Value of resources (for trade)

[ZeekLTK]

Whenever I have excess resources sitting around that no one has anything to trade for it, I generally try to find the civ that has the most gold per turn and then exchange the resource for as much gold per turn as I can get for it. The AI seems to be willing to pay a lot for it, as I can usually get as much as they have for it, which is generally 5-10 gold.

However, I recently tried this the other way and was shocked to see what the AI wanted for gold in exchange for a resource. Something like 30 gold per turn. I was like NO WAY.

So who's in the wrong here? I feel like giving them 5-10 goal for a resource is fine and that they should just be happy to get something for the resource that would otherwise sit around unused (and I gladly take that for my extra resources, heck sometimes I will even take 2-3 gold, just so I get SOMETHING for the resource). Or are the resources way more valuable than I think they are and I should hold onto my extras until the AI can pony up that kind of cash for them, even if it means they might go unused for most of the game?

They don't seem to care about 1-for-1 trades, they will generally trade anything for anything else as long as it's not something like a metal or oil or whatever (they never seem to want to trade those, although neither do I so that's fair I guess). But I mean, if you have an extra pig, why are you trying to get me to pay 30 gold per turn for it? Take 5 and be happy you got something! lol (that's what I do)


Like for example, in one game I was giving Elizabeth silver for 2 gold per turn because I had an extra silver and she was the only other civ that needed silver, but she didn't have anything to trade me. She was also only getting 2 GPT, so that was all I could get out of her. I figured, 2 gold is better than no gold... is this a bad move?? Because the AI doesn't seem to do that. Tokugawa had like 3 pigs and I had none and also had nothing else to trade him, but he wouldn't sell me any for a reasonable price, so the whole game, he just sat there with extra pigs, making no money off them...

 

[Manco Capac]

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[TezaPsyborg]

(toungue in cheek) Your AI rivals in single play are, like, really dumb like, the best thing you can get out of an AI for trade is that eventually you get, like, a plus one or two in diplomacy modifiers for 'we appreciate the years you have supplied us with resources', like. It's even a good thing to give them away so you get, like, that bonus eventually coz it can mean, like, the difference between, you know, cautious and pleased on the diplomacy scale,. Or you may want to give a basically friendly AI civ, say, iron so they can, like, get better units and, you know, act as a buffer nation between you and a more hostile Civ.

BTW I also use the moronic interrogative style of speech, like, all the time man, yeah, you know what I mean, sorta thing, yeah. But it tends to be a bit, like, confusing when you're reading it on the internet, like.

 

[stoferb]

In my experience it seems like they check how much gold per turn you get and value their goods accordingly so if you set your sliders so that you get as little as possible in income and are lucky (or shuffle around with building wealth and changing the slider) that the income is something like 5 gold then they are quite likely to take it even if they otherwise would want 50 gold for it. Never been succesful with less than 5, but the 5-10 gold range seems to work fairly consistently.

 

[ZeekLTK]

Hmmm I will try to trade gold for goods some other time in a game where I have less money and see. This was in a game where I had a very good economy so I was getting like +54/turn even on 100% sliders (80% research/20% culture), so I guess maybe that's why they were asking for around 30/turn. But there's nothing I could really do to reduce my GPT except destroy my own economy, and why do that?

.....

I'm not trying to "fleece" the AI though, I'm just trying to do as much (fair) trading as possible. I feel like if I'm willing to sell them resources for 5-10 then they should be willing to do the same to me. But again, maybe it was because my economy was doing so well?

 

[Ataxerxes]

The AI is pretty dumb that way. Also, Toku is notorious for not trading resources or techs and falling behind in the game as a result. I've never know the AI to be willing to sell a happiness or health resource for less than 6 GPT, although I can sometimes beg for something.

As you know, even if the AI will trade you a strategic resource, it'll demand one arm and one leg. Also, until late game the AI considers Ivory to be a strategic resource.

A nice way to take advantage of the AI in a resource trade is to trade your cow for his wheat early in the game. You get twice the benefit. The AI doesn't recognize that certain luxury or health resources are better than others at times.

 

[nfw]

You can try haggling, a tedious process. Once some AI demanded Hamburg for peace, but I talked it down to 50 gold.

 

[AdamCrock]

In my experience resources that AI values the most (don't know why) are hit musicals/movies/singles. I can usually get 10-15 gpt each turn from each AI buying. Sometimes when asked "What will You give me for this" AI throws all he can spare + all trade gold at the table

 

[Kallikrates]

In my experience the AI is rather generous with gold for resources. If a leader has 25 gold per turn one can get as much for a single food or happiness resource.
But they will usually not trade a strategic resource for less than two non-strategic. They do not seem to appreciate happiness more than food or vice versa. So not to make them profit as much I try to trade them meat (because no additional bonus from granary), incense etc. rather than grains, metals or dye. Of course the most important thing is how much I benefit, not denying them additional benefits. It certainly seems that on Emperor and higher the diplo benefits far outweigh unfair trades, so it is often smart to give in to demands of non-strategic resources.

 

[damerell]

In my experience resources that AI values the most (don't know why) are hit musicals/movies/singles.

Perhaps because the AI likes to build Broadcast Towers for culture, so it's easy to get the second happiness from these.

 

[Yudishtira]

Like for example, in one game I was giving Elizabeth silver for 2 gold per turn because I had an extra silver and she was the only other civ that needed silver, but she didn't have anything to trade me. She was also only getting 2 GPT, so that was all I could get out of her. I figured, 2 gold is better than no gold... is this a bad move??

I think Silver is far more valuable to her than 2gpt, so unless she is floundering and you feel sorry for her, you're getting ripped off.

On the wider question, yes the AIs sometimes just don't want to trade with you unless you're made of money. One thing that does sometimes work is to haggle - offer what you're prepared to pay (or a bit less than that) and see if they'll come down to it.

I suppose it's only natural when you ask them what they want for something, they give a 'pie in the sky' figure. In some ways it's more surprising when they make a reasonable recompense request...