Should Barbarian AI be fixed?

[Ceterius]

They're too easy to kill with archers because barbarians never run from the encampment to kill an archer who is bombing them. Archer barbarians don't even fire back. They just sit in the encampment and let themselves be killed.

This kind of stuff makes the game look buggy and unpolished. Who agrees that the barbs should be fixed?

 

[Montov]

My latest experience is that barbs do come out of their camps to attack (weak units).
Barb archers do nothing, but that way they receive a fortification bonus, which is more helpful.

 

[Optional]

You could just as well find barb camps too easy to take because barbs frequently run out of their camp to attack. But I have indeed noticed they tend to leave archers alone. They seem more inclined to attack something like a spear than an archer, which is a bit strange, yes, I'll give you that.

 

[apocalypse105]

My latest experience is that barbs do come out of their camps to attack (weak units).
Barb archers do nothing, but that way they receive a fortification bonus, which is more helpful.

Yep if a crosbowman got a forticiation bonus it can seriously dammage a longswordsman

 

[zyx]

See it like this: if the barbs came out you would need an army to destroy them, as the range attack of an archer is max 2 - 1 if the camp is surrounded by hills/wood/jungle - and so a single archer would be killed easily even by warrior.

Sometimes I wonder why the devs introduced that ranged attack like this anyway, as it seems useless. Because a weak archer has to come so close that it can be attacked next/same turn. Because if you want to protect your archer by other units you position in between, the archer might not see the target due to terrain or why not attack with the protecting unit?

 

[Jim Bro]

i don't agree. the aztec get a bonus from hunting them plus they are meant to be killed not to destroy you. if you want more barb rage, play as raging barbarians.

 

[Babri]

Perhaps the encampement should be defended by a melee unit while an archer would move around & attack.

 

[civnoob13]

Barbs are already annoying enough as is.

 

[apocalypse105]

Barbs are already annoying enough as is.

It seams each time am at war and my army is fighting suddenly 3 barbarian units schow up and pillage all my luxury resources sigh......

 

[Sonereal]

I find Barbarian Triremes/Galleys adorable. They get into range of my city, get shot at, move, come back, get shot at, move out of range again and so on until they're dead.

 

[AriochIV]

ALL the AI should be fixed. Barbarians are lowest on the priority list.

 

[Naokaukodem]

The barbs oftenly go out of their camps in order to attack particularly weak units, like scouts or archers.

When barbs are archers and they are in their camp, most of the time they do not shoot, but it happens that they do it.

 

[blasto]

In some ways the barbarian AI is better than the normal AI. I see barbarian pillage all the time, usual AI never does. I also always see barbs skirt my units on the edge of my fog of war while they try to trap units and I hardly ever see a Civ do this except on city limits.

 

[basta]

I find Barbarian Triremes/Galleys adorable. They get into range of my city, get shot at, move, come back, get shot at, move out of range again and so on until they're dead.

Oh yes, those adorable triremes, bombarding healing scouts at the edge of your map for 150 turns, and you get to watch it each turn.

^blasto's right, the regular AI could learn something from the barbs. Especially them chasing down weakened units.

 

[danieladler]

They could start with making the AI civs as smart as the barbs....

 

[elprofesor]

I find Barbarian Triremes/Galleys adorable. They get into range of my city, get shot at, move, come back, get shot at, move out of range again and so on until they're dead.

Didn't they pillage work boats at release? I remember fearing them at first, and some patch changed that, so know they are just a slight nuisance (you can't work sea hexes whithin two hexes of them, until they leave the area, or are destroyed). If they actively sought to destroy work boats, they would be way more dangerous (work boats are expensive early game, and sea resources are the only sea hexes you want to work, unless you have built the Colossus and a lighthouse).

 

[MisterBoomBoom]

They could start with making the AI civs as smart as the barbs....

I've maintained that what the developers really need to do is simply setup several dedicated Barbarian Civilizations--or exactly to my point start with converting The Mongols to a purely barbarian role (YES let them keep their special units too). Let them expand territory, concentrate on ravishing the countrysides and attempt to pillage our precious cities, allow them to develop much like CivIV if not stopped. Make them a REAL threat that will allow (or force) you to join forces with other Civs to have joint wars against. Even allow you to bribe them to wage covert wars against other civs. But more to the point they make perfect and exceptable military targets to attack and train your armies and navies without upsetting the Diplomatic AI in the process but enhancing it. Plus these REAL barbarian civs would be much more challenging then the popup camps we have currently.

 

[blasto]

I've maintained that what the developers really need to do is simply setup several dedicated Barbarian Civilizations--or exactly to my point start with converting The Mongols to a purely barbarian role (YES let them keep their special units too). Let them expand territory, concentrate on ravishing the countrysides and attempt to pillage our precious cities, allow them to develop much like CivIV if not stopped. Make them a REAL threat that will allow (or force) you to join forces with other Civs to have joint wars against. Even allow you to bribe them to wage covert wars against other civs. But more to the point they make perfect and exceptable military targets to attack and train your armies and navies without upsetting the Diplomatic AI in the process but enhancing it. Plus these REAL barbarian civs would be much more challenging then the popup camps we have currently.

Or one step further, include an option that allows the creation of city states based on a barbarian city that got large enough.