How often do you reject an AI defensive call to war?

[Northernwwater]

I struggle with this every game. I accept almost all, but I usually reject 1 or 2 per game.

Assume you are not the Ottomans or some other major power.

 

[Zohtun]

3-4 per game. More if I'm part of the balance of power and acting as a counterweight to Ming, Ottomans, Russia or a combination thereof (It ends up happening when my allies inevitably call me in every time those folks are involved and after 3 or more of those in a row I just end up one totally burned out nation and wondering how this became my life)

 

[Jorlaan]

If I get called in to 2 defensive wars in a row from the same country and can expect to get basically nothing from the war but to beat up an enemy, I usually break the alliance after. I don't like fighting chain wars where I get nothing or little. Unless I REALLY need them as an ally.
Also unless I can basically sit the war out or do my own thing and fight a different war at the same time, and know our side won't get pummeled. I'm fine with chain calls if I know my ally can handle it alone, it's when they need me to do the heavy lifting I'll probably dump them.

 

[bbqftw]

A defensive call is almost always a mistake. Unless that defensive alliance was your sole lifeline, then you have no choice. But past early early game that's almost never the case.

An offensive call is often a mistake as well unless you specifically marked that country hostile.

A flawless diplo game means you get neither. You should always evaluate risk of offensive callins vs. rivals (everyone else should be marked friendly) or defensive callins when making alliances. It's why I often pick Bohemia over Poland. If Poland has a doomed situation (rivaled by 3+ neighbors and threatened by Ottoman + neighbor GP alliance) why get involved there?

 

[True_Heir_of_Rome]

Pretty much never. I typically don't have many defensive call to arms to begin with. A couple at the beginning of the game when it's in my interest to keep allies but eventually I'm the #1 great power and everyone knows better than to attack my friends.

I've made an art out of declining offensive call to arms though

It's a tried and true strategy of mine to butter up to the country I most want to destroy, use them in a few wars, accept CTA of all kinds without ever participating, then when they call me in on something big I bug out quick. 5 years later when the truce is up, they are weak and I am fresh...well, how better to protect my precious friend who I let down than integrate them into my fine country.

 

[Sharples88]

I rarely fight defensive wars. If the ally is being declared on despite your power it means it's going to be a pretty tough war; And if you lose the war/leader white peaces, you don't get favours with the AI.

I'd take the 25 prestige hit, -5 trust with everyone (even those who declare war on the enemy lol) and -1 diplomatic reputation unless it was in a special circumstance that could be many different things, I.E Do they want my land? What are the position of my forts? Will I be wasting my time fighting this war? Do I have anything better to do? Is my ally very big? How is my alliance situation with other players?

 

[deathbypie]

I often do, but then getting the defensive call to arms feels like a mistake. It's best to pick allies that either won't need your help, or won't be attacked, and that don't live on islands.

 

[Kergan]

I rarely decline call to arms - but then I rarely get any to begin with.

I've grown a habit of systematically marking all my allies' neighbors as friendly. This prevents your allies from incessantly calling you into wars against puny neighbors while giving you nothing, while still allowing them to call you in to fight your rivals in the odd chance they've a rival in common with you.

In addition I regularly give big allies territories in the early game to build favors (e.g. feed France when pounding Burgundy or England as Holland) and to keep their AE high enough that they won't want to start wars.

 

[Zohtun]

I rarely decline call to arms - but then I rarely get any to begin with.

I've grown a habit of systematically marking all my allies' neighbors as friendly. This prevents your allies from incessantly calling you into wars against puny neighbors while giving you nothing, while still allowing them to call you in to fight your rivals in the odd chance they've a rival in common with you.

In addition I regularly give big allies territories in the early game to build favors (e.g. feed France when pounding Burgundy or England as Holland) and to keep their AE high enough that they won't want to start wars.

Personally I don't mind being called in for tiny mooks. Then I can do f**k all and farm favors for it.

 

[Kergan]

Personally I don't mind being called in for tiny mooks. Then I can do f**k all and farm favors for it.

Amen to that. Though things are a bit different when the small fry is part of the HRE or allied with a big power or two and there's a Defender of the Faith around to boot.

