The_Unforgiven
KoEkWaUs
What is the best way to get two AI civs start a war, and keep out of it yourself?
How to incite a war...
- Thread starter The_Unforgiven
- Start date
Rambuchan
The Funky President
I wonder about this sometimes but it seems very hard to do. I'd be interested to hear more experienced views. Gifting coveted cities doesn't work. Trade embargoes don't directly incite war but encourages some hate. I can think of only two things in my humble experience that come close to bringing two enemies into conflict but like I say, no guarantees.
a)
Civ A = Powerful, advanced
Civ B = Weak, backward
Denying resources to B who borders enemy A helps. It helps A consider invading B and if they've had a previous conflict this is a good way to go. More often than not they will invade but not at a time of your choosing mostly. However, I find in those situations I actually want to prop up B against A so that the powerful one won't make an easy conquest and rise further. This scenario assumes that A has access to those resources themselves.
b) Not really your precise situation but if you've previously been in an alliance with one civ against another, even after you have left the war there is a good chance that the hate they developed in that war will keep lasting. Often if they made peace, war between them can follow at some point, whether you are in the equation or not.
I find the best way is to take part in those wars yourself. Then you can both guide them into direct conflict ensuring they smash each other and most importantly you can secure the spoils of war and not them!
a)
Civ A = Powerful, advanced
Civ B = Weak, backward
Denying resources to B who borders enemy A helps. It helps A consider invading B and if they've had a previous conflict this is a good way to go. More often than not they will invade but not at a time of your choosing mostly. However, I find in those situations I actually want to prop up B against A so that the powerful one won't make an easy conquest and rise further. This scenario assumes that A has access to those resources themselves.
b) Not really your precise situation but if you've previously been in an alliance with one civ against another, even after you have left the war there is a good chance that the hate they developed in that war will keep lasting. Often if they made peace, war between them can follow at some point, whether you are in the equation or not.
I find the best way is to take part in those wars yourself. Then you can both guide them into direct conflict ensuring they smash each other and most importantly you can secure the spoils of war and not them!
Say Civ A is military, Civ B is a peaceful builder, you are sneaky civ C.
Civ A dislikes Civ B but is lacking gold or a strategic resource, i.e. iron to build their UU which would trigger a GA ...
Civ C:
1. Civ C gives Civ A plenty of lump gold to fuel a war between Civ A and Civ B. Civ A will use the gold to upgrade obsolete units or to build new ones. Having Civ A the military trait they just need a little push on the right direction. Give'em plenty of gold and point with your finger, they'll do the unpleasant job for you.
2. Civ C will gratiously trade iron, saltpeter, oil, rubber to Civ A so as to foster wars.
3. Civ C captures/settles city in the borderline of land belonging to Civ A (this really annoys Civ A) and then immediately gifts the city to Civ B. This is calling for war because the city will be unprotected.
4. Similar to number 3 but you settle on a luxury or valuable resource close to Civ A and gift it to Civ B. Civ A lacks it and wants it.
5. Sign ROP with them and deploy your troops in such a way as to create units walls so as to funnel the AI units to attack cities of size 1 ( so they are razed when captured) or cities which you want attacked for one reason or another, i.e. so they pillage the oil, then they raze that city which has the oil in it's radius, and you settle it and claim the city for yourself. Become a puppet master.
.
.
.
Take profit on the ensuing wars to trade with both parties and profit on the onslaught. Sell'em luxuries, strategic resources, even gift them techs so they can build deadlier military units. Foster wars at all times and remain in the sidelines trading and profiting - smirking.
Have your lovely Civ C settlers on hold to stroll and claim land which will appear after cities of Civ A and B are razed.
Civ A dislikes Civ B but is lacking gold or a strategic resource, i.e. iron to build their UU which would trigger a GA ...
Civ C:
1. Civ C gives Civ A plenty of lump gold to fuel a war between Civ A and Civ B. Civ A will use the gold to upgrade obsolete units or to build new ones. Having Civ A the military trait they just need a little push on the right direction. Give'em plenty of gold and point with your finger, they'll do the unpleasant job for you.
2. Civ C will gratiously trade iron, saltpeter, oil, rubber to Civ A so as to foster wars.
3. Civ C captures/settles city in the borderline of land belonging to Civ A (this really annoys Civ A) and then immediately gifts the city to Civ B. This is calling for war because the city will be unprotected.
4. Similar to number 3 but you settle on a luxury or valuable resource close to Civ A and gift it to Civ B. Civ A lacks it and wants it.
5. Sign ROP with them and deploy your troops in such a way as to create units walls so as to funnel the AI units to attack cities of size 1 ( so they are razed when captured) or cities which you want attacked for one reason or another, i.e. so they pillage the oil, then they raze that city which has the oil in it's radius, and you settle it and claim the city for yourself. Become a puppet master.
.
.
.
Take profit on the ensuing wars to trade with both parties and profit on the onslaught. Sell'em luxuries, strategic resources, even gift them techs so they can build deadlier military units. Foster wars at all times and remain in the sidelines trading and profiting - smirking.
Have your lovely Civ C settlers on hold to stroll and claim land which will appear after cities of Civ A and B are razed.
