Should You Buy Stellaris First Contact?

[@lanteanboy]

cloaking and the "better" primitive interactions are literally the only thing I got the DLC for

[@suddenimpulse030]

too little content for the price.

[@triedanother2107]

@@suddenimpulse030 to be fair cloaking mean that you probably need to rewrite a large chunk of AI, and they still will need to fix stuff

[@hellodolly7989]

Yeah that’s literally what the pack was billed as, and new origins. I’m happy with it.

[@foxboy747]

14.99 for that…

[@wolftooth6678]

Same!

[@Illuminat-ve5ue]

you are never getting a paradox sponsorship for this thumbnail

[@rsandino]

Montu against the establishment.

[@monarchtherapsidsinostran9125]

Yea tbh you have to suck the massive pole so hard to even get one. Ik thats common for games companies but pdx is a triple A studio that hates admitting it.

[@kyubii972]

Good on him I'd rather an honest review And if they are that sensitive then probably a good thing if they don't. You don't want your business attached to companies so willing to toss you to the side.

[@SamN234]

​@@monarchtherapsidsinostran9125 the only time i have seen a content creator lose their ability to get a sponsorship from paradox was when they had access to something before release and broke the NDA

[@Sterling_holmes]

@@monarchtherapsidsinostran9125 No you don’t, look at ISP, he hated Stellaris but he still gets a bag to play it every once in a while

[@peterknutsen3070]

3:17 I hope that the Custodian Team will eventually create 2-4 alternatives to Minmar, variations over the Exploitative Corp theme, so that you can't know exactly what you're up against when you pick one of those Origins.

[@jameshildebrand907]

Honestly I would prefer it to be another fallen empire. The idea that internal strife within that empire actually resulted in the empire simply forgetting about you. That way at least it is an opponent that won't get rolled over before you get there.

[@Sephiroth144]

@@jameshildebrand907 That could be one of the options; heck, bring in Corpo-Fallen Empire(s) in general, and allow for one of them to have a splinter faction that acts as the Minmar alternative. Could also see going with a Spiritual FE... but instead of however they exit, the race/faithful ascends (except for a few of the missionaries, who think interacting with your species and its rebellion is the reason THEY didn't ascend when everyone else did).

[@OnlyDeathIsEternal]

Yep, they could easily come up with more. A Barbaric Despolier Empire(would be a great opportunity to rework the civic), a fanatic materialist empire who came to your planet to experiment on your pops. A fanatic spiritualist who came to crusade and convert. Fanatic Purifiers, or Devouring Swarm, Driven Exterminators..

[@anonym1984]

@@Sephiroth144 Corpo fallen empire. That could have some fun lore, imagine a corpo FE that fell because the failing trade of derivatives of derivatives of derivatives of futures in small flowering bulb plants on a primitive world caused economic collapse and made them have to write off all but their core worlds to balance the budgets and they're still sorting out the legal liabilities and financially restructuring 500 years later.

[@kadebrittain1448]

​​@@jameshildebrand907 this was the same thought I had. Pushes the conflict to late game. Would need to be a new mechanic though since fallen civs don't normally get access to the galactic council.

[@kyubii972]

Thank you for your actual review. I appreciate you actually going into more detail than others. Not just reading off of the back of the box, which is something we can already do.

[@LordRunty]

I think coming across you nemesis and finding them pathetic is a great emergent story telling outcome. You and your species had this bogeyman hiding out there, something feared and which everyone was preparing for... Then it's basically like the main character on a revenge quest in a series/movie finding an old weak man, terrified at their own shadow and already beaten by others who they had wronged. You don't want it to happen all the time, but it's a good possible outcome to increase the replayability of the origins.

[@Kjf365]

Or they got consumed by a Devouring Swarm and you come to the grim realization that there is something far worse than them out there and your goal shifts from revenge on your oppressors, to becoming the galactic hero. Using what you had meant to be used for petty vengeance instead for the ultimate good.

[@thalmoragent9344]

@@Kjf365 Yeah, interesting idea, though it's gotta be well executed

[@theunloadedrpg1376]

@@Kjf365 You finally reach the borders of the boogeyman youre society has feared for centuries, only to watch in horror as you see their homeworld decimated by an encroaching hivemind

[@ZomgLolPants]

I like how MSI can get wrecked. Just, imagine it, the moment of realization that the force that ended up driving your species to unification is just another small fish in the pond, and the moment of realization where it sinks in that their transgressions put you in a position where you're never going to be taken advantage of again.

[@rsk-1337]

@@quadricslash The false-start can work as a narrative theme, but it has to be done well (obv in this example we're talking about it just arising naturally in the game but that aside). One of my favorite quotes is from Kreia from KOTOR 2: "Perhaps you were expecting some surprise, for me to reveal a secret that had eluded you, something that would change your perspective of events, shatter you to your core. There is no great revelation, no great secret. There is only you."

