SOI thing seems to rely mostly on experience coming from observation of AI behaviour.
So far I've noticed that:
- AI will first discredit you when you are meddling with a country they want/have already.
- If you are still bearing at full speed into that country after being discredited, you are sure to earn a ban.
- If you are banned and don't remove priority, you will have your relations dropped to Cordial unless there is someone else AI might spend that influence on instead (third rival).
- Sometimes it's easier to sneak in without raising too much attention. Priority 1 over extended period of time with regular pauses will slowly build you up without launching AI's defensive mechanism.
- AI doesn't like to meddle with others' SOIs unless it's their neighbour or one of special good countries. If it's a far away minor bordering noone important you're pretty safe to be able to keep it under your boot.
- Having a country in SOI, 100 relations "saved up" in there and still having +1 priority there means that no influence is pumped there.
- With the above setup AI will be unlikely to come and try to snatch this country. If attempts are made on it, discrediting on regular basis should disinterest AI over time.
- Relations do play a role in this game. AIs will go after those they don't like or consider enemy first. So spend a while raising relations with other GPs to save some influence points in the long run. AI will challenge your SOI if it feels threatened by you and is looking for potential allies (when you are USA, UK is influencing Mexico and USCA for example, raise relations to +100 and it'll stop).
- Some countries are special. Brazil, Japan, China, Netherlands, Sweden - those AI will keep actively fighting for no matter what. Prepare to sink a lot of influence into those if you want them. Often it's worth it.
- Some countries aren't special.
Most of South and Central America, Arabian Peninsula, Denmark, Portugal, those AI will happily give up on.
- AI spreads thin. Best way to remove someone from their SOI is to first distract them. Keep bearing at +3 priority at all their SOI members except your target (all at once or one after another) and earn bans and discredits everywhere. Force AI to work there to rebuild and save relations. Then hit the country you want removed from their SOI with all you have until you earn Discredit. When discredited, remove influence and attack entire sphere again at once. Repeat until the country is torn away. Best practiced with Saxony as Prussia.
- When banned but still at +3 priority you aren't pumping influence into the target country but AI seems to think you do. So if you manage to get banned in their entire SOI and leave priorities at +3 everywhere and then add your target country with priority +1 (one you actually want to snatch), AI might not even notice what's going on. Get banned in Bavaria, Wurtemburg and Baden, leave +3 priority and add Saxony with +1 for an easy test in this.
So far I've noticed that:
- AI will first discredit you when you are meddling with a country they want/have already.
- If you are still bearing at full speed into that country after being discredited, you are sure to earn a ban.
- If you are banned and don't remove priority, you will have your relations dropped to Cordial unless there is someone else AI might spend that influence on instead (third rival).
- Sometimes it's easier to sneak in without raising too much attention. Priority 1 over extended period of time with regular pauses will slowly build you up without launching AI's defensive mechanism.
- AI doesn't like to meddle with others' SOIs unless it's their neighbour or one of special good countries. If it's a far away minor bordering noone important you're pretty safe to be able to keep it under your boot.
- Having a country in SOI, 100 relations "saved up" in there and still having +1 priority there means that no influence is pumped there.
- With the above setup AI will be unlikely to come and try to snatch this country. If attempts are made on it, discrediting on regular basis should disinterest AI over time.
- Relations do play a role in this game. AIs will go after those they don't like or consider enemy first. So spend a while raising relations with other GPs to save some influence points in the long run. AI will challenge your SOI if it feels threatened by you and is looking for potential allies (when you are USA, UK is influencing Mexico and USCA for example, raise relations to +100 and it'll stop).
- Some countries are special. Brazil, Japan, China, Netherlands, Sweden - those AI will keep actively fighting for no matter what. Prepare to sink a lot of influence into those if you want them. Often it's worth it.
- Some countries aren't special.
Most of South and Central America, Arabian Peninsula, Denmark, Portugal, those AI will happily give up on.- AI spreads thin. Best way to remove someone from their SOI is to first distract them. Keep bearing at +3 priority at all their SOI members except your target (all at once or one after another) and earn bans and discredits everywhere. Force AI to work there to rebuild and save relations. Then hit the country you want removed from their SOI with all you have until you earn Discredit. When discredited, remove influence and attack entire sphere again at once. Repeat until the country is torn away. Best practiced with Saxony as Prussia.
- When banned but still at +3 priority you aren't pumping influence into the target country but AI seems to think you do. So if you manage to get banned in their entire SOI and leave priorities at +3 everywhere and then add your target country with priority +1 (one you actually want to snatch), AI might not even notice what's going on. Get banned in Bavaria, Wurtemburg and Baden, leave +3 priority and add Saxony with +1 for an easy test in this.
