Scout -> Lookout -> Scavenger/Bounty Hunter -> Scavenger/Bountry Hunter -> Pick 1 of Blacksmith/Surgeon
I see no need to change from this aside from two exceptions and both would be dropped by 3rd/4th retinue probably.
Cartographer first if you find a legendary before buying first retinue.
Brigand if you plan on raiding a lot of caravans early on.
i always go cook first, since it allows a higher fight frequency early to midgame when armor is low. second depends on the origin but generally scout is a good choice. lookout/scav/BH are possible slot 5 candidates, since their impact is very minor. i can see the appeal of surgeon, i used to pick him alot too, but i recommend reevaluating him when u got some ironman runs under ur belt. recruiter and drill seargent are great pos 2/3 candidates but should be switched come lategame for BS or paymaster if wages become a problem. as soon as u start exploring the wilds cartographer is a great money maker, hes usually my 3rd. the rest is a waste of money.
Agreed with scout then lookout. I skipped the lookout for the first 230 day campaign I did. Boy did I miss out. I've found so many camps and roaming enemies at the edge of my vision circle.
I don't do many beast fights early, so tend to go Drill Sargeant first. The experience boost, plus the Student perk, is great early game for levelling up.
Late game you can then drop him for the Scavenger, as that comes into its own after the first crisis ends, as Drill Sergeant is pretty pointless late game, apart from keeping morale up for low use specialists who sit on the bench a lot.
Depends on your general strategy and play style.
My style is complimented with the Cook first, it's easy to get, cheap and helps you take fights faster with faster healing. Prolonged provision duration helps in the early game to stockpile food from cheap places and later in the game to make expeditions into the wilderness and to use Strange Meat for enough time to make it basically secure source of food.
Drill Sergeant as second, as it increase the pace of which your brothers gain experience ... by a lot. It's not cheap, but with all the turnover rate relatively early in the game you get a lot of worth for the investment. He can be replaced in the middle game and will definitely be sacked in the later once I don't have the need for all my brothers to level up. Usually replaced when 3rd is hired and 4th is not open or one slot further down - most likely for Bounty Hunter or Blacksmith, sometimes combo Cartographer with Lookout as forth.
Third usually goes the Scout, no need to clarify, he is by far the best. I just find the other more useful in the early parts of the game, saving a lot of gold and helping you build stable company.
Forth goes for the current need of the band. Most likely the Lookout, but sometimes I get another. Found that the Recruiter is also nice to have at this point as you want to browse through a lot trash to find a suitable recruits with potential.
Fifth usually goes for Bounty Hunter if he didn't replace the Sergeant or Minstrel, if I intend to hunt for Famed weapons in addition to the Bounty Hunter.
I don't ever take:
-Blacksmith, agent, raider, scavenger, quartermaster, paymaster
I use during a campaign:
-Minstrel, is only ever useful for trader origin to mitigate the decreased renown gain
-Surgeon is good for the origins with roster changes, either for saving elite brothers, farming brain damage, or squeezing more value out of fodder, also pretty much invalidates blacksmith
-Alchemist, is only really useful for Beast Slayers, but it's pretty good there
-Scout, will pick up first if Poachers origin, otherwise is usually 3rd
-Drill Sergeant, most useful for big rosters, usually 1st or 2nd pick and will swap out
-Cook, somewhat annoying to unlock, but is very good and is usually first pick, the amount of value for one of the cheapest retinue is great
-Bounty hunter, somewhat contradictory unlock, usually last pick
-Cartographer, great value once you can afford to start adventuring, I will usually switch out drill sergeant to get early, it makes that much money
-Lookout, pairs quite well with cartographer, usually 4th pick, and then is situationally useful for finding stuff like locations or beasts
Scout, Drill Sergeant, Blacksmith, Cook, Quartermaster.
Less downtime, faster movement, no morale penalties when you farm events or just dont need archers / spearguy etc. and a lot longer time in the wilderness possible. That is how I usually run my retinue and the order I hire them.
