Advice on some new BTS leaders in current game

[madscientist]

OK, after finally winning with Churchhill I ma currently playing as Peter. A quick summary (huge randon big/little maps, Monarch, marathon speed)

Start with an ideal location, cows, 2 floodplains, 3 gems !!!, grassland on a long river. Also popped mysticism very early and founded Hinduism. The remaining land is crappy desert or jungle, but Moscow is a production juggernaut. I also have elephants/stone/iron but no horses. I have built 6 additional cities and plan one more (I need 8 to get enough building for things like Oxford...). Moscow is a wonder production city, getting alot of GP which I setteld in Moscow (one exception is first GS used for an adademy) and i am running a SE with representation (from pyramids). So finally to my question, I have met 4 AIs, all new BTS leaders that I have very limited experience with

1) Jaoa II to the north, but he has alot of cities including some probably high maintinance ones mixed within mine (sorry no screenshots). I am friendly with him (-1 for close borders) since we share the same religion, +6 from past good events, and I have helped him. He always struck me as a pain ala Catherine but I was wondering, can I expect these good relations to last through the game, or do i need to attack and take him out (that would be a big time/resource investment on my part).
2) Pacal. He is north of Jaoa and founded/currently Confuscous. He is caurtious biut we have open borders and have traded techs in the past. My understanding is he can be fairly peaceful even at cautiuousand I would expect Pacal and Joao to go at it first.
3) Sitting Bull is to my south and pretty much minding his own business, he is pleased (seams barely) because we share hinduism and we will have close borders eventually.
4) Boudica: OK, we are friendly (no diplomatic disadvantages), we share the same religion and have had good random events to bring us closer together . She is to the south, bordering Sitting Bull. I think great, bribe here to attack the Protective Bull but I get the Message We have enough on our hands, meaning she's going to war, but with who???? She's been like this for several centuries. BTW, she still have axes/swords/chariots and I have elephants/Macemen/Longbows.

Can I keep the peace here up to rifling era? I would prefer the time to continue building Moscow up, smash some out teched AIs, and find some horses for Cossacks (Joaoa has the closest ones but he also has the great wall).

Suggestions/comments/advice on these 4 new AIs is appreciated.

 

[Indiansmoke]

My experience with these 4 suggests as follows

Jaoa will backstab you at first oportunity. He is a good techer after feudalism and mixes units pretty well. I would proioritize taking him out.

Pascal likes wonders and keeps low military.

Sitting bull is a mini montezuma and will propably keep Budica buzy

Budica will make tons of military but if kept at friendly or pleased will propably not attack.

 

[madscientist]

My experience with these 4 suggests as follows

Jaoa will backstab you at first oportunity. He is a good techer after feudalism and mixes units pretty well. I would proioritize taking him out.

Pascal likes wonders and keeps low military.

Sitting bull is a mini montezuma and will propably keep Budica buzy

Budica will make tons of military but if kept at friendly or pleased will propably not attack.

OK, punch the guy with the smirk on his face, ignore the screaming brat, watch my back with the crazed indian, and keep the lady happy. Sounds like a plan!!

 

[madscientist]

Well, this advice has turned out to be about 80% correct so far, I am at the rifling/cossage age while teching democracy.
1) Sitting Bull attacked me with outdated troops for no good reason. I beat him off, took 1 city and sued for peace. I am now trashing him again with Cossack against his highly promoted longbows, not much of a contest (I needed his coal so there was a reason).
2) Bouduca has stayed Friendly with me and she has declared war on Sitting Bull twice, and Tokugawa but not me. Seams like she is loyal.
3) Pacal is low on the Powergraph and happy to be poorly teching. He does control the AP which is concern but nothing to do with the advice.
4) Jaoa has turned into a valuable friend, so far. One city has culture flipped to me, another is on the way. We are Friendly and sign defensive pacts when not at war with someone else. The only reserve of oil for me is just outside of one of his big fat crosses so I built the hermitage in teh closest city to keep it. We will see how long this friendship lasts, but I won't be drawing first blood.

Thanks for the advice, it helped in the game.

 

[Bast]

Budica will make tons of military but if kept at friendly or pleased will propably not attack.

LOL. If kept at friendly or pleased, she'll attack later rather than sooner. But in any case she will attack. Squash her out as soon as an opportunity arises.

 

[madscientist]

To update these leaders. I just finished Genetics and teching Flight.

1) Sitting Bull is a vassal of Hannibal and is a non-issue now
2) Bouduca is still Pleased with me and has yet to declare on me. We share no borders now and I have tanks to her Muskets.
3) Pacal is Friendly with me (I gave hime electricity, radio, mass media to avoid an AP loss) and is my war ally. The diplo finally changed when I went to FR civic.
4) Joao is a backstabbing #$&$*. H ejust declared on me at pleased start WWII (I had Hannibal as a defensive pact). I now definitley consider him Catherine twin, same style of play as the AI.

 

[nbcman]

Joao is opportunistic. He seems to attack me in my offline games-but if you can deal with his UU he is not a difficult opponent to beat. But he does like espionage from the games I played-poisoned quite a few cities of mine during the medieval era war before I beat him down.

 

[madscientist]

Joao is opportunistic. He seems to attack me in my offline games-but if you can deal with his UU he is not a difficult opponent to beat. But he does like espionage from the games I played-poisoned quite a few cities of mine during the medieval era war before I beat him down.

Good to know. I don't think my battleships are too concerned with his UU

He has brought alot of infantry/artillery/cavarly which I trying to hold off with my remaining Cossacks (I am losing too many high percentage battles with these) and tanks. I will have build alot more tanks though but I have time and the CR wondered allowed me to switch to nationalism fast and draft some defense. One of the few times I use the draft.