Campaign Difficulty: CAI Econ bonus or BAI Stat bonus?

[SupAll]

This is something I noticed about S2TW and that there is no (if not very slight) unit stat bonuses regardless of the campaign difficulty. Compared to previous RTW games, the AI received both financial and battle bonuses with their units receiving large morale bonuses to make it difficult to rout them with morale shocks. To me, not giving the AI unit stat bonuses makes the game less of a grind, especially when there are several stacks. This was an issue that annoyed me in late games of the previous TW games where you could see a dozen stacks and each of them had to be defeated to advance.

What are your opinions? Do you find S2TW's implementation of a more difficult AI better than in previous TW games? If you had to choose, would you prefer a CAI with an econ bonus (more armies) or a BAI with unit stat bonuses (tougher armies) ?

[the_mango55]

You can change the battle difficulty in the options menu.

[SupAll]

You can change the battle difficulty in the options menu.

You mistake my thread as a complaint. I am applauding the use of CAI econ bonuses to increase difficulty rather than AI unit stat bonuses. The AI in S2TW doesn't receive unit stat bonuses based on difficulty (unless them routing as quick as on normal is just a figment of my imagination?).

[Anibal at portas]

no bonus for AI,no bonus for human player.
is necessary a AI smart and logic only.
the AI shogun 2 totalwar is the best AI of all games totalwar,congratulation for CA,but is necessary improvement and development more the AI in a future patch for shogun 2 and for future new games,a rome 2 based in the second punic war with a AI improved and more smart is great.

[the_mango55]

You mistake my thread as a complaint. I am applauding the use of CAI econ bonuses to increase difficulty rather than AI unit stat bonuses. The AI in S2TW doesn't receive unit stat bonuses based on difficulty (unless them routing as quick as on normal is just a figment of my imagination?).

Well yeah I like it also, but it's always been like that hasn't it? At least since M2 (maybe Rome, haven't played it in so long) the campaign difficulty and the battle difficulty have been separate.

[SupAll]

Well yeah I like it also, but it's always been like that hasn't it? At least since M2 (maybe Rome, haven't played it in so long) the campaign difficulty and the battle difficulty have been separate.

I'm quite certain that the AI received rather large morale bonuses to make its units fight longer. However, in S2TW, the morale bonuses aren't there. Rather, it seems that the BAI is more responsive and is more prone to flanking/ambushing you than in previous TWs.

[athropos1]

Neither, the AI shouldnt get bonuses to make up for shortcomings in it's AI.

[SupAll]

Neither, the AI shouldnt get bonuses to make up for shortcomings in it's AI.

Then stop playing video games.

[Kazang]

On normal difficultly the AI actually has econ penalties of ~5%.

Hard has ~5% econ bonus over the player and no BAI bonuses at all. Very Hard has pretty big econ bonuses but only very small BAI bonuses. This is indeed the best way to have it set out and is in contrast to earlier TW games where the BAI had substantial bonuses over the player. In Empire for example the Naval battle AI got such huge stat bonuses on VH that it was almost impossible to penetrate the hull of a AI ship with a players ship of the same type, and it was pretty terrible, the higher difficultly levels were borderline unplayable.

BAI bonuses are extremely annoying to me, in a straight 1v1 fight I don't expect my units to lose simply because they are my units and not the AI's, that is just frustrating. I'm very glad those bonuses are a thing of the past.

[Border Patrol]

Yeah, the difficulties made Empire pretty unplayable. A defeated faction would never accept peace because YOU PLAYER! And a unit of AI militia could take out your Line Infantry. Don't even get me started on Islamic Swordsmen...