A question about Difficulty settings

[Mr. Wiggles]

If i set the game to a higher difficulty will the AI empires be able to provide a challenge even mid/late game? Or you will just struggle the first years and then snowball everything from mid game on?

[Elitewrecker PT]

That's up to the player. Some will still be able to snowball them, others will have a tougher time.

[Threetails]

It honestly depends on what the AI empires are and what the player is playing. If you're any type of total war faction, as elitewrecker said, it's extremely easy to simply snowball out of control even on admiral and grand admiral. On the other hand, play something like an inward perfectionist, and you'll be struggling to keep up economically.

That being said, it's difficult to beat bots in the early-mid game economically and militarily on high difficulty without taking an enemy home world early in the game. On Admiral and Grand Admiral, bots get huge bonuses to economic output. Luckily, they mostly invest it into their military which usually allows the player to outpace them in terms of tech. AI also generally seems to suck at teching up and building arcologies/machine worlds/hive worlds. So while they usually ♥♥♥♥ the player in terms of early to mid game economic strength if you're good you can catch up in the mid to late game.

That being said, I've found that machines and hive minds make much more competitive AI than typical organics. I think it's got something to do with consumer goods; I think the AI just never ends up building enough to get any good tech, while machines and hive minds can just go straight for the research. I've often found that in games where I'm destroying all the organics in terms of economic strength and tech the robots are managing to keep up and the hive minds are at least not getting curbstomped.

Though yeah, if you're just playing at lower difficulty and the AI are just not keeping up with you, turn the difficulty up and try more passive factions without spamming federation. Also turn up crisis strength. Your game will be harder in the lategame for sure.

Edit: specified that I was talking about beating bots in the early-mid game by claiming an enemy homeworld.

[HugsAndSnuggles]

Latter. Bonuses simply delay the date at which you can roll over AI, while advanced start neighbours eliminate most of the eary war/expansion cheese. That said, gestalts are still fairly competent (at least, on GA), so if you want a challenge - force spawn a lot of those.

[Nightmyre]

Postat inițial de Threetails:

That being said, it's difficult to beat bots economically and militarily on high difficulty without taking an enemy home world early in the game.

This is so completely wrong it's almost funny. By far the simplest way to win against the AI on harder difficulties is to do the exact opposite of what you suggest.

If you're playing the base game with no mods, all you really need to do is bribe your way into friendly relationships with your immediate neighbours.

After that, feel free to never build a military vessel all game, since they'll never attack you.

The only exception to this is if you are facing nearby Total War empires (Fanatic Purifier, Determined Exterminator, Devouring Swarm). Those guys can steamroll through your protective allies, and then quickly wipe you out too.

[kbmodigity]

Difficulty = how much of a bonus Ai's get to their economy, research, and so on. The higher the difficulty the more they get.

Scaling off = They get the max amount of those bonuses above right at the start of the game.

Scaling on = They start at the default level for their bonuses but over the course of the first 200 years the bonuses grow to what ever difficulty you selected. ie at 2400 they will have full bonus effects.

Edit: Difficulty does not change the AI behavior on what they choose to build or actions they take. It will only allow the Ai to build more and faster at a higher difficulty as they will have more resources.

[Mistfox]

Postat inițial de Nightmyre:

Postat inițial de Threetails:

That being said, it's difficult to beat bots economically and militarily on high difficulty without taking an enemy home world early in the game.

This is so completely wrong it's almost funny. By far the simplest way to win against the AI on harder difficulties is to do the exact opposite of what you suggest.

If you're playing the base game with no mods, all you really need to do is bribe your way into friendly relationships with your immediate neighbours.

After that, feel free to never build a military vessel all game, since they'll never attack you.

The only exception to this is if you are facing nearby Total War empires (Fanatic Purifier, Determined Exterminator, Devouring Swarm). Those guys can steamroll through your protective allies, and then quickly wipe you out too.

Actually, I pick off enemy homeworlds early depending on their planet preferences, if you have a 2nd race that can colonize a different terrain type, you can open up 2x as many worlds as you originally could unless you use bots or tomb world survivor.

[ctcc42]

I play on grand admiral and it realy depends on how hostile your starting naighbours are.

The AI is still stupid as all heck on Grand Admiral. Its resource bonusess make an early game push very challenging indeed. But in the late game your smart empire administraion (you are smart right?) means that you can steam roll them easily.

My stratergy for grand admiral is to double down on tech and unity in the early game and hope I have friendly naighbours. If I start right next to fanatical purifyers, determined exterminators or devouring swarms thats probably game over. BUT its best to get the game over sooner rather then later, before you have invested your whole weekend into the empire.

By the time the AI has reached midgame I am typicaly in repeatables, if I survived that long. At that point I have a small forge world or two, to support a fleet capable of going toe to toe with them, and I am still pumping out science like nobodies buisness for more repeatables.

The AI is too dumb to make the most of its resorce multipliers, so by focusing on your echonemy and tech you can outpace and surpass them. once they no longer have a resorce advantage Grand Admiral becomes no more difficult the captain, which isnt very.

[kbmodigity]

And now that we have the self back patting out of the way.

[Mistfox]

Postat inițial de kbmodigity:

And now that we have the self back patting out of the way.

Well, I was reacting to the "that is completely wrong!!!" comment. Such things really are situational.

[Threetails]

Postat inițial de Nightmyre:

Postat inițial de Threetails:

That being said, it's difficult to beat bots economically and militarily on high difficulty without taking an enemy home world early in the game.

This is so completely wrong it's almost funny. By far the simplest way to win against the AI on harder difficulties is to do the exact opposite of what you suggest.

I disagree and it seems other people do as well. I play no mods, ironman, admittedly only Admiral difficulty, but you can definitely win an early war against AI; I've done it multiple times. It's really just a matter of rushing some militech, grabbing supremacy and then hardcore investing into alloys. Yes, it absolutely screws over your research and economy, but if you can actually win a war and take someone else's systems the price is well worth it. You'll snowball way harder with those extra pops and worlds. You are correct that it's not the easiest thing to do to win, but it's definitely doable, even simple if you're a militarist or tw faction. At the end of the day, it really comes down to playstyle.

And what I forgot to add here was that I was talking about beating bots economically in the early to mid game. Bots always win in the early game through to the early-mid game, especially if you're passively teching up. You'll beat them eventually, but not usually till the mid-late game. If you want to beat bots in the early game, you're going to have to go to war. I made an edit to my original post correcting the statement.