Paradox date Stellaris 4.0, a "phoenix update" to attract new players and improve performance
Paradox date Stellaris 4.0, a "phoenix update" to attract new players and improve performance

Paradox date Stellaris 4.0, a "phoenix update" to attract new players and improve performance

The main thing that keeps me away from Stellaris (and all Paradox games) is the stupid amount of DLC content.
When a game makes me feel like I have to spend some stupid amount to buy all 30 different dlcs just to get the whole game, then I just avoid the game entirely. If I see a steam page and the dlc list is the longest section on the page then I just close it down.
With Paradox, you get a complete and very complex game right from the start.
And then they shovel mountains of DLC on top for those who haven't played anything else in the past 5 years.
If you played it with all DLC as a beginner, you'd be completely overwhelmed.
Ehhh, they can be rough experiences on launch so if that's what you mean by 'right from the start' I disagree a bit. I very much wish I let Stellaris cook a year or so before I grabbed it.
Otherwise I definitely agree. The free updates they release with the DLC are usually excellent, and sometimes I still intentionally disable the DLCs because they add mechanics I'm not interested in interacting with. I own Man the Guns for HoI4, for example, and I almost never actually enable it.
You can generally get the base game for a bit of nothing(Stellaris' historical low is $4), and then grab the DLCs you think will interest you down the line when they're also on sale.
I am somewhat tired of them completely upending how Stellaris plays, though. I feel like every time I get comfortable with the game they overhaul some major system, and I'm learning how to play a new game again.
I get that, and I'm sure there are people who see that list of dlcs and only think about the amount of content positively.
I usually pirate games before buying, and I would have purchased it because I really enjoyed it with all dlcs, but going from all content pirated to only base content purchased (unless I wanted to fork out over £250) felt like a kick in the teeth.
Honestly, its better multiplayer. If the host owns the DLC, everyone else can play with that content enabled in the session.
The only downside is the endgame slowdown, and if you get a Min-Maxer in your group it will kill all the fun since the AI will rubberband to catch up with them and then declare war on all the other players as a result.
Also, not all the DLC is necessary. You can pick and choose which elements you want to play with. Definitely get them on sale though.
As someone that loves Stellaris and has over 300 hours in it, just get one or two of the DLCs that catch your interest. And that goes for other Paradox games like Cities: Skylines. The base games are amazing in their own right and 75% of the DLC is a waste of money while the other 25% is decent but barely adds anything at all and are overpriced.
In case of Stellaris it is more like you would buy Stellaris, Steallaris 2, Stellaris 3, etc. Each big DLC is like another game in the series. And the smaller ones (like species pack) are completely optional. For me this is an example of DLC done right.
It is not like e.g. City Skylines, that most DLCs just give some minor additions and for a meaningful change in the game you would have to buy lots of them.
That's kind of how I feel about EU4. I started w/ whatever the basic bundle was (base game + 2-3 DLC), and it was a ton of fun. Then when it got boring and I wanted more, I bought a couple more DLC when it was on sale. Rinse and repeat and now I have all of the DLC.
That's how DLC should be. With Paradox games, you're not paying for some stupid cosmetics, you are funding continued development to add fun new features to the game. Even if you don't buy the DLC, you still get some nifty features in the free update.
So yeah, I think they do a good job w/ their DLC policy. Though I do wish they'd make older DLC free or incredibly cheap.
Cream.api is your friend 😉
That's why they also offer a monthly subscription these days. Play it with all the DLC without owning any of it for 10 to 5 bucks a month (depending on how many months you subscribe for). Way cheaper if you don't already own all of it and only want to play it for a while.