New to EU4 - Which DLC is critical?

[Deggial]

Hi there,

while I am a long-term Paradox customer, I never really "dared" to dip into their "hardcore" grand strategy games.

Well, until this week-end, when the 75% price reduction finally convinced me to get EU4 (which I was considering for quite a while now).

Steam reviews however seem to imply that, while the game itself is good, all the available DLCs (at least the major extensions) are absolutely necessary to really enjoy the game and make it great.
However, until I really know whether or not I actually like the game and can handel the game's complexity (and mind numbing UI), I don't want to commit myself (financially) too much into it.

Hence my question to the community:
Are there really some absolutely critical DLCs that are neccesary right from the start in order to make the game enjoyable? Should I make use of the current price reduction to get them rigth away, while they are still cheap(er)?
Or should I stick to my plan, learn the game at a more basic level and get some further additions later on, when another (inevitable) sale is issued?

Thanks for your advices and opinions!

 

[magni.]

There are no absolutely Critical DLCs, the game is totally playable with out dlc's
DLC's just ad more Content

Art of War & Mandate of heaven also ad good usability features

 

[Horn and Ivory]

I agree: there are no absolutely critical DLCs and you'll be fine learning the game and seeing if you like it without any of them, doubly so if you stick to Europe & its nearer environs (which is probably best for learning anyway).

I'd also second magni that Art of War adds good usability features - it was my first DLC and imho it actually made the game easier to learn than with no expansions at all. You spend much less time getting frustrated wondering 'why can't I do x'?

 

[Rider_of_Doom]

Common Sense is a must have in my opinion. Especially, because the institution system is build around it to a degree.

 

[Lateralus]

Art of War and Common Sense.

 

[Badesumofu]

AoW is the most crucial.
CS if crucialish if you play outside Europe. Very important otherwise.
RoM is great
Cossacks pretty important
Whichever one enables Trade Companies becomes essential once you start want to do things optimally. Not required for a beginner, though.

 

[Horn and Ivory]

AoW is the most crucial.
CS if crucialish if you play outside Europe. Very important otherwise.
RoM is great
Cossacks pretty important
Whichever one enables Trade Companies becomes essential once you start want to do things optimally. Not required for a beginner, though.

OP's question was:

Are there really some absolutely critical DLCs that are neccesary right from the start in order to make the game enjoyable?

I don't think mentioning five DLCs is really a helpful answer.

 

[RobRoy3]

Hence my question to the community:
Are there really some absolutely critical DLCs that are neccesary right from the start in order to make the game enjoyable? Should I make use of the current price reduction to get them rigth away, while they are still cheap(er)?
Or should I stick to my plan, learn the game at a more basic level and get some further additions later on, when another (inevitable) sale is issued?

Stick with your plan.

Eventually, if you decide you like the game, you will find that virtually all DLCs add something that you will miss if you don't have it. It actually gets quite irritating, pricewise, even with sales. Yes, some DLCs are, indeed, more "necessary" than others, and yes, if your games focus on certain regions or playstyles, you can forgo certain DLC entirely. But few are completely worthless.

But until you decide for yourself that the game is a compelling place place to drop some serious $$$, don't buy any. It is completely playable and enjoyable with just the base game, which will include all the free patches. If you don't find the base game compelling, why waste (a lot of) money on DLCs? Stick with easy majors to get a sense of the game and to see if you like it: Ottomans, France, Castille, England, maybe Portugal. One caveat, don't rely too much on the forum advice, while you're just playing the base game - a lot of strategies, tips, suggestions will assume the presence of certain DLC; the game is designed and "balanced" around the assumption that all DLC are being used.

 

[Badesumofu]

OP's question was:



I don't think mentioning five DLCs is really a helpful answer.

It is when I specifically mentioned which were critical and which were just somewhat important.

Maybe you should turn your concern re: helpfulness on your own posting.

 

[Tenno of Japan]

All of em like common sense or Art of war optimize everything like unit Pack new Diplomacy new..... These dlcs should be in the game

 

[Snake_Squeezins]

No DLC is required to enjoy the base game, and it's worth playing a few times to see if you really enjoy it.

https://eu4.paradoxwikis.com/Downloadable_content

If you want to dive deeper, then review that page and pick DLC with features that sound appealing. It will depend on your preferred style, if any - I'd have different recommendations for people who want to go hardcore colonial or who don't want to play in Europe, for example.

My general advice for generalists is: AOW and ROM, followed closely by COMMON and COSSACKS.

Then WEALTH and EL DORADO if you want to colonize.

