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If one's civilisation has the arsenal, then it should be assumed that there would be engineers in the army that know how to handle equipment, it makes no sense to remove something that happened in reality because there’s not a differentiated engineer unit in the game. I’d even argue that even some things like rams could have been used by anyone. Without the arsenal maybe one could capture and move, but not use (the Rhodians captured very complex siege equipment from the Macedonians, which they sold to finance the Colossus). In reality equipment was even reverse engineered (the Romans used Carthaginian techniques after capturing one of their ships), but this would be too much, so what I mentioned before (having the arsenal) should be a reasonable minimum requirement for using captured equipment, without altering what one’s civilisation can build (which is harder than just using), to make things simple.

I think it is because @Nesciowanted to remove the feature, arguing that siege equipments cannot be used without the engineers/experts necessary.

Hello, Thank you for all this information.

Hi Ludwik, Yes, this can definitely be normal, and you’re not imagining things. In many games, the AI difficulty setting doesn’t control everything. Setting AI to Very Easy and Random behavior usually affects how aggressively or intelligently the AI reacts, but there are often other hidden or indirect systems still working against you. A few points that might explain what you’re seeing: AI advantages still exist Even on low difficulty, the AI may still receive economic bonuses, faster production, or reduced penalties. These aren’t always clearly labeled, so the AI can feel stronger than expected. Game systems matter more than AI “skill” If the game has deep mechanics (economy, positioning, timing, upgrades, etc.), the difficulty often comes from those systems rather than the AI’s decision-making. In that case, lowering AI difficulty helps, but doesn’t remove the learning curve. Map or scenario balance Some maps or scenarios are designed to be challenging no matter what. Starting position, available resources, or enemy proximity can make a “Very Easy” game feel punishing. Default settings can be misleading Things like starting resources, number of opponents, fog of war, or victory conditions can quietly raise the difficulty even if the AI itself is weak. “Random” doesn’t always mean easier Random behavior can sometimes lead to unpredictable or accidentally strong plays, rather than consistently bad ones. So yes—sometimes “Very Easy” really means “easier than normal,” not “relaxed or beginner-friendly.” If the goal is a more comfortable experience, you might want to: Increase your starting resources Reduce the number of AI opponents Choose a simpler map or scenario Disable any AI bonuses if the option exists You’re not doing anything wrong—it’s just how the game is balanced.

Siege units were capturable in A23 and maybe even more recently, why were was that removed, @Stan`?