Does the AI ever backdown? or reduce your threat level?

[Sadeyx]

I've seen lots of videos about AI and think I have grasped the concept of the AI progression.  I understand that I need to chose my targets wisley otherwise I might provoke the AI to take action that I'm not quite ready for yet.

But does this ever go in reverse?  are there any tactics we an employ to reduce this perceived threat so that you can pull back and recuperate a bit?

The reason I ask is because everyone knows that a computer can perform mathematical tasks 1000 times quicker than any human and the computer can exploit its advantage of being able to perform mulitple tasks at the same time, where as we are lumberd with a single mouse point and a single screen.  So its hardly a suprise to me that a computer game can beat me, in fact thats largely why I prefer pvp games.. because you can trick another human player, or deceive them into making an error.

So, can you trick the AI into thinking your not as much of a threat anymore?...  or will it constantly punish you for failing to succeed?  I dont mind playing against a computer for a challenge, but I do mind constantly having my arse handed to me with no chance of turning the tables.

[eRe4s3r]

Yes there is - atm i am trying to reduce progression to 200 and below (220+ is the tech 2 border on dif 7)

You do this via destroying the datacenters - every datacenter is -20 progression but you can only reduce it that much. You can not push it down to 0 ever, but you can reduce it usually below tech 2 if you are careful.

This is a vital tactic because it allows you to progress much easier to an enemy homeworld or finding the homeworlds without facing core ships on MK III worlds or tech 2 and 3 ships on MK1 worlds

Once the progression is reduced you face less reinforcements globally - less growth, and less threats. This is *the* game tactic to manage progression until you are ready to strike a fatal blow to the ai homeworlds.

[Oewyn]

There are several ways of reducing your threat level.

1) Data Centers, each one you destroy subtracts 20 AIP
2) AI SuperTerminal (For every 15 seconds you hold this, you reduce your AI progresses by a net of 1)  I wouldn't hold it very long If you already have a reduction in AIP from other sources because that reduction determines how many ships pour out of the ST every 15 seconds.
3) Carefully consider what planets you want to take.  Make sure you aren't taking a planet for no reason.  There should be some reason why you desire this planet.  Either it is rich in resources, holds a strategic location for attack/defense, or has some very desirable captureable.  Taking every planet from your homeworld to the AI homeworlds is a good way to over-inflate your AIP and give you trouble later on.
4) Avoid using warheads except on key locations.  Depending on what warheads you use, they can increase the AIP from 2-50 per pop.  Don't use an Armored Warhead(40 AIP) when a lightning warhead(2AIP) will do.  If you are nuking more than 1 planet a game, seriously consider alternatives.  Not only are you losing 50 AIP for the nuke itself, the warp gate + command station give you at minimum an additional 20AIP.  Other captureables on the planet can significantly increase this (e.g. Human settlements add +100 AIP when destroyed)

In addition, if you are having a hard time, you can always lower the AI difficulty in subsequent games.  I found that playing with 2 level 8 AIs was very difficult, and I experienced large fleet losses at every planet I attempted to capture.  With AIs at the 7.3-7.6 Range, the game suddenly became more enjoyable and less of a grind.  As you get more experience, you can increase the difficulty and see how well you do.

[Sadeyx]

Thanks for the replys.

With regards to taking planets:  I understand that deciding which planets to take is a vital strategy..  but I'm a little confused,  can you 'skip' planets somehow?..  every video I've seen you pretty much have to take every planet thats on the way to the AI's main homeworld.  From what I can tell the minute you enter a hostile planet everything starts attacking you, so I can figure out how you would move on to the next one, unless you can cloak your entire armada?

[Harry]

Sadeyx, I guess the idea is to "neuter" the intervening planets so that you can pass through them relatively unscathed.  E.g., take out all the guard posts, maybe clean out the turrets at the entrance- and exit-wormholes, maybe put in a few turrets of your own (if you have supply there). 

Another possibility is to use a few transports to sneak everyone through.  The transports get slowly ground down by the bad guys, but they can't be stopped by tractors, and the troops inside stay healthy as they move along.  Transports do cost a little to research, though.

Like you, I was initially reluctant to "skip" a planet, especially if it were on a straight line between me and the ultimate target.  Ideally, I prefer having clean lines of communication between bases, so that I can move ships and stuff at will.  To some extent that's still a consideration for me in whether to take a base: sometimes it's worth a few more AI Progress to have 3 or 4 mutually supporting bases, if say 3 have capturables and the fourth lies in the middle of them.