DEAR CA, Could you please explain just how REPUTATION works

[Budwise]

I have been looking over past threads and nobody seems to know the full extent on how it works. Since your company built the game, could you please shine a light on this? Thank

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a thread about reputation
https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=78429

[Budwise]

Aw to hell with it, I have been spending hours reading this board the last weak but I have yet to actually PLAY the game. I guess I could start up a new game and test some things.

[Askthepizzaguy]

1. Sacking or exterminating cities (even rebels) results in loss of reputation across the board

2. Betraying your agreements results in loss of reputation across the board.

3. On harder difficulty levels, you naturally lose reputation (by a very small amount) every turn

4. It is possible on very hard to maintain very reliable reputation by sending diplomats to every nation and gifting them maps, defense agreements, and 100 florins per turn for 100 turns. Continue gifting maps and defense agreements, and extend your florin gift by 5 turns every 5 turns.

5. Only occupy cities.

6. Attacking your enemies is ok after they have attacked you first, especially when they have poor reputation.

(This is not intended to be comprehensive, but I feel these are the main points.)

Under these rules, I was able to achieve very reliable reputation and near-perfect relations, on VH/VH, with the original version, which everyone says is broken.

[Budwise]

Thanks, but how come nobody has ever gone ABOVE VERY RELIABLE before. There has to be other reasons, those you just mentioned Pizzaboy I already kinda knew.

Edit: changed one word

Thanks for putting that out for me to fix.

[Askthepizzaguy]

Thanks, but how come nobody has ever gone between VERY RELIABLE before. There has to be other reasons, those you just mentioned Pizzaboy I already kinda knew.

"between" very reliable? Do you mean above? In that case, I would suggest that it is because above that lies "perfect" I believe, and I never played like a pacifist long enough to get there, because that is boring. There really is no purpose to having a reputation better than "trustworthy" because you don't get any particular benefit from it.

Just like there is no real penalty when going from untrustworthy to despicable. It doesn't matter. Unless you plan on fixing your abysmal reputation, there is no additional penalty when going all the way to despicable.

[d3nn16]

Do you lose reputation for attacking a neutral stack parked in your lands ?

[icek]

well, reputation is cool if you play as good guy. im very reliable after 30 turns,have 10 provinces, papa loves me and i almost succed im my first requested crusade.

[Nebuchadnezzar]

To loose rep

1. Breaking alliances even if its your allies that break it
2. Bribe settlements
3. Taking back settlements which were given away or sold to another faction
4. Each turn being at war (you need about 2 allies to balance each faction you are ar war with for each turn)
5. Executing prisoners including those executed after a failed ransom
6. Sacking or exterminating settlements. Exterminating being far worse on rep
7. The difficulty level you are playing. On normal it normalises towards mixed and VH towards very unreliable (or somewhere close)
8. Having a faction score rank of less than No. 3

To gain rep

1. Having lots of allies. You can improve relations with your allies by giving military assistance
2. Releasing prisoners including those where ransoms are accepted
3. Occupying settlements
4. At the end of each turn at game start for x turns where X=20 turns I think
5. Playing on easy normalises rep towards reliable (or was it very reliable)
6. Occupying settlements

To decrease relations with another faction

1. Diplomatic insults such as when proposal balance is very demanding
2. Bribe army/settlements/characters and forts
3. Discovered? assassination attempts
4. Discovered? spy attempts
5. Discovered? sabotage attempts
6. Transgression
7. Dishonour an agreement
8. Threaten war
9. Declare war or start undeclared war
10. Blockade
11. Seige
12. All battles whether initiating an attack or not

[supadodo]

I got trustworthy rep with the Turks and have been maintaining it by releasing troops from the many Hungarian and Egyptian stacks constantly partying around my lands ,only occupying settlements and staying within my boundaries from Constantinople to Alexandria.

Strangely though, despite Hungary's senseless aggression it is also Trustworthy.
Now I'm trying to work my way to immaculate rep

releasing troops is the best way to gain rep, the more troops released the better.