Thoughts about the Ai difficulty levels

from Elemental Forums

I am a bit frustrated right now since Expert is just too easy for me. Even if I don't attack anyone and wait for late game. My knigths or whatever higher end units just steamroller the computer. I have been doing a Ridiculous world ai and Expert computer mix which is better but still same end result.

 

Now the next level Ridiculous for computer ai is truly ridiculous (so I guess kudos for that) but now what ai should I now play?

 

Just some notes to proof the point, they start with 140000 gold. They get some serious research boost or maybe it is just cause they can rush every building. by the time I have leather clad hammer defenders, yup start up guys. Yithril had ashwake dragons, juggernauts with mauls and oppressors with banishing maces. Tarth has ram bow with plate mail archers etc. And I just mentoined that I am way to good for expert so it is not that I don't know how to expand and boost research in good time. You can never make any deals since it will cost too much, only offer tribute. never get any world achievements. I was still settling my first 4 towns and some one got a holstens library. They never even kill the dragons just place lairs and then those dragons waddle over and attack me. And there seems to be a new thing where computer towns that grow can take over your outposts and even take your towns' area but when you grow it does not move back??

 

So any advice something to help me?

2,989 views 2 replies
Reply #1 from Elemental Forums Top

I can gladly revise this after restarting a new game on the newest build. The computer Ai now really does upgrade to the best stuff and had some decent units to fight my higher end units. so Expert it still is for me :D

 

The take control of your outposts thing is still there though. guess I must post a bug report.

Reply #2 from Stardock Forums Top

Quoting C4440, reply 1
I can gladly revise this after restarting a new game on the newest build. The computer Ai now really does upgrade to the best stuff and had some decent units to fight my higher end units. so Expert it still is for me 
End of C4440's quote

I agree that the AI on expert level is better now, but still too bad to be a challenge. In my last game, I simply attacked everyone I met with my SOV + first champion and took their new founded towns. Their reactions?

Kraxis did nothing at all. He never crossed my borders to retake the town and agreed to a peace treaty for 6 gildar when I overtook him in power rating. Then I still had 1 Hero, a shadow warg and a sand golem to protect my 3 cities! I never produced anything other than pioneers. Perhaps he was trashed by monsters or had other wars?

Ythril attacked me with weak stacks. He passed his lost town which I left completely unoccupied because I wanted to raze it and attacked one of my other towns. Of course he lost against my "Army" + 2 Militia. My counterattack was succesfull because he placed his newly produced units outside of town (another AI issue, it should default to place them in the city). Now he has lost all of his 3 towns, agreed to peace for 6 Gildar and stands now motionless for 30 turns next to his former home. Why didn't he surrender, he had every reason to do it? Surrender treshold is set to normal, as all other parameters!!! 

Meanwhile porcupinee declared war on me, because I attacked their 3 friends (they are all empires!?) but did nothing more than temporarily take an outpost.

The only real threat is Ceresa, who in the mean time has taken over a new founded town of me. But I will deal with her too even if her power rating is much higher than mine, because now I have 5 towns and she will make the same mistakes as the others.

Conclusion: I can deal with four enemies right next to me with only 2 heroes and two weak summons, and only 3 own built cities without building any units. Sure, I have Ignis Longbow, the tactical battles were always close, I always had to sacrifice the warg to save my heroes, my lone hero now has 2 injuries, but I never did a reload in the whole process. The AI simply makes too many mistakes: placing units outside town, not using horses for his heroes and units (the crucial mistake), attacking on the wrong spot, wasting time when moving in my territory...They are all already mentioned in other posts and have to be addressed for a good gaming experience.

This achievement would never ever have been possible on ridiculous. I would have been dead after 20 turns, period.

The gap between those two difficulty settings is much to wide. Which leaves me and probably a lot of other players tinkering with the settings until a challenging but winable level (ironman, without reloads) is found. On the other hand, were in a beta and I am absolutely sure that sooner or later this will be the case.

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