How To Avoid A War

[Testiethree]

how? i haven't won one a game yet do to wars, I could be ahead by 1000 then napoleon will declare war on me, even though he is pleased with me and i have a strong military. hell start attacking my newests cities, and take 2 or 3 of them before i make peace with him. then someone eles will attack me.

 

[gdgrimm]

Primarily, keep friends and have a strong military. If you look at the power graph (not the game score graph), you should be at the top or very close to it.

It's very unlikely you'll be attacked in that situation. And if you are, it'll probably be Shaka or Monty, and since your military is the strongest, you probably won't lose a single city, and will get a whole bunch of experience points.

It's also possible that you're not using your military well. That's a more difficult thing to answer in a forums.

 

[cracked]

Pay attention to what other civs ask from you and the relative militay strengths. If someone asks for tribute (or the like) it's sometimes better to give it (particularly if they're stronger than you).

I very rarely have someone DOW me these days, unless I'm deliberately seeking to provoke it.

Bear in mind some civs are just psychos. Napolean can be one (read through some of the posts on leader behaviours, you'll find this useful).

 

[Ghpstage]

how? i haven't won one a game yet do to wars, I could be ahead by 1000 then napoleon will declare war on me, even though he is pleased with me and i have a strong military. hell start attacking my newests cities, and take 2 or 3 of them before i make peace with him. then someone eles will attack me.

Ahead by 1000 (I'll assume points) isn't particularly meaningful, in fact the AIs like you less for leading.

The text I highlighted in red bring the bolded statement into question......
If your military was really strong, would you lose cities? Also, on lower difficulties it is very easy to have a military large enough to prevent AIs attacking at all.

To avoid war the best thing to learn to do is manage diplomacy, though it can be awkward it is the most effective method by far. On difficulties lower than Monarch having a much bigger military is alsso a valid method however!

 

[mechaerik]

Also, Napoleon is a notorious back-stabber. That's why I love the little guy.

 

[Willem]

Bear in mind some civs are just psychos. Napolean can be one (read through some of the posts on leader behaviours, you'll find this useful).

Napolean generally won't declare unless he has military superiority though. So I'm guessing the OP's military isn't as strong as he thinks it is. Especially since other civs declare on him shortly afterwards. You really need to keep an eye on your Power graph, as mentioned. If you drop too low compared to the other civs you will become a target. Being on the very top is the best, but you want to be at least in the top third. Then you generally only have to worry about psychos like Shaka and Monty, all the rest will leave you alone and go after easier targets.

 

[TheMeInTeam]

Unless you're already at war with someone strong, then your power is insufficient to deter virtually anybody.

Diplo is the way to go most of the time, probably 100% of the time if playing a difficulty where you struggle.

 

[jauggy]

What about Defensive pacts? Does the AI combine power for calculation of whether you are too strong?

 

[TheMeInTeam]

Yes. The problem is getting MT (or having an AI get it) before it is too late, and allying with someone who will actually put you ahead enough (keeping in mind that a really strong ally is problematic if he just DoWs on his own and collects vassals). Still, it's a good point.

 

[Julius_ Caesar]

Basically, strike a balance between making the other civilizations fear you and maintaining good relations with them. This can be very difficult, however, as many civilizations will often ask you to stop trading with another and/or declare war on them.

 

[cracked]

Good diplomacy is the key to winning (easily) more often than not. Even on lower levels it's hard to fight everyone.

Religion is handy but not vital. An easier way is adopting civics and trading. Don't worry about keeping everyone pleased.

 

[Patak]

Off topic question about diplomacy. In my last game I was in war with the Incas (could not spell the name of that guy), and I am completely superior to him. Last two towns I bombed to submission and conquered them with tanks, he was defending with rifles. One town before eliminating him I tried diplomacy (he had Medicine that I wanted to get in exchange for peace treaty) and he refused. What is the rationel behind this decision. He has two bombed rifles against 15 of my tanks and he is refusing such a peace offer. This is something that was always bothering me in this game.

 

[6K Man]

Off topic question about diplomacy. In my last game I was in war with the Incas (could not spell the name of that guy), and I am completely superior to him. Last two towns I bombed to submission and conquered them with tanks, he was defending with rifles. One town before eliminating him I tried diplomacy (he had Medicine that I wanted to get in exchange for peace treaty) and he refused. What is the rationel behind this decision. He has two bombed rifles against 15 of my tanks and he is refusing such a peace offer. This is something that was always bothering me in this game.

I think that the AI doesn't allow that sort of deal because of the obvious exploit - make peace in exchange for Medicine, then attack 10 turns later and finish the job.

Whenever I have accepted techs for peace when about to finish off an AI civ, said Civ invariably vassals to someone strong before the 10 turns are up.

 

[Silu]

Whenever I have accepted techs for peace when about to finish off an AI civ, said Civ invariably vassals to someone strong before the 10 turns are up.

I generally prefer this to them becoming vassals to the mentioned strong Civ when I'm still at war Actually a big upside for accepting capitulation at the first opportunity - to prevent annoying forced wars that bypass diplo management against strong Civs.

 

[Testiethree]

would you consider this a good army? i thought it was until he decided to take his whole there to attack it

 

[Ambidexter]

Where is that army? If it's in Dortmund, it's not as strong as you might think. The ships do you no good. They won't fight against land units and will automatically be lost if you lose the city. The gunships have no defensive bonus. The rest looks okay but not super strong. Napoleon's got seven units on your doorstep and is bringing up four cannon that'll bring down Dortmund's defenses to zero in a turn or two. Plus you've only got five units in Stuttgart.

What do you have in the rest of your cities? If it's only one or two units, you're actually pretty weak.

 

[pianoman1242]

Where is that army? If it's in Dortmund, it's not as strong as you might think. The ships do you no good. They won't fight against land units and will automatically be lost if you lose the city. The gunships have no defensive bonus. The rest looks okay but not super strong. Napoleon's got seven units on your doorstep and is bringing up four cannon that'll bring down Dortmund's defenses to zero in a turn or two. Plus you've only got five units in Stuttgart.

What do you have in the rest of your cities? If it's only one or two units, you're actually pretty weak.

Stuttgart is controlled by Napoleon

 

[Testiethree]

Where is that army? If it's in Dortmund, it's not as strong as you might think. The ships do you no good. They won't fight against land units and will automatically be lost if you lose the city. The gunships have no defensive bonus. The rest looks okay but not super strong. Napoleon's got seven units on your doorstep and is bringing up four cannon that'll bring down Dortmund's defenses to zero in a turn or two. Plus you've only got five units in Stuttgart.

What do you have in the rest of your cities? If it's only one or two units, you're actually pretty weak.

the rest of my cities are about the same, some are a little bigger. except my capital, its pretty weak because i always build wonders, but my capital is my farthest city to the left. and stuttgart was mine, but napoleon took it, had basicly the same amount of troops. also i am using bismarck, do you think he is a good leader? i dont know anyone eles who uses him

 

[Plastics]

you need more cannons, attack that stack with then and you can finish the units there even with old units. Collateral damage is the key to destroy big stacks that are attacking you.

 

[Plastics]

build 5 siege weapons and 10 infantry, attack with the siege first, finish then with infantry and the war is over, for napoleon at least.