I'm not entirely sure if it changed but for a while the devs were talking about bugs with the player becoming a mercenary in lord armies on the forums so I think they might have removed it. I personally never joined a lord's army but I can give plenty of advice on what I did for the early game. Bandits are really strong in Perisno so you'll want good companions ASAP, I suggest Shi Jin for training and one of the elves for path finding, plus one of the medics.

The main ways to make money in the early game are buying goods low and selling them high elsewhere, as well as selling prisoners which should be easier to get if you use blunt weapon cavalry like Perisno Priestesses or custom player mercenaries. Before the Zann invasion you'll want to buy enterprises in basically every city for the steady income you'll need when you start a kingdom, and make sure you mix up your enterprises with dyeworks, oil presses and wine presses so you don't flood the market too much.

Thanks a ton! I'll give it a go again with enterprises and companions!

Originally posted by Gandolph --:

Thanks a ton! I'll give it a go again with enterprises and companions!

choose a high looting skill start, enable freelancer in your options, enlist with elintor. you will quickly have mid-high tier armor for sale or use, and gain renown, exp, etc.

Originally posted by Dominvs-Accipiter:

Originally posted by Gandolph --:

Thanks a ton! I'll give it a go again with enterprises and companions!

choose a high looting skill start, enable freelancer in your options, enlist with elintor. you will quickly have mid-high tier armor for sale or use, and gain renown, exp, etc.

Sorry but what is freelancer? and how do I enable it?

Originally posted by Gandolph --:

Originally posted by Dominvs-Accipiter:

choose a high looting skill start, enable freelancer in your options, enlist with elintor. you will quickly have mid-high tier armor for sale or use, and gain renown, exp, etc.

Sorry but what is freelancer? and how do I enable it?

Choose Camp -> Change Game Settings -> Under Overworld Options get a tick on "Enable Freelancer"

There are also a ton of things you can enable, disable, or modify there <3

Originally posted by šÞ Lil Bunny:

Originally posted by Gandolph --:

Sorry but what is freelancer? and how do I enable it?

Choose Camp -> Change Game Settings -> Under Overworld Options get a tick on "Enable Freelancer"

There are also a ton of things you can enable, disable, or modify there <3

Thanks! I'll check it out, also Ive always heard about joining a lord's army, will this allow me to?

Edit: Okay I just did and now I understand haha but also is there no way to peacefully leave my army and keep my equipment without deserting?

Originally posted by Gandolph --:

Originally posted by šÞ Lil Bunny:

Okay I just did and now I understand haha but also is there no way to peacefully leave my army and keep my equipment without deserting?

You can choose to retire. If you don't have the retire option, I believe you haven't served long enough yet. Keep marching.

I find it faster to just hire a few Viragos or Maidens of War from a tavern and then poop on the lower mid tier bandits until you can hire enough mercenaries to start tackling the tougher groups. Starts netting you decent prisoners you can use to phase out the expensive mercs and some the gear you'll get sells well if you don't need it.