How to get the AI to attack me!?

**akinkhoo** · 12-02-2006, 20:16

right now, I am trying to capture Venice from Milan.
my seiging force is around 800 spearmen, the king (newly crowns, 8 star, 2 sliver) and heir (4 star, 3 bronze).

this pretty lame force sit on the only bridge outside venice.

their king (or whatever, 3 star) sits in the city with only 300 men.
however a 1300 strong army lead by 2 generals (2 star and 1 star) sandwich my force. they attack resulting in:

Big Venice Army ---> me (on the bridge) <--- Venice's Garrison

Ok, so i setup my forces with 3 spearmen and 2 bodyguard unit facing Venice.
the rest are position to choke the bridge long enough for my generals to deal with the king before turning back to the main threat.

i start the battle with everything going as plan. the main army charge across the bridge with light calvary and some knights. and my generals were routing the venice king. i quickly rush my general to both sides of the bridge and charge them in. a full rout of the enemies' cavalry followed (a bit faster than i expected)

but something i did not expect.

their infantry and generals just sat there on the other side. because i play without time limit; i must rout them all, which i can't because of the lovely pike wall they stick on the bridge and i lack bowmen of any kind. (stupid no?) hence i am left without a way to finish the battle... hmm

is there anyway to get the attacking AI, to attack?

**Barkhorn1x** · 12-02-2006, 20:36

Originally Posted by akinkhoo

is there anyway to get the attacking AI, to attack?

Wait for the upcoming patch from CA.

Serously, this is the passive AI bug - it has been acknowledged by CA and will be fixed in the pending patch.

To me, this bug - and the "seige lag bug" are by far the most annoying glitches, hopefully the patch will squash them both.

Barkhorn.

**Kobal2fr** · 12-02-2006, 20:49

Quick and dirty : make a mistake. Any strategical mistake glaring enough (lone unit far from the main force, unsupported missiles etc...) will usually prompt the AI to try and exploit it.

Or you can just use your generals as bait : walk them to the enemy, then quickly turn back when they move, as spears will usually try and charge static cav.

If still they won't move... well, you have heavy cav versus unmoving footmen, charge their backs and be done with it :)

**akinkhoo** · 12-02-2006, 21:17

a bug huh.... i was thinking the AI was wield...

actually all the troop movement including mine look weird, they don't seem to advance in line once in combat like they did in previous games. i develop a taste to run into enemy then click attack to keep my men together!

guess i will have to wait for a patch.... all this after the long wait for the game...

**Forward Observer** · 12-02-2006, 21:18

Missile troops and Artillery---never leave home without them! In other words it is alway advantageous to bring along a gun to a knife fight

Seriously, the ballista as modeled in M2TW are like Medieval RPG's. With mobility, consistent accuracy, and the fire option they are the workhorse of every army I create.

If the A.I. is truely passive, why not take advantage of it and blow the crap out of their army

A single 2 ballistae unit used correctly can eliminate an entire command unit and they are perfect for bridge work. You can even use them in the middle of a bridge if the range to the other side is too far. You have to command them to a point on the other side and then halt them on the bridge when they acquire range. Just be sure to send a melee unit with them for protection.

Other than a sacrifice as Kobal2fr mentioned, you may have no other choice now.

My signature says it all.

**StoneCold** · 12-02-2006, 22:24

Originally Posted by Barkhorn1x

Wait for the upcoming patch from CA.

Serously, this is the passive AI bug - it has been acknowledged by CA and will be fixed in the pending patch.

To me, this bug - and the "seige lag bug" are by far the most annoying glitches, hopefully the patch will squash them both.

Barkhorn.

Hmm, why do you say this is the passive bug? From what I understand this is smart thinking on the AI. It has less troops now and a good defensive position, although they are the attacking faction, with no time limit if they don't leave the battlefield they can force the player's stack off the bridge map. Right?

**nameless** · 12-02-2006, 22:52

This is one of the reasons for the last minute change prior to the game going gold.

An example. A unit in the city square being peppered by archers and refusing to go out and meet them.

Well it's alot easier for them to stay in the city square rather than going OUT and meet them on the open field or in this case take the bait.

This is why I use time limits, so the battles don't go too long and forces the AI to make a move.

Though I still feel that it's way too passive in some cases.

**Brighdaasa** · 12-03-2006, 00:31

It's definitely a bug, as the ai are the attackers in this case, so they should attack. If they're not programmed to attack when the ai is the attacking side, they would always lose on account of the timer running out. This obviously creates problems when playing without the timer.
I had the same thing happen to me, even charging my cav into them wouldn't lure the enemy across the bridge, luckily my army still could retreat without the army vanishing.

**Grimmy** · 12-03-2006, 10:16

Playing as the English, I've found a sure fire way to get the French to attack any city or castle I have on the continent.

All ya gotta do is have an alliance with them. Seems that in France "alliance" translates to "burn my towns, please".