AI and sieges

**Radious** · August 05, 2009, 11:20 AM

Is there any mod that will make AI attack on my cities? When they attack on my city and i start the fight with them, they jsut stay with rams, ladders,towers and do nothing so i have to leave city and attack them. Or i have to always wait manny turns, loose troops because of this waiting to make them attack? They have siege equipment ready, but dont use it :-(

**JuL14n** · August 05, 2009, 11:22 AM

If your city is under siege and you choose to sally out, then it's you that attack the AI from your city.
Not the AI that attacks you.

**Radious** · August 05, 2009, 11:52 AM

Yes but how can i make Ai to attack me then? Wait 10 - 15 turns when they siege my citty? Because i dont see then any other way to defend myself on castles, citties........

**NikoTeaJay** · August 05, 2009, 12:04 PM

You could try sending in a relief force to defeat the besieging army or sally forth (if you have enough troops) and beat the enemy in your settlement's front yard.
Alternatively you could try and use a diplomat to get the enemy agree to a truce.

Then of course, there's always the possibility that you will just have to lose that settlement for now.

**Radious** · August 05, 2009, 12:49 PM

I want fight with them on my castle, like they will attack with rams, ladders and this stuff and i will defend myself on the walls....but i cant make this real god dammit.

**Ichon** · August 05, 2009, 01:00 PM

Originally Posted by Radious

I want fight with them on my castle, like they will attack with rams, ladders and this stuff and i will defend myself on the walls....but i cant make this real god dammit.

AI not totally stupid, only way to get AI to attack fast is when it has overwhelming forces. You can still win sometimes but much more difficult. AI also has tendency to attack when it is desperate so only a few cities left.

Usually the best way to get AI to go into siege battle is to have tiny amount of defender to draw AI into siege then send a small but elite relief force which will make for the central square or walls if you hold those position that long when AI attacks. Most heroic victories for me come in sieges... any time I am actually prepared to fight and the AI did not surprise me with a small garrison force of peasants or something. So it is no wonder AI doesn't attack when probably it will lose and if it simply waits a few turns it cut your forces by 1/3 or more as they starve.

**mcv** · August 07, 2009, 09:07 AM

Originally Posted by Radious

I want fight with them on my castle, like they will attack with rams, ladders and this stuff and i will defend myself on the walls....but i cant make this real god dammit.

The thing is: on the walls of your castle, you've got an advantage. And the AI doesn't want you to have that advantage when it can just as easily starve you while waiting for you to sally forth.

If you want to fight, you'll have to bring the fight to them. The AI isn't going to do your work for you.

**luciferleigh** · August 07, 2009, 10:58 AM

thats because your citadel is part of your defense, counting ballistas/cannons 3:1 odds defending a citadel to me seems like an advantage, and if you cant send a relieving army within the turns left (afaik citadels have more than 8 turns to survive) then maybe you dont deserve the citadel in the 1st place

**baronfuming** · August 07, 2009, 01:22 PM

The only thing I have to add, is that when you choose to sally forth, the AI army actually moves away from the settlement. Is there a way to make them either stay put or advance? A script or something similar? It gets annoying when your troops have to travel a third of the map just to engage the besieging force.

**Anatorax** · August 07, 2009, 07:02 PM

If they try to starve you all the time, I think you have a bug. Not so long ago I played as Kiev and had war with all of my neighbours except Hungary and Seljuks - every turn at least one my settlements was sieged. 2/3 of all sieges the AI jumped on my walls as soon as it had his siege equipment (next turn). 1/3 of all times they tried to starve me, but I didn't wait for long - I sallied out (Lithuanians loved starving me to death, nobody else did). I would try to get another campaign/battle AI.

I don't know in what part of the map you play, but unless it is Cumans, Kiev or Novgorod, where the regions are HUGE, you should be able to get help from your nearby settlements quickly. Or try to sally out with archers, stay close to the gates, shoot at the enemy and as he approaches, get behind the walls. Usually they will just turn around and march back. And you repeat the trick again.