SJ Frank
Spamalot Co-court
If Civ A is between you and Civ B, declare on Civ B, then sign Civ A into alliance.
You really can't. All the examples given are highly idealized and does not reflect the reality of most in-game situations. Besides, you won't have a CivA and a CivB only. Most games have more than 2 AI civs and the examples assume they are neighbours. The AI could just as easily attack you.
Most Civs are neither builders nor warmongers. They are the same AI, their Civ traits and aggressiveness level only modifies this to create a slightly different behavior.
The only way to make it 'more likely' for one AI to go to war with another is to bring them into war against each other as part of a military alliance. Even then it could require one of the AI to take cities from another or for the player to gift a city to one side, to create a historical enmity between the two Civs.
However, even with historical enmity, you're still playing the waiting game and you're still not in control. The AI may no declare war again for many more turns because the game has developed such that there are other targets to fight or world wars have developed diverting their attention.
It has also been suggested that gifting high aggressiveness civilizations lots of gold so that it may upgrade its army and build even larger armies might be a way to start a war, but it is dangerous game. There are blowback implications to this, if for example the AI attacks a strategically important trading partner.
Most Civs are neither builders nor warmongers. They are the same AI, their Civ traits and aggressiveness level only modifies this to create a slightly different behavior.
The only way to make it 'more likely' for one AI to go to war with another is to bring them into war against each other as part of a military alliance. Even then it could require one of the AI to take cities from another or for the player to gift a city to one side, to create a historical enmity between the two Civs.
However, even with historical enmity, you're still playing the waiting game and you're still not in control. The AI may no declare war again for many more turns because the game has developed such that there are other targets to fight or world wars have developed diverting their attention.
It has also been suggested that gifting high aggressiveness civilizations lots of gold so that it may upgrade its army and build even larger armies might be a way to start a war, but it is dangerous game. There are blowback implications to this, if for example the AI attacks a strategically important trading partner.
SJ Frank
Spamalot Co-court
777 said:
"If Civ A is between you and Civ B"
CivB ----- CivA ----- You <--
"declare on Civ B"
CivB <--
----- CivA ----- You"then sign Civ A into alliance"
CivB
CivA ----- You <-- 
If you are stronger than either, let one have an RoP to get troops quickly to the other. Alternatively, wait till they make peace and give RoP to get them quickly out of your land.
If you want to dogpile one, give RoP to the other and join the fray to grab some land.
If you want to dogpile one, give RoP to the other and join the fray to grab some land.
SJ Frank
Spamalot Co-court
777 said:Well I ment situation like this
CivA ---- Me
Well, in this case, I don't see a way to incite a war between A and B without getting our own hands dirty. Even if they managed to fight without us starting it, it would still be very inconvinent for us.
However, if there was a civ C somewhere out there:
CivA ---- Me
---- CivB --way out there-- CivCAnd we feel particularly
that day, we could get A to declare on C, then as A's troops are going through B's land, get A to declare on B. If A's troops could do enough damage to B on the initial turn, then B won't ever be strong enough to push the war out of his land, resulting in a war that's not nearly as messy, since only 1 AI needs to trespass our land now 
What I did was that I moved troops out of my land, so either didn't capture anything. Eventually they was in war 10-20 turns without doing nothing. I just didn't want to get involved, didn't bother and didn't want to give anything to either part.
SJ Frank
Spamalot Co-court
You could do what zerksees did in this game. Set up a blockade so that neither side can reach each other. This way, the AI's won't trespass on your land, and hopefully because neither side has lost anything, they won't make peace either.
Anytime you can keep AI's at war without gaining anything, you have benefited yourself.
Anytime you can keep AI's at war without gaining anything, you have benefited yourself.
I didn't use blockade I removed AI troops with remove or I declare war on diplo screen. It worked. 'cos I was allmighty either part didn't dare to go to war with me.
One plan I had in mind, I let AI to move its troops to open ground near of my cities, then declare war and kill them to that place. But that didn't make any sense so I drop it
One plan I had in mind, I let AI to move its troops to open ground near of my cities, then declare war and kill them to that place. But that didn't make any sense so I drop it
Rambuchan
The Funky President
I believe the original post was asking how to get two civs warring WITHOUT being involved yourself. Seems the short answer is you can't.
NP300
Prince
I would say trade embargoes are the best method. I have had games where I have signed a trade embrago against Civ X with every other civ. Eventually, Civ X starts to find itself at war with some of the other civs. AIs are more likely to go to war with a civ that they are not trading with.
Rambuchan said:
I think this would be a nice method but never tried it myself.
3. Civ C captures/settles city in the borderline of land belonging to Civ A (this really annoys Civ A) and then immediately gifts the city to Civ B. This is calling for war because the city will be unprotected.
SJ Frank said:And we feel particularly
That is *such* a fun way to annihilate the mobile army of an annoyingly strong neighbor. I haven't had the chance to do it nearly often enough.
Renata
Takezo
Chieftain
Is too easy start a war without spend a lot. I make some deals with weaks civs, and i use them like shields, and when i made a great army i atack the ex citys of my friends.
Sorry, my english isn't perfect
Sorry, my english isn't perfect
