Makes Zoroastrians playable with fancy mechanics for restoring the Persian Empire and "Sacred Marriage". The Old Gods (TOG) - Makes Pagans playable (including the Aztecs from SI) with fancy mechanics including raiding, reformation of their religion into an organized religion with a religious head, and. The Republic - Makes merchant republics (coastal republics of at least duchy level) and patrician families within playable. Also, makes substantial changes to the New World if you export the game to EU IV. Meant in part to balance the relative safety of the west when the Mongols come a-knockin'. Sunset Invasion (SI) - Adds a silly fantasy invasion of Western Europe by Aztecs around 1250. Legacy of Rome (LoR) - Adds lots of special things for Byzantium (including restoring the old Roman Empire) and the Orthodox faith (such as the Pentarchy and mending the Schism, making Catholicism an Orthodox heresy), and retinues for everyone. Their mechanics (decadence) are to be overhauled Soon(tm). Sword of Islam (SoI) - Makes Muslims playable. Still, a decent starting point when a sale comes. Nah, it's a couple DLCs out of date by now. Dynasty shields are also not my thing, since most of the dynasties in the game will soon be random.
Don't really understand unit packs, since they are a tiny part of what you look at. Music is all great, but plays based on area/culture. Regarding the cosmetic stuff, I find all the portraits improve the game, but others disagree. Ruler Creator (make your own starting character) Sunset Invasion (gives a fantasy Aztec invasion) Sons of Abraham (mostly Christian improvements + Jews are playable) The Old Gods (earlier start + pagans are playable) Legacy of Rome (retinues for any ruler + flavor for ERE) If you only want gameplay stuff, you are better off with the base game, plus any of the following you want: If you care a lot about graphical goodies, historical dynasty shields, etc. It contains a lot of things that don't really affect the game all that much, and lacks both the largest DLC (The Old Gods) and the one that affects Catholic rulers the most (Sons of Abraham). Music Packs: optional, only get ones you'd actually use for example, don't bother with Songs of Albion if you're not planning to play on the British Isle.ĭynastic Shields: I don't recommend any of them unless historical CoA really means a lot to you. Unit Packs: purely cosmetic you don't really need them until you get bored at looking at the same unit sprites on the campaign map after playing CK2 for 100+ hours. Portrait Packs: African and Mongol are the most sorely needed everything else is gravy. Ruler Designer and Customization Pack: don't bother with these until after you've played the core game and found a need for them. The Republic: only get it if you want to play as merchant republic AI merchant republic has access to the DLC contents even if you don't buy the DLC. Sword of Islam: only get it if you want to play as Muslim AI Muslim has access to the DLC contents even if you don't buy the DLC. It doesn't include the more recent The Old Gods, and Sons of Abraham.Įxcluding the ones I've already recommended that directly enhance the core game (Legacy of Rome, The Old Gods, and Sons of Abraham): Are there Steam sales sometime for CK2 and would it be wise to wait for those?Ĭlick to expand.Nope, and I wouldn't recommend anyone to get the Collection Pack. Would you recommend for beginners to start with the base game? Might all the additional content overwhelm someone new to the game and overcomplicate things?ģ. Is the game "complete" without any additional DLCs or are they what makes the game great?Ģ. That's a big choice, what if I don't even like the game? However, what if I don't buy it and then have to pay way more if I buy it separatly later?ġ. I am a person that usually wants 'all the things' and would not think twice about buying the game combined with a few DLCs, but with all the content the price is now doubled ("Crusader Kings II Collection", dont even know if that includes everything). I know I am a bit late to the party, so that was to be expected, and I love that there is so much additional content and that Paradox is constantly improving their games and also gives us a choice whether or not to buy additional stuff. So I checked it out on Steam and was a bit overwhelmed by the amount of DLCs and additional content. I heard CK2 might be just the game for that, and all I've seen and heard so far sounds awesome. However I also feel that it has a big focus on expansion and I would like to play something else for a change with a bit more focus on things to do in the peace time. I played a lot over the past months and think it is a fantastic game.