Buying AI cities

[Dezath]

I've tried to look up whether AIs are ever willing to sell their cities but to no avail.

So i thought i would ask here.

I tried buying cities from allies with 8-10 cities and even trying to buy new cities with 2 pop.

But noone ever was willing to sell, i had 10k gold 120 gpt and was willing to put in all my strategic resources and luxury resources.

Is it possible? DO i need more gold?

 

[digrosz]

If they think they're getting something out of the city, they won't sell it.
Don't even bother asking for their cities above 5 pop. Newly founded cities are also hard to get.

 

[VainoValkea]

AI overvalues their cities. It's not uncommon to get one as a peace settlement if you're about to trounce them completely, and even then you can usually take dozens of GPT instead of that city. War can be quite lucrative!

edit: I've also heard (but not tried) that the AI pays hefty sums for "ransom" for its own cities you've taken. I must try this out.

 

[ExtermicideN7]

In one of my games I was playing as Venice and Portugal was my neighbour. We've had lots of disputes, two-sided demands, denouncements. Closer to the finish I was in atomic era, while all others, including Portugal, were just about to enter. Her third most populated and lively city was occupying the only uranium tile on the whole continent. With no military I actually did a trade with her. I've lost all luxuries (7-9), 500 GPT form 600, 15000 gold (saving for DV) and tons of strategical resources. Well I betrayed her as soon as I built military. Now that I think about it, I probably should have just bought my army and don't bother with trading. So, apparently, sometimes AI will let you buy one of their richest cities even if they hate you. And I don't know why she could demand gold from me, probably she signed DOF with me and then started hating on , although I'm not sure

 

[liltrogdor]

In vanilla: When I was in the later eras and I was making a lot of money I bought cities. I gave them 9,999 gold since that is the max you could do and the Ai accepted it most of the time.

 

[njmfff]

edit: I've also heard (but not tried) that the AI pays hefty sums for "ransom" for its own cities you've taken. I must try this out.

Oh yes, they'll do it, and they'll do it for a nice sum. I do that often if they offer me some crappy city as peace trade offering.

Attack, force into peace treaty (get gold, gpt, lux\strategics) and cities from peace offering, sell them those bad cities the very next turn for more gold\gpt.

of course, if city location is good (preventing other AI's to spam their stupid little cities) I'll keep it, but rest, either burn or sell.

Ps. I especially love selling city to another AI that hates the one I just had war with. Few turns after, "AI1 declared war on AI2"

 

[b7fanatix]

Hell no, my experience is the AI won't trade cities for any prince. I was in a vanilla game with China as an Ally, she suggests I assist her in a campaign vs Monty or somesuch. I was like "sure hun, but my bombers can't reach".

I suggested a trade of a recently captured size 2 city she had, very close to my border, and in exchange I'd give her Paris and Orleans (Size 15 and 10, lotsa resources). Even though the cities i were offering were much larger and richer, and it would have enabled us to have something closer to contigous borders (three thousand years of open borders and joint operations had left the map looking like a chequered blanket) she refused to even consider it. Maybe because the China AI was on a domination tip she was determined not to let any city go at any price... even though i was offering more cities than she was gonna loose. Or maybe she secretly hated me and was planning a backstab.