Not loving raider mechanics in latest patch

[Funktapus]

As of this morning, I no longer actually talk directly to raider or get to fight them. Now it's all mediated by neighboring kingdoms, who invade me if I don't pay off the raider. Not fun.

I miss being able to fight raiders.

[Poolboy]

Yeah, there seems to be no way to tell your neighbour 'let them through!', and if you decline then your neighbours get really angry with you for some reason. Makes no sense at all.

[Vanir]

This was changed so you could no longer entirely prevent raiders from spawning by surrounding yourself with allies. Either your allies just let raiders through, which makes no sense, or you can ignore raiders, which is also undesirable.

Declining a raider will have them trouble your ally, potentially destroying them.


A "let them through" option is a good idea.

[Funktapus]

Yes, please add a “let them through” option. I can’t see any way to actually fight them right now, which means my army gets zero use until I’m ready to fight my neighbors.

And my neighbors aren’t “allies” except that I have trade agreements with them. Seems like a stretch to say we have some sort of defensive pact.

[Poolboy]

Originally posted by Funktapus:

Yes, please add a “let them through” option. I can’t see any way to actually fight them right now, which means my army gets zero use until I’m ready to fight my neighbors.

And my neighbors aren’t “allies” except that I have trade agreements with them. Seems like a stretch to say we have some sort of defensive pact.

+1
Same here. Completely agree.
This is actually a massive issue for me. I don't wan't to pay any more ransoms and yet I have no way to say no. There's literally nothing you can do about it. Please fix.

[BeheadThoseWhoInsultKane]

I've fortified and conscripted everyone since second raid group was available and with the latest patch push my stockpile worth dropped 2 times because most of it was the weapons, so i've never interacted with raiders mechanic yet. Working as designed i guess.

[Poolboy]

Originally posted by BeheadThoseWhoInsultKane:

I've fortified and conscripted everyone since second raid group was available and with the latest patch push my stockpile worth dropped 2 times because most of it was the weapons, so i've never interacted with raiders mechanic yet. Working as designed i guess.

I usually try to achieve this too but I don't always get the balance right. The main problem with how it is right now, other than the frustration at being forced to hand over goods to an enemy you are quite certain you could defeat in open battle, is that since it is sensible to be on good terms with your neighbours and open trade relations as soon as one can, it's likely that the average player will never see a single battle until they choose to leave their city to go conquering. The old system had a steady increase in threat so that a player would be able to test themselves against a steadily increasing level of danger.
I'm also not sure whether it's really even an issue that your allies were acting as a shield for you, stopping you from being raided. Surely that's the whole point of having an ally? It takes time and resources building alliances, and your protection is the main benefit. Perhaps a better solution would be them asking for your help in battle, or to provide them with some troops if they are getting hounded by lots of raiders. You are their ally, after all, it seems only natural.