Do AI generals get a bonus?

[IrishGirl]

On Reddit there are several threads where players have suggested that the AI gets a bonuse to their generals. Is this true?

In my (1572) Poland game, Russia has maanged TWO generals with 6 pips in shock. This is absolutely true. I thought it was only one and they were moving him around but then I noticed they do have different names and the rest of their pips are different. The best I can manage with 47 miliatary tradition is 3 pips in shock, which means that, even with a significant advantage in tech, higher army morale and (I think) better troops, their armys can manage to kill mine in the shock phase.

How I get good generals? I mean, I know I have to get my army tradition up, but even if I leave my forts on (which raises tradition slightly), and have Aristocratic military ideas (Noble Officers gives +1), I'm losing tradition at the rate of 1.56 per year. I just finished a League War, during which I spent most of the time fighting Russia. After losing brutally to one of their 6 pip generals, I just started sniping their stacks, waiting for one of my allies (usually the Ottomans ... don't ask) to get them in a battle, then gank them. Otherwise, I don't think I would have beaten them.

I read the Wiki on Military Tradition and I understand the mechanic and how to get it, but is there a strategy to getting bette generals??

I supposed I shouldn't complain. I did get a 5 pip shock Admiral for my 10 ship navy.

 

[Vetgirig]

Offensiv, Aristocratic, Defensive idea groups add leader pips. Also there are policies that add more pips.

These idea groups also lower the rate at which military tradition decay, making sure its high for combat and rolling generals.


So answer is: Select the right idea groups and policies.

 

[TheMeInTeam]

IIRC the luck bonus actually does influence generals. If AI takes groups that further assist with this it's not a surprising outcome.

 

[ecrurudesby]

I read the Wiki on Military Tradition and I understand the mechanic and how to get it, but is there a strategy to getting bette generals??

If you've read the Wiki then you know most if not all of it, but you should also read the page on Military Leaders.

As for a strategy, it is possible to save scum to get a random good general. I of course have never done this and never will.

 

[Martynios]

AI loses more battles, which dramatically increases their military tradition.

 

[I_am_Nemo]

As far as AI bonuses go, I don't see it listed in the Luck bonuses, but I had heard that they did get a bonus to good generals from luck: not sure what the case is there.

However, Russia wouldn't necessarily need any luck bonus to get a couple six shock generals, especially if they've been fighting a lot or picked, say, def and off ideas.

In order to get good generals, you want high MT and/or ideas/policies that grant bonus leader pips. Example: I just rolled a general off 93 MT, got a 4/5/4/2. My current crop of generals also includes a 1/6/2/1 and a 3/4/1/3, and I'm pretty sure I just recently lost a 3/6/x/x. All of this is off a between 70 - 100 MT, no bonus pips, and the year is 1586. But keep in mind that I've been firing and re-rolling disappointing generals, so there's no guarantee every general off 90 + MT will be a god among men. On the other hand, you can sometimes get a really good general off very low MT; it's just a matter of how the pips fall.

As far as getting mil tradition: keep in mind that Aristo is actually the weakest bonus to MT out of the three mil groups - Aristo, Def, and Qual. Def and Qual both give +1 yearlytradition, Aristo gives -1% yearly decay, which is only equal to +1 tradition at 100 MT.

But you don't need to stack ideas in order to get over 90 MT; you gain it from battles and sieging, meaning the best way to max it out is to be fighting constantly. I'm hitting 90+ MT because I've been more or less constantly at war for the last 30-40 years, sometimes in multiple wars at a time. I'm losing 4.5 a year, so the only way to keep it that high is to keep fighting constantly.

So basically, get your MT up, and just keep re-rolling generals. You'll get a few amazingly good generals eventually. Then they'll probably die within 2 years, just like your really good heirs, but, eh, that's EU4.

 

[Turbo215]

The nobility has an option where you can recruit a 40 mil tradition general for 20 influence.

Edit: Also generals drilling armies (with Cradle of Civilization) have a chance of increasing their stats.

 

[TheMeInTeam]

As far as AI bonuses go, I don't see it listed in the Luck bonuses, but I had heard that they did get a bonus to good generals from luck: not sure what the case is there.

However, Russia wouldn't necessarily need any luck bonus to get a couple six shock generals, especially if they've been fighting a lot or picked, say, def and off ideas.

In order to get good generals, you want high MT and/or ideas/policies that grant bonus leader pips. Example: I just rolled a general off 93 MT, got a 4/5/4/2. My current crop of generals also includes a 1/6/2/1 and a 3/4/1/3, and I'm pretty sure I just recently lost a 3/6/x/x. All of this is off a between 70 - 100 MT, no bonus pips, and the year is 1586. But keep in mind that I've been firing and re-rolling disappointing generals, so there's no guarantee every general off 90 + MT will be a god among men. On the other hand, you can sometimes get a really good general off very low MT; it's just a matter of how the pips fall.

