AI Exploit: Unescorted Workers

[isau]

Not 100% sure this will always happen but there may an exploit with Workers. The AI seems to evaluate them as zero threat, which they are if course. However the AI does not appear to take into consideration armies standing near the Worker. You can exploit this by sending the Worker into or nearby enemy territory. The enemy will give up its fortification to grab the Worker, then you can jump them and steal the Worker back.

I'm not sure how serious this issue is or if others can replicate it. Has anyone else noticed this hole?

 

[sabinfire]

Yes, this is a well-known 'aspect' of the game that the AI completely disregards common sense.

 

[CultureManiac]

On another note, if I'm in the middle of a war and don't need extra workers at home, I've been using captured workers as free extra scouts, sending them into forests to let me know if there's a unit on the other side, or using them to give me a line of sight on cities so my artillery can bombard them, etc. I'm not worried if they get recaptured since I would have deleted them anyway ... in addition to their recapturing sometimes putting an enemy unit in a vulnerable spot.

 

[Alphard]

How about if losing a worker would add a temporary -3 to your empire.. or something like that? It would make sense reality wise as well - the population SHOULD be worried when civilians get overrun and taken to work-camps by the enemy. It would also reduce the incentive to use the tactics described.

Actually I think I would even prefer this mechanic if the AI were PERFECT in regard to ignoring the workers in tactical situations. Right now losing a worker to barbarians seems quite trivial as you can get it back quite quickly with no ill effects.

 

[Semmel]

Maybe the playes military unit is out of view of the AI's military unit? If it cant see whats going on, why should it not get the worker?

 

[Pantastic]

Yes, this works just like in Civ4, though it's a little less effective now (they won't split a unit away from the SOD or out of a city stack). I don't use it directly because it feels cheesy to me, but I will use surplus workers for scouting.

Interestingly, workers always remember their original maker, so if you lose one you didn't build when you recover it you get the option of turning it back over to the original owner. In one game I took over Wu Zetain's land and workers, and left her with just some crappy cities that would have been annoying to capture. A few centuries later I lost a worker in a war, captured it back, and got the option to return it to her for more goodwill.