Well I think I will pick up the "starter pack" bundle which comes with base game and 6 DLC (Ancient Relics, Apocalypses, Utopia, Distant Stars, Synthetic Dawns, Leviathans).
[goes to look up bundle]An excellent choice -- seriously. That's a lot of content at a very nice price.
I guess my real question is what mechanics are lost without Megacorps, Nemesis, and Federations? Due to them being locked behind a DLC but still being used in the game by the AI or as a feature in your faction but you cannot use. This drives me crazy.
With MegaCorp, the only mechanics you're really missing are those of the megacorp government type itself. The truly significant changes -- the major rework to the economy and colony management mechanics -- were in the accompanying 2.2 update, rather than the DLC.
On balance, Federations is the DLC (out of those three) that has the most mechanics locked behind it. Having now had some experience these past couple months with the Galactic Community and expanded federation types, it's admittedly hard to imagine playing Stellaris without them.
The only real mechanics locked behind the Nemesis DLC are the additional espionage operations, the ascension perk allowing you to become "the Crisis", and the ability to be elected Galactic Custodian/Emperor. The main changes to the game, however (the new spy/intel system and reworked population mechanics), are already in the base game (as of the 3.0 update).
TL;DR -- If you're considering picking up only one of these DLC, get Federations. It's easily the best of the bunch.
The only reasons I picked up MegaCorp was for the additional mega-structures, and for the Ecumenapolis ascension perk.
I'm sure I'll actually try out the megacorp government type one day, but I'd be lying if I said that had terribly interested me when I got it.
I've also realized as I've been typing this, that -- so far, at least -- the Nemesis DLC isn't as good as I'd initially ranked it in my earlier post, and so I've gone back and edited it accordingly. Not that I think Nemesis is bad, but neither do I believe it adds enough content to justify its current price. Definitely wait for a sale.
« Last Edit: July 06, 2021, 01:38:48 AM by Martok »
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