In the important sections of descr_campaign_db are the attack modifiers under the AI section.
for the core buildings, I advise these lines
construction_cost_bonus_stone bonus 100 requires event_counter is_the_ai 1
construction_cost_bonus_wooden bonus 100 requires event_counter is_the_ai 1
it bypasses the need for lengthy finance scripting, it means the ai will be constantly upgrading their infrastructure.
on a similar note, the following hidden traits are amazing for boosting the ai and its level of competence.
Level GeneralAI
Description GeneralAI_desc
EffectsDescription GeneralAI_effects_desc
Threshold 1
Effect Fertility 10
Effect Command 4
Effect LineOfSight 20
Effect Loyalty 10
Effect BattleSurgery 33
Effect HitPoints 2
Effect TroopMorale 10
Effect MovementPoints +125
Effect Combat_V_Faction_Slave 10
Effect TaxCollection 50
Effect Trading 50
Effect Law 10
Effect SiegeEngineering 60
it's up to you how much of each is reasonable but all of those lines are perfect for the ai, I advise attack and not defence as it allows
the ai aggressors an advantage. and we should be rewarding their proactivity.
in the character file, the following is good.
starting_action_points 500 ; default value for all characters and pathfinding calculations
- This high value (not used for any specific character, but instead written before the characters themselves) effects the pathfinding. You must delete map.rwm for them to take effect. It will take a long time to load but it will be worth it.make the wage of generals nothing and captains high, makes the ai use generals more.
same with every unit, but I only recommend doing this to generals, maybe also admirals 0
also, lowering the wage of diplomats has a similar beneficial effect.
in SM Factions, give everybody naval invasions, it helps a tonne.
put all rebels on as low a spawn as possible, you don't have to but DEFINITELY, reduce the pirates chance of spawning as all they do is discourage
naval invasions by the ai.
in descr_strat make the faction fortified Knud instead of balanced Smith (or whatever is there) as that seems to be the best label for recruitment and war.
For the descr_strat file, a few things can be done.
firstly the necessary bit, put every single ai_label to default (except papal states unless you want them to be aggressive)
In the units file, you can give units up to 7 'fake' hit points, please do so with your own scrutiny to help the auto odds in the way you wish. (i recommend 4hp for cavalry units)
removing night battles is awesome, the ai screws itself too much with it and the human can abuse it super hard.
as far as starting armies and infrastructure goes, I advise you give the bigger starting nations (ie Byzantines) a super centralised production to both
hinder their expansion and also to make the centralised zone way more important.
for very spread out factions (ie Cumans) I recommend giving them high amounts of recruitment slots or just, in general, a better military infrastructure.
on that note, the final things I advise is removing all free upkeep from the game as the human player can abuse it and the ai doesn't realise it exists.