As far as getting mil tradition: keep in mind that Aristo is actually the weakest bonus to MT out of the three mil groups - Aristo, Def, and Qual. Def and Qual both give +1 yearlytradition, Aristo gives -1% yearly decay, which is only equal to +1 tradition at 100 MT.

But you don't need to stack ideas in order to get over 90 MT; you gain it from battles and sieging, meaning the best way to max it out is to be fighting constantly. I'm hitting 90+ MT because I've been more or less constantly at war for the last 30-40 years, sometimes in multiple wars at a time. I'm losing 4.5 a year, so the only way to keep it that high is to keep fighting constantly.

So basically, get your MT up, and just keep re-rolling generals. You'll get a few amazingly good generals eventually. Then they'll probably die within 2 years, just like your really good heirs, but, eh, that's EU4.

You seem to be right, it looks like I misremembered. I guess they're just rolling more since they have more points.

 

[TerrorSnail]

Most likely source if they dont have high tradition is champion of the joust event that gives a 100 tradition general

 

[Vulkandrache]

They just drill all the time.
Every AI country is running around with 3-stars all the time, its really funny having your 3pm vassal provide the leadership for your large army.

 

[RNGesus322]

https://eu4.paradoxwikis.com/Artificial_intelligence#AI_mechanic_handicaps

>AI gets significantly increased naval/army tradition from battles.

That's why. AI usually sits close to 100% AT/NT for that reason.

 

[bbqftw]

It is not impossible to roll 6 stat off low trad.

I mean I had a 6-siege rolled off nobility with no pip boosting ideas at all..

 

[Sharples88]

It is not impossible to roll 6 stat off low trad.

I mean I had a 6-siege rolled off nobility with no pip boosting ideas at all..

If you have 10,000 hours, sure.

 

[ForschungsFüchse]

I just rolled a 6 shock general recruiting from the nobility (no idea boosts) - sure not a rock star on his other numbers (4 fire, 1 man, no siege) but it is still very early 1500s so all the shock will be great ...shame I have been warned by the Ottomans and have so much AE I have to sit around a decade now...

 

[Dominion]

If you have 10,000 hours, sure.

I mean, yea. Finishing the tutorial will give you a general like that

 

[IrishGirl]

Based on the advice in this thread, I'm now getting better generals. I pay a lot more attention where my MT is when a war is over and I try to grab my generals then. Recently, I was pulled into a League war by Austria that involved every nation in Europe, including the Ottomans and Russia. By the end of the war - which lasted a solid decade - I was able to grab a new land general with 2/5/3/3 stats. The only problem is: I'm truced out with everyone around me.

I can see now that I probably should have taken Aristocratic as my second military idea.

I just rolled a 6 shock general recruiting from the nobility (no idea boosts) - sure not a rock star on his other numbers (4 fire, 1 man, no siege) but it is still very early 1500s so all the shock will be great ...shame I have been warned by the Ottomans and have so much AE I have to sit around a decade now...

That's interesting, particularly since the Wiki puts the max number of pips for level 40 at 11 with the mean at 6.6. So, as you say, it could happen but it would be something of rarity. The last few I've been given were very low stats. One was a 1/1/1/1. I always try to take them because ... why not? But I've not seen anyone that good.

Edited: incorrect Wiki information.

 

[I_am_Nemo]

That's interesting, particularly since the Wiki puts the max number of pips for level 60 at 11 with the mean at 6.6. So, as you say, it could happen but it would be something of rarity. The last few I've been given were very low stats. One was a 1/1/1/1. I always try to take them because ... why not? But I've not seen anyone that good.

Yeah, it really is pretty random. Roll enough generals at a give lever of tradition, and you'll see both really good and really bad ones. You'll also see your share of 0/1/6/1, and get briefly excited before reading it again, and clicking "fire."

 

[ecrurudesby]

What you could do is start a new non-ironman game with any nation, open up the console, give yourself a specific amount of army tradition, say 40, then give yourself max military power, and recruit generals until your power runs out, to see how often you get a really great general.

 

[Incompetent]

The simplest explanation is that the AI spends a lot more MIL on rolling generals than the average player in SP, because players put a higher priority on monarch point efficiency than the AI does (and need to, given they have much more ambitious goals than the AI).

There's also an observation bias. If you fight an enemy who only has weak generals, the war will end quickly and you'll forget about it, whereas if you fight an enemy who got lucky and rolled monster generals, that war will be much more memorable.