THIRD ROME if the Russian theater appeals.

RES PUBLICA if you want to play Netherlands.

I like MOH's age mechanics and diplomatic interface, but the rest of the DLC is mostly if you want to play in Asia.

CONQUEST and MARE are my least favorites.

 

[DSYoungEsq]

Actually, my recommendation is to start with the game as it was in the beginning (or as close as you can get) and only add DLC that you decide would compliment the mechanics at that point. Thus, for example, you can roll back your game to version 1.4.1 (right-click on the game in your Steam Library, choose Properties, then click on the "Betas" tab and select the 1.4.1 'beta'). Play that for a bit, and then decide if you want to experience the added content that Conquest of Paradise brought to the table. After a little time playing that version, move on to 1.6.1 (Wealth of Nations), etc.

The advantage of this is that you learn the game's mechanics more easily, and you can see what exactly the DLCs really add to the game.

1.7 - Res Publica
1.8 - Art of War
1.10 - El Dorado
1.11 - Custom nations!!! (fun to play around with for a little) Not a DLC - comes with the update!
1.12 - Common Sense
1.14 - The Cossacks
1.16 - Mare Nostrum
1.18 - Rights of Man
1.20 - Mandate of Heaven
1.22 - Third Rome
1.23 - Cradle of Civilization

Wouldn't take you more than two, maybe three months of play to be up to date (you really don't have to play all of a Grand Campaign to get the feel of a game at a specific point in time).

 

[Deggial]

Thank you guys for your extremely helpful advice and useful links!

So, I'll stick to the base game for now, as initially intended and suggested by many of you (reassurance is a nice thing to have! ) - with the reservation to sleep it over tonight and, If I really feel like spending additional money right now - to treat mysellf with 'Art of War'. (UI improvements and improvements to all sorts of management are really my main desires for now, additional content comes second; for example ferrying troopes looked like a PITA in the youtube movies I watched. AoW seems to improve this issue, IIRC.)

Anyway, if I don't get AoW immediately, it will definitely be the first DLC I'll purchase later. 'Common Sense' afterwards.

Thank you again!
A great and helpful community!

 

[tapewormlondon]

If you don't like the game without expacs you won't like it with. Play it vanilla for a couple of games.

Like it? Get AoW first.

 

[mysticdueler]

It should also be said that when playing multiplayer, whichever DLC the host is using, EVERYONE uses, so if you have a friend willing to host games with different DLC configurations, you can get a taste of each and every DLC, seperate and together

 

[ShoGuL]

Common sense is the only absolutely necessary DLC IMO. I'd rank it much higher than Art of War. Development is a totally necessary feature to really make use of the Institution mechanics.

 

[KubiG37]

I'd suggest you give this list a try - https://www.reddit.com/r/eu4/comments/5et9si/which_dlcs_should_i_get_a_help_for_people_new_to/

It divides all the DLCs into 'categories' by importance/impact on the game, very useful I'd say .

 

[Laninho]

Just wanted to say that this thread helped me as well. I've been trying to get into EUIV and so I bought the base game two months ago. I managed to play for about 20 hours. With the on going sale, I got Art of War and Common Sense. Let's see how much they will improve my game experience.

 

[qwertzuiop]

Actually, my recommendation is to start with the game as it was in the beginning (or as close as you can get) and only add DLC that you decide would compliment the mechanics at that point. Thus, for example, you can roll back your game to version 1.4.1 (right-click on the game in your Steam Library, choose Properties, then click on the "Betas" tab and select the 1.4.1 'beta'). Play that for a bit, and then decide if you want to experience the added content that Conquest of Paradise brought to the table. After a little time playing that version, move on to 1.6.1 (Wealth of Nations), etc.

The advantage of this is that you learn the game's mechanics more easily, and you can see what exactly the DLCs really add to the game.

This is how I would do it too. Once I stopped playing EU4 for half a year or so and after that I reverted to the same version I played before which made it much easier to get back into the game. I also do not use current patches without using current DLCs except if the DLC clearly does not affect the whole game (like Third Rome).

However, for new players who have already been watching a lot of streams/videos with the current patch, it is probably easier to just go with that because it means they already know something about the current version, but they know nothing at all about the older versions and would have to learn an additional set of rules. But for people who don't have any kind of prior knowledge about the game, I would recommend starting with the older versions.

 

[towerbooks3192]

If I get to pick one, I would say Art of War. Why? because of the new fort mechanics and the ability to change who are occupying the province. I don't know if those were the highlight of art of war or the free patch but I was pretty sure it came when I got art of war.