Hecleas AI Overhaul [8.0]

Come and try my huge new mod that completely reworks the game in a more immersive, strategic, and ‘realistic’ way.: Hecleas Grand Strategy

• Battle AI
• Battle gameplay (Hecleas Battle Overhaul included)
• Siege gameplay (With new mechanics)
• Campaign AI (Hecleas AI Overhaul included)
• Campaign gameplay (With new mechanics)
• Faction balance
• New units (sub mod)
• The new mechanics are fully customizable through MCT.
• Etc.

🧠 AI OVERHAUL

• The AI has been completely reworked: intelligence, aggressiveness, behaviors, tactical movements, choices, diplomacy, economy, objectives, and decisions.
• No more inactive AI: it will seek to conquer the world and attack you as soon as possible.
• No suicidal actions: the AI acts logically and strategically to decimate your armies and settlements.
• A true human-like opponent: you will really feel like you’re facing a player, able to analyze your forces and strategic positions.
• The AI plays intelligently, like a chess match: every move counts, every decision matters.
• Balanced defense and offense: the AI protects its threatened borders while launching offensives whenever possible.
• Aggressiveness calibrated for veterans: expect a violent and ruthless AI.
• Reinforced diplomacy: your diplomatic choices have a real impact and must be applied carefully.
• Economy and diplomacy are now linked: one cannot exist without the other, both are essential to survive.
• Optimized construction: the AI builds more structures and high-quality units, without bonuses or cheats.
• Smart investments: it adapts its resources to the situation.
• Diplomatic investments, bribery, influence, or other uses depending on its income.
• More active agents: if finances allow, the AI multiplies its agent actions.

🚫 NO CHEATS, NO BONUSES

• Many players think the mod gives hidden income or bonuses to the AI.
• This is completely false: there are no cheats, no artificial boosts.
• The impression comes from the fact that the AI is now unlocked and smarter.
• Result: it finally spends all its money intelligently instead of letting it sleep uselessly in its coffers.
• No, I haven’t added any anti-bias measures; on the contrary, they have been removed.

📌 DISCLAIMER

• I am not responsible for problems caused by:
• Other mods that alter AI behavior through scripts
• Goal: a lively, dynamic, and credible campaign — even if perfection isn’t possible.

🎯 BEHAVIOR

• Better analysis of enemy forces: it knows when to fall back, apply pressure, or attack.
• Much more aggressive AI: it will seek to conquer the world.
• AI attacks the most threatening and nearest enemy first.
• AI will give absolute priority to defending a besieged colony or a recently lost territory.
• AI will prioritize (if not suicidal) coordinated diplomatic indications made by the player.
• Defensive priority: protects threatened lands before expanding further.
• No more armies stuck uselessly in the capital.
• Military forces distributed where the threat is present.
• Priority to recovering lost territories (if its armies are nearby).
• Suicidal attacks removed, including against settlements.
• The AI knows when to retreat or attack based on its analysis.
• Possibility of ambushes or exit blockades.
• Anti-player aggressiveness rebalanced: AI will treat the nearest most threatening enemy first, whether you or another AI.
• Priority given to capturing colonies.
• No more endless sieges on an enemy’s last settlement.
• Even outside of war, the AI may enter your lands if relations are bad, to pressure or oppress you.
• Massive army recruitment with higher-quality units.
• Full and intelligent money usage: Armies as priority / Buildings in parallel / Maximized spending without draining all funds.
• More night battles when the opportunity arises.
• Rebels and rogue armies are stronger and better equipped.
• WAAGH quality increased.
• Lower conditions for rebels to attack (less passive).
• Many other behavior tweaks.

🤝 DIPLOMACY

Since the vanilla war declaration diplomacy was flawed, I had to create it using a script for better logic and a more organic feel. However, you will no longer see the pop-up during the turn transition if war is declared against you, so be sure to check the events after the turn. (I can’t do otherwise, sorry.)

• Forces AI war declarations to follow logical, neighbor-first rules instead of random map-wide wars.
• Wars become possible below -50 relations and scale up to high chance at very low attitudes.
• AI evaluates multiple targets each turn using controlled RNG.
• Land-adjacent factions are always prioritized; global targets are fallback only.
• Limits AI to a small number of simultaneous wars to avoid suicidal overexpansion.
• Enforces post-peace cooldowns to prevent instant re-declarations.
• Allies are properly called on both sides, creating real coalition wars.
• Replaces the broken vanilla war-declaration system with a functional scripted one.
• Prevents late-game campaign stagnation and restores natural war escalation.
• Easier peace with factions very far from you.
• Each diplomatic decision now has more impact.
• Increased number of war declarations → more dynamic campaigns.
• Return of the “great power” penalty → more late-game challenge, potential betrayals.
• Better distance management for horde membership.
• AI more likely to issue ultimatums.
• Confederations mostly reserved for “last stand” situations (both for AI and player).
• AI now prioritizes nearby threats rather than distant ones.

⚙️ COMPATIBLE

• Savegame compatible
• Co-op compatible
• Load first in your load order
• Compatible with everything

⚙️ NOT COMPATIBLE

• Mods that modify campaign AI
• Be careful which mod you use and the extent of its modifications because sometimes it breaks something in the AI’s processing.

To be honest, it’s very difficult financially right now and I’m not ashamed to say it — it’s part of life.
Your help would be an immense relief and would let me keep working on the mod with a calmer mind.

Patreon : [patreon.com]
PayPal : [paypal.me]

Discord : [discord.gg]