
Originally Posted by
Suiram
All the zones do have alternative waves of monsters, so to speak. There was a discussion about this in another thread but basically every non-northlands army--beastman and allied alike--has 11 units of mobs. 5 units can appear in any zone (the gnoles are one of these units for Orcs), 5 units are specific to a non-city zone, and the 11th unit is just 6 mobs/NPCs without a leader that nobody is really sure what they do. Additionally, if a city is under attack, any of the 5 roaming units for the beastmen can attack it, and any of the 10 roaming and zone-specific units for that nation can defend it. Presumably it will be the reverse for the new beastmen dungeons that are going to be released in the March patch.
For instance, in Rolanberry, Softstep and Vhuud Vanguards can appear, and that is the only zone they are able to fight in. But it can also be visited by Adamantfist, Hundredfist, Headhunter, Headtaker, Herohunter, their respective units, as well as (I'm nearly positive) by any of the Northlands mobs. Likewise, that is the only zone (aside from Bastok Markets) that Striking Bull will visit, but it can also occasionally see the units for Bartholomous, Maximilian, Ludwig, Elivra, and Kurt.
What determines which zone a roaming unit chooses to attack is unclear, Northlands included, and I believe it changes more frequently than just conquest updates. If you're really into the gnoles you could probably find which zone they've been visiting and hang there until they stop showing up and start appearing at a different battle.