AI taking over CP like it's nothing (not Servants)

[Zenith]

Really needed to vent.
I have complete control over China, all CP protected, and then out of no where Initiative came along, took over a control point. Tried cracking down and purging but both at a dismal 20% with maximum influence (my councilors have almost 20 persuasion/espionage) and of course failed. The next turn more control points got taken in China.

I mean what the hell? Mid game feels like whack-a-mole with the AI in terms of control points.

[ulzgoroth]

I wonder if the Initiative has xenotech hacks at some point?

Nice thing about the Initiative being a thorn in your side is that unlike the Servants nobody cares if you remove them. Grab and subvert one of their agents, then use the intel to speedrun mugging, murdering, and vandalizing all their stuff.

(I'm currently in the middle of doing this myself. They started it, and they're going to lose all their toys over it. I need to also take their mining bases and hand them to HF...)

[Wolfier]

The Ai seems to gladly launch 20% against their enemies its more of a matter of time before they get ya.

[Hydra]

You need to assassinate councilors of rival factions to keep their stats from going to the moon. Once I found this out I just became Jack the Ripper. The only factions you should spare are your nominal allies. Not neutral, your immediate allies. Rival faction councilors should be killed on sight.

[ulzgoroth]

What's your popular support look like? Popular support is an important modifier for control node attack and defense.

Originally posted by Wolfier:

The Ai seems to gladly launch 20% against their enemies its more of a matter of time before they get ya.

This is also a thing, but wouldn't account for them taking more points in quick succession I think.

[VoiD]

Originally posted by ulzgoroth:

I wonder if the Initiative has xenotech hacks at some point?

Nice thing about the Initiative being a thorn in your side is that unlike the Servants nobody cares if you remove them. Grab and subvert one of their agents, then use the intel to speedrun mugging, murdering, and vandalizing all their stuff.

(I'm currently in the middle of doing this myself. They started it, and they're going to lose all their toys over it. I need to also take their mining bases and hand them to HF...)

Haven't played them, but it seems like they actually do.

Some guy was saying their special org has like +15 persuasion.

Still prefer the resistance one tho, +10cmd +5esp +5investigation can make a super spy and/or a super commander very early on, and command is specially hard to increase through orgs.

[VoiD]

Originally posted by Zenith:

Really needed to vent.
I have complete control over China, all CP protected, and then out of no where Initiative came along, took over a control point. Tried cracking down and purging but both at a dismal 20% with maximum influence (my councilors have almost 20 persuasion/espionage) and of course failed. The next turn more control points got taken in China.

I mean what the hell? Mid game feels like whack-a-mole with the AI in terms of control points.

have you kept public opinion well over 50% for your own ideology?

I see a lot of people giving out advice that unity shouldn't be touched for some reason, and a lot of people complaining about losing those massive countries that should be untouchable, the 2 are probably related.

In my game I can even abandon big nations like the US, china or india, leaving all 6 points cracked down and the AI still can't take them from me unless I go over the adm cap.

[ulzgoroth]

Originally posted by VoiD:

Originally posted by ulzgoroth:

I wonder if the Initiative has xenotech hacks at some point?

Nice thing about the Initiative being a thorn in your side is that unlike the Servants nobody cares if you remove them. Grab and subvert one of their agents, then use the intel to speedrun mugging, murdering, and vandalizing all their stuff.

(I'm currently in the middle of doing this myself. They started it, and they're going to lose all their toys over it. I need to also take their mining bases and hand them to HF...)

Haven't played them, but it seems like they actually do.

Some guy was saying their special org has like +15 persuasion.

Still prefer the resistance one tho, +10cmd +5esp +5investigation can make a super spy and/or a super commander very early on, and command is specially hard to increase through orgs.

+15 persuasion is kinda impressive I guess, but it's not like you can't cap it without that... and more importantly, persuasion isn't even used to take enemy caps, only neutral ones.

Originally posted by VoiD:

Originally posted by Zenith:

Really needed to vent.
I have complete control over China, all CP protected, and then out of no where Initiative came along, took over a control point. Tried cracking down and purging but both at a dismal 20% with maximum influence (my councilors have almost 20 persuasion/espionage) and of course failed. The next turn more control points got taken in China.

I mean what the hell? Mid game feels like whack-a-mole with the AI in terms of control points.

have you kept public opinion well over 50% for your own ideology?

I see a lot of people giving out advice that unity shouldn't be touched for some reason, and a lot of people complaining about losing those massive countries that should be untouchable, the 2 are probably related.

In my game I can even abandon big nations like the US, china or india, leaving all 6 points cracked down and the AI still can't take them from me unless I go over the adm cap.

I don't touch unity because it's bad with democracy, which I favor.

However, I'm not at all shy about throwing public campaigns if I notice my popularity being low.

[Lovecraft]

Originally posted by VoiD:

In my game I can even abandon big nations like the US, china or india, leaving all 6 points cracked down and the AI still can't take them from me unless I go over the adm cap.

I tried that and the AI took several control points, in China, with 70% public opinion, and 25 in all admin stats. I spent more than six months fighting them off.

[stax]

Originally posted by Zenith:

Really needed to vent.
Tried cracking down and purging but both at a dismal 20% with maximum influence (my councilors have almost 20 persuasion/espionage)

Just pointing out that cracking down requires investigation, not persuasion.

[Happiers1989]

How high over your control cap are you? Being over your control cap gives bonuses to anyone trying to take your points, with the bonuses raising the more over your cap you are. In the late game when it gets more and more tempting to go 'oh I have the influence income, I can just go +20 or +40 over my cap and not care about it' it is really easy to accidentally give the AI some big bonuses to cracking your points. This especially matters if you run into a random event that puts one of your council members in prison for a few months or whatever, because if that drops your control cap by 25 because whoops their admin doesn't count while they're in prison, suddenly the AI has free bonuses to slap you with. Or if someone got assassinated.

By the same token, if you're trying to break into AI China or something, finding their high admin people and looting their admin orgs or killing their high admin council members or imprisoning them on the turn you try to crackdown or all of the above can suddenly drop them majorly over their cap and whoops now they're the ones getting penalties and it's... not easy, but more possible.