Zealots not prioritising provinces of other religions

[pfcpointer]

Don't often switch religion by choice, but I thought that I'd try to get some free help in converting GB provinces to Protestant, as I wanted to convert ASAP. So when my first province went protestant (Northumbria), I sent a missionary in simply to encourage some zealots to revolt. As soon as they did, I converted GB to Protestant.

With my armies deliberately avoiding these Rebels, the Zealots duly besieged & took Northumbria where they had been generated (OK so hardly unexpected, but seemed a tad pointless as it was already protestant). What bugged me was that, having taken Northumbria, the Zealots then targeted other neighbouring provinces that had already peacefully converted to Protestant, rather than target neighbouring Catholic ones.

In the end, I had to make small attacks on them, sufficient to get them to retreat out of Protestant provinces, but not enough to wipe them out. To encourage them back into Catholic provinces. Eventually it got too fiddly & I wiped them out in frustration.

Shouldn't AI prioritise Zealots to attack provinces NOT of their religion?

 

[Yxklyx]

I just started noticing this too but it's worse. For instance, in my game there's a two province Lenape in North America - both provinces are Protestant and the state religion is Protestant. The government is still Tribal. Protestant Zealots appeared. Why would they? I think Zealots are being created when they shouldn't be - I never saw this in previous versions of the game.

 

[DicRoNero]

Don't often switch religion by choice, but I thought that I'd try to get some free help in converting GB provinces to Protestant, as I wanted to convert ASAP. So when my first province went protestant (Northumbria), I sent a missionary in simply to encourage some zealots to revolt. As soon as they did, I converted GB to Protestant.

They won't force convert anything if Protestantism is already your state religion. Only heretics can do that. Here's how you should be doing it:
http://cloud-3.steampowered.com/ugc/3317204595979511107/1ED74447A0713BCBE1347E8A94210886044D357C/
(I'm Catholic there, so both Orthodox and Protestant are herecies)

 

[MadDjinn]

you pretty much just have to let them go and do their thing.

Don't follow and unsiege until they are at least 2 away from a province, as they'll just turn around and go back for it.

 

[pfcpointer]

Makes some sense that a rebel is a rebel AGAINST its Government first & foremost, even if that Government has since changed the state religion (without formally acceceding to their demands).

I suppose it could also be rationalised that zealots could despise their own "moderate" co-religionists almost as much as heretics, & so not greatly prioritise heretic provinces.

Certainly from what you say, My own troops were following up behind their conquests too closely, in order to quickly return said provinces to Government control. As you say, the rebels therefore headed right back there again once I'd taken & vacated them. So thanks for the tip on keeping a greater distance, but I don't think I'll be trying this particular trick again in a hurry.

 

[Nidhoegger]

I would think it way to costly to use Rebells to convert your provinces. This will throw you back bigtime and make you an obvious target for a greedy neighbour. I wouldn't do that.

 

[pfcpointer]

Never intended the rebels to be anything more than an additional help for perhaps a handful of provinces. Always expected that converting early would mean that most provinces would gradually auto-convert or do so through my missionaries.

It took me just over 35 years to fully convert (including colonies). Mind you, I still consider that a success, at least relative to the 80 years of hell I had suffered in my only previous attempt to convert GB early in the reformation.

I thought I had prepared better for conversion this time, in terms of having high stability & manpower. But I'll admit, the immediate crippling of my Naval Forcelimits caused by my conversion did make me feel quite vulnerable to the French/Spanish threat... far more so than any successes by internal rebels. Luckily my allies stayed loyal (& thankfully quiet themselves - as most had their own internal problems).

Despite the advice in other threads to convert within 6 years of first province going protestant, in order to make auto-conversion more likely. In future I think I will wait until around 1/3 of my provinces auto-convert, preferably including one or two of the richest, before converting my state religion. Otherwise the pain seems too protracted to be worthwhile.