Are City-States more vulnerable on higher difficulties?

[JamesNinelives]

This just occured to me as I've been seeing city-states captured a lot lately, and I'm used to playing on lower difficulties. The AI produces more units on higher difficulties and tends to maintain a large army. Has anyone else noticed city-states being captured more/less on different settings? I can't help but think they don't have much of a chance with some of the fleets I've seen sent to capture them.

 

[Recursive]

The AI gets more unit supply and Production/maintenance discounts on units whereas City-States have a unit cap; so yes, on higher difficulties, City-States are more vulnerable to AI players. They do receive some bonuses at higher difficulties, but it's not enough to stand against the bonuses of other AI players who have many cities.

It is worth noting that in the latest beta, the AI prioritizes defensive buildings more, so perhaps that will make them a bit less vulnerable.

 

[andersw]

On emperor where I play atm city states usually have higher defense value than AI often 30-50% more.
They don't have as many units as an AI but it takes a commitment to take a citystate out.
The high defense value also means the city state packs a decent punch with the city bombardment.

 

[065tdsa]

In general city states are more vulnerable in higher difficulties, yes. But I find the map to be a more determinant factor on how likely it is that a city state will be taken than the difficulty level. Even in Deity, a well positioned city state can hold out very well against assault, whereas one that is in more open terrain and can be easily surrounded will tend to struggle.