Is it advisable to play the vanilla game without expansions?

[JFORTE77]

I would like to get them (AoM plus FG) but my pocket is empty at the moment. I didn't get more deep into the game since expansions were released because I considered it wouldn't be a fulfilling experience anymore.

[sarcastic_godot]

*shrug* you can continue into the expansions anytime. But the game story is complete enough (apart from the cliffhanger ending, ofc), and the three difficulties yield enough XP to get to the classical level cap. You will have to pick up loose ends later on, probably, and you won't have all the classes at your disposition, and a smaller shared stash, and...

...but the basegame playing experience won't be diminished too much.

[tukkek]

My understanding is that no, you cannot continue to play the same character once you have the expansions. That's what I've read.

However, a game like Grim Dawn thrives in replayability - there's 9 classes to try out and 72 possible combinations with the dual class system. A mod like Grimarillion raises that number to something like 30 classes (and almost a thousand dual-class combinations)! And that's not even scratching the surface with random items, different skill choices and devotion trees, builds, sets, factions, story choices, etc even for the exact same class combination...

My point is: it's unlikely that, if you like the game, you won't want to roll a new character at some point (not to say multiple new characters). This will afford you ample chance to finish one play-through with one character and then other playthroughs with the DLC enabled.

However, if you're pretty sure that you'll only play GD once and be done with it, then yes, would make more sense to start that play-through when you have all the DLC so you can play everything in one go and never try a new toon.

Seriously though, if you're not going to do the action-RPG thing of trying different classes, skills, playstyles, etc... I don't see why you'd even get the DLC anyways. If that's not the type of gameplay you're looking for, maybe consider buying another game that is more to your liking instead of DLC for a game that is built to afford you multiple playthroughs (infinite, really).

[Childe Roland]

Originally posted by tukkek:

My understanding is that no, you cannot continue to play the same character once you have the expansions. That's what I've read.

Who ever told you that was a liar. A lying liar who lied. You can take your vanilla character and move on into the expacs. I've done it, and I'm sure plenty of others have too. I've still got my first character who started in the base game with no expacs, moved on to AoM when I got it, and then went back from partway through Elite to do FG on Veteran after I got that. I didn't make a second character until after I'd beaten AoM with my first character.

You won't be able to play with people who don't have the same expacs, unless you disable the ones they don't have. There are some people here who can tell you how to do that without uninstalling anything. If you do that you'll need a character who hasn't been exposed to the new stuff to play with them, but that would be the only reason that you would be forced to create a new character.

As for OP: If all you have is the base game and you don't have some deep seated psychological issue that you need to either be a necromancer, or a dual-wielding gunslinger through the whole game, or a shield-throwing Captain America expy, then yes I would very much recommend going ahead and playing the base game w/o expacs. And if you do have such an issue and can't enjoy the game in other ways, I would recommend seeing a therapist, cause, honestly, that's a bit weird.

[RodHull]

Originally posted by tukkek:

My understanding is that no, you cannot continue to play the same character once you have the expansions. That's what I've read.

No I think your probably confusing the fact you cant play with your friends or others online who dont have the expansions if you get them and they dont.

[tukkek]

I'm pretty sure that Ive read that vanilla characters were incompatible with the DLCs at all but I thank you guys for correcting this misinformation if it isn't the case!

[Alethra]

You can play your characters without the expansions and then get the expansions later. It is a complete game on its own. It is definitely worth playing either way. You lose nothing by playing just the base game (because you don't know what you would have as additional things with the expansions). The expansions add more. More story, more bank space, more character classes ... just freaking a lot more fun! But it is totally fun on its own, too. Just get it. :) After the base game, get Crucible, then AoM, and then Forgotten Gods. Crucible doesn't really add to the story. But it is very beneficial for helping level your characters and getting lots of loot. You will still be able to play your characters from the base game when you get the expansions.

[TheLightningYu | Mike]

Originally posted by tukkek:

I'm pretty sure that Ive read that vanilla characters were incompatible with the DLCs at all but I thank you guys for correcting this misinformation if it isn't the case!

