Stellaris Ultimate Bundle Worth the $$$ & Time Investment?

[swillfly]

This is probably a question for veteran Stellaris players that have sunk hundreds of hours into the game who also have played most if not all the expansion DLCs.

I am a cheapskate. However . . a complete bundle for a game that seems like a humongous fun vortex/time sink justifies a larger price for the super-duper-complete-biggie-size methinks.

Opinions?

Thx!

[Max Wax]

I bought the Ultimate Boundle around 7 months ago and that time it did not include the dlcs from 2023 and Toxoids. I checked and now they are included in the bundle so you'll get even more content if you buy it now.

I think buying the whole thing at once made it more difficult for me to get into Stellaris. Learning it with almost 20 dlcs on was almost a constant wall of different mechanics, many not intuitive, thus it's been frustrating. Ironically the high expense made me stick to the game (the most expensive game I've ever bought). I think sooner or later you'd want to have all the dlcs to experience the full game anyway.

[𝒞𝒶𝓉𝓎𝒶♡]

Originally posted by swillfly:

This is probably a question for veteran Stellaris players that have sunk hundreds of hours into the game who also have played most if not all the expansion DLCs.

I am a cheapskate. However . . a complete bundle for a game that seems like a humongous fun vortex/time sink justifies a larger price for the super-duper-complete-biggie-size methinks.

Opinions?

Thx!

If you enjoy this type of game/genre, then answer is most likely: Yes.

But individual preferences always, so only you can really answer this question. I own ALL dlc and have something between 800 and 900 hours in the game and currently played latest DLC content for 40 hours or something since last week. So the current update/DLC is very fun to play in combination with owning every content the game has, many of them have (obviously) lots of synced stuff, combination and choices of this and that makes some other DLC content give more choices and better and more immersive happenings/events possible during your actual play run, not just in empire creation. So yes, owning all DLC IMHO feels more complete gaming experience, latest update had a few surprising things for me that did not expect to happen.

Some probably not happen like that if not have all DLC, so yes, i think even if few dlc adds some mechanics to the new player that at start might increase the initial learning curve, i'd still say worth it, especially since a big sale now so the full setup is nice to get from the start (and get the latest Machine Age DLC obviously too, it just is so good).

But, if as you said are a "cheapskate", use the Subscription for 1 month, so only need base game, then take that for a month (you gotta cancel it yourself, it's recurring), it adds all DLC content so can try how the game feels with all content without paying that big bundle price, if only play a few runs then the sub for 1 month way better. That's why it's nice to have there as a tester for few months. :) Then make decision if wanna buy. Next sale prolly Summer sale, so got a bit of time to decide if wanna full invest, same bundle then again prolly at same sale price or close to it. So there is that option too.

But as a biased all DLC owner i'd say it's way better to have the full experience, the DLC do have.. whats the word.. oh yes, cohesion with one another in many functions be it on ascensions/traits/civics and diplomacy/wars.. so having all options available makes the game way more immersive, but yes, at start for someone new having so much choices can feel overwhelming for the first week hih.

Have fun! ^^

[HappySack]

Depends if you're going to actually play this game or not.

Otherwise it would be a lot more cost-effective to only get the subscription, not to mention there are always better deals outside of Steam since 50% is the highest discount you can get here.

[Bo0Mz]

stellaris is a great strategy game but for the money they are asking its not worth it especially if you are a cheapskate
there has also been a couple of DLC releases over the years that broke the game so every once in a while expect to be forced to stop playing
the best you can do is buy the base game a try it out to see if you like it

[swillfly]

Thank-you everyone for the helpful input!

I enjoy all kinds of game genres and haven't played 4x games in a long time. I could see myself getting sucked in especially when there are so many options and complexities. About the only types of games I don't play are multi/co-op/online because it would demolish any free time in my life and I'm too old to keep up with twitch/fps/action-heavy shooters/etc.

I may end up flipping a coin to determine if I'll get Stellaris now or later. I have a ridiculous backlog of unplayed games on my Steam shelf. I think my game collecting is somewhat obsessive hoarding lol.