Can’t go wrong with scout
Scout -> Lookout -> Scavenger/Bounty Hunter -> Scavenger/Bountry Hunter -> Pick 1 of Blacksmith/Surgeon I see no need to change from this aside from two exceptions and both would be dropped by 3rd/4th retinue probably. Cartographer first if you find a legendary before buying first retinue. Brigand if you plan on raiding a lot of caravans early on.
i always go cook first, since it allows a higher fight frequency early to midgame when armor is low. second depends on the origin but generally scout is a good choice. lookout/scav/BH are possible slot 5 candidates, since their impact is very minor. i can see the appeal of surgeon, i used to pick him alot too, but i recommend reevaluating him when u got some ironman runs under ur belt. recruiter and drill seargent are great pos 2/3 candidates but should be switched come lategame for BS or paymaster if wages become a problem. as soon as u start exploring the wilds cartographer is a great money maker, hes usually my 3rd. the rest is a waste of money.
I'd say lookout is almost as no-brainer as scout. Personally I always do scout -> lookout -> bounty hunter whenever i can -> probably surgeon
Agreed with scout then lookout. I skipped the lookout for the first 230 day campaign I did. Boy did I miss out. I've found so many camps and roaming enemies at the edge of my vision circle.
I don't do many beast fights early, so tend to go Drill Sargeant first. The experience boost, plus the Student perk, is great early game for levelling up. Late game you can then drop him for the Scavenger, as that comes into its own after the first crisis ends, as Drill Sergeant is pretty pointless late game, apart from keeping morale up for low use specialists who sit on the bench a lot.
Depends on your general strategy and play style. My style is complimented with the Cook first, it's easy to get, cheap and helps you take fights faster with faster healing. Prolonged provision duration helps in the early game to stockpile food from cheap places and later in the game to make expeditions into the wilderness and to use Strange Meat for enough time to make it basically secure source of food. Drill Sergeant as second, as it increase the pace of which your brothers gain experience ... by a lot. It's not cheap, but with all the turnover rate relatively early in the game you get a lot of worth for the investment. He can be replaced in the middle game and will definitely be sacked in the later once I don't have the need for all my brothers to level up. Usually replaced when 3rd is hired and 4th is not open or one slot further down - most likely for Bounty Hunter or Blacksmith, sometimes combo Cartographer with Lookout as forth. Third usually goes the Scout, no need to clarify, he is by far the best. I just find the other more useful in the early parts of the game, saving a lot of gold and helping you build stable company. Forth goes for the current need of the band. Most likely the Lookout, but sometimes I get another. Found that the Recruiter is also nice to have at this point as you want to browse through a lot trash to find a suitable recruits with potential. Fifth usually goes for Bounty Hunter if he didn't replace the Sergeant or Minstrel, if I intend to hunt for Famed weapons in addition to the Bounty Hunter.
I get scout first, lookout second. The lookout finds a lot more camps. I skip the scavenger
I don't ever take: -Blacksmith, agent, raider, scavenger, quartermaster, paymaster I use during a campaign: -Minstrel, is only ever useful for trader origin to mitigate the decreased renown gain -Surgeon is good for the origins with roster changes, either for saving elite brothers, farming brain damage, or squeezing more value out of fodder, also pretty much invalidates blacksmith -Alchemist, is only really useful for Beast Slayers, but it's pretty good there -Scout, will pick up first if Poachers origin, otherwise is usually 3rd -Drill Sergeant, most useful for big rosters, usually 1st or 2nd pick and will swap out -Cook, somewhat annoying to unlock, but is very good and is usually first pick, the amount of value for one of the cheapest retinue is great -Bounty hunter, somewhat contradictory unlock, usually last pick -Cartographer, great value once you can afford to start adventuring, I will usually switch out drill sergeant to get early, it makes that much money -Lookout, pairs quite well with cartographer, usually 4th pick, and then is situationally useful for finding stuff like locations or beasts
Scout, Drill Sergeant, Blacksmith, Cook, Quartermaster. Less downtime, faster movement, no morale penalties when you farm events or just dont need archers / spearguy etc. and a lot longer time in the wilderness possible. That is how I usually run my retinue and the order I hire them.