ROP raped!

[capnvonbaron]

I signed a ROP agreement with the Aztec in a regent-level game so they could throw tons of knights and cavalry at the Japs (waaaay across my continent) without taking years and years of blundering near my cities and not actually attacking the japanese. Flash forward a few dozen turns later, I'm one peice and about two turns away from space race victory, I'd forgotton about the ROP agreement, the dirty bastards send a cavalry unit into my former capital (i'd moved the palace previously) and take it over! On top of that, they stole and killed off close to a dozen workers I had improving the countryside, cleaning pollution, etc.

I was seeing red, lemme tell you... next turn, I re-took my ex-capital, sent out a stack of modern armor and mech inf, as well as two elite tank armies. Two turns of capturing, razing, disbanding captured workers, and re-settling with my own settlers later, the Aztecs completely ceased to exist as a civilization, save for two cities of theirs I had culturally aquired a thousand years prior (and promptly renamed after the conflict to destroy any hint of the Aztecs ever having been in the game, thankyouverymuch). I think I set a personal record for shortest takeover war (9 fairly widely spaced cities in two turns!)... but anyways, is this a common experience with anyone?? I didn't have units stationed in many of my larger cities, thinking they were safe far far away from any borders. I'm probably lucky I didn't lose many more cities. Needless to say, I won't be signing many ROPs anymore... I plopped a mech inf on every city I owned and the ROP I had with the Chinese that game got cancelled in short order too, believe you me I just didn't think the AI had it in them to ROP rape...

 

[NickyH]

Sounds like a lot of fun to me, so why the angry face?

It has happened to me on two occasions I think, so now I usually avoid the combination of RoP, rails, and completely undefended cities.

 

[vmxa]

Let that be a lesson and do not sign RoP's in the future. Why would you want their help anyway?

 

[Lord Emsworth]

Just out of curiousity. Where the Aztecs still at war with the Japanese? (The reason why I ask is that I have never seen any civ sneak attack me, while they were still at war somewhere else.)

 

[Optional]

RoP's can be handy, but I would use them very selectively.

It's good the AI sometimes breaks them, because the alternative would be that you would just need to sign an RoP with everyone to be assured of peace; well, that's not much fun, is it?

I often try and sign an RoP with a stronger neighbour, to stay in his good book.
If a stronger neighbour enters my territory with a force that spells: 'I am going to attack you next turn', I'll offer him some gold per turn for an RoP. Well, I only did it once - didn't think of it before - but it worked. My neighbour turned around and declared on somebody else. I'm sure it wasn't the RoP itself that did it, but the gold per turn.

 

[Taras Bulba]

whenever I try to sign RoP w/ AI that I believe might attack me later, I try to give them a little initiative to not break it, like a per turn gold deal, or a luxury deal so they keep the RoP and don't declare war on me.

In addition to that, I try to escort the AI units across my territory when I don't have rails. When I do have rails, I don't typically worry about it because then my armies can come in masses against them right after they attack.

 

[del62]

with rails though they could attack anywhere, i have had a few bad experiences with rop attack on me, including by the aztecs, they are not to be trusted.

you need to make certain precautions with rop, like have an area they just cant walk into, unless you have decent units in all our cities

 

[Taras Bulba]

with rails though they could attack anywhere, i have had a few bad experiences with rop attack on me, including by the aztecs, they are not to be trusted.

you need to make certain precautions with rop, like have an area they just cant walk into, unless you have decent units in all our cities

with rails they can only attack one city, and then the rest would have to be close to either that city, or their border with you. I've never seen an AI smart enough to station units outside each unprotected city, and attack them ALL the same turn.

 

[TheOverseer714]

A line of workers or artillery are fine as a "firebreak" to prevent RoP-rape. The instant one is attacked, the RoP evaporates. Usually a row across a narrow area will suffice. A row around your core works if you are in the center of an area with other countries all around.

 

[capnvonbaron]

A few things...

Why would you want their help anyway?

They weren't helping me. They were in an alliance with another civ, and far be it for me to impede one civ from attacking another! Let them kill eachother off, I'll sweep up later. I very much like putting settlers down in holes left by the rampaging AI And besides that, I didn't want a war with anyone at the minute, and I just wanted their units out of my sight.

Just out of curiousity. Where the Aztecs still at war with the Japanese? (The reason why I ask is that I have never seen any civ sneak attack me, while they were still at war somewhere else.)

Nope, that war ended decades before. I had completely forgotton about our ROP agreement.

RoP's can be handy, but I would use them very selectively. It's good the AI sometimes breaks them, because the alternative would be that you would just need to sign an RoP with everyone to be assured of peace; well, that's not much fun, is it?

Well, they don't have to take advantage of it If they cancelled it and THEN attacked, it would at least be fair... not run one damn cavalry into my unguarded capital, rape and pillage all my cultural achievments, and then expect to get away with it. Although yes, I have done that very thing in the past.. I don't often, though, because talk about a reputation killer...

A line of workers or artillery are fine as a "firebreak" to prevent RoP-rape. The instant one is attacked, the RoP evaporates. Usually a row across a narrow area will suffice. A row around your core works if you are in the center of an area with other countries all around.

