New to paradox games looking for advice.

[Normantis]

Hello Everyone!

First off I am a new to strategy games and PC games in general. I do play PC games but I have had my head in Eve Online for so many years and didn’t bother with anything else on my PC. Recently I discovered the Total War series. I love it! I found myself logging out of Eve and enjoying strategy games instead. I recently picked up SotS2, my first Paradox game. I love it. It has it faults but still a good game. SotS2 has opened up to me the rest of Paradox's library. Wow there is allot of games in here I have never heard about. What I have read is Total War and games like that are strategy games but Paradox has Grand Strategy games, sorry if I use the lingo wrong. But from the videos, demos, and screens of games like Hearts of Iron Paradox takes strategy to a new level. I want in on this action.

So my question is which Paradox game would you suggest I play next? I am into reading manuals and complex games and research does not scare me away. I would rather a game confuse me for the first few weeks than a game I can master in a night. Europa Universalis III has very nice reviews as well as some over Paradox games. I don’t really like professional reviews; I want to hear from players. SotS2 is getting crap reviews but I love it and will be buying the first SotS so please leave that game out. I also like all the settings I see. WW2, WW1, Napoleon, Space, etc.

Thanks for your help and with it I hope to find some games I can stick in my personal hall of fame.

 

[Saulot]

Is there a particular historical period in which you are interested? If so, pick the period that you are most interested in. Otherwise, I would make a few different recommendations:

1) Sengoku has a limited scope, which makes it easier to get into and learn than other Paradox grand strategy games, which might make it a good first pick.
2) Europa Universalis III has four expansions, so it is extremely polished and all the expansions have added features. This means that the game plays very well, but it also means that you have to learn the features from all five releases (main game plus four expansions).
3) Newer releases often incorporate improvements to the game engine. Sengoku, which I mentioned before came out last year, as did the Hearts of Iron 3 expansion, For the Motherland. However, within the next few weeks, Paradox is releasing a Victoria 2 expansion, A House Divided, and Crusader Kings 2. So Victoria 2 with the expansion or Crusader Kings 2 would be the newest, most current examples of development style.

Also, Crusader Kings 2, Sengoku, or Rome focus on characters within polities. The other games focus on the countries themselves. That may make a difference for you.

 

[Normantis]

Thanks for the tips, this helps allot. As for time periods I am interested in them all. I am not a history buff or anything and I find it easy to immerse myself in any setting. Sengoku sounds very good. It has appeared in my suggested list on steam ever since I downloaded my first strategy game.

 

[Saulot]

Great! I'm glad I could help. Other people might have their own suggestions

 

[humancalculator]

If you want to get a feel for Hearts of Iron, I would advise picking up HOI2 and its expansions, as you can probably find them very cheaply now. It is pretty easy to figure out after you mess around for a few hours and I still play it from time to time (even though it is 7 years old, has a sequel, and is on Pdox's older engine!).

That is the series that introduced me to Paradox, and I didn't like HOI3 on release. I would give it another shot after expansions, but my computer is too old to run everything.

You could also get Crusader Kings cheaply in order to figure out the basics of CK2 before it comes out. It is 8 years old, and still tons of fun. I have not played Sengoku or EU: Rome, but I have heard they are similar in general idea to CK.

I would also suggest getting Victoria 2. It has a deep (although not perfect, but i am definitely not complaining ) economic system and population mechanics. It is not everyone's cup of tea as you spend more time 'guiding' your nation as a real leader would rather than making god-like decisions all the time.

And of course, this leaves EU3. I still play it once in a while, but I am not as attracted to it as I have been to CK, Vicky 2, and HOI. In many ways, it is just too broad for my liking. But others love it more than any other game, so feel free to form your own opinion!

 

[birdboy2000]

EU3's learning curve is probably a bit steep after four expansions, but the way I see it if it isn't insanely complex it isn't a paradox game, and the others aren't simple either. I enjoyed Vicky 2 and Rome and played my share of Sengoku, but EU3 entertained me like nothing else, so I'd recommend it the most.

The HoI series are much more "wargames" - the time span is a lot shorter. I personally couldn't really get into them much for that reason: I prefer taking weak nations and building them into strong empires. Victoria 2 has a ton of economic management which has a steep learning curve; war is a way to improve your nation and often necessary if you start small, but as some countries (the USA in particular) you can probably hit #1 without declaring war once. EU3 strikes the best balance between diplomacy, war, and economic management IMO, though it's slanted a bit towards the war side.

 

[Normantis]

Thanks guys for all your suggestion!

This weekend I picked up HoI2 Complete. It was a nice price and I figured a good starting point. Well after a weekend of reading, watching you tube tutorials and reading AAR's I finally won a scenario. I picked D-Day scenario and played the allies. Something I am familiar with historically. After many defeats I finally got the hang of it! WOOT!

Now I am looking forwards to starting a bigger campaign.

Thanks Again! I think I have found a new home for a while. Will be purchasing more Paradox games in the near future.

 

[Klewer]

Glad to see you enjoyed. Just in case any other new players read this thread I would recommend getting Darkest Hour. It is basically an improved version of HOI2, while it still contains the original game also.

 

[SAS]

If you really like HOI2 (who doesn't) then I would recommend Darkest Hour or HOI3. Also try the demos of the games to get a taste for what you like.

 

[Fernando Torres]

Darkest Hour
It's Hearts of Iron II at its best!

 

[ashandresash]

@Normantis, I see you've picked Victoria 2. This game is my favourite one, and its new expansion (A House Divided) makes it even better so far. I know it could seem overwhelming in the beginning, but the tutorial works fine, in the subforum there are devoted players (and modders) who know very well game dynamics and share a lot of things there, so you have help available.

Ah, and I'll give you a general recommendation about Paradox games, now you're starting on them. There are wikis for several of them, where you could find a deep approach to game mechanics and units, gameplay guides to make easier starting the game, and a lot of resources more. Here's the link:

http://www.paradoxian.org/

Welcome indeed!