Most effective way to support an AI friend in war w/o fighting?

[Chris41336]

I am in a private MP match with a friend, and he declared war on a friend of mine across the sea. I didn't want to get into a "hot" conflict at this time, so I am focused on funneling cash etc. into poor Rough Rider Teddy before he is wiped off the map.

I have been sending loads of Gold - does anyone know what the AI does with gold when at war? Do they use it effectively?

Does anyone know of any more effective ways to "pump up" my ally without sending units myself? Haven't really done this before - usually would just go fight myself, but I am going for a Aquitaine cultural victory.

 

[Leucarum]

Can you levy any local city state troops and send them in on your behalf?

 

[Chris41336]

Can you levy any local city state troops and send them in on your behalf?

Wouldn't that require I declare war though? I'm trying to not kick off a global war just yet - I don't have the troops yet, and my friend and I are still nominally allies.

Trying to "cold war" it up in the situation but I'm not sure if Civ VI has the best mechanics for this.

 

[Ludvig]

I think drowning them in cash is pretty much it. You could levy and get in the way but it would be fairly obvious to a real human being that you were effectively in the war.

 

[Chris41336]

I think drowning them in cash is pretty much it. You could levy and get in the way but it would be fairly obvious to a real human being that you were effectively in the war.

Do you know if they buy units with the cash or do they waste it?

 

[Ludvig]

I have no idea. I'm pretty sure they stop building wonders and stuff to poop out units so I would assume they'd be willing to buy some as well. The problem is that unless that ai is an era of tech ahead of the player they'll probably just buy something that dies in a turn or two because the ai doesn't get the finer points of war from what I've seen.

This thread might have already given your intentions away though, you could try to spend the cash on units of your own and bumrush your "friend".

 

[Leucarum]

Oh, yeah without declaring war there are far fewer options.

Espionage is the other main one i can think of. Start siphoning the other player's cash, steal great works, burst dams etc...

 

[Datian]

You can surround target cities with levied units - I do it to protect city states with their own troups

 

[Linklite]

It depends on how tight you are on units - you could blockade them and physically prevent their units from getting to the Civ.

Alternatively, try reasoning with your friend?

Or if war hasn't been declared yet, declare friendship with the Civ, assuming you're allies with your friend, that will stop him from being able to declare war.

 

[agonistes]

I am in a private MP match with a friend, and he declared war on a friend of mine across the sea. I didn't want to get into a "hot" conflict at this time, so I am focused on funneling cash etc. into poor Rough Rider Teddy before he is wiped off the map.

I have been sending loads of Gold - does anyone know what the AI does with gold when at war? Do they use it effectively?

Does anyone know of any more effective ways to "pump up" my ally without sending units myself? Haven't really done this before - usually would just go fight myself, but I am going for a Aquitaine cultural victory.

Yea, I wish there were more ways for ‘cold war’ play.

I gift amenities and gold. I also denounce in case push comes to shove. Spies breaching etc may help. See if you are in an envoy race with either, and drop out for friend or steal suz for enemy. Use units to block. Can you gift cities? I can’t recall.

 

[Chris41336]

Yea, I wish there were more ways for ‘cold war’ play.

I gift amenities and gold. I also denounce in case push comes to shove. Spies breaching etc may help. See if you are in an envoy race with either, and drop out for friend or steal suz for enemy. Use units to block. Can you gift cities? I can’t recall.

I find the lack of cold war play very limiting. I remember gifting units in prior iterations among other ways to basically fuel a war machine without needing to incur the direct issues of war. Holding out for more of this in the new Packs.

 

[BomberEscort]

Agreed. Gifting of units needs to make a comeback...

 

[agonistes]

Agreed. Gifting of units needs to make a comeback...

And techs. Need to gift techs too.

Its interesting... to me, from civ ii to civ v, in each new version stuff that worked well was kept, and new stuff was added. If the new stuff worked well, it was kept in the next version, and new stuff was added. Stuff like borders and improved diplo, reviving dead civs, etc.

One upt is a solid exception.

But vi regressed in quite a few ways. Why? Why remove so many diplo options? No gifting? No vassals?

Why no subs under ice (personal pet peeve)?

Honestly my best guess is that the new gaming model is to release an unpolished game, and then never address many of the issues but instead add more content (with more issues) because new content sells better than fixing old content.

Ed literally said vi was going to have expanded and deep diplo, but the diplo is non existent. Having a relationship metric is not the same as having diplomacy. Diplomacy means interactions with meaning, and taking position on a matter. Right now the only diplo positions are peace or war. I guess you could include denouncing, but that is really just a metric - its not a warning or threat.

Vi added many cool concepts, but many if not most are unpolished, and it removed things it shouldn’t have.

 

[Pietato]

Gifting/trading techs is a very, very bad mechanic, and should never a comeback.