I think that's a misunderstanding due it's the other way around. If you have a Vanilla-Character you can continue at the Expacs with no problem. However once you do - your Character gets converted to a Expac-Character and if you might at some point uninstall the expacs you can't continue with said characters on Vanilla Game anymore... so let's say as example... if you want to play together with a friend which have no Expacs, than you need to create a new vanilla character, due you can't use your expac-converted Characters anymore (even if they "only" use vanilla classes) due compatibility issues and don't load the new vanilla savegames when Expacs are installed otherwise they get converted as welll. Content-wise - so there isn't a misunderstanding you can obviously do quest, run around the map of the basegame / vanilla Game when expacs are installed, i only talk about which version you have installed and save compatibility.

So to sum it up:
Vanilla Characters -> Expac Compatible due they can converted.
Expac Characters -> NOT Vanilla Compatible.

Also to be more specific.
Vanilla - > Ashes of Malmouth -> Forgotten Gods Compatible
Forgotten Gods -> not compatible with Ashes of Malmouth -> Not compatible with Vanilla Game.

[RodHull]

Originally posted by tukkek:

I'm pretty sure that Ive read that vanilla characters were incompatible with the DLCs at all but I thank you guys for correcting this misinformation if it isn't the case!

Yeah it isnt the case, as Yu said above the conversion only runs into issues if for some reason you uninstalled the expacs after playing a character with them on.

[sarcastic_godot]

Originally posted by tukkek:

My understanding is that no, you cannot continue to play the same character once you have the expansions. That's what I've read.

...one of the early-AoM patches had been save-breaking. That's what I know and read... ...but since then it should be fine, AFAIK. And the multiplayer issues have been explained above (and elsewhere).

[tukkek]

For the multiplayer, it should be fine to disable DLC through Steam and play with friends who only have vanilla, right? As long as I don't try to play any DLC characters?

[RodHull]

Originally posted by tukkek:

For the multiplayer, it should be fine to disable DLC through Steam and play with friends who only have vanilla, right? As long as I don't try to play any DLC characters?

No this is not possible you literally have to uninstall and keep two seperate versions of your save folder that correspond to the vanilla game and the vanilla game + expansions.

EDIT: Oh wait maybe if you dont load the characters in while running the dlc you might be ok, youd have to ask someone whos tried but i wouldnt bet on it.

[Childe Roland]

Originally posted by RodHull:

No this is not possible you literally have to uninstall and keep two seperate versions of your save folder that correspond to the vanilla game and the vanilla game + expansions.

I know from what I've seen here on the forum that it can be done with no uninstalling, but it's not quite as simple as he thinks. Though I think that the main issue is setting it up and it's relatively simple/easy after that (But, I could be wrong).

Also, someone is apparently working on a mod launcher type thing that will allow quick changes between DLC setups to allow online play with people with different setups.

I'm not sure of anymore details since I'm not too interested in multiplayer.

[RodHull]

Originally posted by Childe Roland:

Originally posted by RodHull:

No this is not possible you literally have to uninstall and keep two seperate versions of your save folder that correspond to the vanilla game and the vanilla game + expansions.

I know from what I've seen here on the forum that it can be done with no uninstalling, but it's not quite as simple as he thinks. Though I think that the main issue is setting it up and it's relatively simple/easy after that (But, I could be wrong).

Also, someone is apparently working on a mod launcher type thing that will allow quick changes between DLC setups to allow online play with people with different setups.

I'm not sure of anymore details since I'm not too interested in multiplayer.

I think Powbam has a switcher thing that disables expansions and so forth, diddles around with save files. But Im not sure they've ever released it into the wild so to speak.

[powbam]

Originally posted by RodHull:

Originally posted by Childe Roland:

I know from what I've seen here on the forum that it can be done with no uninstalling, but it's not quite as simple as he thinks. Though I think that the main issue is setting it up and it's relatively simple/easy after that (But, I could be wrong).

Also, someone is apparently working on a mod launcher type thing that will allow quick changes between DLC setups to allow online play with people with different setups.

I'm not sure of anymore details since I'm not too interested in multiplayer.

I think Powbam has a switcher thing that disables expansions and so forth, diddles around with save files. But Im not sure they've ever released it into the wild so to speak.

Yeah.. my current forum pages links to it are dead cause of some f***ups on my end over the summer and I had started rebuilding it. All that functionality is already in there and I use it all the time actually and I had been working on "extra" functionality - most of which is done but I've been on pause with it for a bit cuz I got slightly burnt out from putting so much time into it.

But it works perfectly fine for its base intended functionality. If anyone wants it just ask I guess.

Here's a screenshot of what it looks like:
https://i.imgur.com/wpfWeGw.png