Humiliation + sound toll exceptions are OP
I’m not sure how many here are aware, but if someone declares war on you, you can typically peace out at the very start for very little concessions.
In my byz game I have consistently had war declared on me by Egypt, Naples, France, etc, and even many coalitions.
Humiliation is -10 prestige. Literally a complete non factor, but the AI weighs it HEAVILY if you offer it in peace. You can typically peace out of any unfavorable war with this and some combination of money and other low impact factors the day the war starts. I have not given up a single inch of land.
Combine this with sound toll exceptions and you can just peace out with these 99% of the time. The AI also likes when you end alliances with nations as well
Plus an underrated aspect of this is that the countries that just declared on you will now have a truce. Meaning, if you swallow up some other neighbors they won’t join. Rinse and repeat for next coalition and you are eating land while costing your economy almost nothing avoiding massive wars