Stop the looting !

Does anyone think the looting and raiding when you take control of a region is excessive? You try and take a well developed region to boost your nation's power, win a great victory, only for your uncontrollable and greedy army to tear down all your newly conquered buildings. For example, my Scilian Army kicked the Byzantines out of Greece. The victors tore down 7 buildings and damaged 7 more. Only a keep, and a couple of other minor buildings were left. In effect, 80 years or more of achievements had been lost by a bunch of drunken and filthy beggars in armour. The worrying thing is the frequency that the AI repeatedly takes control of other nation's regions, often the control switching back and forth between 2 or more nations. It's no wonder the AI ends up with so many barren regions as it's manages to reduce the technology there to something resembling the stone age.

I don't suppose there is any way to reduce the frequency or chances of buildings being destroyed? It's even more annoying when you pour your limited resources into building up a region, lose it to a civil war, then take it back only to have everything you build torn down by your own army, and all for a few measly florins.

In the VI expansion buildings will not be damaged or destroyed until the castle is taken to prevent the AI's infrastructure being destroyed.

Anyways, it wasn't that unusual to have the drunken victors stealing what they could and destroying what they couldn't between raping everything that had a skirt.

Well it's historically true that battle-drunk just wanted to destroy everything. Maybe it could be changed so thatif your general had a "swift justice" trait, there wouldn't be so much looting.

Bribe, if there's two armies, withdraw and bribe or bribe obth at the same time. Always bribe with 3+ amount of diplomats. Bribe after killing the leader of the stack to cheapen it. Kill the kings until they're out of heirs and then bribe the rebs. Bribing is the only sure way to get a providence without losing buildings.

Can addd that you'll need to bribe the troops inside the castle, the troops in the province isn't enough.

if there are 16 or less units (that total 960 or less men) in multiple stacks in a province that I want to bribe. I send one crap unit there first to attack it. This causes all the stacks to merge into one, and allows me to bribe them all together.

I still haven't figured out what will trigger losing buildings and what won't though. Sometimes when I bribe, I get all the buildings intact. Sometimes many are still detroyed in the changeover, even though no battle took place. Any ideas on how to guarantee a "peaceful" takeover that won't result in the loss of any buildings?

I think making the province a lot like your own through religion is wise. Send in some 3 priests to convert the place, and then attack. I haven't tested this but it should make a difference.

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Originally Posted by professorspatula

In effect, 80 years or more of achievements had been lost by a bunch of drunken and filthy beggars in armour.

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I had to laugh at this. So true though historically as the others have said.

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Originally Posted by professorspatula

The worrying thing is the frequency that the AI repeatedly takes control of other nation's regions, often the control switching back and forth between 2 or more nations. It's no wonder the AI ends up with so many barren regions as it's manages to reduce the technology there to something resembling the stone age.

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A handicap for the AI that stunts it's progress and is an annoyance for the player. I recently lost Switzerland, Tyrolia, Saxony and Bohemia in 4 civil wars that I've since recovered from, but the all provinces suffered the damaged buildings problem and reverted from castles to keeps. Hundreds of years of teching up will have to be redone. The civil wars occured because of 3 failed crusade 'markers'. Three markers were in Bohemia and I launched 1 to antioch, it was about 4 provinces away when the poles attacked bohemia and put it under siege while my main army was taking on the french. The chapter house destroyed and three crusades failed, big civil war, good provinces lost and hundreds of years of building down the drain. Annoying.

Never build crusades from front line areas. Since you know where you're crusades are going, you can always switch armies to make sure they're out of the way of the crusades. Crusades also can defend when you're attacked so no worries.

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Originally Posted by TogakureOjonin

if there are 16 or less units (that total 960 or less men) in multiple stacks in a province that I want to bribe. I send one crap unit there first to attack it. This causes all the stacks to merge into one, and allows me to bribe them all together.

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Well, this takes an extra year... I usually just send more emissaries. Which can be a problem if any of them fails of course. Btw I never bribe other factions army only rebels.

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Originally Posted by TogakureOjonin

I still haven't figured out what will trigger losing buildings and what won't though. Sometimes when I bribe, I get all the buildings intact. Sometimes many are still detroyed in the changeover, even though no battle took place. Any ideas on how to guarantee a "peaceful" takeover that won't result in the loss of any buildings?

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I *think* if the previous owner is other religion than you all religious buildings are automatically destroyed. This is why you get the looting message.

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Originally Posted by antisocialmunky

Never build crusades from front line areas. Since you know where you're crusades are going, you can always switch armies to make sure they're out of the way of the crusades. Crusades also can defend when you're attacked so no worries.

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It wasn't front line initially, the civil wars made it front line very rapidly though. And I was stockpiling crusades because I anticipated the pope calling for a crusade free for all against the italians, that happened but I was not in a position to take advantage of it.

Spies - lots of them. Once the defenders are besieged use spies to "open the castle gates" - you will get the province and all it's goodies intact. Problem is that the chances of success are pretty bad, and they only get good just before the castle falls. Use several spies at once, and just hope for the best.

I've always wondered what happens when a building is damaged. Am I missing something obvious?

I had always assumed damaged meant a troop producing building going down one level eg. master to guild etc without actually losing a building.
Anyone know for sure?

Damaged buildings are knocked down a level usually along with a castles damage. e.g. you have a Keep, Church, Spearmakers Workshop and Town Guard. The Almohads invade, lay siege and eventually gain the province but damage the Keep down to a fort. Now they have (e.g.) a Fort, Spearmaker and Town Watch. When you retake the province it could end up empty...

Border forts have a tendancy to get destroyed also, and religious buildings are always destroyed by an opposing religion as soon as they lay siege.

This is one of the more annoying things about MTW, as 100's of years of teching up can go down the toilet in one year.

IIRC if you bribe the army in the castle then there is no damage to the buildings (except religious). Take 6 emmisaries and bribe each army 2 or 3 times. I don't know if you can stop the looting in battles except maybe attack, and then bribe the remnants (make sure some escape to hide in the fortress).

mfberg