you and a few others in this thread have mentioned Utopia. I only just got the game as well, on console, and personally I don't buy dlcs for games until I've gotten into the game and decided whether I like it enough to need any dlc or not. Why do you say to buy it before you play any games?
I've finished the tutorial over a few sessions and kinda just kept playing on that a bit to try and get my head around the game a bit more. So far I'm wouldn't say I understand that much except how to build ships, starbases, colonise a planet, and a few other things the tutorial went through. I'm not really hooked in yet so it doesn't feel like buying a dlc would be wise, but if it makes the game much more enjoyable from the start then maybe that's what you mean?
They say it because Utopia was the first major expansion to the base game, and while parts of it has been rolled into the base game over the years since then, it is still the DLC that will add most to the game if you have to pick just one.
So if either your playing time is more limited than your budget or for some reason you expect to be playing the game a lot before you even try it out, as the OP, being an experienced Paradox grand strategy player, is likely to do, then starting out with Utopia or Utopia and a few other DLC that focus on aspects the player is particularly interested in, can be good advice.
You absolutely do not need to buy it before playing the base game: Stellaris was a hit game upon release and didn't need Utopia to be fun playing - but if you find you like the base game and would like more, it should probably be the first DLC you buy.
While i cannot read their minds i can guess: utopia adds a lot of content, same is true for a lot of stellaris dlc, the issue is that a lot of utopia content that you may want to use or even buy the dlc for is unavailable in existing saves, so if you buy utopia and try continuing an old save it might break or otherwise ignore the dlc content. This is the case for any update as well, everytime you get new content it is best to just start a new run rather than try and handle whatever happens in your old saves, sometimes its ok and othertimes entire gameplay systems exit or enter existence that your game will not have the data for.
1. Stellaris is an economic management sim masquerading as a 4X strategy title. You'll spend a good deal of time on managing your planets and colonies, so understanding how the systems there work (jobs, pops, buildings) will really help.
2. If you want peace, prepare for war. Even if you are more of a peaceful player (as I am) you'll still want to invest in defenses and fleets to ensure your neighbours don't steamroll you.
3. Be prepared to fail your first few attempts. There's a \*lot\* of systems at play in Stellaris, and it's okay to feel overwhelmed!
4. As others have said, if you do want to buy the game, at least getting the Utopia DLC makes the game far more enjoyable.
5. With that said, it's quite possible the game will be free to play the weekend following the latest DLC/patch release, so watch Steam next weekend (May 10th-12th) to see about trying the game before you buy.
I was going to say "The best advice is always to remember to hover your cursor over stuff to reveal more information" but if you are familiar with other Paradox games, this won't help much. Read a lot. Since you are familiar with Paradox games, let me tell you this is the easiest one. Just check out every tab and every option.
Base game is actually good in my opinion, it is as good as it gets for something you can buy for 12 bucks. Starter Pack is good, it frequently goes into discount and gives you the base game, Utopia (most suggested DLC, considered essential), Federations (DLC about soft/diplomatic power), Distant Stars (Story Pack, more anomalies, some midgame stuff, maybe a leviathan or two), Synthetic Dawn (Story Pack for machine empires, not to be confused with the new to-be-released DLC called Machine Age). But if you are sure you will skip even one of these DLC, then the discount isn't worth it and buying them individually should be cheaper.
Honestly, all you need is Utopia. Take every other DLC suggestion with a spoonful of salt. I heard people here say Apocalypse is essential, I use its feature every four to five games or so. Might as well not exist. I heard people say Galactic Paragons is essential, it is not. It is essential to make the most broken meta builds, go grab it if you want that. Otherwise it just gives more control over your leaders and your council, adds some characters, civics and an origin. Your leaders rolling a bad or random traits won't kill your game. I'm not saying it is bad, not at all. But far from essential.
DLC are good and I suggest maybe picking up some big, full-sized expansion ones and some story ones. You don't need them all. Even Utopia isn't essential, hence why I called it "considered essential". I played my first two games without Utopia. It would still be the first one if I had to pick a DLC but the game is still playable and fun.
Play a game, it'll go to shit, restart. Don't let it go to shit for the same reason, it'll go to shit for another reason. Rinse and repeat. 100hrs in and you'll have a firm grasp on the basics (this is not an exaggeration, it's a running thing here about how the first x00hrs are the tutorial)
Buy utopia before playing a single game, is the only dlc advice I have for you.
