My First Hire Mess-Up
Okay, so I started playing Might and Magic II Gates again, wanted to finally beat that dungeon near the swamp town. Figured, “Hey, I need help, right? Hire some hirelings!” Saw a fighter guy just standing there looking tough. Clicked on him, saw it cost like 500 gold, thought “No big deal.” Paid up, got him in the party. Felt good, safety in numbers, ya know?
Went straight into the dungeon, bumped into some poison snakes almost instantly. Fight wasn’t going great. Then boom! My shiny new hired fighter takes a nasty crit, drops dead. Was kinda annoyed, but thought, “Whatever, I’ll just hire someone else later.” Finished the fight, barely alive myself. Went back to town feeling salty.
Big shock later: Went to check my gold stash to hire another guy… it was gone! The gold I used to hire the dead fighter? Yeah, vanished. Poof! Like, totally not in my inventory anymore. I kinda stared at the screen for a minute. “Wait… did I just pay 500 gold for about 2 minutes of mediocre blocking?” Smashed my keyboard a little, real dumb move on my part.
Figuring Out What Went Wrong
So, after calming down, I needed to know the rules. Loaded an older save (thank goodness I save a lot) and started experimenting with hiring and dying on purpose. Annoying, but needed answers. Here’s the lowdown I figured out, the hard way:
- Dead Hirelings = Lost Gold: When a hired hand kicks the bucket, the gold you paid them just disappears forever. It’s not refunded, it’s not lying on their corpse. It’s gone. Poof.
- Corpses Don’t Hold Gold: Searched that dead fighter’s corpse? Yeah, me too. Nada. You loot whatever gear they had (usually crap), but your hiring fee? Not coming back.
- They Don’t Just Wander Off: Thought maybe they’d respawn or something back at the pub? Nope. Once they’re dead in that combat, they’re done. Out of your party permanently.
- Only Hire What You REALLY Need: Found a Cleric hireling? Tempting for heals. But 750 gold? Ouch. Suddenly those starter spells don’t look so cheap after all.
My New Hireling Strategy (No More Wasted Gold!)
Alright, learned my lesson. Stopped treating hirelings like disposable tools. Here’s how I do it now:
- Check My Gold REAL Carefully: Before I even walk up to a hireling, I look at my gold total. Can I actually afford to lose this cash? If it leaves me broke? Not hiring.
- Plan the Trip: Am I just popping into a dungeon to grab one thing near the entrance? Maybe skip hiring. Going deep into a nasty boss area? Okay, maybe worth the risk.
- Pick the Role Carefully: Do I need a meatshield tank? Or a backup healer in case my main guy runs out of juice? Hireling slots are limited, so I pick the gap I desperately need filled for this specific trip. No more “Oh he looks cool” hires.
- Save RIGHT AFTER Hiring: SUPER important step! Right after I pay the gold and the hireling joins the party? I hit F8 and Quick Save. Immediately. If they die stupidly in the first 30 seconds (or a bug happens), I can reload without wasting the gold. Saved my bacon a couple times already.
- Treat Them Like Glass: Seriously, I try to keep them back. Have my beefier characters take the hits. The hireling? They’re just there for their one specific job – shoot arrows, cast a single important spell, maybe block one hit. Keep ’em alive as long as possible!
Yeah, lost that 500 gold like an idiot. But now, knowing the rules, hiring actually feels useful instead of a total gamble. Saves me some headaches, saves a lot of gold, and makes those tough spots a tiny bit less terrifying. Learned the hard way so you don’t have to!
