Quote Originally Posted by victorgb View Post
Hi Gilandir

A misunderstanding: "I always leave one province unconquered" only made sense to me if you were in a position to conquer it. Which usually means being adjacent to it.



As part of my AI dynasty management policy I have occasionally, and after careful consideration of the cost-benefit equation, invaded a last/sole AI-dynasty-owned province with the deliberate intention of culling the AI's forces. There must be a keep/fort in the province. The idea is not to kill the king or any useful heirs just drive them into the fortification along with, say, a couple of hundred of their men. I'll then leave the province next turn. But this is a bit tricky to pull off completely successfully, obviously.



Loyalist rebellions can occur whenever a province changes hands provided the happiness level drops too low. In other words, you don't have to leave or relinquish one. Being kicked out will do. Or even besieged, I guess.



As far as I know, expert level does not enhance the strategic AI, or change its behaviour on the strategy map, or allow/enable or prohibit things which do happen on hard level.

Expert level merely affords the BAI a bit more morale and valour, as I understand it. Personally, I find this 'tedious' as AI units tend to fight virtually to the last man which just pointlessly drags out the length of the battles, it seems to me.

Best regards
Victor

Sapere aude
Horace
Hi Victor!
I don't know how to split your post into several quotes, so I will answer in a solid block. You are almost right in expecting a left-intact rebel provice to be adjacent to your own lands. Almost, because you forget the islands. So when I deal with Italians, Sicilians, the English, the Byz, and occasionally other factions who have islands in their possession (once I had Russians on Malta!!) I use the tactics I descibed.
I'm also in a habit of handicapping the army of a faction in the last/sole province, but more often I don't invade but wait for the attack to be able to use all the advantages of a defensive battle. Mostly I don't have any problems with it afterwards as their single province can't support any troop producing.
Misunderstanding about "relinquishing". I may have chosen a wrong word, by which I meant "to stop possessing the province irrespective of the way or causes." Thus kicking out=being besieged=relinquishing in that post.
Speaking battlewise, you may find hard difficulty more appealing, but I think it is a matter of taste. On expert I often win battles when the enemy (having plenty of reinforcements) withdraws after the first stack was repulsed because it sees no perspective of victory. On hard I can hardly remember the AI behave like that. Plus on expert the AI is more cunning on the battlefield and does not forgive any mistakes of yours. And it has more attack bonuses (or so the beginner's guide to MTW teaches us).
But speaking strategically, on expert the AI is more agressive, it may attack you with several factions at a time, consistently turn down your marriage and alliance offers and generally give you more pain in the ... (select the organ you prefer). In a word, it does not let you relax and bask in the rays of your glory.