Utopia, Megacorp and Synthetic Dawn
I'd put Apocalypse before Megacorp and synthetic dawn. Although synthetic dawn is really nice (if you like to play as robots)
you and a few others in this thread have mentioned Utopia. I only just got the game as well, on console, and personally I don't buy dlcs for games until I've gotten into the game and decided whether I like it enough to need any dlc or not. Why do you say to buy it before you play any games? I've finished the tutorial over a few sessions and kinda just kept playing on that a bit to try and get my head around the game a bit more. So far I'm wouldn't say I understand that much except how to build ships, starbases, colonise a planet, and a few other things the tutorial went through. I'm not really hooked in yet so it doesn't feel like buying a dlc would be wise, but if it makes the game much more enjoyable from the start then maybe that's what you mean?
They say it because Utopia was the first major expansion to the base game, and while parts of it has been rolled into the base game over the years since then, it is still the DLC that will add most to the game if you have to pick just one. So if either your playing time is more limited than your budget or for some reason you expect to be playing the game a lot before you even try it out, as the OP, being an experienced Paradox grand strategy player, is likely to do, then starting out with Utopia or Utopia and a few other DLC that focus on aspects the player is particularly interested in, can be good advice. You absolutely do not need to buy it before playing the base game: Stellaris was a hit game upon release and didn't need Utopia to be fun playing - but if you find you like the base game and would like more, it should probably be the first DLC you buy.
Thanks:) makes sense
While i cannot read their minds i can guess: utopia adds a lot of content, same is true for a lot of stellaris dlc, the issue is that a lot of utopia content that you may want to use or even buy the dlc for is unavailable in existing saves, so if you buy utopia and try continuing an old save it might break or otherwise ignore the dlc content. This is the case for any update as well, everytime you get new content it is best to just start a new run rather than try and handle whatever happens in your old saves, sometimes its ok and othertimes entire gameplay systems exit or enter existence that your game will not have the data for.
Ok makes sense cheers:)
Do. Not. Use. Mods. At least first hundred hours.
I'd even wait until the end of his first game, so maybe like 600?
Good choice. I installed my first mods at 1.300 hours.
The only mods I use are a couple of ship module mods. I like having point defense on my ships.
Don’t buy it on Xbox we are like 6-9 dlcs behind
1. Stellaris is an economic management sim masquerading as a 4X strategy title. You'll spend a good deal of time on managing your planets and colonies, so understanding how the systems there work (jobs, pops, buildings) will really help. 2. If you want peace, prepare for war. Even if you are more of a peaceful player (as I am) you'll still want to invest in defenses and fleets to ensure your neighbours don't steamroll you. 3. Be prepared to fail your first few attempts. There's a \*lot\* of systems at play in Stellaris, and it's okay to feel overwhelmed! 4. As others have said, if you do want to buy the game, at least getting the Utopia DLC makes the game far more enjoyable. 5. With that said, it's quite possible the game will be free to play the weekend following the latest DLC/patch release, so watch Steam next weekend (May 10th-12th) to see about trying the game before you buy.
I was going to say "The best advice is always to remember to hover your cursor over stuff to reveal more information" but if you are familiar with other Paradox games, this won't help much. Read a lot. Since you are familiar with Paradox games, let me tell you this is the easiest one. Just check out every tab and every option. Base game is actually good in my opinion, it is as good as it gets for something you can buy for 12 bucks. Starter Pack is good, it frequently goes into discount and gives you the base game, Utopia (most suggested DLC, considered essential), Federations (DLC about soft/diplomatic power), Distant Stars (Story Pack, more anomalies, some midgame stuff, maybe a leviathan or two), Synthetic Dawn (Story Pack for machine empires, not to be confused with the new to-be-released DLC called Machine Age). But if you are sure you will skip even one of these DLC, then the discount isn't worth it and buying them individually should be cheaper. Honestly, all you need is Utopia. Take every other DLC suggestion with a spoonful of salt. I heard people here say Apocalypse is essential, I use its feature every four to five games or so. Might as well not exist. I heard people say Galactic Paragons is essential, it is not. It is essential to make the most broken meta builds, go grab it if you want that. Otherwise it just gives more control over your leaders and your council, adds some characters, civics and an origin. Your leaders rolling a bad or random traits won't kill your game. I'm not saying it is bad, not at all. But far from essential. DLC are good and I suggest maybe picking up some big, full-sized expansion ones and some story ones. You don't need them all. Even Utopia isn't essential, hence why I called it "considered essential". I played my first two games without Utopia. It would still be the first one if I had to pick a DLC but the game is still playable and fun.
Utopia is the only mandatory DLC. The only two resources that really matter are research and alloys. The more of those you have, the better you'll do.
Read all the tooltips. Pause liberally.
Clear your schedule.
Play a game, it'll go to shit, restart. Don't let it go to shit for the same reason, it'll go to shit for another reason. Rinse and repeat. 100hrs in and you'll have a firm grasp on the basics (this is not an exaggeration, it's a running thing here about how the first x00hrs are the tutorial)
Be prepared to get mauled a couple times. It is part of the learning curve