Are the Mongols bugged?

**Sina84** · December 04, 2007, 08:50 PM

Well, the Mongol invasion was one of the things I was looking forward to the most in this game, and as soon as they invaded I sent a spy up to keep an eye on them. They moved westward and kept increasing into a pretty massive force before my spy died, and I decided to just leave them in the dark for the sake of anticipation. As each turn ended I was sure I'd see that a war had broken out between the Mongols and Poland, or Russia, or Turkey, but nothing happened. Looking at the standings I could see that they kept increasing in size and finance but remained on 0 settlements.

After about 30 years of nothing I sent a spy up to see what they were up to... Well I found them, sitting in the exact... same... spot... The same spot they were in 30 years earlier.

This was obviously a huge letdown, but I'm wondering if this is normal Mongol AI behaviour? Will they eventually attack something or should I just list this as another of CA's gamebreaking bugs?

**Sher Khan** · December 04, 2007, 09:36 PM

Usually the Mongols pop up around Baghdad or Yerevan. After that, they tend to make a bee-line towards Antioch. After Antioch, they head south to Jerusalem and Egypt.

But sometimes... they do just wander in the middle of the desert. It's weird, yes.

**Sina84** · December 04, 2007, 10:41 PM

They did pop up in Yerevan and went directly north west where they stayed. I did some test turns just now to see if they did anything eventually, and they did stay in the same spot for about another 10 turns before destroying the nearest Hungarian settlement and making it rebel, and then they continued west and didn't do much more for maybe 20 years. Nearly a hundred years later by just clicking end turn til my finger hurt, they had taken 3 settlements and got stuck in a cluster for the last 10 of those turns.

3 settlements by 1344 isn't exactly what I was expecting out of the "dreaded Mongol invasion". And even though they were enemies with Russia, a Russian army was standing right next to the cluster of seven full stacked Mongol armies destroying mongolian land, but they just remained in the same cluster without attacking them.

Must be some kind of fix for this.

**antaeus** · December 05, 2007, 12:21 AM

when they arrive, they wander toward their target city - antioch or kiev usually. they first show up with 2 stacks.

if their reinforcements arrive before they get to their target city, the original 2 stacks wander back to regroup with the new stacks.

this happens several times usually, so it can give them the appearance of wandering back and forward across the map.

it doesnt happen if they take a city first, but their reinforcements usually show up anyway and wander over to the city to join in on their rapid expansion. once they do settle their expansion is often rapid as they send stacks in every direction... they take 5-10 settlements within the same number of years.

its worse if they arrive via the northern route cause they get further across the map and sometimes dont settle till the timurids are about to arrive.

the timurids do the same.

it does allow for some exploiting of them though. you know they are going to arrive around the year 1212. if you sit 3 or 4 stacks on the edge of the map where they are likely to arrive, and you guess right, you can destroy them easily.. first 2 reinforcements, then the next lot then the next lot.. without having to face 15 stacks at once.

**Sina84** · December 05, 2007, 01:18 AM

That makes sense since they seemed to be headed for Kiev until they moved east again and didn't move until more stacks arrived. Thanks for clearing that up.

**Don in the North** · December 05, 2007, 03:46 AM

in my campaign, they moved randomly and aimlessly for maybe 40 years? then suddenly i get the message that antioch is their new homeland, so i send spys out and 5-7 turns later they have taken half of turkeys lands, reducing turkey to just 2 castles and 4 stacks.
turkey was a superpower too

egypt is holding its own, and russia is pressuring them from the north, and the mongols have some 12 stacks ready to go.

atm im waiting on them to take jerusalem or push into russia before i move in and sacrafice my high period army stacks against their horse archer stacks

**antaeus** · December 05, 2007, 03:57 AM

Originally Posted by don776

in my campaign, they moved randomly and aimlessly for maybe 40 years? then suddenly i get the message that antioch is their new homeland, so i send spys out and 5-7 turns later they have taken half of turkeys lands, reducing turkey to just 2 castles and 4 stacks.
turkey was a superpower too

egypt is holding its own, and russia is pressuring them from the north, and the mongols have some 12 stacks ready to go.

atm im waiting on them to take jerusalem or push into russia before i move in and sacrafice my high period army stacks against their horse archer stacks

hehe thats a classic mongol tactic.

i like to come over from the west (england or france etc), take cyprus and use it as a base.

once they move their stacks on to their new targets, they leave their taken cities poorly guarded.

i love to raid cities like antioch, acre, jerusalem etc.. take them, and give them back to the turks or egyptians. leaving the mongols in control of a shell of outer cities continuing to expand... and me going from city to city restoring the former owners... haha eventually i catch them up.