[@JB-xl2jc]

This definitely feels like the opening of a scifi comedy. "Behold, denizens of the galaxy! We have unified and we are HERE now, HERE to vanquish the old masters- the MSI shall have nowhere to hide!" "Uh... MSI? Bro, we knocked them out like 30 galactic standard years ago. But yeah, welcome to the Galactic Nexus Station! You're all harshed out my dude, ya need to mellow out! Want a brainslug and some nutrient paste? 35% off today only!"

[@veryinky8874]

Solution for MSI would be to give them something like the L cluster. Their own sectioned off area of space behind unique gateways that can only be unlocked by midgame techs, with some coding that stops them from colonizing outside their cluster. Could have them be megacorp that can reach nearly everywhere on the map, be contacted by everyone and very willing to trade resources, sell fleets, buy/sell populations.

[@MichaelMykFreelava]

If anything it makes sense that your oppressors would have gotten wrecked. In my own experience I have very rarely lost incorporated primatives to rebellion, and even when it happens, they're usually not difficult to put down. But if I just recently conquered some primatives relatively far away and a larger empire started invading my core worlds, well when the choice is reconquering a world that won't be much use for another decade and preserving the core of my empire, I'm preserving my core.

[@Eggpie_]

Average ss13 player

[@goodmusic4673]

The Slave start is pretty good given that you can colonize nearly any planet you will encounter

[@SeeAndDreamify]

How does it compare to machines or lithoids?

[@goodmusic4673]

@@SeeAndDreamify well you have the benefit of beeing a bio empire but like a machine empire you can settle everywere and you dont have the growth debuffs of the liths

[@damonedrington3453]

@@SeeAndDreamify at the start of the game it’s actually stronger because pop assembly is one of the biggest early weaknesses of machines and especially lithoids. You also get a bonus if you find the HomeWorld of one of your several species, which is actually super helpful if you explore early and fast.

[@thefallen501st9]

@@damonedrington3453 yeah but having diverse pops has been proven to increase the amount of lag you will experience late game

[@Immortalits]

just the fact, that primitives are now able to spawn an extra shattered ring is insane, not to mention size 30 planets and other stuff

[@Lukashoffmann94]

Which pretty much breaks all mp balance. Getting a free top tier planet by luck is just stupid.

[@mbos14]

@@Lukashoffmann94 tbf a lot of stellaris runs on luck. get the right digsite/precursor/anomolies/starting location with all the good special planets nearby.

[@Lukashoffmann94]

@@mbos14 Yes, but there was a good reason why they nerfed the size 25 Gaia event into basically nonexistence, or reduced Fen Habbanis to a relic world. And now we have a chance of getting a size 30 version with additional effects and free pops on top? It also completely undermines all home planet types other than ocean, because you want to able to use an eventual ocean paradise asap.

[@Shadow.24772]

@@Lukashoffmann94 personall, i think, these kinds of events and/or luck based features should have an enable/disable button for multiplayer

[@Michael-bn1oi]

​@@Lukashoffmann94 this is a silly take, the random elements are what mske the game entertaining. They should go full Gal-Civ2 with it.

[@Paulsen18]

I wish paradox would give us some dlc for more interactions with fallen empires or even becoming one

[@mistermaster4495]

Mods... There are mods for that...for free...

[@WRanger87]

It is an absolute CRIME that fallen empires don’t recognize Remnants origin empires, who were once a great power…

[@Paulsen18]

@@mistermaster4495 I know there are mods for that but imo it's always different when developers give their spin on ideas such as these

[@jacobnida7475]

@@mistermaster4495 not if your on console. So that pack op mentioned would be pretty fun - I'd pay

[@ZanTheFox]

@@WRanger87 Agreed. Some special interactions would be very interesting just for some story bits

[@j.scottwigginsjr.3946]

Love that you used Planet 51 in the opening. Such a great movie

[@noahs97]

Appreciate this thoughtful, honest review. Nicely done Montu.

[@MontuPlays]

Glad you liked it!

[@commissarkordoshky219]

@@MontuPlays Seconded! Being honest is always a good sell point as Paradox KZbinr ;)

[@daedalusdreamjournal5925]

minamar industries should be something akin to a fallen empire. Powerful but dependant on other species to get resources. So they could try to coax other A.I. empires/primitives as tributaries. Well, I guess the modding scene will find something interesting to do to rework that :)

[@greedowins]

Scanning otherwise inaccessible areas is gamechanging. So many runs I worry about missing a precursor system, or similar, and this frees me up to play in a less grabby style, which sounds so amazing (sucks I'm still at work and haven't got to play yet).

[@isaacshultz8128]

I'm at work and can't play it yet too

[@mdsx01]

Have it so MSI gets a bonus for every Payback or Shackels origin, so that they can be potentially strong enough to fight everyone.

[@zabungle]

A buff against normal empires or debuff against their former subjects? In story it can be explained that the Payback/Broken Shackles empires are using MSI's own tech as their base. Montu makes a really good point, that perhaps the devs didn't think of, if you set up a big bad and they're destroyed off screen that's a pretty disappointing payoff.

