Hard AI economy

KanKrusha

HI

Problem:
Because Hard AI gets a flat percent boost to income in late escalation phases it becomes impossible to beat

Suggestion:
Either i) add different economy modifiers for each escalation phase
or ii) disable economy modifiers for escalation phases 3 and 4

Kharneth

iii) git gud.

In all seriousness, it's not "impossible" as I've done it 1v1 and 3v3. But it is HARD. lol. I think it's totally unfair that they get bonus resources. They really should just be better at playing the game, they shouldn't cheat, but w/e.

I think Hard is good. Casual should be so easy it's boring. So easy you can use casual to learn how to play no matter how bad you are. Normal should be fun and challenging but ultimately beatable for the average player. Hard, on the other hand, should be HARD. I mean, just play normal? If hard is too easy than there is nothing left for very skilled players to play except other players. But if hard is too hard, well, you can just play normal, no?

Are you stuck between normal AI and hard AI?

KanKrusha

I can easily deal with normal Ai 1v1. I am better than the hard Ai in team games until they essentially get unlimited resources in Kate escalation.

It is just tedious killing wave after wave without having time to counter attack. And frustrating as all my previous victories, squad wipes, Gen kills and map control don't count anymore.

And yes, my micro goes to pieces handling a it if units which is part of the problem.

But I am not the only one and I think there is an easy solution, apart from having to kill the power core before the end of escalation phase two

Gonna re-word my OP a bit

CONCERN
Hard AI in custom solo match is able to create excessive numbers of units in escalation phases 3 and 4, making late game excessively difficult and in-fun

CAUSE
hard Ai resource bonus is excessive on top of late escalation phase income

RESOLUTION
implement a maximum resource bonus multiplier cap for escalation phases 3 and 4

Mirambel

I play a lot versus AI and I must say that AI's economy on hard is pure ++heresy redacted++. In 1 vs 1 you can beat it under the assumption you take all the resource points in early game, leaving, no more than 1 for the AI. Let's say you have 6 points and Ai has one. Even then you can expect to see tanks, other heavy units and death drop pods, plus orbital bombardments. Taking the core becomes a challenge. If you leave 2 resource points ai will amass such a big army in late game that it can actually turn the game and wipe you out. In 2 vs 2 or 3 vs 3 if all the players are ai you stand no chance against hard. In fact 2 vs 2 with normal ai you will get beaten more often than not. Hard is ridiculously inbalanced when it comes to economy. You either dominate completely in early game or get wiped out later.

Mirambel

I am really disappointed with how hard ai is implemented and in quality of ai overall. In Coh2 hard means computer plays better not that it cheats on resources. Games against hard ai are genuinely fun. Once you win a major tank battle you feel that the ai defences crumble as it is unable to rebuild. In DoW3 1 vs 1 is trivial on normal and unfair on hard. Games 2 vs 2 and 3 vs 3 on normal are the only ones to enjoy since you cant control all the map single handedly and the ai players tend to converge on the same target a lot. When 2 scorpion squads assault a vital resource point and you need to defend alone it is problem. Also orbital bombardments are a major factor in prolonging the game. All in all there is a lot to do against normal ai in 2 vs 2 or 3 vs 3. However, I should mention that orks are very, very weak as far as ai goes as they rely on trukk usage a lot and the ai is unable to use trukks to catapult infantry. Also you should also set ai tactics to early game only. It is the only thing that works for it. The abundance of cheap anti-infantry elite units prevents you from taking the whole map early and later the ai is quite efficient with using heavy units so the battle becomes more equal.

Kharneth

I respect the challenges that you both have struggled through, but I beat normal AI 100% of the time and beat Hard AI very often. The only times I am beaten by Hard AI are when my allies don't know how to defend against them.

First off, idk what other races do, but you're right that after 30min the AI has built up such a large force that it's very hard to punch straight through it. Whenever I want to win I just deep strike some dreadnoughts and blow up their generator/turret/core. I know not everyone can do this, though.

However, you can definitely beat them by pushing through their forces, but it requires you to use your most powerful units. What I do against Hard AI is I'll usually spam predators. I'll usually plan for a late game and I'll take Terminators, Solaria, and the Imperial Knight Paladin. So by the end of the game I have those two giant knights standing out front with at least 10 predators just behind them. It doesn't matter what the enemy sends at you, you can just slowly steamroll through them and destroy all of their stuff.

I never play to beat the AI in the early game. It's really easy that way and it's no fun. So if you're just looking to win, just rush them. Beat them within the first 5min and just keep pushing them back to their base. If you're going to be playing a late game you will be forced to resort to your strongest units. So, spam Wraithguard with the ability to make them deal normal damage. Spam them and spam Wraithblades and spam Dark Reapers. I spam heavy bolter devastators, scouts, and predators. Idk what orks should use, but I'd probably take a fleet of deff dreads just because they wreck stuff. Maybe lots of Lootas and Tankbustas, too, idk. Orks are so weak, but I've never tried their big tank.

Stoner

Did some test matches, win 90% of 3v3 vs hard AI with 2 hard AI allies in several race configurations (yes, also won as 3 SM vs. 3 Eldar). In 1v1 can't beat Eldar on hard as SM, can beat Orks 75% of times, but as Eldar beat SM so easy, it almost makes me cry. The funny thing is that I main SM and pretty much suck at Eldar. I think if balance patch hits, Hard AI won't have a chance.

KanKrusha

Oh, I always take normal
Ai allies

GLHFsport

They do? i was wondering how it got 2 dreadnoughts out so fast

Shalax

As someone who plays Hard Ai as their bread and butter, both the Hard AI allies i have and the Hard AI enemies i have tend to, over the entire game, spend double what I do, and yet since i spam tacs with the Plasma storm Doctrine, Tireless, and Fire on the Move, it's really not that hard to dominate. All you gotta do is bugger off when they use their ability, such as storms, which seems kinda meh because you can out-reinforce it, the Rok bombardments, which you can just drag away with some scouts, or lasers, which you ++heresy redacted++ leg it from. Not here to discuss those, though, I'm annoyed at the AI, i do twice the work with half the resources

Edit: I know this is a necro, sorry

CANNED_F3TUS

I found the best way to beat AI is bum rushing and killing them before its too late.