trade tech and some reserves should you put cash in this. Infrastructure is a more solid investment, while guns and troops are a more urgent one usually.

 

[unmerged(2073)]

As mentioned earlier, you first want to check for spaces in the CoT. If there is a space then it is normally a good idea to take this.

In the early stages, your priority should probably be to put 2 or 3 merchants in the major CoTs of Venice, Flanders, Novgorod and maybe Genoa. If you find others in Isfahan and Delhi then send as many as you can to these until they are full (ie 20 places taken).

The one exception is trying to get a monopoly in a CoT with 19 positions already occupied (you have 5). Generally I avoid this because the monopoly is only worth 1/20 of trade in this case and it's the most vulnerable position to hold. Perhaps if it's a big CoT and there is a random event : Trade Embargo you might change this tactic and take the monopoly while clearing the other merchants out but even then with 14 other merchants they it will take a while.

When a new CoT opens, I try to flood this will 6 merchants a.s.a.p and while there are unclaimed spots, try to keep the monopoly. Holland is a common one here but it will probably be full in a couple of years.

You should tend to concentrate on your own CoT's if they are worthwhile and those in the colonies are usually worth holding a monopoly in. Also can do the same with Tianjin in China and Edo in Japan since these guys are useless at competing and you can hold monopolies there for years. Competing in a Portuguese or English CoT in India, a Dutch CoT in Indonesia or a Spanish CoT in Mexico is another matter but with a bit of trial and error you'll find whether or not you should stop sending merchants.

Finally, no problem holdnig 6 merchants. If there's nothing for them to do then let them sit around idle. Nothing is worse that needing a merchant and not having one available.

 

[unmerged(2073)]

Oh and generally I don't try the send two merchants (the first to make space and the second to take it). It might pay off sometimes but has less chance of getting a pay back than one where your competition does the clearing and you take the space

 

[unmerged(599)]

Even when a CoT is full, I try to send two at a time to the closer ones (i.e., less expensive) on the theory that doing so is more economical to me that to the competition. This seems to pay off on those occasions when I bump two merchants out. Their owners then have to pay more to make up the lost ground than I spent initially.

Regards,
Maturin

 

[unmerged(931)]

I'm with driedcow and Coeur de Lion. I don't waste money early in the game, but when I'm up to trade level 3 I look for opportunities.