How is this game without DLC?

[KingKickAss]

I bought CK3 and was extremely disappointed with the lack of content in it as well as how expensive the DLCs were, souring me on Paradox's DLC practices as a whole. But I've been watching some HOI4 videos(TommyKay) and the gameplay looks like it's actually fun.

Are there any DLCs in this game that are very significant that are essentially a must-have? And how is this game as a single player experience? Is the AI solid? I recall reading some reviews a long time ago where the AI is said to be hard programmed to follow historical events, regardless of how things have deviated from it in the game.

[Usaball]

Very very bland and you lose out on a couple important features like the puppet system and the spy system. I would either recommend trying the subscription for one time, installing the Road to 56 mod, or buying La Resistance and Together For Victory.

HOI4 and EU4 have some of the most content out of all Paradox games so this game is certainly not bland compared to CK3. Both games focus 100% on your country and manpower rather than with CK being centered around a royal family roleplay.

A majority of the playerbase only plays single player, but there are plenty of public servers with 10-30 players in the multiplayer lobbies on the weekends that are active. This is actually the most popular and most played Paradox title so it's much easier to find people to play with.

[HappySack]

It's fine though you don't get as many gameplay or customization options as well as extra content for many other countries.

The thing is that three DLCs were recently added to the basegame so you're getting more content now than when the game first released.

[Mack]

Paradox have started bringing DLC's into the main base game recently, so it's not as bland as it was on release. They put Together for victory, Death or Dishonor & Waking the Tiger into the base game, so you get the expanded Australia, Canada, NZ, Raj, South Africa, Hungary, Romania, Czechs, Yugoslavia, China, Japan and Germany. The mechanical additions in these three aren't massive but they're still useful with.

The main thing you miss out with no DLC are all the designers, spy mechanics, special forces doctrines & MIO's.

The best DLC is No Step Back, with the Tank designer and the expanded Soviet Union.

Second best is Man The Guns with the Naval designer and expanded United States.

On the "historical events", there's a option to play historically, where the game will proceed pretty much like a normal World War 2 until the point where the Germans attack the Allies and the Japanese attack the USA. You can turn this off and things can get weird.

[ZenFlakes56]

Awful, just awful.

[KingKickAss]

How about the AI? If its terrible, is there a mod that makes it better?
I prefer AIs that don't cheat stuff in to be difficult.

[Usaball]

Originally posted by KingKickAss:

How about the AI? If its terrible, is there a mod that makes it better?
I prefer AIs that don't cheat stuff in to be difficult.

Yes, there is a HOI4 mod called 'Expert AI' that makes the ai far smarter and more difficult to go up against.

[RoaR]

Originally posted by KingKickAss:

How about the AI? If its terrible, is there a mod that makes it better?
I prefer AIs that don't cheat stuff in to be difficult.

It is fine in the base game if you new, but as soon as you start to learn the ropes and some stuff about ai (I don't think they upgrade armour , so you still can use basic AT?)

But you will be fine against them on "historical" mode if you new. Otherwise there are mods that helps with it.

[General WVPM]

Without dlc is fine. Just note that minor lack focus trees. Lots of mods add those. Some dlcs make ai worse by adding mechanics the ai cant handle anyway.