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Faction tactics and strategies and preferred loadouts

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Helios.:
i know that the mg hire themselves out as mercenaries and sell ships, because, after all, war is good for business, if you are in the business of war. the MG are in every business. they make a lot of money in peace and in war.

we know that the mercantile elite have sort of a subdued opulence, modesty is at least payed lip service. the whole nation is called the guild, so its unclear if everyone is involved in manufacturing and traveling around or in the support activities required to maintain that effort. if everyone has a stake in this endeavor, they might not be that destitute on the bottom. we know that the free market can, and usually is, not all that compassionate, but in a city with a huge demand for goods and services and having survived a huge plague not TOO long ago, there might be labor shortages in such a bull market. if the MG is as constantly at war as we might assume, especially if they are hiring out as mercenaries, there might be a pretty simple method out of despondent poverty: enlisting. in such a volatile world, its not unbelievable that the guild would be constantly looking for more folks to go do dangerous jobs, and given the community-first attitude that hold over from the days of the cure searching, i'm sure there would be no trouble in finding volunteers looking for fortune, and some would certainly find it. this avenue to fortune would create a huge pool of potential mercenary sailors, their support personnel who make a healthy living enabling them: ship builders, munitions factory workers, etc.
society could be awful in general, but the people we are playing as, if we play for the MG, they are likely fortune hunters or grizzled veteran traders, who have seen it all and survived. they have seen every kind of war, against every enemy: raiders, pirates and probably even the formal militaries of more than a few of the factions.

Jamini:

--- Quote from: Mercantile Guild Page --- The Great war caused an upheaval of climate change where the world entered a period of disorder. No only were nations stripped to ruins but the environment was also brought to its knees. As living standards dropped, disease became common and struck hardest in the pocket of land now called The Vastness, current home of the Mercantile Guild.

A merchant of the guild is always a composed individual, adorned in the richest but simple cuts of fabric with only some jewelry--like a single shining star in an otherwise black night. A guild merchant moves carefully, speaks meticulously, and is never boisterous like their local town market counterparts. This is because a guild merchant never forgets how he came to be, how his ancestors afforded him this life of abundance. The Blight struck The Vastness the hardest and many thousands died. The early merchants realized they needed to look towards the outside world for help, a cure that constantly slips between their fingers and is carried by the winds. The same wind that carries the dust is thought to have brought the Blight to their people.

The Guild has much to offer, but is never satisfied. There is always more to gain and there is always someone who has it.

Nothing will slip through their grasp
--- End quote ---

Looking at the Mercantile Guild, they are foremost Merchants and Entrepreneurs.

Of any other faction, they are the most likely to have massive caravans bound for other countries from which they need to protect from raiders (especially the Arashi, who border them). Guild lands are large, empty, and mostly flat, which leads to the development of the predominantly long-range sniper platform Mobula.

The Guild is likely one of the factions least interested in waging outright offensive wars. Their diminished population and reliance on other factions for trade and survival would disincline them to direct conflict, and their true enemy (the Arashi) do not have a standing army. Much of their military assets would be caravan guards, arms distribution, and mercenaries units that sell their goods and services to other factions.

Guild Mercenaries would act much like their signature ship in a conflict, hanging around the edge of a conflict to disable and pick off enemies at long range and evading close range encounters. This not only would allow them to be a very effective compliment to the groups that hire them should they run heavier ships with more maneuverability (and thus, ability to protect flanks) but allow Guild Mercs to more easily disengage if a battle turns sour.

The Guild also very likely incorporates ships from other factions into their own fleets. Particularly for setting up fortified trade posts or defending their own land from large-scale assaults. Their standing fleet would likely be one of the weaker fleets(Outgunned by the Yeshan, Barony, and Angelean fleets), but their logistics would be unmatched and no matter who they faced they would almost certainly have an third player as a military ally to supplement their fleet.(Willing or coerced, depending on the exact situation).

TL:DR
-Army of mostly Caravan guards and Mercenaries loyal to the guild, few enemies outside of the Arashi
-Prefer long range ships/sniping due to terrain, favored gunship, and supporting role in conflicts
-Most likely faction to incorporate ships from other factions
-Weak military, but lots of hooks/favors to pull unrelated allies in to protect their assets. Plenty of money for bribery.
-Unmatched Logistics, world-wide trade network.

Helios.:
in general, i agree.

in specifics i think there are a couple assumptions that are incorrect, namely that the population numbers are still recovering from teh epidemic. i think that the main effect of the grey wasting, or whatever it was called, is the cultural affects you described of some level of modesty and humility in the face of the mountain of dead countrymen who let them get where they are today. 

in terms of battle ships, from the mobula as well as the alliance ship the magnate who is also of MG design, we can see that the MG navy is designed for overwhelming force. the mobula as we currently see it almost exclusively is a long range disabler ships, but remember that in other configurations it could be a incredibly versatile 'anything' ship. its one constant feature is that it has a LOT of firepower put all up front. the magnate is maneuverable but largely designed for vicious broadsides, with two light guns and a heavy gun easily able to be brought to bear.

my theory is that the MG hope that their flamboyant golden-yellow heraldry and their powerful first strike capabilities would disincentivise attacking any trade convoy protected under the aegis of the MG.

it also makes them valuable as mercs: such a powerful first strike both minimizes casualties for whatever side hired them. good for the employer, good for the employee: the ruthless operators of the mercantile guild

Jamini:
Debilitating diseases tend to have population impacts for generations, and it's outright stated that the MG were hit the hardest by the grey wasting. The primary guild territory is called "The Vastness" even to this day, explicitly implying that much of the land they hold is empty and sparsely populated.

Compared to the other heavy ships from alliance, stating that the Managate is designed for "Overwhelming firepower" is a bit disingenuous. Most ships, except the goldfish, featuring a heavy weapon have at least one light weapon they can bring to bear alongside it. I wouldn't say it has disproportionate firepower compared to them, if anything it's a lighter "heavy" ship.

That said, you are right. The MG sees to prefer to frontload their damage potential at the expense of durability. The Mobula (was) fairly fragile and slow in close quarters, but very dangerous if it could bring it's forward facing guns to play. The Magnate seems the same with high damage primary arcs, but with a relatively fragile hull.


--- Quote ---my theory is that the MG hope that their flamboyant golden-yellow heraldry and their powerful first strike capabilities would disincentivise attacking any trade convoy protected under the aegis of the MG.
--- End quote ---

That would make sense for caravan guards/escort ships. I suspect MG-supported mercs would act differently however.

Helios.:
no other ship in alliance has a trifecta with a heavy gun except the magnate, so  felt like that counted as overwhelming firepower. its mobility and small blind spots make it ideal in counter ambush situations

the yeshan galleon is of course the heaviest loaded out ship in terms of a ship of the line, but its not a ship that would be very useful in an ambush. the yeshans are expansionists: they push forward with overwhelming numbers and strength, with hug capitol ships like the galleon and smaller support ships to guard their blind spots and chase down fleeing enemies.

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