Which DLC?

[BSNB]

Which DLCs are worth getting? Any I should avoid?

[hitman02in]

all dlcs are worth getting. they all add so much essential stuff you should definitely not avoid any of them. retinue from blazing deserts - legendary locations from beasts and explorations - various origins from warriors of the north.
they all add up a lot of essential components for your campaign.

[Fabricated]

They're are good, IMO. The DLCs are less like the "campaign" type DLCs many RPGs add- it's just more stuff. More enemy faction types to run into, more events, more weapons/armor, more places to get them from, etc. before you even get to the alternative campaign starts.

[hurdygurdyman]

Comment I make every time someone asks about DLCs - they are all worthwhile but none of them "fix" anything in the base game. If you don't like the economic system, or combat, or bro recruiting/management, none of that changes appreciably.

If you like all that and just wish the world was expanded, the DLCs deliver.

[BSNB]

Originally posted by hurdygurdyman:

Comment I make every time someone asks about DLCs - they are all worthwhile but none of them "fix" anything in the base game. If you don't like the economic system, or combat, or bro recruiting/management, none of that changes appreciably.

If you like all that and just wish the world was expanded, the DLCs deliver.

Expanded more lively world is what im looking for.

[CatGrenade]

I'd personally start with Warriors of the North. Blazing Deserts is the other starting alternative. These 2 offer more content than Beasts+Exploration, although all DLC in this game is high quality and good value.

Warriors offers my favorite faction with barbarians. They can be fought early yet are dangerous no matter how late you take a run. It opens up some 'builds' and offers some incredible origins. Northern raiders are a great departure from typical origins if not noob friendly. Militia is my favorite origin by far. Fielding 16 bros of dubious quality and having a 25 man total roster just opens up entirely new team compositions and tactics. That origin alone would have justified the price for myself at least.

Deserts offers similar (probably slightly more) enemy variety than WotN. The retinue feature is both fantastic quality of life and makes the game easier without being too much. Arena is kind of cool. The equipment offered is a bit less interesting with mostly swordlances, grenades, and handgonnes being relevant in reality. Although those are all interesting and mechanically fun tools. Some of the fights added are difficult to obnoxious depending on personal taste. A lot of people dislike Serpents (snakes that pull your vulnerable units into a dogpile and annihilate bros without battle forged) and ifrits (difficult if you aren't either powerful already or adopt specific tactics). The late game crises added is the hardest in game if you side against the south, and if you side against the north its basically noble war with different ally units.

Both those DLCs offer tons of content and are excellent starting choices. Beasts + Exploration is certainly worthwhile, but I would consider it as a 2nd or 3rd pick up simply because the amount of content isn't on par with the others. Its quality is there and it has good impact on the game, but adding major factions really offers diversity that extends longevity in a way this one can't.

I like WotN more than BD, but I can easily see preference for the later. Retinue in particular is a bigger mechanical addition than what WotN offers and really improves quality of life and reduces some frustration that can be hard to play around without experience. A lot of people hate barbarians because they are really dangerous to the meta builds relying on battle forge. I love barbarians, but they are absolutely dangerous no matter how strong your company gets.

[BSNB]

Can I disable dlc if I don't like it?

[hurdygurdyman]

Yes, just un-check the box on the loading screen once you have installed it.

[CatGrenade]

Even if you find some of the enemy types added in WotN or BD you can more or less ignore or run from them until you feel comfortable. I find it unlikely you'll reach the point of disabling those DLC even if you find the enemy frustrating or difficult. None of them are as obnoxious as hexen or tedious as alps or going to randomly kill great prospects in most runs like crossbow wielding marksman.

The humans in blazing deserts aren't bad at all (easier than most base game stuff imo) excepting the late game crises against them, and you don't have to go against them. With WotN you can simply avoid fighting large numbers of Chosen if they are soul crushing to you. I love fighting them, but they are a mid game+ unit and basically never forced to fight if you don't want to risk it.

Don't like barbarians? Stay out of the top 15-20% of the map wilderness. Don't like blazing deserts monsters? Stay around roads or cities in the bottom 15-20% of the map. Don't fight against the south in the holy war crises until you know your stuff though. That is suffering. I don't know if anyone has truly solved those fights reliably and cleanly every time without ridiculous teams.

[BSNB]

Does the map size increase with these dlc

[half man on my father's side]

Originally posted by BSNB:

Does the map size increase with these dlc

I think so

[DT]

Originally posted by hurdygurdyman:

Yes, just un-check the box on the loading screen once you have installed it.

You can't do that in game screen of BB. You need to unchecked from steam.

[hurdygurdyman]

Originally posted by NARC:

Originally posted by BSNB:

Does the map size increase with these dlc

I think so

Yes; B&E and BD expand the map. I think WotN does also, but cannot remember exactly.

[hurdygurdyman]

Originally posted by DT:

Originally posted by hurdygurdyman:

Yes, just un-check the box on the loading screen once you have installed it.

You can't do that in game screen of BB. You need to unchecked from steam.

Right, thanks for the correction.