exar83
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Foreign Intervention

Tue Jul 17, 2012 1:05 pm

Does anyone know the best way to get the foreign armies to come in on your side?

Will they do it just by keeping the Feds on their toes throughout the entire war or is it a MUST to use one of the political options? I can never seem to get much higher than 50 FI even when I'm completely slaughtering the Union, however i never use the options either.

Also, is there a specific time frame where you have the best chance of having Europe come in on your side, if it's going to happen?

Finally, what's the most common amount of FI points needed to bring Europe into the war?

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Wraith
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Wed Jul 18, 2012 4:14 pm

I would definitely use the political options, especially early in the war when the money is greatest for the CSA. In my current PBEM, in the two times that I've been able to use it, combined with one great roll on the blockade, I'm up to +44 FI. I got a bad roll on the last blockade, which cost me -8FI... and the current date is only Late August 1861!

Also, IIRC, there is a chance that the FI pops anyways, regardless of FI (though using the score as a probability to increase likelihood). I'm praying for it! Pretty sure that the best time-frame would be early in the war, when you have relatively intact borders for the VPs, and lots of NM to keep it rising. I would be loathe to give those up simply to use them for the money and score, especially early on when it could still prove decisive.

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gchristie
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Tue Jul 24, 2012 4:37 pm

FI only fires once intervention hits 100 where it will stay permanently. Likewise, if the Union forces FI to negative 100 it will stay there for remainder of game and FI is impossible.

Once you manage to get FI to +100 intervention does not happen immediately, it takes a turn or two for you to get the notification that France and England have entered the war.

I think Wraith is refering to the chance that one of the foriegn powers will give the CSA subsidies. From the wiki http://www.ageod.net/aacwwiki/Manual:Foreign_intervention "A positive value for foreign entry also enables the South to get some regular free assets (subsidies)." But you have to scroll through the notices each turn to find the message saying you got a subsidy so it isn't obvious when it happens.

As to "best" ways to fire FI I can't say, but you should know that "In addition, the foreign entry level can shift 1 point per turn in favor of the side with the higher NM, and one point per turn in favor of the side with the higher VP count (50% probability each)." So keep your NM and VP higher than the other guy, and if you're feeling use the political option and try to buy an increase in FI.

Good luck.

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Longshanks
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Tue Jul 24, 2012 9:08 pm

Good answer from GChristie. I've played many a game, and there's only been two when FI got played. Both of them were caused by a series of the Feds losing every die roll and the Rebs winning every one, for those purchases that come with the chance to change the FI status. The side with the most city VPs gets +1 FI per turn (or -1 for the feds), and it's usually the CSA that gets the +1 for the first year. That's about the only way that FI can occur, and it has to be before Fall 1862, because emancipation pretty much ends the CSA's chances to get FI.

For the effects of FI, see the AAR on Foreign Intervention, currently underway between Granitestater and me.
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exar83
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Thu Jul 26, 2012 11:47 am

Awesome! I finally got my first FI! I wasn't too impressed with the infantry, however it can open up a whole new theater of operations. I just used it to spearhead the advance on Washington. The navy was really helpful though and it really allowed me to take the Union navy out of the war as an effective fighting force and end all blockades. I was in November of '63 and was probably near 50 FI when I used the Cotton Embargo option for the first time in the 3 years I've owned the game. I got the maximum favorable FI points from that option, which happened to coincide with my CSA army taking Baltimore on the same turn and it pushed me above +75 FI which brought England and France in on my side. Also, just a side note, I noticed when the calender rolled over to January 1st 1864, as the CSA, my inflation was automatically boosted from 22% to 40%. I understand the historical significance of this event, however disappointing as I had worked at keeping my inflation low for good reason.

exar83
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Thu Jul 26, 2012 7:05 pm

BTW, just to throw it out there, when I gained FI I received the message and the very next turn the armies were available.

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deguerra
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Fri Jul 27, 2012 12:22 am

So just to be clear, FI triggered with your FI score at +75?

I had been under the impression that it had to be 100.

Thoughts anyone?

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Jim-NC
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Fri Jul 27, 2012 1:48 am

You can set the level for FI. IIRC there are 4 options (easy, normal, hard, and impossible). They trigger at different points (IIRC you need a FI of 75, 100, 125 and never).
Remember - The beatings will continue until morale improves.
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deguerra
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Fri Jul 27, 2012 2:41 am

Jim-NC wrote:You can set the level for FI. IIRC there are 4 options (easy, normal, hard, and impossible). They trigger at different points (IIRC you need a FI of 75, 100, 125 and never).



Ah yes of course. Duh! Thanks Jim! :thumbsup:

exar83
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Fri Jul 27, 2012 3:24 am

yep. i set it to easy because i wanted to finally get FI at least once.

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Jim-NC
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Fri Jul 27, 2012 11:16 am

deguerra wrote:Ah yes of course. Duh! Thanks Jim! :thumbsup:


No problem. :mdr: I am here to help.
Remember - The beatings will continue until morale improves.

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