Neutral AI bringing tactically insignificant units to my areas/settlements

**Septentrionalis** · June 01, 2019, 04:24 PM

(EDIT: Neutral AI bringing...)

I am playing 2.3 as Rome and having a conflict with Areuakoi in Iberia. I have no claim to Lusitanian lands and have proposed alliance with them, which they rejected a couple of times. I have tried to steer clear of their areas as well not pose an immediate threat, as I do not want another enemy.

The Lusitanians, however, have started doing three things and have kept at it. First of all, they bring a huge navy (about ten stacks of two ships each) to the Balearic Islands, which I control. The next turn all of them leave only to come back again. They do not attack any of my small navies operating in the area as troop transports. Second, they bring a single unit there next to my settlement (disembarking on land), but do not lay siege. They stay a few turns and then go away, only to return again. Third, they keep an assassin next to one of my continental Iberian settlements but never attempt any foul play.

Are they on the verge of attacking me but then just each time decide it is not worth it? The relations are not worsening each turn anymore, although they were for some time earlier.

**Beckitz** · June 02, 2019, 05:14 PM

It's Quintus telling you that, if he could have his dream mod, your collision of political ambitions would force you to go to war with them over the respective territory

**Lusitanio** · June 03, 2019, 07:33 AM

It's the AI trying to decide wether to attack you or not. It seems that they don't want for now. It's like when you really want to eat that cookie but you shouldn't because of your diet and so you keep going to the kitchen unitl you finally eat the damn cookie xD

Anyway, AI behaviour has been improved on each version, so you won't see that situation happening that much, at least it hasn't on my testings.

**Septentrionalis** · June 03, 2019, 03:22 PM

Ok, thanks guys. So they send a guy to look at my settlement wall for six months, in which time he decides that we are too strong for him to subdue. So he returns home and then remembers that hey, I better go check if we could attack those guys. And comes back to stare at my wall.

Somehow I do not feel as threatened as before.

**Neyak** · June 03, 2019, 05:00 PM

In terms of weird things the AI does, consider this: KH was reduced to just Rhodes. They keep building units for years and years with several partial stacks on Rhodos. However, they completely evacuate the city. One of the stacks rebels and marches into the town without resistance. Now KH is destroyed but everything is exactly as before on the island -- same units, same generals, same everything, just no longer called KH. I took it to represent the Rhodians having giving up the dream of a greater federation of poleis.

**Septentrionalis** · June 04, 2019, 02:46 PM

Originally Posted by Neyak

In terms of weird things the AI does, consider this:

That is pretty neat; thanks for sharing! Unexpected things like that actually increase my immersion into the game and offer nice roleplaying opportunities like the way you interpreted the situation. I probably would have taken it as a general stagnation of political life or a bloodless coup.

What I don't get about my situation is that why do they keep sending single units to stand by my settlements (now two of them have this Lusitanian wall-starer). My roleplaying interpretation is that they are playing real politics and giving us a reminder that they do not appreciate us increasing our presence within their sphere of influence. We either have to tolerate it or go to war. Comparable things happen in the real world as well.

**Hellenikon** · June 04, 2019, 04:42 PM

The AI is affected by the fog of war, so if they don't have available spies, factions sometimes use small stacks to explore the map and get an upgrade of the situation of your armies and settlements.

**R.P. Gryphus** · June 04, 2019, 05:04 PM

Originally Posted by Lusitanio

It's the AI trying to decide wether to attack you or not. It seems that they don't want for now. It's like when you really want to eat that cookie but you shouldn't because of your diet and so you keep going to the kitchen unitl you finally eat the damn cookie xD

Anyway, AI behaviour has been improved on each version, so you won't see that situation happening that much, at least it hasn't on my testings.

Hey Lusitanio!

I mostly play RoTK, but I was curious about this AI behavior you're speaking of. Did you manage to prevent them from forming huge armies without generals in it and having very small armies with a general in it? It happens all the time in RoTK and Stainless Steel.

Thnaks!

**Lusitanio** · June 04, 2019, 07:36 PM

Originally Posted by FoggyFogFiggy

Hey Lusitanio!

I mostly play RoTK, but I was curious about this AI behavior you're speaking of. Did you manage to prevent them from forming huge armies without generals in it and having very small armies with a general in it? It happens all the time in RoTK and Stainless Steel.

Thnaks!

Well, I did nothing in regard to that, as my work as been mainly with testing and traits. But I can say that testing after testing, the most common behaviour is the contrary, that is, the AI forming huge armies with generals and having very small ones without. I have fought some stacks without Generals but it is a rare thing to find in EBII, at least on the current version.

BTW: Because I'm playing on Very Hard campaign, this influences the AI behaviour on campaign map.

**Septentrionalis** · June 05, 2019, 02:21 PM

Originally Posted by Hellenikon

The AI is affected by the fog of war, so if they don't have available spies, factions sometimes use small stacks to explore the map and get an upgrade of the situation of your armies and settlements.

Thanks Hellenikon. It seems so obvious now that you mention it. I suppose that if I evacuated most of the defending units out of a town, the chances of them initiating conflict would increase considerably. It still baffles me that the AI does not respect borders at all but keeps crisscrossing through my area as they please.

If I enter my ally's area to help them fight off an intruder, they take it as an offensive maneuver.

**Lusitanio** · June 05, 2019, 03:11 PM

Originally Posted by Septentrionalis

If I enter my ally's area to help them fight off an intruder, they take it as an offensive maneuver.

I think if you have army movement permission you can do that without being considered offensive by your ally. It is a bit hard to get them to allow that but as long as you have good relation, money and keeptrying, they will eventually allow

**Septentrionalis** · June 06, 2019, 03:01 PM

Originally Posted by Lusitanio

I think if you have army movement permission you can do that without being considered offensive by your ally. It is a bit hard to get them to allow that but as long as you have good relation, money and keeptrying, they will eventually allow

Thanks for the encouragement to keep trying. I have had no luck with that so far and have not been trying lately. Maybe I should try the money approach. Feels stupid to pay someone to get to help them, though

Speaking of which. Does anyone know what is going on when AI diplomats come to your settlements and do the scroll-presenting animation but you do not get a proposal?

**Lusitanio** · June 06, 2019, 03:59 PM

Originally Posted by Septentrionalis

Thanks for the encouragement to keep trying. I have had no luck with that so far and have not been trying lately. Maybe I should try the money approach. Feels stupid to pay someone to get to help them, though

Speaking of which. Does anyone know what is going on when AI diplomats come to your settlements and do the scroll-presenting animation but you do not get a proposal?

They are trying to buy the settlement by obscure ways x)