Allies not following me through Natural Wormhole (Stuck in endless war)

[CaptainWeirdbeard]

I set my fleet to "Take Point" and head for the wormhole entrance. My allies follow me to the wormhole in system and then just stay behind. This is part of The Chosen Crisis scenario. One of the AI started this crusade and is way more powerful than me. The last of The Chosen are in a remote constellation only accessible through a Natural Wormhole. All my allies' fleets are piled up in the system with the wormhole and not going through. I can't fight the enemy myself so the whole scenario seems to be stalled and I am in a state of perpetual war because we cannot complete the scenario.

Perhaps I am doing something wrong? After spending centuries rebuilding/upgrading my fleet. I go to the system with the wormhole and all my allies' fleets. I then click the "Take Point" button and right click on the wormhole and select "Travel to -system name-". The allied fleets follow me to the wormhole and they start firing after I go through and then they just stay behind while I jump. Any suggestions? Playing on latest version/patch with ALL DLC enabled in Ironman Mode. (2023-11-24.)

[Cerodil]

What year is it in game, could the ai not have wormhole travel yet?

[corisai]

Originally posted by CaptainWeirdbeard:

Perhaps I am doing something wrong?

Relying on allies to fight for you, same mistake that Poland did in WW2. I'm not joking - allies in Stellaris are not your slaves and could be too scared to fight.

Aside from that - @Cerodil already correct that depending on game year AI could not have a WH travelling tech.

[Cellar_Cat]

Even with the tech, haven't you still got to explore it? They might not have got around to sending a science ship.

[CaptainWeirdbeard]

Originally posted by corisai:

Originally posted by CaptainWeirdbeard:

Perhaps I am doing something wrong?

Relying on allies to fight for you, same mistake that Poland did in WW2. I'm not joking - allies in Stellaris are not your slaves and could be too scared to fight.

Aside from that - @Cerodil already correct that depending on game year AI could not have a WH travelling tech.

Ha! As I mentioned in my post... The AI ally started the war. They have done most of the fighting. I am just trying to keep up and contribute as best as I can. I keep throwing ships at the enemy, but my allies are far more powerful and more advanced than I am. While they have over a half dozen of 40k+ power fleets, I had a paltry 2x 20k fleets that were decimated in seconds.

Over the centuries I have been able to level up my fleet and my ships to about 30k but I am still outnumbered when I get to the other side of the gate.

My allies have been piled up on the gate all these centuries but won't go through. Only I can go through. I just don't have the power to defeat them on my own. My empire has been at war forever and it is just going on and on. I am not in danger of being wiped-out because the Chosen no longer leave their space, what with the 300k+ combined fleet waiting on the other side of the gate for them. :-D

I guess it's possible they don't have wormhole tech yet??? I assumed they would because they were much more advanced than me when the war started and they do have science ships in system. Is there a way to tell if they have wormhole tech?

I am mainly concerned that, when the war is finally over, exhaustion and claims will be too much for me to pay when the check comes due. I have just been playing as though we were at peace, building my empire because I cannot get to the enemy. Occasionally, I throw a couple fleets at them to see how they do. They are getting better, lasting longer but still overwhelmed. Guess I just keep researching until I can kill them all myself.

[CaptainWeirdbeard]

So... I have been expanding and leveling-up my fleet and I can now take them on pretty well on my own but I cannot keep up with their build speed. So, I go in with two 30k fleets. I take out 1 30k fleet, 1 17k fleet, and a 16k starbase. I can see they have a 20k fleet and a 10k fleet in reserve in another system. So, I retreat to repair and refit my fleets.

By the time I have rebuilt my fleets, they have 4x 50k fleets, 2x 30k fleets, and a few smaller fleets scattered about. I now have two 50k fleets.

Of course, after the first battle, I am below the minimum fleet strength according to Galactic Law and so i am penalized while I rebuild. (I must maintain a min of 50% fleet strength.) This goes on and on. Meanwhile, 30+ assorted allied fleets are sitting outside the gate just twiddling their thumbs. Most of those fleets are 40k-60k in strength!

The war has been going on for about 100 years now. The Chosen exhaustion has been at 100% for quite some time. Allied exhaustion has been slowly creeping up. I think we are at about 78% now (and it is probably all from MY losses!) :-D

The main problem is that I cannot engage in any diplomacy because I am at war. So, I basically just build stuff, manage my planets, build my fleets, and wait for the allies to develop wormhole tech, I guess. I am not too clear on the mechanics, but I am assuming that when and if the war finally comes to an end, I am gonna have to claim systems with influence? My empire has tripled in size into the occupied star systems. I have built hyperlanes, starbases, shipyards, colonized planets, explored rifts, colonized planets, etc. When the war ends, will I have to formally acquire those systems with influence or will the war just end?

Thanks everyone for your input!

[Ogami]

Originally posted by CaptainWeirdbeard:

So... I have been expanding and leveling-up my fleet and I can now take them on pretty well on my own but I cannot keep up with their build speed. So, I go in with two 30k fleets. I take out 1 30k fleet, 1 17k fleet, and a 16k starbase. I can see they have a 20k fleet and a 10k fleet in reserve in another system. So, I retreat to repair and refit my fleets.

Look at the after battle reports, often you do not destroy many enemy ships and they just retreated. Then they "vanish" from the map, just like your own fleets that are "lost" but they will respawn in a nearby system, especially if its their own turf you are fighting on and will be back in the fight very fast with their casualties reinforced.
So its very likely you dont face new fleets all the time but just the ones who retreated from battle and came back.
I did that mistake too at the start, only looking at the flashy battle and the fleet power number going down to zero and thinking " wiped them out!" but when i checked the after battle report i only destroyed like 20% of their fleet and the rest just fled.

[CaptainWeirdbeard]

Ah, right! I forgot about that. I think I am just gonna have to wait for my allies to get wormhole tech or explore the wormhole- whichever they are waiting on. I simply cannot outpace the enemy on my own. I suppose I could leave the galactic community to get out of the war but I have no idea what other penalties might ensue or which modifiers I will lose. That could create a real mess for me. Thanks again!