How aggressive is the AI with Challenge-Aggressive AI turned on?

[Kweeky]

Just starting out my "proper" game of FfH2 (I'm new to it yay!), had a few practice games where I turtled a little bit, but I was keen to get started on an epic game.

Now, my question is, I want to know if it's worth while turning on Aggressive AI. Thing is, I quite like a bit of warring, but I quite enjoy peace (with good and evil nations that I specifically choose with my neutral nation) but my biggest worry if I don't have aggressive AI turned on, the Infernals will turn up, offer "open borders", gifts and other rubbish like that. I'd much rather they just went on a bloody rampage, they are demons after all.

So! Which should I pick?

Edit: And I really don't mind if aggressive AI means there's a lot of fierce wars if you don't play your diplomacy right, I can live with that, I don't care if I get brutalized, so long as it's not every single faction regardless of alignment raining down on me because I didn't adopt slavery - it's all part of the learning!)

 

[Trojan Sheep]

In the code aggressive AI causes the AI to be more likely to go to war and less likely to end war, but in practice the most visible effect of this option is the fact that AIs will build more units and assign more of those units to offensive purposes.

You will definitely see a bit more war, but aggressive AI does not override attitude and distance thresholds for the leaderhead personalities. So if an AI is only bordered by friends they will still likely spend the game in peace if they don't get bribed in later.

Back before BTS Aggressive AI specifically caused AIs to hate the player more by a flat value, but that thankfully has been removed, and they now are simply more warmongerish overall and not biased against the player specifically.

 

[WCH]

I'd advise against playing with Aggressive AI, at least until the AI is fixed. Currently, they spam units far too much... and aggressive just makes that worse. Maybe if that gets fixed in a couple patches it'll be a worthwhile game option again, but now it's just a way to make the game even more broken.

 

[dieffenbachj]

I used to play with Aggressive AI because it very well simulates the effect of playing in a group with a large number of players DETERMINED to win--that is, each AI will do its best to earn a conquest victory.

However, in practice it ends up leaving you rather miffed at the unpredictability of the AI, especially with the J patch.

I've had people go to war with me, invade my lands, raze my cities... and in the Diplomacy tooltip, it says they're pleased--or even friendly!--with me, in spite of the huge penalty to from War.

Or, even more common, all of those people who are Cautious or Pleased? Keep your army on the border to their terrain, and keep the trade flowing, because they're liable to go to war any minute.

 

[Azhral]

I've been playing with Aggressive AI on Monarch, and I'm carving up. I find that without Aggressive AI on there is no war at all, and with it there is still too little and I have to become the main antagonist for my kicks.

On another note, nobody wants to follow AV in my games. Haven't found the Sheiam yet, but nobody else wants to touch it. Latest game I Worldbuilded Perpy to have only AV cities, the AV Holy City (hadn't been founded) and CoS but he stuck with FoL. I just wanted him to summon Hybbie so I could have a decent scrap.

 

[Spectral-Fremen]

I just finished an Amurite a game. The very turn i started building tower of mastery, 2 of my closest "friends" declared war on me from "friendly" status.
I guess they really weren't that keen on seeing me win the game after all

 

[Emptiness]

The declaration of war when you start building the Tower of Mastery is hard-coded, a carry-over from Master of Magic (in which everyone declared war on you when you started casting the Spell of Mastery, completion of which would result in victory). It has nothing to do with AI attitudes or with the Aggressive AI setting.

 

[Spectral-Fremen]

The declaration of war when you start building the Tower of Mastery is hard-coded, a carry-over from Master of Magic (in which everyone declared war on you when you started casting the Spell of Mastery, completion of which would result in victory). It has nothing to do with AI attitudes or with the Aggressive AI setting.

Ah sweet.
It didnt end up mattering too much, I'd be saving cash waiting for ToM to become available and pretty much insta built it.
The mass war decs did surprise me though.