What DLC buy

[El Diplomático]

What expansions do you recommend? I would like to buy some expansions for the game but I can't buy them all. Which of the dlcs is the most complete? Is anyone more entertaining for something specific? Thank you!

[MassMetalizer]

People really like the Dawn of Dukes for their interconnected campaigns.
Return of Rome is nice if you want AoE1 added to AoE2, and it's a better version of AoE1 than the DE AoE1.

[Kasperskii]

Lords of West, Dawn of Dukes (East), Return to Rome

[James3157]

Any other DLC you get get before RoR and cosmetics dlc mainly because I do not have a strong opinion about any of them; although, some people think that Mountain Royals is overpriced ($15 vs. normal $10) and the Armenians and Georgians are ranked the lowest as well on 1v1 multiplayer matches meaning that overall Dynasties of India, Lords of the West, and Dukes of Dawn I think are slightly better than Mountain Royals. RoR (Return of Rome) is fine overall and not terrible, but maybe should be the last dlc (except for the cosmetics dlc perhaps) you are going to buy. However, if the cost of DLC is not an issue another alternative is to buy them all at once (including even RoR perhaps) especially if there is a discount sale going on. The new cosmetics DLC I would not recommend, unless if you really want them and really enjoy playing AoE II: DE who is not new to playing this game.

[Silver]

honestly my advice is get the ones with the highest discount, wait for the less discounted ones to get cheaper by next sale.

[BirbNotBird]

Tldr: For single player: Dawn of the Duke > Lord of the West > Return of Rome > Dynasty of India in term of campaigns.

Long version: +DotD and LotW campaigns are good. DotD is peak campaigns design, extremely good. LotW is the lesser, but it's entertaining. Those two DLCs nail the unique levels design for most part.

+RoR is mixed. Only problem for me is the balance of AOE1 part is "raw". Campaigns are "hit or miss" due to gameplay. ROR exclusive is good while ported campaigns from AOE1DE are just bland.

+DoI's civs are interesting, but I have my personal judgment that DoI's campaigns are the weakest of the bunch. Not memorable for me cause it's really generic. Still, I would take it over some base game's campaigns.

Another tip, I recommend waiting for sale for around half of the prices (50%) each DLC. Same reason why I haven't touched The Mountain Royal.

[James3157]

Originally posted by BirbNotBird:

Another tip, I recommend waiting for sale for around half of the prices (50%) each DLC. Same reason why I haven't touched The Mountain Royal.

I purchased The Mountain Royals at full price because $15 seems cheap to me, but I could understand why some people are not going to buy it yet before it gets a discount. Some people might also get this dlc mainly because of single player (campaigns, skirmishes, and custom scenarios) instead of multiplayer. If the cost of dlc is not an issue I supposed some people might say that Mountain Royals is better than Dynasties of India, but only if more interested in single player than multiplayer despite Mountain Royals adding two new civilizations instead of three. Even if the Armenians and Georgians were to receive a buff and this dlc were to cost $10 instead of $15 at full price I do not think it ever would be better than Lords of The West and Dukes of Dawn.

[James3157]

Originally posted by BirbNotBird:

+DoI's civs are interesting, but I have my personal judgment that DoI's campaigns are the weakest of the bunch. Not memorable for me cause it's really generic. Still, I would take it over some base game's campaigns.

I have not played all of the campaigns yet from DoI (exception for all missions from Tarkan and Hindustani campaign), but I think that I like the Tarkan and HInustani campaign more than the Gurjara campaign overall. Despite its two sword difficulty at least some of the Gurjara missions do not really seem hard. Even the fourth Gurjara mission (which is the only mission I have received a gold medal from this campaign mainly because I have not attempted to win silver or gold from the other missions yet) has an easy way to win by building a wonder instead of trying to destroy as many civilizations/monasteries as possible regardless of whether you play it on easy (bronze), medium (silver) or hard (gold) difficulty.