AI Making some Poor Strategic Decisions

[iamdanthemansta]

Now that I've started to get a better feel for FFH I've been ratcheting up the difficulty but I've been noticing that the AI seems to make some big strategic errors on whatever difficulty. In One game I played I attacked a Mercurians/Ljosalfar team fighting the Mercurians with there only city first. It took me a while to kill the Mercurians but while I was working on it the Ljosalfar just basically sat back. If they had hit me with a big stack then it probably would have been the end. Also when I finally went to invade the Ljosalfar they spread out there troops too much. They could do some damage with their hit and run attacks but since they never could kill my best units like this it was only a matter of time before I finished them.

In another game I was the Ljosalfar and another civ attacked me pretty early. I then basically just wiped out their whole army with my world spell and took a few cities. They started another war with me not long after even though my hero unit alone was enough to destroy their whole army and take their cities, with some support units. Gilden Silveric probably killed 70 units personally. These two games were in Orbis but I've been noticing a similar thing in regular FFH.

It seems that the AI which can be so ruthless in regular Civ has trouble understanding the importance of well upgraded hero units. The AI fights too much like it does in normal Civ with a swarm of units. In FFH though one hero unit can be almost unstoppable, at least to normal units. I wonder if the AI can really understand how to use the most powerful units in a deadly way.

 

[Lone Wolf]

It seems that the AI which can be so ruthless in regular Civ has trouble understanding the importance of well upgraded hero units.

That's true. They also use their heroes badly.

 

[Sephi]

yeah, I really hated it when the AI used their heroes to guard some unimportant fishertown just because the hero was the best defender. In my mod I blocked heroes from guarding cities/being used in patrols. teaching the AI to value experienced units is a bit more difficult, but last game I was attacked by Auric whose army was led by a combat V drill IV champion (he must have leveled him from killing barbs), so there is progress.

 

[kumquatelvis]

Does anyone know if the upcoming Wild Mana merge changes this sort of behavior at all, or just the AI's ability to use magic?

 

[[to_xp]Gekko]

the AI is all around better, the only thing that's not improved yet is naval behaviour.

prepare yourself to get attacked by nasty stacks of doom.

 

[kumquatelvis]

Darn, no navel changes? In my current game I'm on a private continent and I'm not even bothering to defend my cities (except to avoid the happiness penalty of course). The computer just doesn't know how to use boats.

 

[Lone Wolf]

Just increase the ships' cargo by 2.

 

[JonathanStrange]

Hero units must be difficult to program for; you want them to gain experience and to win merit in combat but you don't want them to be suicidal about it.

As I mostly lead the Ljosalfars, I know that I want Gilden Silveric out there doing his stuff but I often say, "Hmmm, he's gaining XPs regardless, slowly and surely, maybe I should have the new recruits gain the XPs instead." Yet I'd also like him stronger/deadlier sooner so I have Gilden make the kill usually - but he's always accompanied by other troops just-in-case.

If one could have an AI hero that consistently travelled in a stack, attacked only (or mostly) at high odds, avoided defending (to avoid the AI sticking him guarding the capitol 200 leagues behind the front lines), and worked to gain XPs, then I'd fear the enemy's AI heroes. But that day will never come.

 

[Tholal]

The AI seems to be a little better about using their heroes with the Wild Mana code. At least they seem less likely to have the hero wander around by themselves. In my current game, as leader of the Overcouncil I had everyone declare war on the Illians just to cause trouble. The Illians then proceeded to roll over the hapless Khazad with an army led by Wilboman (who was then slain when the Luchirip counter-attacked with a massive stack including crossbowmen, marksmen and gargoyles).

 

[Cutlass]

Bassium is a spaz. I had him as an team mate in a recent game and while at war he just ran from place to place in the enemy territory killing the occasional unit, but not taking cities that were weakly defended. And not healing damage. Eventually Bassium and a Herald were killed just because they fought dozens of time with no R&R.

As a whole I agree, strategy and tactics are really weak. The AI responds very poorly to military situations.

 

[Sephi]

If one could have an AI hero that consistently travelled in a stack, attacked only (or mostly) at high odds, avoided defending (to avoid the AI sticking him guarding the capitol 200 leagues behind the front lines), and worked to gain XPs, then I'd fear the enemy's AI heroes. But that day will never come.

well, the UNITAI_HERO in Wildmana is pretty close to this. More difficult and time consuming are hero special abilities like those of Loki, Rantine, etc.