 

[darth254]

when Defender of the Faith usually quite often. if regular defensive alliance, I usually try my best to honor it unless I'd be royally screwed. if AI came to my defense previously, I feel gratitude and return the favor.

 

[AnssiA]

Defensive? Almost never. Offensive? Most of the time. The favors you get are extremely useful, you can get 20-30 favors which means you can likely keep calling the ally to every relevant war for a long time.

 

[Badesumofu]

I very rarely receive CTAs. Offensive CTAs are easily avoided with diplo feedback. Defensive CTAs are trickier, but you have to look carefully at who you choose as an ally and also be aware of when your own situation reaches a point where an AI would expect you to dishonor a CTA. In general you don't want to be getting called to arms, though, and there are ways to avoid it.

 

[Ultima_Ratio]

If the AI is confident enough to declare war, then there is a good chance that you actually have to make an effort for typically no gain (at least in defending your own lands if nothing else), which is absolutely pointless in single-player. Ditch anyone that calls you in.

 

[Balkri]

I usually try to accept every call. The 25 prestige and the negative reputation always feels bad to me... now actually participating in the war that is another question entierly.

Sometimes I reject defender of the faith call when I have no way to get to the attacked country.

And in my current game I'm doing a Byzantium run, aiming for reestablish the Roman Empire.
I owe my life to Poland-Lithuania that helped me defeat the ottomans (with the mamluks also) and Austria that saved me from a coalition of muslim nations.
So, mostly for inmersion/role playing reasons I always accept the call to arms, either ofensive or defensive from PLC and Austria.

We are like a coalition of central powers now (Austria have the HRE and the low countries, Polan advance in the Baltic and into Russia and I advance in the mediterranian and Asia)

 

[tobias.mb]

That really depends on the situation. Usually I only dishoner a defensive CTA, if my country is already exhausted (low manpower, depts, etc) and I need to recover because I have hostile neighbours. The danger of you getting attacked while you are further weakend from helping your ally, only to be abandoned by said ally is just too great. (The AI typically only refuses defensice CTA, if it has a combination of at war, in debt and low manpower which is likely to happen in a difficult war.)

Other than that, I only dishoner the cta, if I think my side is going to lose the war AND I feel like I'm not going to manage to protect my own provinces. (So I might end up being forced to cede provinces in a seperate peace or smth)

The only situation where I totally abandon an ally, is if that ally has wrecked his country (disaster, crushing debt, no army and the like), and I'd have to do all the fighting myself. Though I try to get rid of such allies long before a CTA happens.

 

[herrhals]

Helping your allies win, and getting a high participation score (you don't need to fight any battles, just siege stuff down and avoid battles), will net you quite a few provinces, especially if you siege down the territories your ally wants, so they will give you most of their warscore in provinces. You need to set a whole bunch of enemy provinces as VITAL territories.

 

[Badesumofu]

Helping your allies win, and getting a high participation score (you don't need to fight any battles, just siege stuff down and avoid battles), will net you quite a few provinces, especially if you siege down the territories your ally wants, so they will give you most of their warscore in provinces. You need to set a whole bunch of enemy provinces as VITAL territories.

Or you could just declare your own war. Then you get to choose who gets what. If they actually implemented the announced ability for a GP to take over war-leadership then it might be a different story. Although you'd still be better off starting the war entirely on your own terms in most situations.

 

[herrhals]

Or you could just declare your own war. Then you get to choose who gets what. If they actually implemented the announced ability for a GP to take over war-leadership then it might be a different story. Although you'd still be better off starting the war entirely on your own terms in most situations.

As a vastly inferior nation, allied with Ottomans, it takes 4-5 years for each favor point gain. Winning a war with your OP ally not only potentially nets you a shut-ton of provinces, but also a shut-ton of favor (20-30 EASY), which can be used for offensive wars later without having to give provinces.

 

[Northernwwater]

In general you don't want to be getting called to arms, though, and there are ways to avoid it.

I agree , but I don't think I understand fully how to do this. What are the more subtle ways of avoiding a CTA?