What is the point?

[Huskalator]

What is the point of engagement points and decisions? These things seem completely useless. They might even be buggy as several don't seem to work very well.

And while I'm on this point what is the logic behind merchants and tradeposts? Is there any strategy here? Might as well just give me the income in a random event. Why do I have to place them in the first place?

The whole thing just seems really ill conceived if you ask me.

[Pocus]

Decisions allow you among others things to get money with requisitions, at the expense of loyalty. Money is a rather important resource! Merchants and trade posts, you must deploy them in foreign territory, but the catch is that if an enemy unit moves into the region, the trade post will be burnt, so this is not 'random' either. You have to choose where you send the merchants.
As for engagement points, they act as a limiter on some game options that are pivotal to the game. You just can't click on all the options because you have money, you need sometime political leverage and that's the aim of EPs.

Hope it helped.

[Hobbes]

This has always confused me. Does the game allow me to place merchants in regions with an enemy garrison?
There is normally no way of knowing if an enemy garrison exists in the town where I place the decision otherwise.
If a garrison does exist will the merchant be automatically placed back in the decisions pool the following turn?

[bob.]

Yeah merchants are a bit strange.. apart from the fact that there is no downside to placing them I really don't see the point (of course, I see the GAMEPLAY point but I mean I don't see how it makes any sense) because usually on the map it's only you and your enemy. Does it really make sense to send merchants to your enemy?

[ERISS]

Does it really make sense to send merchants to your enemy?

I didn't play, so my answers could be irrelevant:
_ Maybe not making sense: But in a non scooted region you may be able to take the chance to sending the merchant safely; you don't know.
_ Maybe yes: It could be used as a bad spy who'll be find and killed, when you don't have good ones left.

[bob.]

It's just that from my understanding a "merchant" is someone who trades one thing for something else. The money you get is the profit the merchant makes from these trades. But if you send a merchant to your enemy won't he profit from the merchant as well because he can sell his goods/buy goods he needs? Which is exactly what you don't want since you know.. he is your enemy!
But it's really not a big deal in the game the merchant makes so small amounts of money - it's nice to have them and be able to place them but nothing game-changing.

[Hobbes]

This has always confused me. Does the game allow me to place merchants in regions with an enemy garrison?
There is normally no way of knowing if an enemy garrison exists in the town where I place the decision otherwise.
If a garrison does exist will the merchant be automatically placed back in the decisions pool the following turn?

I thought I would test this out. I can place merchants and tradeposts in regions with an enemy garrison. The merchants will remain but the trade posts will not.

[Pocus]

The feature works better admittedly if there is a neutral party around. If you play a scenario where there is only you and the enemy, then these merchants should probably be done differently.