DLC that ruins or breaks the game?

[letsTPKothers]

Iv'e read many reviews saying there are some DLC that ruin / break the game and was wondering if any of you Endless Space2 experts could let me know which to avoid as well as your top three choices.

Thanks

::EDIT::
For those that are curious I got the following for
a total of $17.58

-Celestial Worlds

-Harmonic Memories

-Untold Tales

-Symphony

-Vaulters

-Supremacy

-ENDLESS™ Space 2

More content about my purchase and saved a little money that can go towards the next game on my wishlist.
Cheers all.

Thanks again Bozobub

[Freny]

ENDLESS™ SPACE 2 DEFINITIVE EDITION is on sale right now for less than $10, don't be a cheap date and buy it if you are seriously thinking about playing the game.

You can disable the DLCs and Addons you don't like.

[letsTPKothers]

Originally posted by Freny:

ENDLESS™ SPACE 2 DEFINITIVE EDITION is on sale right now for less than $10, don't be a cheap date and buy it if you are seriously thinking about playing the game.

You can disable the DLCs and Addons you don't like.

what the f......?
Sorry, but no. I am aware that it is on sale. That is why I am here.

If there are indeed DLCs that ruin / break the game I will not pretend like they don't exist and reward such sloppy creative behavior by paying an excess for a product, just because I can "disable it" (the broken DLC).

Look at it this way.
Lets say you have a favorite payed (very quality well put together) magazine subscription that you look forward to.
One week you open your door to see the author taking a giant dump where your magazine should be, laughing at you, and instead of acting like an adult / being upset or cancelling your subscription, you bend down to revel in its smell, hand the author money, then shove your face into it.....

Yeah, thanks but no thanks.

[Bozobub]

The small DLCs are all fine.

The first two larger DLCs, "Vaulters" and "Supremacy", are both widely well-regarded, but "Penumbra" and "Awakening" are less well-received ("Dark Matter" is fine but isn't of the same scale).

Penumbra adds Hacking and the Umbral Choir; both are actually quite interesting, imo, BUT the UC is extremely strong, causing potential balance issues (especially for multiplayer) and Hacking basically changes the entire flow of gameplay a good bit, as well as simply slowing everything down. This isn't necessarily "bad," per se, but it does change the "flavor" of the game, so YMMV.

Awakening adds the Nakalim and the Academy as an active player in galactic politics. The Nakalim are very interesting, actually, and their lore is imo quite well done, but the Academy, especially the bidding for the Academy Fleet, TOTALLY unbalances the game, It's sad, cuz again, the Nakalim are definitely fun (and difficult!) to play.

Personally, I *occasionally* play with Penumbra active, although generally not as the UC; I use them as an "Endgame Crisis", a la Stellaris, if you will. But I don't bother with Awakening often at all. That said, the definitive edition is ca. $22.30 right now, so not using one or more DLCs really isn't a big deal *shrug*. Even if you use just the 1st two big DLCs and the base game, it's quite good; I'd say it's worth $22.30 ^^' .

[letsTPKothers]

Originally posted by Bozobub:

The small DLCs are all fine.

The first two larger DLCs, "Vaulters" and "Supremacy", are both widely well-regarded, but "Penumbra" and "Awakening" are less well-received ("Dark Matter" is fine but isn't of the same scale).

Penumbra adds Hacking and the Umbral Choir; both are actually quite interesting, imo, BUT the UC is extremely strong, causing potential balance issues (especially for multiplayer) and Hacking basically changes the entire flow of gameplay a good bit, as well as simply slowing everything down. This isn't necessarily "bad," per se, but it does change the "flavor" of the game, so YMMV.

Awakening adds the Nakalim and the Academy as an active player in galactic politics. The Nakalim are very interesting, actually, and their lore is imo quite well done, but the Academy, especially the bidding for the Academy Fleet, TOTALLY unbalances the game, It's sad, cuz again, the Nakalim are definitely fun (and difficult!) to play.

Personally, I *occasionally* play with Penumbra active, although generally not as the UC; I use them as an "Endgame Crisis", a la Stellaris, if you will. But I don't bother with Awakening often at all. That said, the definitive edition is ca. $22.30 right now, so not using one or more DLCs really isn't a big deal *shrug*. Even if you use just the 1st two big DLCs and the base game, it's quite good; I'd say it's worth $22.30 ^^' .

Ah, good to know.
Thanks for all the info

[Bozobub]

Note that Supremacy DOES add planet- and system-busting weapons, which are another acquired taste, but you can turn those off, specifically, in the galaxy settings submenu.

[Elitewrecker PT]

Basically all the major dlcs have something good, and something preference dependent.

[Freny]

Dude, $7 is not rewarding anything, and if it is, so what, it's still 7 lousy bucks.

If you are interested in the game, buy it and play it yourself. The DLCs are a matter of taste, some people like the hacking DLC, others don't.

Try it yourself, don't let others tell you what you like or don't like, because no one knows except yourself (if you buy it), and if you hate it, it is still $7 lousy bucks for the whole thing. The base game alone is worth that, and more.

[Bozobub]

It's not $7, it's $22.30 here. Remember, prices are regional ^^' .

[Freny]

Hmm... didn't know that, good to know Bozo, thanks.

I mean, you are getting the WHOLE thing, but anyways :)

Edit: I went and checked, if you do a endless space 2 search the Definitive Edition shows as you say, $20+, but if you actually click on the bundle thing itself, the price goes down to around $7. Weird stuff.

[Bozobub]

Probably cuz you already own the base game. I just bought it =) . I used to play on a friend's PC, when I watched his kids (rotating shifts) but I hadn't been able to for ~half a year.

[Freny]

Hmm... Interesting. But you have been playing and posting for a long time already.

[Elitewrecker PT]

Originally posted by Freny:

Hmm... didn't know that, good to know Bozo, thanks.

I mean, you are getting the WHOLE thing, but anyways :)

Edit: I went and checked, if you do a endless space 2 search the Definitive Edition shows as you say, $20+, but if you actually click on the bundle thing itself, the price goes down to around $7. Weird stuff.

It's a dynamic bundle, it doesn't include stuff you already have.

[Bozobub]

Originally posted by Freny:

Hmm... Interesting. But you have been playing and posting for a long time already.

Like I said above, I USED TO play regularly, when babysitting for an old friend; he had rotating shifts, so wasn't home some nights each month. But he recently got seniority and the shift of his choice, so I haven't had access to the game for a good while, and $22.30 wasn't bad for the bundle.

[Freny]

Originally posted by Elitewrecker PT:

It's a dynamic bundle, it doesn't include stuff you already have.

Why don't I buy the DLCs I don't have for those lousy $7? Thinking about it, but the thing is adding more layers of complexity doesn't fix the poor designed AI, so once I understood that by getting better at the game, I feel it adds little to no value, but that's my take, other people have their own. If I never played the game, I would buy it. The time it gets to understand the game's shortcomings is worth the reduced price.

The devs could have really invested time and money understanding the different mechanics, what matters more and what less, and apply that to a robust AI, but they chose not to. Instead they made Humankind, and probably repeated the same mistakes because they didn't take the time to understand what's needed from an AI point of view.

[Freny]

@Bozobub, good friend you have there :)