Defensive Pacts

[Alloran]

So I'm wondering your guy's (and ladies) opinions on defensive pacts, and what if any advantage there is to it.

In my 250+ hours playing this game I've only tried it twice. Both were with small empires close to massive yet non-warmongering types.

I was US, Hiawatha was right next to me. He hyper-expanded and I was afraid of him. I wasn't too comfortable with the game yet, so I thought a defensive pact would deter him attacking me and killing me terribly. Unfortunately, he DOWed on Arabia, someone I was friends with, dragging me into a war, causing a round of denouncements for declaring on a friend, including Hiawatha. So... that ended badly for me.

However more recently, similar situation but I was sharing a continent with Persia and Rome playing as Elizabeth. Persia hyper-expanded and I was trying for cultural, so I kept my state small. Rome settled right next to me and constantly DOWed on me. I fended him off, but it was really eating into my resources. So I asked Darius for a Defensive Pact and he steamrolled Rome right around me finishing up the last tree I needed, so that helped.

Do you use Defensive Pacts at all? What experiences, good or bad, have you had with them? Also, can the more... dishonest leaders (I'm looking at you, Alexander) still declare on you while there's a defensive pact in place?

 

[Glassmage]

defensive pact is useless most of the time. Sometimes you are lucky to be in DoF and have defensive pact and someone declare on you or your partner during that period AND you two are in strategic locations to effectively kill the warmonger.

 

[Bechhold]

Defense Pacts in the end of all things are just like DoF's, they are useless. Make as many as you want with however many "allies" you have but when you keep gaining in culture, science, city states, and size your former ally will end up hating you.

 

[PimpmyCiv]

I don't bother with DPs. Same with DoF. It may be kind of counter intuitive, but if you want to remain friendly with the AI for as long as possible ignoring them is the way to go. The exception ofcourse being trades... which is usually to your benefit anyways.

I don't bother with denoucements unless I see the AI gathering on my border and am expecting an DoW and am not ready for it... but even that usually just delays it. I will sometimes denounce shortly before I DoW on an AI.


Its unfortunate that with how diplomacy works 'allying' yourself with an AI does more harm than good (to your relationship with that AI no less) but its amazing how much longer the AI seems to like you when you basically ignore them.

 

[joncnunn]

Defensive Pacts:
The main point is if you already see a swarm of units on your border and a neighbor to that other civ will actually sign a DP with you.

But usually that doesn't happen and in fact the main times the AI is willing to offer a DP is if they are the ones most at risk at being DOWed.

 

[nokmirt]

A defensive pact comes into play only if your ally is attacked, not if he DoWs someone else. If that was the case it would be an alliance which means if your friend is attacked or declares war you will back him. In a defensive pact, you only declare if he is attacked, or he will declare war if you are attacked. This is why I and many others have been saying diplomacy needs a logical recode.

 

[ForzaFiori]

I will occasionally use them if I have a very friendly militaristic civ and I'm playing cultural, and usually only if they don't border me. Tends to keep people from invading if they know they'll be steamrolled from behind.