AI Naval Invasions with standard RTW

[Drewski]

Recent new campaign as Rome, I decided to very early on take Krete (immediately after Taras), as a different opening, and of course to get those invaluable Archers..

I left a modest 1/3 stack as garrison and played on. The small KH stack on Krete wandered around, but never did anything.

The game continued normally until about 230 BC, when the KH suddenly landed a weakish full stack on Krete, and besieged me. I was in shock! The ai making amphibious attacks with standard RTW exe.... I managed to defeat the first wave (using the ai's stupidity in combat, and the fact that I'd just recruited 3 Kr Archers ready to sail to mainland Italy), and successfully sued for peace, offering a small amount of mnai. Then a year or two later, a decent fullstack landed, and sieged again. This time, I had more troops on Krete, and an easier win. This was followed up by a top line fullstack, and then another. All were defeated, and more peace followed. Then once again, another decent amphibious attack was made, and this time the peace stayed, as the KH went to war with a tiny Epiros instead.

So I thought why? Why this sudden prediliction for amphibious attacks? My deduction is as follows.

1) The KH had Mak down to one province and had vassalissed them, and controlled everything up to Getai lands, with whom they had an alliance, they also had an alliance with Epiros (who they later backstabbed)...therefore...
2) They had no enemies at the time.
3) They had a very large army, just sitting around at the time(s)
4) They had a LOT of money for an ai faction 200,000 mnai + (more than me as Rome at the time!)

I'm guessing the ai must think (quite rightly) that all ships are a massively overpriced waste of money, and therefore doesn't build them. The fact in this case (no-one to attack who wasn't an ally with shared borders), and plenty of troops and cash must be contributary.

What I'm really wondering is this:- did the ai just randomly build boats because of its excess cash, and THEN realise it could attack Krete, or did it decide to attack and THEN build the boats necessary.

Another point, has anyone experimented with making ships cheaper, and then seeing if the ai builds more?

It was an interesting and new situation, the island assaults, and will also make me play a lot more "honestly" with regard to island garrisons in future.


Thoughts or comments welcome.

[Cute Wolf]

not exactly experimented with EB but yes, sometimes, if the ships are rather cheap, AI would field amphibious attack forces in RTW, when the conditions are right.

[Dutchhoplite]

In my Lusotannan campaign the Carthaginians invaded Bochoris, Karali and Alalia wich i had occupied. I was pretty shocked ;)

[HorusLupercal]

I have never ever seen a naval invasion in EB, but all the time in vannilla rome. personally i would love it because now all the cities in italy are maxed out in my romani campaign, but except for sicily, sardinia corisca and spain i have left the carthaginians untouched and they have built up a massive powerbase in africa. and i would like to see them send some big stacks into italy.