Why does the AI always attack Player 2 (my brother)?

I play a lot of Age of Mythology with my brother, and 9 out of 10 games he gets attacked early by the AI, and often these attacks might last the entire game, relentlessly.

I'm always the host, the setup usually looks like this:

• Player 1: Me (Team 1)
• Player 2: My brother (Team 1)
• Player 3: AI (Team 2. Mode: Standard. Difficulty: Hard)
• Player 4: AI (Team 2. Mode: Standard. Difficulty: Hard)

I'm usually able to build a stronger economy early on, and I'm often leading the score. I wonder if that might cause the AI to attack him because he's weaker?

Is there some way that I can increase the aggro of the AI on me, so that it attacks me more often as well?

Solution 1:

The only thing the AI should know to be making their decision is that Player 2 has not yet advanced to w/e age you guys are and is therefore a softer target. Always let P2 be an age ahead of you, if you can manage it.

Nothing to back it up but IME the host, Player 1, always gets priority for the best starting spot. Make them host so that you're player 2.

Or just make your own maps with a single entrance with enough space and resources for two.