So, I've seen a lot of 'let me sell fleets to other empires', and I figure it's time to work out a method for doing so.
There are two methods here: the mercenary market, and direct trading.
The mercenary market is a third tab, alongside the slave and regular markets. Like the slave market (correct me if wrong, never played slavers) works, it relies on other empires posting offers. These offers consist of fleets that you pay energy credits to acquire for a set amount of time, similar to how Marauder fleets work. While any empire can buy from the mercenary market, only specific civics (Warrior Culture, Naval Contractors, etc) can sell from the beginning (it can be unlocked via a society tech for other empires). These same civics also get various bonuses to mercenary fleets - it's their way of life, after all.
Mercenary fleets, once hired, grant the selling nation intel on the hiring nation (under the growing espionage mechanics) and gain experience, as well as a revenue stream for the selling nation. They also have higher escape chances and tend to auto-retreat earlier than equivalent national vessels (they can't get paid if they die), making them less reliable in combat.
Basically, the mercenary market exists to let you pad out your forces if needed, and to make you money if you have a large fleet but not a lot of reasons to use it. You also don't have to pay alloy upkeep on ships you've sent as mercenaries - the buying nation assumes some energy credit upkeep and the merc fleet buys their parts off the market.
The second route, directly selling fleets to nations, works a bit like trading star systems - a submenu in trade. You can ask for whatever you think valuable, balanced against the fleet power of the fleet you're selling. Or you can gift it. You can also set the duration of the contract - from a year to permanently sending the fleet to them. If you pick the latter, the fleet is not treated as a mercenary one anymore and instead becomes a regular naval force for the receiving nation, complete with alloy upkeep. This feature is mostly useful for bolstering nations you like, though if the combined alloy upkeep of the fleet you're selling will put the AI's alloy economy into the red, it will reject the trade with a tooltip explaining it cannot afford to maintain your ships.
Whether you buy via the market or direct trade, the result is the same - the mercenary fleet will appear at your capitol, ready for use.
There are two methods here: the mercenary market, and direct trading.
The mercenary market is a third tab, alongside the slave and regular markets. Like the slave market (correct me if wrong, never played slavers) works, it relies on other empires posting offers. These offers consist of fleets that you pay energy credits to acquire for a set amount of time, similar to how Marauder fleets work. While any empire can buy from the mercenary market, only specific civics (Warrior Culture, Naval Contractors, etc) can sell from the beginning (it can be unlocked via a society tech for other empires). These same civics also get various bonuses to mercenary fleets - it's their way of life, after all.
Mercenary fleets, once hired, grant the selling nation intel on the hiring nation (under the growing espionage mechanics) and gain experience, as well as a revenue stream for the selling nation. They also have higher escape chances and tend to auto-retreat earlier than equivalent national vessels (they can't get paid if they die), making them less reliable in combat.
Basically, the mercenary market exists to let you pad out your forces if needed, and to make you money if you have a large fleet but not a lot of reasons to use it. You also don't have to pay alloy upkeep on ships you've sent as mercenaries - the buying nation assumes some energy credit upkeep and the merc fleet buys their parts off the market.
The second route, directly selling fleets to nations, works a bit like trading star systems - a submenu in trade. You can ask for whatever you think valuable, balanced against the fleet power of the fleet you're selling. Or you can gift it. You can also set the duration of the contract - from a year to permanently sending the fleet to them. If you pick the latter, the fleet is not treated as a mercenary one anymore and instead becomes a regular naval force for the receiving nation, complete with alloy upkeep. This feature is mostly useful for bolstering nations you like, though if the combined alloy upkeep of the fleet you're selling will put the AI's alloy economy into the red, it will reject the trade with a tooltip explaining it cannot afford to maintain your ships.
Whether you buy via the market or direct trade, the result is the same - the mercenary fleet will appear at your capitol, ready for use.
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