AI attacking city states every game is frustrating

[schondette]

In every game i have played since Rise and Fall. the AI has been relentless in attacking city states. I find this to pretty game breaking and ultimately I have stopped playing for the time. Its kind of frustrating playing at all with this inevitability along with the all the other poor AI behavior. Have the developers addressed this at all? i dont really pay attention to the Civ community but this has ruined my experienced to the point i feel i have to express my concern with the small chance some change can occur.

thanks

 

[Morino1914]

Agree, they should be able to better defend them self early. And for that we have mods: CS starts with walls.

 

[schondette]

You dont even get a chance to defend them until AFTER there annexed which defeats the purpose

 

[Ferocitus]

In every game i have played since Rise and Fall. the AI has been relentless in attacking city states. I find this to pretty game breaking and ultimately I have stopped playing for the time. Its kind of frustrating playing at all with this inevitability along with the all the other poor AI behavior. Have the developers addressed this at all? i dont really pay attention to the Civ community but this has ruined my experienced to the point i feel i have to express my concern with the small chance some change can occur.

thanks

Fred Barbarossa, Gorgo, Alexander and Genghis laugh at your frustration.
Play against opponents that aren't as aggressive, or get a mod.

 

[Starwars]

I know some people are not really onboard with mods but I can't recommend the Citystate walls mod enough.

Having it installed may not make sense "tech-wise" of course but it makes the game unfold in a way that just makes a lot more sense.

 

[schondette]

Fred Barbarossa, Gorgo, Alexander and Genghis laugh at your frustration.
Play against opponents that aren't as aggressive, or get a mod.

nearly all of them are aggressive. save a couple. not a real solution here.

I know some people are not really onboard with mods but I can't recommend the Citystate walls mod enough.

Having it installed may not make sense "tech-wise" of course but it makes the game unfold in a way that just makes a lot more sense.

worth a shot. id really like to get into a game. thanks for the headsup

 

[MarigoldRan]

It's less frustrating then when they attack you.

 

[Cedbird77]

I too wish City states were more prepared to defend themselves.

But I also feel until that happens I adjust. I always build an army big enough to defend my Civ from a multi nation attack.

Give me a few turns I can build an invasion army to take back a CS I care about.

In my current game as China. The Cree had ate up like 3 CS. But they were Religious so I did not care. I am playing cultural.

Now they are bordering a CS I am Suzerain of. I don't want to fight. But I am ready.

Defending CS and liberating CS has its benefits and fun. I look it at it that way. I don't mind it as much as some.

 

[Pietato]

And if the Cree weere your allies or friends?
What if they ate up Auckland, Stockholm and Kumasi at the start?
What if several other AI ate the rest?

It needs a fix.

 

[acluewithout]

It’s tricky though, isn’t it?

Because sometimes capturing city states is a smart strategy.

Because the AI capturing city states also gives you city states to rescue.

Because the AI capturing city states triggers Emergencies which, if Emergencies weren’t awful, would be fun.

Because sometimes you, the player, want to capture city states, and if they were too tough you wouldn’t be able to do it.

And because if City States were super tough, that would be a problem when they follow their suzerain into battle.

 

[MrRadar]

And if the Cree weere your allies or friends?

Then there's a nice choice for you when the time for renewal comes, what's more valuable for you - they as such friends/allies or going and freeing that CS?

What if they ate up Auckland, Stockholm and Kumasi at the start?

So what? Nothing a few more units can't solve, if they're that important to you.

What if several other AI ate the rest?

Surely you're not aiming to be friends with every AI? Pick what swallowed CSs could matter for you and become a hero liberator for them. As for the other CSs, I couldn't care less what's become of them...

It needs a fix.

Nah, I feel that now things are about right. Apart from anything else, it is a good illustration how OCC is to turn out in most cases in this game

 

[Ferocitus]

nearly all of them are aggressive. save a couple. not a real solution here.

Empires are built by creating cities, as well as by "absorbing" city-states.
Some civs, by design in the game, have bonuses against city-states; others get
advantages from keeping city-states under their control. If you don't like that,
then get a mod to play the way you want. There is no need to modify the base
game to suit a few people who can't handle the aggressiveness of some civs.

 

[Karpius]

This is the sort of thread that seems contradictory to many other threads that complain of the AI's lack of aggression, or how "easy" the game is.

It also fits nicely into the historical context of the "big guy" gobbling up the "little guy"

If the developers read this forum at all, it must surely prompt them into coin flipping sessions to decide what direction to take next.

 

[Guynemer]

The only problem I have with AI aggression towards CSs is that when they lose control over them due to loyalty issues, they become "free cities" instead of turning back into a CS.

 

[BlackSmokeDMax]

Didn't they state that they worked on this for the recent patch? Perhaps just needs a bit more tweaking? I have seen them disappearing still but not as often as in the past.

 

[Archon_Wing]

This is the sort of thread that seems contradictory to many other threads that complain of the AI's lack of aggression, or how "easy" the game is.

Actually there is no contradiction at all. The AI rolling over CSs doesn't make the game harder. In fact, it can make it easier.

The human player can also conquer City States too.

 

[UWHabs]

Didn't they state that they worked on this for the recent patch? Perhaps just needs a bit more tweaking? I have seen them disappearing still but not as often as in the past.

Yeah, this has been my take, too. With the fixes they've done the last patch or two, I find that if I start the game with 9 city-states, probably 3 of them will get gobbled up by an AI, but the rest will generally speaking stick around. And I do find that they can last now for a little longer than they used to - I remember before when you'd see 4 of them taken out before turn 30, and now usually 1 dies early, but the others can last for a little bit. Some games it's more than others, sure, but there's enough that stick around that I don't feel like I'm wasting all my early envoys.

 

[Victoria]

For me, I love it.
Firstly I will try and push an envoy quest in as many CS as possible on my continent because that increases my chance of an emergency... but I will not push more. I’ll wait for the CS to be taken and then take it amd Free it for 3 envoys.
Also, let’s say Kumasi is heavily contested I will not bother but instead take the city, let if flip, take it and liberate it for 3 envoys as well as destroying theirs.

 

[Fluphen Azine]

Let us be honest... many of us would roll the CS's if they are close to us anyway so either the AI rolls them or we do. Heck many times I will train my troops on the CS and I don't play with any mods but if I played with a CS Wall Mod... my units would get even faster promotions I think. At least that is the idea with training Troops on CS's and Walls.

 

[Pietato]

This is the sort of thread that seems contradictory to many other threads that complain of the AI's lack of aggression, or how "easy" the game is.

It also fits nicely into the historical context of the "big guy" gobbling up the "little guy"

If the developers read this forum at all, it must surely prompt them into coin flipping sessions to decide what direction to take next.

What are you talking about? The AI does not lack aggression, it lacks skill. No one complains about a lack of aggression...