Ever dreamed of witnessing Joan of Arc leading Roman Centurions into battle or Hannibal Barca deploying Japanese Samurai to sack Rome? With the latest update to Age of Empires Mobile, your dreams can become a reality thanks to the new Mercenary Troops system. This innovative feature allows you to field units typically locked to other factions, opening up a whole new world of strategic possibilities.
Once you reach level 26, you'll unlock the Mercenary Camp structure, which serves as your gateway to contracting and recruiting these powerful new units. Not only can you hire mercenaries, but you'll also have the opportunity to unlock and upgrade tech to enhance their capabilities even further. To sweeten the deal, you can secure your first mercenaries for free through a new event that's currently live.
The list of available Mercenary units includes Byzantine Cataphracts, Swiss Pikemen, Persian Immortals, Indian Battle Elephants, Roman Centurions, Egyptian Chariot Archers, Japanese Samurai, and Korean Archers. Each of these units comes with unlockable tech that will amplify their already impressive battlefield prowess.
The new Mercenary Troops system evokes memories of Total War games, where I recall overwhelming enemies with hordes of mercenaries in titles like Rome: Total War and Medieval II. However, this addition might be polarizing—while some may appreciate the expanded strategic options, others might worry about potential balance issues. Only time will tell how well this system integrates into the game as players get their hands on it. Who knows? We might even see custom units like the historical Landsknechts become available in the future.
If you're looking to get started with the best heroes to unlock, check out our comprehensive guides for Age of Empires Mobile. Our tier list ranks all the heroes by their power, helping you distinguish the exceptional from the underwhelming.
