When settler pairs attack

[Optional]

Having popped a settler on the ice, it seemed a good idea to walk a few steps south to a nice river location.
It looks like I've just beaten a Persian settler pair to the spot; sweet!

Oh, no!

This is the first time I've ever been attacked by a settler pair. Xerxes, I hate you!

 

[Daeron]

Heheh, flawless victory (for the AI)! On what size map was this?

 

[vmxa]

Not the first time I have seen that, so now you know not to take it for granted. Some times they cannot pass on an empty town.

 

[Optional]

On what size map was this?

Nowadays I always play a size smack in the middle of standard and large, width 116, hight 114, with all relevant setting (corruption and such) adjusted to that size. So 10 opponants also.

 

[MGS]

Make sure you get revenge for that. I have never seen the aI do that but I stay away from other people when expanding.

 

[Spoonwood]

That doesn't generally happen even with maximum aggression on, but VMXA's right, don't take it for granted.

 

[EvilConqueror]

I've had it happen a few times. Hard to tell when they will go for the steal or just pass by.

 

[Northen Wolf]

Not the first time I have seen that, so now you know not to take it for granted. Some times they cannot pass on an empty town.

First time I see this, I've seen spear attacking towns, but not when "escorting units". Could this have been thats that AI sent units to escort settlers - I've seen settlers move around and found cities without escort. Perhaps this Spearman was explorer/scout not an escort.

 

[Lone Wolf]

Wow. I wouldn't expect such a thing from a normally rigid AI, too.

 

[Optional]

Perhaps I should've said I always play with barbarians on. If my scout pops a settler at a remote place, it's only barbarians I'm really worried about. I don't mind seeing units of other civs in such a situation, because their presence means there's less chance of barbs appearing. Although I hadn't seen the Persian settler pair until the interturn before I settled.

There's actually something good about popping a settler at a remote place, but then I mean a really remote place: it usually leads to a declaration of war from the most nearby civ, so you'll lose the town, but you get the war happiness.

 

[TheOverseer714]

I've had a Settler escort grab a town before, so it may be rare, but it happens. I'm sure theres a very complex set of circumstances that allows it to happen.

 

[Turner]

Yeah, an undefended city. The AI will attack those in nothing flat, especially if they're stronger than you.

 

[da3dalus]

Just curious, did this city later turn out to have some strategic resource under it? It could have been that the location was really valuable and so the AI weighed its options and decided war was the best course of action.

 

[Optional]

I hadn't thought about that, da3dalus. I didn't continue the game, as I didn't fancy a one city challenge or zero city challenge, but I just had a look with the editor, and it appears one of those hills had iron it. Hm..

 

[Bowsling]

Did the Persians have iron in their homeland? That might of been the reason.
That makes me happy that an AI would do that, as a human would probably do the exact same thing whether he/she knew the iron was there or not.