Want to play, overwhelmed with all the DLCs

[Caelaran]

I have the base game and want to play, especially with workshop mods, but there's absolutely no way I can afford the $200 or so to get all the DLCs that seem to be required for decorations and scenarios.

Are there any "must-have" DLCs to start with (I can probably afford $30 or so right now)? Or some form of subscription to get all the DLCs on a monthly basis?

Sooo overwhelmed and intimidated ATM.

[grampers62]

Wait for the next sale and see what you can afford then. They often go for very good discounts during sales. Should be in April. I think...
Be sure to put them on a wish list so steam can notify you when they go on sale.

As for which is better depends on the user. If you like a specific kind of animal then search for ones that have those species. If you like building things then look for ones that have themes you like. A good way to decide is to peruse the workshop for builds you like and see what DLC they use. I find myself using things from most of them so defining single ones is difficult but twilight, europe, aquatic, south america and asian are used a lot lately.

[Rabob]

I don't know if there is a "must have" since most or all of them seem to add some items.

I did the following. I checked for specific animals I wanted and then got these packs:
- Tropical pack for the Sloth animal
- Wetlands for the Capybara
- Twilight pack for the Egyptian Fruit Bat, Wombat and Raccoon
- North America for the Beaver
(those were around 10-15 euro combined after discounts)

The Egyptian Fruit Bat is great for making money early on. Generally I would suggest any pack which includes some Exhibit animals. (sloth is also an exhibit animal sadly)

Out of these DLC, I would definitely recommend getting Wetlands. The Capybara apart from being cute can live in big groups and it is pretty easy to breed to get those nature points when running a franchise zoo. They are also super popular. With just capybara's and exhibits I was bringing in 1000+ guests. Twilight pack for the Fruit Bats which multiply like crazy and they give a good amount in donation and attraction. So they are very good when you are just starting out and need some basic cashflow. They are also cool to look at. The others felt a bit more optional/theme.

You could also take a look at the animals you want to have and then check which animals they can share a cage with. Like Capybara + Beaver works pretty well. Or check for animals that like to interact with guests if you want to make it more of a theme park/feeding zoo. The wiki is very resourceful for that.

The total price is pretty daunting indeed, but the animals so far were really detailed in their looks and behavior.

So in short: pick like 3 animals you like from the wiki -> check which pack they belong to and just get those -> repeat till money is depleted :p

[Silly Slinky]

You could make a list of the DLC's and what they have, and then look at it overall, prioritising what content has the most animals/items/features that you would enjoy.
After that take a look at reviews, especially by this person below as they were so thorough and I found them very helpful. Karmadilo's reviews

[Hydroponics Deck]

Just play for a while! People playing from day 1 were plenty happy without any DLCs. Put in 20-30 hours and then if you enjoy the game and want to dive in to new creatures, go pick the pack that has your favorite animal, buy just that, and play another 20-30 hours. Pace yourself. :)

[Varick]

Good advice. :)

[Abacus]

Check keys sites. The DLC go for like $3-$4 dollars with the older ones sometimes $2.

There are two DLC types. One's that add building pieces and have 2 less animals, then animal packs with 7 animals.

watch a DLC tier list video as recent as possible. To give you an idea of what they add.

The DLC to focus on are the ones that add building pieces, then the animals you want.

I got everything for ~$60, and I rushed it. If you wait the key site sometimes lower prices. The newest ones can be more, but I even got the Zookeepers for like $5.