What DLC is worth buying and what is not?

[Hardcore_gamer]

I ask because I got CK 2 on a massive 75% steam sale and now the DLC is also on sale at that same discount, costing almost nothing.

The problem is, that there is so much DLC for this game that even with the discount the overall cost of all of the DLC is over 16 dollars.....at a 75% discount!

So, which DLC is worth buying and which isn't?

 

[Iron Chariots]

I would say you should almost certainly get Legacy of Rome: even if you aren't interested in the expanded Byzantine mechanics, it includes retinues, which allow you to form a standing army.

If you want to play as an Islamic ruler, you will need Sword of Islam.

Ruler designer is nice if you want to be able to design rulers (go figure!) EDIT for clarification: your starting ruler only, the rest of your line will be born as normal. Still, it allows you to found your own custom dynasty.

Unless I'm forgetting anything, everything else is cosmetic.

 

[Kalderus]

I would say you should almost certainly get Legacy of Rome: even if you aren't interested in the expanded Byzantine mechanics, it includes retinues, which allow you to form a standing army.

If you want to play as an Islamic ruler, you will need Sword of Islam.

Ruler designer is nice if you want to be able to design rulers (go figure!) EDIT for clarification: your starting ruler only, the rest of your line will be born as normal. Still, it allows you to found your own custom dynasty.

Unless I'm forgetting anything, everything else is cosmetic.

Except for the invasion dlc he probably wants to avoid unless he's entirely sure he wants it. There's one fantasy dlc called Sunset Invasion about Aztecs invading Europe on reverse-engineered viking ships. It's good for a bit of fun now and again but don't accidentally get it and turn it on without realizing or knowing what it is or else you'll be dumbfounded when Aztecs stampede across Europe.

 

[justin6477]

All of them.

Except maybe the Russian face pack and Sunset Invasion. I personally find the Russian facepack to be perfectly fine, and I did buy SSI.... although that was mostly a goodwill gesture for all the fun I've had in CK2. I play with it off.

As far as priorities go: Major DLC {SoI, LoR}>Music>Dynasty Packs {the CoA upgrades are worth it}>Facepacks.

 

[unmerged(457738)]

I'd agree with the above. Get legacy of rome and sword of islam as those both expand the gameplay. The rest of the army of dlc's for this game is just cheese, and not worth it even at 75% off.

 

[Spartanlemur]

Don't get SoI unless you want to play as Muslims. I never really play as Muslims, so my purchase was more a donation to PI for the features which came with the patch. LoR is a must purchase, however, and I recommend getting African faces too, if only to make the world more accurate.

 

[KevUK]

I am a gluttonous pig with this game - I have brought everything except the recent rus portraits (although I brought the music though). All is good because I love the game, but I really like Legacy of Rome, Sword of Islam and the character packs and the music because they actually make the game so much more interesting. I think they both are essential. Sunset Invasion - well, be aware you are going to get a fantasy setting with the Aztecs invading Western Europe mid 1200's, so if you like that challenge (and it is a challenge!), then get that too, but you can disable the DLC if you dont want Spain, or France or UK wiped out so soon, especially if you are new to the game. Learn the game first before you get the Aztecs involved...

I think all the DLC is good to be honest. I also believe the more who buy this stuff, the more we get. Its worth the money (but yet have to get the rus portraits as I do not usually play that far east). Good luck in your choices!

 

[A_Dane]

IMO, I'm not too happy with the Ruler designer. Not that many features available for you to actually choose from (instead, if you press randomize you'll get a ton of weird unnaccesable beards and such, which won't show up properly in game). I bought it, used it once, then went on to mod in characters my self..

But other than that, I find that the other DLC's are definiatly worth a buy (although you might wanna stay clear of music packs/face/unit sprite DLC's if you don't play in that general area too often). Legacy of Rome is a must have IMO, Sword of Islam is a good buy as well, though I'd probably mod the invasion CB to cost way more piety

 

[cybrxkhan]

Sword of Islam and Legacy of the Rome are the beefy ones that most players end up getting anyways. Ruler Designer is good, although you do need to mod it a bit if you want it to work how you want it to. Sunset Invasion is if you want to have a bit of fun.

As for the cosmetic DLCs, I think some underestimate the portrait DLCs - remember that for much of the game you're staring at people's faces, and giving them identities and personalities and histories - giving them better, and more historically plausible looks, is one great way to enhance this more RPG aspect of the game. Well, that's my opinion at least. The other cosmetic DLCs are indeed fluff - not needed, but it doesn't hurt to buy them if you're interested.

 

[Sopot]

Sword of Islam and Legacy of Rome for sure, and if you want to add some flavour to your game, the dynasty shields/skin packs.

I never bothered with the music packs, unit retextures or aztec invasion.

 

[MrWeRD]

I have no problem with the major DLCs like Legacy of Rome or Sword of Islam, with Sunset Invasion as the only exception. So you should definitely get those.

However, I am annoyed by the amount of "cosmetic" DLCs they've released so far. I've brought a lot of them, but their flow don't ever seem to end. After a mass release of Greek DLCs, then comes the Russian's turn a few weeks later. Do they intend to have a unit/song/portrait pack for every culture on the map? And do they intend to charge us 2$ each for them?

At this point, I feel like a cow.

It wouldn't be so bad if some of the optional DLCs weren't so... rushed and unpolished, such as with Dynasty Shields I & II or the Ruler Designer.

I would recommend you avoid them entirely, unless you have a bit of cash to throw around. The game itself is already 40 bucks without sales or events, but if you want to get every DLC and essentially have a truly complete game, it'll cost you another 40 bucks at least with each optional DLC at 2 bucks a pop.

That's my two cent.

