ES2 worth it without having any paid dlc?

[CT-99 STRIKER]

As the title says, is it worth having it without the dlcs or is it too bare bones and lacking so much without the dlc?

[Danone]

Worth to begin and know the game, nevertheless I would suggest to get at least the Vaulters and Supremacy, that brought much fun to the gameplay, and then if you like you can expand more in the future.

[CT-99 STRIKER]

i see, still the price of the dlc's are more expensive than the price of the game here where i live (currently in discount), i guess i will wait for a deep deep sale of those dlc's before buying the game as i want the best experience :)

[SchnitzelTruck]

Honestly if you get every DLC the game gets pretty cluttered with meaningless options.

[Bozobub]

The Vaulters + all of the smaller DLCs would be a pretty good buy. Supremacy is good IMO but also has somewhat mixed reception, Penumbra even moreso, and the latest...ehh... If nothing else, the newest DLC needs *radical* balancing to be worth playing.

As it is now, if I can get the Academy Fleet the first time 'round, I almost immediately win the game. Every single time. Not as in, "the game is finished," but rather, "the winner is now obvious, 50-100 turns from now." Unfun >.<' .

[CT-99 STRIKER]

i dont need every dlc, in special if the dlc its like "hey look, one more faction to the roster" but i'm more into seeking dlc that focus more onto making the gameplay feeling more complete and polished, in short focus on gameplay and not into getting more races that i will likely never play.

i'm looking for new features like new tech, more expanded diplomacy, and misc features that makes the game more engaging.

[Bozobub]

All of the large DLCs add a new major playable faction, one or more minor factions, and several new game mechanics, some centering around the new faction, some not. It's not split out like you're thinking.

Diplomacy doesn't change much. Tech changes a bit, but the only truly major changes are the addition of Behemoth techs, Planet Cracker/Obliterator tech, and Hacking techs. And "misc features" is too vague to address; I cannot know what you find engaging, without more info.

The biggest change from a DLC is probably Hacking (from Penumbra); it's ES2's answer to espionage. I like it BUT many people do not, so YMMV a great deal. You'll also find the Umbral Choir is very different to play, although seriously OP in several ways.

You should remember, however, that the playable factions (or their mechanics, used in custom factions) are each different enough, that they should be (and are) the stars of their respective DLCs. Just like the "vanilla" factions, they intentionally ARE NOT symmetrical or balanced directly vs. each other. This is a feature, not a bug! Each faction has one or more "OP" mechanics, when used properly, that in other 4X games would be considered "broken" but here are WAD (Working As Designed). So it's not "just another faction," as it might be with most other 4X games ^^' .

I'd say Vaulters + the Celestial Worlds and Untold Tales smaller DLCs would be your best bet. The Vaulters are not just a very, very good faction, there's also several very solid additions to core gameplay. Supremacy is pretty good and Penumbra is decent, but Awakening... No, at least not until it's much better balanced.

Special note re: Penumbra: The main issue here for me, is the *vastly* increased complexity. This doesn't so much make the game harder (unless you don't "get" Hacking ^^') but more involved, and potentially more tedious. It most definitely makes the game take a lot longer for the same number of turns, if nothing else =o.

[ElPrezCBF]

All dlcs up to supremacy are good. Supremacy would be fun for veteran ES2 players as gameplay is more assymetric than say Vaulters or Empire. As a new player, you may not be familiar enough with such gameplay to fully enjoy it but it's still worth it.

Supremacy introduces behemoth techs. If you're not into giant ships and annihilators that can destroy entire systems including yours, you may not enjoy it. That said, you can disable annihilators in option settings though you won't be getting the full experience if you do so. Not that it really matters anyway as you still get to play with behemoths, just without their annihilator specialization.

[Bozobub]

If you can get someone with all the DLCs that you want to try out to host a multiplayer game, everyone joining can use those DLCs for that game. I'd do it to let you try it out, Choookity, but unfortunately, I don't own the game; I play on a friend's PC, and one of the rules is that I DO NOT use his account for multiplayer play ^^' .

[CT-99 STRIKER]

yes i've tried paid dlcs by joining matches in other games were the host had the dlc's and its a neat way to try it and make a decision but on this case i dont have anyone that plays this type of games :(

i guess i will get the core game which i checked has bundled vaulters, than wait for the next sale (s) to grab the rest of the dlc. As there is no hurry and this genre ages very well and even years later still very enjoyable. Heck i still playing the first endless space game to this day :)

[Giga]

Originally posted by Choookity:

As the title says, is it worth having it without the dlcs or is it too bare bones and lacking so much without the dlc?

No. If you don't have the DLC, the game is....Lacking, massively. I recently went back and played through without DLC on; It's pretty much a slog/race to see who can get to Coordinators first and outfarm eachother on pirates/space battles.

Also, it's worth noting, the DLC contains fixes for problems in the core game, including changes made for free for those without DLC, that more or less are intended to only work with their respective DLC. Didn't realize it until a mate complained how buggy the game was and we all realized that the DLC is effectively paid patch fixes.

Originally posted by Bozobub:

If you can get someone with all the DLCs that you want to try out to host a multiplayer game, everyone joining can use those DLCs for that game. I'd do it to let you try it out, Choookity, but unfortunately, I don't own the game; I play on a friend's PC, and one of the rules is that I DO NOT use his account for multiplayer play ^^' .

Wait, you've only been playing Single Player on a mate's account? ow0??

[Bozobub]

Originally posted by Giga:

Wait, you've only been playing Single Player on a mate's account? ow0??

Yes, exactly so. That's also how I played RimWorld, notably, until someone bought it for me (out of the blue, I'll add o.O'). I don't think pirating indie devs is OK, so if I wanna play, that's how it has to be for now ^^'.

This is also why I sometimes don't see changes for weeks, or even a month or more, since I only play when I babysit for him. He has a job with rotating shifts as a (recently) single parent...

[sandman25dcsss]

I'd suggest not to buy DLCs if you are not absolutely sure you will like the game.
After trying base game I am glad I haven't bought any DLCs. It is ok game (I had 96 hours when stopped playing), but there are better games for me and I am not going to come back.

[zbhalokiller117]

its still pretty fun without any of the dlc i would recommend the vaulters just because they are my favorite faction to play. If you are new to the game def get the dlc one at a time and in order so it will be easier to understand the new mechanics

[CT-99 STRIKER]

core game + vaulters + celestial worlds + (perhaps supremacy) for $20 to be solid starter bundle !?

[Bozobub]

I'd say yes; that's pretty much the ideal starter kit, IMO.