Declaring War vs Surprise Attacks

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    • Declaring War vs Surprise Attacks

      Hello. I've just returned from a long break and have a few questions about Call of War.
      Is there any difference between declaring and having a Surprise Attack. Of course, actual players are less likely to prepare for an attack if you don't declare war. However, when attacking an AI, is there any difference between declaring war beforehand and just attacking.
      Thanks! :beer:
    • A surprise attack will cause the AI to trust you less, leading to a reduction in your popularity among all the AI countries.

      In a regular game such a reduced popularity score will not matter much, except for the AI will be slower to grand you right of way when you give them Right of Way.

      In an Elite AI game the lower your popularity or higher you score on the most dangerous list, the more likely the AI will be to declare war on you as a pre-emptive measure
      War is a game that is played with a smile. If you can't smile, grin. If you can't grin keep out of the way til you can. - Winston Churchill



      VorlonFCW
      Retired from Bytro staff as of November 30, 2020.

      >>> Click Here to submit a bug report or support ticket <<<
    • I never do a surprise attack intentionally on either players or AI countries.
      I want to be able to secure Right of Way with the AI countries as it makes it easier to move through them or to take them over .
      Even when I get a Right of Way *RoW with an AI country I always go through the process of going to peace first, counting to 10 and then declaring war.
    • I almost never surprise attack now and as a result I seem to get quicker peace with AIs, now in hours instead of taking days.
      "Strategy is the art of making use of time and space. I am less concerned about the later than the former. Space we can recover, lost time never." ~ Napoleon Bonaparte

      "Anyone who has to fight, even with the most modern weapons, against an enemy in complete command of the air, fights like a savage against modern European troops, under the same handicaps and with the same chances of success." ~ Erwin Rommel
    • I'm confused though. I haven't surprise attacked AI this whole game, or anybody for that matter. It's been four (in game) days since I've given them RoW, and none have returned it.

      I have attacked two AI countries, however I declared War on them. Does that have anything to do with it, or is it just slow AI.
    • VorlonFCW wrote:



      In a regular game such a reduced popularity score will not matter much, except for the AI will be slower to grand you right of way when you give them Right of Way.
      I seriously doubt this. I'm an enthousiast capital farmer (attack an AI, take capital but nothing else, offer RoW, wait till he rebuilds capital, repeat) and often do this 3 or 4 times to the same country. I never noticed any delay in them accepting the RoW.
      When the fake daddies are curtailed, we have failed. When their roller coaster tolerance is obliterated, their education funds are taken by Kazakhstani phishers, and their candy bars distributed between the Botswana youth gangs, we have succeeded.
      - BIG DADDY.
    • K.Rokossovski wrote:

      I seriously doubt this. I'm an enthousiast capital farmer (attack an AI, take capital but nothing else, offer RoW, wait till he rebuilds capital, repeat) and often do this 3 or 4 times to the same country. I never noticed any delay in them accepting the RoW.
      Do you declare war or make surprise attacks?



      T-3PO wrote:

      It's a ten player map tho.
      Rare to get ROW from the ai before day 8 in my experience.
      War is a game that is played with a smile. If you can't smile, grin. If you can't grin keep out of the way til you can. - Winston Churchill



      VorlonFCW
      Retired from Bytro staff as of November 30, 2020.

      >>> Click Here to submit a bug report or support ticket <<<
    • VorlonFCW wrote:

      K.Rokossovski wrote:

      I seriously doubt this. I'm an enthousiast capital farmer (attack an AI, take capital but nothing else, offer RoW, wait till he rebuilds capital, repeat) and often do this 3 or 4 times to the same country. I never noticed any delay in them accepting the RoW.
      Do you declare war or make surprise attacks?
      Both, and I never found a difference between them. It would be kinda odd for there to be a difference between selecting "Swords" in diplomacy and open fire as soon as you get back to the map, as opposed to opening fire straight away.
      When the fake daddies are curtailed, we have failed. When their roller coaster tolerance is obliterated, their education funds are taken by Kazakhstani phishers, and their candy bars distributed between the Botswana youth gangs, we have succeeded.
      - BIG DADDY.
    • It could be that the differences have been streamlined in the past, or the difference may be minor enough that it doesn't matter in your case. It also could be that reputation has absolutely no bearing on the granting of peace or ROW outside of Elite AI games.


      In either case, you get the warning that "declaring war can harm your reputation"

      However when you do a surprise attack the newspaper report is:


      10:19 pm War! Without warning, User1's troops opened fire on the unsuspecting soldiers of User2. Leaders in the whole world are appalled by this ruthless action.

      This indicates to me that such an attack is more damaging to your reputation than declaring war. Your reputation is a measure which the AI looks at to determine if you are a threat or a potential friend.


      There also may be a factor of returning to peace after taking only a province or two which improves your reputation. This would require some experimentation in an elite AI game. This would not be the first time or place where the written words in the game did not align with the actual mechanics, such as the "distance to capital" being expressed in days.
      War is a game that is played with a smile. If you can't smile, grin. If you can't grin keep out of the way til you can. - Winston Churchill



      VorlonFCW
      Retired from Bytro staff as of November 30, 2020.

      >>> Click Here to submit a bug report or support ticket <<<
    • I feel that you should not be able to attack without a declaration in some cases. I have always preferred more structure. It is irritating when you have cease fire and someone can still attack you as well. Cease fires do not stop ongoing fights either, which is really dumb.