 

[Thure]

I never bothered with the music packs, unit retextures or aztec invasion.

But the musics are really awesome. Like you would buy a good CD. I live them

And yes... SoI and LoR of course are mostly a must have.

 

[the.ront]

LoR, SoI and the music. If I had to pick 3 those would be it.

 

[Hamadoda]

All except Sunset Invasion. Not because it's fantasy, but because it doesn't really add much to change the experience.

 

[Lord Finnish]

Sword of Islam if you're going to play as a Muslim - otherwise it's useless
Legacy of Rome if you're going to play as Byzantines (who doesn't?). Also allows recruitment of retinues, so it's good.
Music DLCs are good stuff and cheapest of all DLC. I recommend them.
Coat of Arms DLC are minor fixes but they are a good choice if you enjoy playing historical houses.
Sunset Invasion - well, not an essential DLC by any means but if you want Mongols coming from the West too then pick that one.
Portrait DLC, well, they are entirely aesthetic so pick them if you feel like you want them.

 

[onyxja]

Personally I feel that the portraits are by far the most important cosmetic DLC as the vanilla faces looks really plastic, so the less portraits that use the vanilla the better to me. I think that the Russian one is by far the best, as the only real problem with it is that women do not have enough variety, something that all portraits even the vanilla ones suffer from. Otherwise I would get SoI and LoR as they both add depth and more ways to play in the game.

 

[unmerged(26764)]

Since everyone's saying pretty much the same thing, I'll chime in to just to agree.

Legacy of Rome and Sword of Islam are must haves, I think. Rome I wouldn't even consider playing without. Islam is very well done. Personally, although I bought SoI when it came out I didn't play as a Muslim dynasty until recently. I'm glad I did. That pack is really impressive creating unique dynamics for Muslim houses. It's a great experience if you like the game.

I never play without ruler designer. I always create my own dynasty because I like to have real ownership of my little empire. Some people prefer to play a historical dynasty. Know which one you are. If you're like me, this is also a must have.

I love Sunset Invasion. I really throws a great challenge at the player mid-game. But if you're newer, you can put this off for now because you just get to know the base game first. But if you keep playing, I would eventually get this so you may want to pay it now on sale and just leave it disabled for a while.

As for the cosmetic packs, I think all the portrait packs are pretty essential. It gives the different characters in the game much more personality. You don't want everyone around the map looking like clones, do you? You want Mongols to be Asian, Africans to be African, and Russians to look like Tolstoy characters don't you?

I think the sprites you can mostly pass on if you want to. You tend to look at the map zoomed out and miss the detail anyway. I like them, but I don't know if I would really notice if they were gone.

The music is great. But it's pretty expensive and most packs only play in limited situations or with certain cultured characters. Plus I often listen to my own music when I play. A lot of people really love it. Go to Youtube, listen to some of it, and decide if it's worth the money to you.

 

[KevUK]

Since everyone's saying pretty much the same thing, I'll chime in to just to agree.

Legacy of Rome and Sword of Islam are must haves, I think. Rome I wouldn't even consider playing without. Islam is very well done. Personally, although I bought SoI when it came out I didn't play as a Muslim dynasty until recently. I'm glad I did. That pack is really impressive creating unique dynamics for Muslim houses. It's a great experience if you like the game.

I never play without ruler designer. I always create my own dynasty because I like to have real ownership of my little empire. Some people prefer to play a historical dynasty. Know which one you are. If you're like me, this is also a must have.

I love Sunset Invasion. I really throws a great challenge at the player mid-game. But if you're newer, you can put this off for now because you just get to know the base game first. But if you keep playing, I would eventually get this so you may want to pay it now on sale and just leave it disabled for a while.

As for the cosmetic packs, I think all the portrait packs are pretty essential. It gives the different characters in the game much more personality. You don't want everyone around the map looking like clones, do you? You want Mongols to be Asian, Africans to be African, and Russians to look like Tolstoy characters don't you?

I think the sprites you can mostly pass on if you want to. You tend to look at the map zoomed out and miss the detail anyway. I like them, but I don't know if I would really notice if they were gone.

The music is great. But it's pretty expensive and most packs only play in limited situations or with certain cultured characters. Plus I often listen to my own music when I play. A lot of people really love it. Go to Youtube, listen to some of it, and decide if it's worth the money to you.

I would +1 this post; it sums up my opinions of all the DLC, especially Sunset Invasion. It will make you think a lot more deeply about your game if you are in the West, even though some aspects of it dont work all that good (i.e Aztec stacks staying stationary). All I have to buy now are the RUS DLC.

 

[Sarog]

Dynasty Shields are the only dlc packs that I would outright avoid buying if I was just discovering CKII. There are mods that do the same thing only much better, for free.

 

[A_Dane]

I have no problem with the major DLCs like Legacy of Rome or Sword of Islam, with Sunset Invasion as the only exception. So you should definitely get those.

However, I am annoyed by the amount of "cosmetic" DLCs they've released so far. I've brought a lot of them, but their flow don't ever seem to end. After a mass release of Greek DLCs, then comes the Russian's turn a few weeks later. Do they intend to have a unit/song/portrait pack for every culture on the map? And do they intend to charge us 2$ each for them?

At this point, I feel like a cow.

It wouldn't be so bad if some of the optional DLCs weren't so... rushed and unpolished, such as with Dynasty Shields I & II or the Ruler Designer.

I would recommend you avoid them entirely, unless you have a bit of cash to throw around. The game itself is already 40 bucks without sales or events, but if you want to get every DLC and essentially have a truly complete game, it'll cost you another 40 bucks at least with each optional DLC at 2 bucks a pop.

That's my two cent.

Well, sunset invasion wasn't really a major DLC