Could we get the ability to create mercenary bands now that the Market exists?

[Heavenly Serpent]

So I had an idea, which is that now that Stellaris has such an improved market, players could create and hawk mercenary bands in a "Mercenary Market" - parallel to the Slave Market. You could designate a fleet of ships as Mercenary Vessels, causing them to take up a reduced amount of your Naval Cap, and earning you money passively as long as they're doing Mercenary work. It could work very similarly to sending a mercenary company away in CK2, but with more active work. This helps to avoid the problem with Condottieri in EU IV, since you can't necessarily choose who you're hiring out mercenaries to. This would be a fun way to interact with the War system if you're playing as a neutral party, and seeking to play more passively.

Thoughts?

 

[AlazkanAssassin]

Just as long as acting as mercenaries gives them a huge increase in how early they bug out of fights via emergency FTL. If i rent them out i want them coming home in (mostly) one piece.

 

[SpectralShade]

The AI would just buy them instantly, as it got infinite resources. Don't think it would be balanced with the AI in its current state.
It's basicly you having fleets while earning money on them instead of paying for them, all the while the AI keeps pouring more and more resources made from thin air into the system.

 

[Heavenly Serpent]

The AI would just buy them instantly, as it got infinite resources. Don't think it would be balanced with the AI in its current state.
It's basicly you having fleets while earning money on them instead of paying for them, all the while the AI keeps pouring more and more resources made from thin air into the system.

The AI definitely does not have infinite resources, unless you're playing on absurd difficulty. If you're getting the impression that it does on standard difficulty, you probably need to improve your basic gameplay skills.

 

[Mastikator]

Just having the option to sell your ships (like we can with robots and slaves) on the market would be cool IMO

 

[SpectralShade]

The AI definitely does not have infinite resources, unless you're playing on absurd difficulty. If you're getting the impression that it does on standard difficulty, you probably need to improve your basic gameplay skills.

you are aware of all the reports that it can buy stuff from the market for free?

 

[Jazzbanana]

It has to be smartly designed tho, with some downside and/or limitations (like minimum fleet size/service time) and locked behind a policy, so that some factions will condemn it. If it's just something you do every run to squeeze some credits from idle fleets, regardless of your ethics and civics, then it's just an annoying mechanic. This said, if done well I'm all for it, alongside some other market tweaks, like being able to buy/sell ships and technologies.