New at Immortal, need help with diplomacy.

[Zionel]

Hi!

I figured it was time to step up to Immortal when I didn't bother to finish the last two emporer games, once I realised victory was mine way too early.
I usually try to win by domination, and those last turns can be a pain, once you've started to steamroll.

I regenerated an Immortal game until I found a 1xgold 1x gems start. I always like to have an advantage when trying a new difficulty. I'm playing as the Byzantians, as I really like the medieval area, and I will be unbeatable with trebuchets and cataphracts. However, the start is proving to be difficult, especially the diplomacy. I've tried the initial save twice now with no luck. I'm playing with 15 factions on a large map, and there are plenty of wars going on even before religion is spread, and it's hard to figure out who will be your friends and who will not. How do you guys deal with this? I mean. with so many AI's you are bound to get more minus points in relations if you join a war, than if you decline. But since they ask you every other turn, that will make them mad as well.

I guess I should mention that I play on a pangea map which means you have plenty of neighbours. It's hard to avoid getting attacked, and because of the insane military production of the AI's, it's very difficult to conquer enemy lands while protecting yourself at the same time. I must be doing something wrong, and my guess is I gotta get better at diplomacy.

So, how do you guys deal with this?

 

[r_rolo1]

Get 2 friends and use them to shield you. Treat the rest as cannon fodder.

 

[DMOC]

Get 2 friends, but make sure they like each other as well.

 

[tycoonist]

dont found any religions. this means there is likely to be more conflict amongst AI.

if they are all of different religions,adopt no religion, you will seem to be the lesser of two evils to them. hopefully you wont get attacked.

if they are all/mostly of a similar religion, adopt that. dont be the black sheep!

if you are covered/protected by a single neighbour or two of the same religion, adopt that one. then if you are attacked they will provide a barrier hopefully.


playing on a overcrowded map with 15 immortal level AIs means there is bound to be a lot of war. build more military

 

[SnowlyWhite]

15 is quite different from the standard 6 I have; quite complicated...

what matters is obviously your neighbors and the aggressive guys(those can declare you even if you're 2 ais distance from them)

if I have an aggressive neighbor I prepare for war from the getgo; masonry, as wierd as it sounds, can be vital here(since they declare based on power graph, and if their power is much higher they'll think is safe and won't wait till construction - which usually generates the familiar monty sod suicide) and troops focused in the right city. I usually hold myself from expanding more then 2 other cities and after the initial declaration and sod suicide I grind him down slowly with axes/swords(you're probably also on marathon since you say large map and 15 neighbors and you get domination - if marathon you should have enough turns).

If peaceful neighbors I just try not to piss them off too much while settling pretty aggressively in their faces.

If invited to join war, in bcs I usually turn down; even if marathon diplo is much harder then normal, the bcs should be long enough for them to forget you refused till they finish their war(and while in war, they won't declare you). However, I'm tempted to accept stoping to trade if my peaceful neighbor is attacked by a farther aggressive ai(I'll get -1, it's true, but they'll get -4 -3 from declaring and -1 from negociating a trade embargo, which more or less guarantess my neighbor will be annoyed with them and won't ob - keeps me safe as the said agg. ai can't reach me).

 

[aelf]

Make use of shared civics bonus. In the absence of a sure shared religion bonus, this is the one of the biggest things you can get. And cut them good deals to get the trade bonus.

Besides that, sign open borders with everyone early, trade resources and try to make friends with people who don't like your immediate neighbours, since the latter are the ones you'd most likely fight.

 

[Zionel]

Thanks for great advice guys, I had another go at the save game and things are going smoother now. I've managed to kill off the first neighbour without being interrupted, might have a chance on this attempt.

I am however noticing that I'm loosing more battles with good odds than I used to on emperor (I've lost several in the 70-90% area). Seems wierd to me, but perhaps I've just been unlucky? I may have to learn to gather even more units before engaging a city.

 

[DMOC]

Yes, it just seems unlucky. A 90% odds battle on Settler is the same as a 90% odds battle on Deity.

 

[r_rolo1]

OFC that it is more likely to have 90% battles on settler than on Deity and that can change the perception of things