Benefits of Vassal State

[Michelangelo]

Every vassal also adds to your power rating to other civs. So it will be increasingly unlikely they attack you and it will become easier to make the next civ a vassal. Just take one city, and there you go, another vassal, which again increases the effect.

 

[ZB2]

In my current came, (1650 AD Earth Scenario) I vassalized Poland after taking all but their capital. (Vassalized after peace not capitulated) I did it for the sole reason to create a buffer city between the Germanic empire so that in the future wars I am able to blitz an army into a city to defend whilst not bothering about the german army coming strait for me.

AI is stupid and will declare on the master just becuase he's after the Vassal.

 

[jkp1187]

AI is stupid and will declare on the master just becuase he's after the Vassal.

So was Austria-Hungary.

 

[buffalo6542]

In one of my games the Incans and the english both offered to be my vassal state. So the only free country in the world is Celtia and the mongolians are their vassal

 

[mystyfly]

dunno if someone posted it yet...

... but you can also ask your vassal to attack a certain city (like you can with every civ that has the same enemy like you)

also the vassallage adds considerabely to your ratings and you don't have to be afraid of AI DOWs. Only if they hate your vassal, they would declare on you, so pick them carefully and look who's enemy you take as a vassal.

 

[wannabewarlord]

interesting; I didn't know most of this. In my current game, Mansa just offered to be my vassal (out of choice) because me (Ghandi) is immensely powerful. So I guess that is a good thing. However, so far I didn't find the options of doing all the things you just described: i.e. taking gold, taking ressources, attacking specific targets, researching tech (does the tech he researches get added to your and his tech tree?).

is it maybe under the option of "let's discuss something else"? It's an option I never click, actually.

 

[Navarre]

From my experience, it doesn't matter if you get along or not. I capitulated Monty in one of my games and he hated me the entire game, yet periodically I'd go take all of his gold

I make him capitulate in every game he's on my landmass (well, the few where I don't downright kill him at least...) and he's really simple to please : declare war on someone else. Monty will just love you for that "mutual struggle" you give him.

As for his uses... He can make a good partner if you give him military techs, since he'll do nothing but build troops. Just make sure he won't trade these techs with others.

 

[Iranon]

At the higher levels, vassals are quite useful thanks to their bonuses. My favourite is Tokugawa: a solid military ally who won't trade away your precious techs if you gift them.

Vassals for shared research require keeping close tabs on, lest your precious techs end up in the wrong hands.

 

[Navarre]

Lol, Toku as a vassal, the nightmare...

"No, I won't give you that, ever !"
"Let go of it, damn you !"
'No, MIIIIIINE !"

He would be great with that Gollum face of Pacal.

 

[Iranon]

Depends on what you want from a vassal...

"Toku... here's everything up to Rifling, let's kill Shaka"
"Sure!"
*The Zulu civilization has been destroyed!*
"That was fun... let's take out Monty"
*The Aztec civilization has been destroyed!*


Now that would have been...


"Ah, Mansa... here's Rifling, don't neglect it next time. Let's kill Shaka!"
"Grumble... if we must"
"Oi, we're at war... do something dammit!"
*The Zulu civilization has FINALLy been destroyed*
"That sucked. Well, do better against Monty... wait, how come Monty has Rfiles as well???"

 

[Brain]

Ok, I see there are a lot of questions in this thread, but the replies are sparse and a bit low on details. I'm also fairly new to Civ4, but I'll try to summarize:

• A civ can capitulate, which means that they surrender to another civ (normally when they are losing a war). The AI can capitulate if you beat them hard enough. In the deals screen look for "Capitulation" on their side of the deal. If it's not red it means they are willing to capitulate and you can demand it for peace.
• A civ can also offer to become a vassal of another civ voluntarily. This is also available in the deals screen and the AI will sometimes offer to become a vassal if you are really powerful.
• The advantage for the vassal state is protection. If anyone declares war on the vassal the master automatically enters the war.
• Conversely, the master decides when to declare war. When the master declares war, the vassal must declare war as well.
• There are several advantages for the master. There's a +1 happy face in every city (but cities captured in a war from the vassal get +1 mad face), 50% of the vassal counts towards domination, and the vassal is counted as "eliminated" in a conquest victory. The master can also see the vassal's territory without stationing units there.
• On the other hand, the master will have a diplomatic penalty with all the other civs because of the vassal.
• A vassal is still a semi-independent state and can conduct trades. The master does not automatically share any resources or techs with the vassal. The master still has to buy techs from the vassal, but can demand resources for free.
• As the master, you can tell the AI to research techs or attack enemy cities by going into the "Let's discuss something else..." screen.
• A capitulating vassal is the same as a voluntary vassal except that they cannot break free unless they have at least half of the population of the master. A voluntary vassal can cancel the vassal agreement at any time.
• A human player cannot be a vassal of the AI (I don't understand why this restriction exists, though. It seems stupid and unbalancing).

 

[Walliard]

• A capitulating vassal is the same as a voluntary vassal except that they cannot break free unless they have at least half of the population of the master. A voluntary vassal can cancel the vassal agreement at any time.

More specifically, the vassal breaks free if either:

A) Their land and population both are at least 50% of their master's OR
B) They have less than 50% of the total land area they owned at the moment of capitulation (i.e. the master is failing to protect them)

 

[Gorrable]

Something I've always wondered - can you improve your vassal's lands?

A couple of games ago, my vassal had improved my only feasible source of coal with something other than a mine. I coped without, having already tried, and failed, to provoke him into war with me to break the vasselage so I could take the city. I briefly considered gifting him cities so he has the population to break away, then delare war on him to take back the cities and the coal-city, but then realised that that was probably a bit over-the-top.

Now I wonder if I could have simply moved a worker in, re-improved the tile, and demanded the coal...

 

[Endure]

No, you can't improve your vassals land, which kind of sucks.

In a recent game, I was in the tech lead and first to scientific method only to find in my largish empire, I was without oil. My vassal state had some sitting right on my border though but I didn't want to bring him up to tech parity with me. I ended up starting a war with a civ I was friendly with just to steal their oil, all because I couldn't improve my vassals oil patch and then demand the oil as tribute ><.

 

[Gwynnja]

No, you can't improve your vassals land, which kind of sucks.

You can however gift the tech that opens up the resource then take it in tribute.

 

[Endure]

You can however gift the tech that opens up the resource then take it in tribute.

Yeh unless your purposely trying to keep them weak tech-wise.

 

[Gwynnja]

Yeh unless your purposely trying to keep them weak tech-wise.

It seems like if an AI is weak enough to capitulate they're rarely generating much in the way of beakers. Keeping them in the dark techwise seems unimportant compared to access to strategic resources. Granted, it's always a risk giving an AI techs like Scientific Method, Physics, Steam Power, Combustion, Industrialism, or Fission, but when you have no coal/oil/uranium/aluminum, it certainly makes things a bit more difficult.

 

[Endure]

Most times I'll go to war with a different civ to secure the resource I need (if feasible) rather then gift a bunch of techs to a vassal.

 

[Gwynnja]

Most times I'll go to war with a different civ to secure the resource I need (if feasible) rather then gift a bunch of techs to a vassal.

Most times I'll go to war to secure a vassal and take all his resources.

 

[Endure]

Yeh, but not if it was a result of an early war and you vassalized him without being able to see oil, uranium, etc yet.