Yeah, I employ those from time to time, but usually just to keep an AI from sending settlers into areas I've just pillaged. Besides of which, at this point in this game, my countryside was so expansive from previous land grabs and conquorings of the French, Indians, Romans, Americans, and Chinese that I would have gone broke trying to upkeep the amount of units it would have taken to do that Although, I surrounded and kept a 14-stack of chinese workers as hostages for probably half of the game though, using that tactic. I stifled their progress pretty well for centuries It backfired tho, because I'm pretty sure it was nearly every worker the chinese had, and through the industrial period they accumulated so much pollution in their country that global warming became rampant by 1820AD or so... good thing I completed my spaceship by 1840 and left that rotten rock behind.

 

[Exwing17]

I only ever use ROP for people off my continent/island. They are useful for building friendships with your allies. And yes I have been backstabbed before, hence why i don't give them to my fellow continent dwellers.

India sent a stack of about 80 cavalry through my land, and then instead of attacking the Aztecs, they attacked my core, taking three cities. I mobilized my Infantry divisions and artillery brigades and in a turn my empire was eating well on horse steaks and curry powder. The next turn they lost every city on my border and sued for peace a few turns later.

But its things like that that make the game interesting, India wasn't my ally, they were just a non-relation to me, and they took an advantage to take out a strong opponent, it failed, but sometimes its worked against me! Thats why I love civ!

 

[del62]

i once had the zulus ride my rails with a rop agreement, they took a fairly inner city that only had a cavalry unit in it, they didnt survive long, this is why a line of units, including workers or settlers you cant currently use, artillary and units should be posted in front of undefended cities.

 

[nerovats]

RoP is great, just be aware the AI can turn against you. But usually they are less willing to attack you then without a RoP. I use them a lot to help one AI fighting another. If I give the AI who I want to win RoP they have an advantage. That way you can influence wars without actually participating. Grow stonger yourself, weaken the AI you need.
In my current game it works as described. This way a weaker civ can do serious harm to a stronger AI, result is 2 weakend AI. Easy prey, even on deity.

 

[capnvonbaron]

Another thing I have done is give a RoP to one AI player who is fighting another across the map. Once I start seeing the number of units going through my country slow to a trickle, I'll move it and do some taking of my own. All their units are out fighting the war in the other country, and you pretty well have run of their country... it's dirty, but it works well, especially if the opponent is at the same tech level/relative strangth.

 

[Sashie VII]

I used to sign RoPs with everyone I'm at peace with and then line my border with units in forts.

Now I just clear out my continent in the ancient age.

 

[capnvonbaron]

I used to sign RoPs with everyone I'm at peace with and then line my border with units in forts.

Now I just clear out my continent in the ancient age.

one can never go wrong with that tactic

 

[CarthageFTW]

I've had the computer on numerous times use ROP in order to declare war but for some reason never had it happen on chieftan. Do they not do it on that level or something?

 

[Sharwood]

I've had the computer on numerous times use ROP in order to declare war but for some reason never had it happen on chieftan. Do they not do it on that level or something?

I've had it happen to me on Chieftain. Horribly inneffectively, but it happened.

 

[CarthageFTW]

I've had it happen to me on Chieftain. Horribly inneffectively, but it happened.

Wow....stupid AI lolz

 

[Sharwood]

Wow....stupid AI lolz

I was playing as China on a world map, ruled all Eurasia, Australia, and parts of North and South America. I'd left Africa alone, as Egypt was a strong long-term ally, but weak enough to push around. Most other Civs I hadn't wiped out hed retreated there, and all three American Civs had established colonies there also. Egypt and Zululand were the two strongest Civs in Africa, and much of the other Civs were drawn up in lines behind them as they struggled for Central Africa. I had an RoP with a few nations aligned with Egypt. One of these, England, had four cities, all in West Africa. They came through Egypt, passed the Suez Canal (Memphis), which I'd taken off the Ottomans after they took it off Egypt centuries earlier, and took an unguarded Pasargadae.

The response was that I, Egypt, and two other Civs I had MPPs with immediately declared war on them. I took back Pasargadae next turn, they attacked Egypt, and the other Egyptian allies declared war on them. It was over before I even had a chance to take any of their cities for myself, but Zululand took the opportunity to sneak attack Spain, an Egyptian ally, and it was on.

With fifty years I ruled all Zululand and had reduced its allies to nothing, Egypt was exhausted, and the Incas, Mayans and Americans were fighting each other for the privelege of all the spare land, enabling me to strike a deal with America and take around half of South America, while all Mayan North America fell to America, which now controlled the entire continent, excepting my cities in California and Alaska. Obviously, they were now the number two nation, overtaking Egypt. The Mayan and Incan territories in Africa were evenly split between myself, Egypt, and Spain, with America getting none of the spoils, despite doing much of te softening up work.

America then RoP raped me in California, taking a city I had left undefended in the hope they would do so. I then proceeded to ally myself with the Mayans and Incas, take Central America, including the Panama Canal (some Mayan City), while Egypt and my African allies divided America's African possessions between them - I was moving my African forces to america for the next showdown. The Mayans took the Caribbean, while the Inca fleet landed troops on the Eastern seaboard, tieing up America, which was forced to defend its industrial base. I then conquered all North America, excepting Florida and Philadelphia, which were taken by the Incas. America was wiped out.

After that, I wasn't RoP raped again, and the game progressed normally. Egypt were rewarded for their loyalty by being the last Civ I conquered, and being the only nation to have the pleasure of fighting a nuclear power, in the early 20th century. So yeah, the AI will RoP rape you on Chieftain, but they're even worse at it than on higher levels.