Question on Mutual Defense Pacts and Honoring Them

[Knickers]

Say an allied empire asks me to honor a mutual defense pact and declare war on another allied empire, one that only has a free trade agreement. I don't want to go to war, but I want to keep my reputation intact. Can I simply honor the agreement and declare war, then go to the empire that I just declared war on and end the war?

[Shark7]

You can, but the empire you declare war on won't accept the ceasefire immediately. Give it a few game months and they will, especially if your MDP ally is winning the war.

[synpax]

No, you can do it immediately. This is one of the bugs in the game that sort of breaks it.

Just select 'negotiate an end to war' and you'll see the monetary value of ending the war. Give them something worth that, or maybe a little more, and they'll end the war immediately.

You can use this to cheat a lot by getting empires to give you money and research in exchange for declaring trade sanctions or war on their enemies, and then immediately lifting those sanctions or ending those wars.