Do you stop war mongering when the world congress is founded?

[Xiao Xiong]

I generally war monger from the time I get universities up, to the time the world congress is founded. I beeline education and anything that helps me get food and production going, build a university in my capital, then start pumping out units. I may have managed to get a few out before that, but after universities I start building them.

If as usual I'm on a continent with, say, 2 other civs, I can usually wipe one out completely and take at least a major city, if not the capital, from the other.

But before I can finish the job some caravel will happen by and suddenly everybody in the world is watching what I'm doing -- at that point there's a real decision. It is possible at that point to back away from being a war monger with some deft diplomacy: denounce your neighbours, propose something popular like the World's Fair, and give the biggest civs trades on favourable terms and then open borders. Then they will like you better than your neighbours and their denunciations won't matter.

Of course you can always just carry one and finish the job, in which case the whole world will probably hate you and you'll have to slug it out to the finish with a struggling economy and a series of bans on your favorite luxuries, etc.

Anyway. Just wondering if everyone else does this. I had Warsaw's defenders lying in a pile and the city reduced to where probably another 2 turns and I would have had it, when along came Arabia founding the world congress so I decided to let the Poles have their capital in exchange for all their gold.

 

[DarkestOnion]

I do not stop Warmongering after the WC. However (after the WC), I focus on building Coalitions with the AI prior to Warmongering. Often, I provoke AI's into attacking me with actions that do not get me a worldwide Diplo Hit so i can look like a Hero to the world. The when I conquer Cities, my Warmongering penalties are greatly reduced as I am seen as taking out a dangerous Warmonger for everyone.

 

[Primacide]

I try to tempt a target civ into attacking a CS. When they conquer it, the whole world denounces. Then you war and get a liberation bonus.

 

[OBRkenobi]

hell no you just buy votes and city states to stop being embargoed and luxury banned etc.

 

[OBRkenobi]

well depends wether your going for a domination vic

 

[tetley]

I never stop warmongering, but there is the middle 1/3rd of the game where I have to be much smarter about it. The first 1/3rd is "no one knows I'm taking cities so take all I can". The last 1/3rd is the "to he$$ with it" stage.

 

[jlim201]

situational. like every other debate.

 

[reddishrecue]

Not really, no. The world congress doesn't help me decide in my choice in continue warmongering or not.

 

[Trackmaster]

It probably depends on which VC you're going for. I've found that the best way to go Domination is to rush, take out everybody on your continent, keeping building units and don't stop until you're by yourself on the island. Then build up, research, and start your naval attack to finish the job. If you let the game drag on too long, Domination gets harder. If I'm not going Domination, I may rush to wipe out a Civ that I think will make my life miserable, but besides, that, I only fight if I'm attacked.

 

[tetley]

Conquering your continent is important, but if you get discovered before you do, it may not be worth it to just take an AI's last city on your continent. It could be better to do some diplomatic tricks, like conquer by proxy.

 

[joncnunn]

In my experience, it's more the opposite, wars don't really start until AFTER the world congress has been founded.

 

[SeedenGreedens]

I sometimes do cancel a war but not when the World congress comes along. World congress doesnt make warmongering that bad unless you get embargoed. Embargo threats can often lead to peace treaties during World congress.

 

[tetley]

World congress makes all the other civs discover you; that's the problem. But then again, it makes them all discover each other.

 

[RatesAnalyst]

My last game the warmongering was in a crescendo... The closer the World Leader votes got the more I had to forcefully convince city states not to vote for that moron Alex.

 

[darkskies]

I find world congress doesn't effect me. By the time it means anything I have enough city states to not worry about it. I've never been embargoed, if someone tries I just make sure I can buy enough city states just before the voting (patronage helps in this).

 

[OBRkenobi]

youve just got to be smart with your warmongering to avoid being crippled by resolutions

 

[Kirin Rider]

What are people's favorite tricks for provoking war from the AI while maintaining "plausible deniability"?

I can think of these off the top of my head: denouncing, forward-settling, dancing troops around their borders until you get the "Are you threatening me?" message, prophet-bombing their religious cities, demands to not settle nearby, demands to not spy (never understood how this makes you the bad guy...), claiming territory with a citadel (waste of a great general though). What have I missed?

I have mostly played peaceful games and only fought either defensive wars (when someone declared on me because I hadn't kept my spears "pointy" enough LOL) or occasional conflicts triggered by unacceptable AI behavior (prophet spam or egregious forward settling). I have never bribed one AI to declare on another. Do they demand the same outrageous amounts for wars as they do for their last copy of a luxury?

 

[tetley]

DoWing is not a big deal; it's taking cities that kills you diplomatically with the rest of the world. This is actually the period where I start farming for xp and hoping for peace deals. Traditional thinking is that you xp farm in ancient era--well, nobody's found me then, so why would I want to do that? I want cities. I'll accept opportunities for more xp, but puppets are my priority.

But then WC comes, you get found, taking cities starts costing you DoFs. So then it's kill units, xp farm, pillage, take peace deals, bribe AIs, knock cities down to black so other AIs take the cities, liberate stuff. That doesn't go on all game either, but....

Re: your question about bribing AI. No. Bribing AI can be inexpensive. It's usually either that or the AI just won't do it at all.

 

[Versaguy]

Domination game is fun. Most often I put all the least warmonger-hate civ in my game so once the WC reach there are many wars going on already.

 

[dasaard200]

So I'm a warmonger, that's YOUR problem . In my current game, (prince, huge map, America, 12 foes), I have eaten, root and branch, 4 civs, Carthage is down to 2 cities (pop 4,2);by World Congress, I have 28 votes versus the other 20 votes split 6 ways, while all but 3 CS's are firm allies; with whom we are at war against the ottomans . Am I doing anything wrong ??