[@Kjf365]

​@Abran Peralta Well depending on how it's done, it can actually be really flavorful. Imagine finding out they got swallowed by a growing devouring swarm or determined exterminators.

[@Kjf365]

That was the weirdest bug I've ever seen. 10 replies???

[@MeredithLikely]

This whole dlc excites me as someone who mostly plays single player for the narrative! I'm so hyped for all the hijinks and fun this whole dlc provides and I've been so ready for this! 🌜🤘🌛

[@johnthecrazedsskull81]

I feel like maybe MSI should have either been a weaker Fallen Empire or be made up of a bunch mini empires like the marauders.

[@theendoftheworldhasbeenqui2485]

Thank you for not being a shill trying to get in on paradox's good side. it's clear you care about the fans and want to provide the actual pros and cons as well as a good conclusion why it is not worth it

[@drewjn]

Honestly, it kind of feels funny in a strange way if the payback target turns out to have had a reverse of fortune. In the roleplay aspect it also feels like a cosmic level of poetic justice. The proper way to stop this though, would be to guarantee through empire generation that Minmar is advanced and neighboring non advanced empires, or having the payback target an actual fallen empire. All things considered, this is something both the devs and mods can easily adjust.

[@Jose-xh5qb]

I think it's about time they added a megacorp fallen empire or something.

[@matheusGMN]

​@@Jose-xh5qb I could already see it, "this fallen empire is a megacorp that at some point bought ownership of the entire galaxy and reserved for itself the most lucrative worlds, but in an effort to expand business opportunities it allows lesser empires to rule the galaxy in their stead, for a price of course" and then you make them demand tribute a lot, however, if you expand into people that aren't paying them tribute they give you rewards

[@Valryia]

Found a really rare pre-ftl where it started as a life-seeded pre-ftl with a gaia world in the Atomic era.... Which subsequently nuked their own country and then got the survivor origin. They still have the rare deposits of motes and stuff and i think there was around 11 unique districts including metal boneyards

[@MediumRareOpinions]

Im eager for the privative interactions for RP story telling potential, so I'll see this as an absolute must have although I very much appreciate you're fair assessment that its not going to be to everyone's preference.

[@RylTheValstrax]

As someone who plays on huge (2000+stars) galaxies with mods, this is actually a really big value add because theres a bug I've never been able to work around in the core game where having "too many empires" (which does not scale up with star count) introduces a massively annoying bug: the 'extra empires' will spawn on top of other empires, resulting in all sorts of weirdness, including insstantly losing because another empire spawned on top of you. With First Contact I can have just up to the limit in normal/adv start empires and let the pre-FTL species help fill out the galaxy over time. Also I already have ancient relics heh. One thing I do wish they would do is bring back split system control or allow for a 'gentler relocation' of pre-ftl species (heck, with high enough cloaking and a megastructure scale ship/mobile habitat, you could make the case of being allowed to stealthily just abduct them all and move them to another location - one of the star trek movies even had a plot entirely around this, except the federation was doing in secret from even their own populace because of their prime directive law), so that poorly located pre-ftl species reaching ftl doesn't just immediately steal my control of a strategically critical system. One of my favorite stories about a time this came up was when I used mods to force all the crises off at once at max strength, and I needed to take the ringworld at sanctuary because I could fortify the chokepoint it was located at very well from the encroaching contingency threat in that region. Unfortunately it had a pre-ftl species who was at the space age already. So I prepped up a bunch of shiny new habitats in a peripheral system, upgraded them, and then in the space of 2 in-game days, I simultaneously invaded every ringworld segment, relocated everyone to the habitats, and then released them as vassals (who were very happy and loyal). Much of the (surviving, due to all 3 crises) galaxy was like '-50 invaded pre-ftl world' but I chose to interpret it contextually as '-50 created a bunch of new vassal-puppets with inflated diplomatic weight from higher than fallen empire level tech in the galactic community to further entrench their dominance in the senate'

[@sigmachad96]

What cpu do you need to do that?

[@Софија-крафт]

​@@sigmachad96 he works at NASA

[@fumarc4501]

Very Star Trek Insurrection. Relocating a species from their birth world without their consent for personal gain is generally frowned upon. But to save some of them from an existential threat is less so.

[@Hup.]

I absolutely love that you dive into the "Should I buy this DLC" analysis is in the exact same way you would do a "should I build this megastructure," or "should I take this civic." Its fine to consider personal preferences / flavor but ultimate decisions and outcomes are most influenced by cost / benefit. Both within Stellaris and within the meta of buying expansion packs.

[@jkindzierski]

Hey Montu, I wanted to thank you for your honest opinion and candour in this and other reviews. I’m just getting into Stellaris, (just the base game.) Your videos have definitely helped me get up to speed and helped to enhance my experience. Thank you for all your efforts in content creation, and your delightful manner of presenting them.

[@MontuPlays]

Glad I could help!

[@DovahFett]

4:30 that's a story in of itself, isn't it? You spend years, decades, centuries even tracking down those who wronged you so that you can exact your revenge upon them. You build up the fantasy in your head of what the day will be like; of how good justice will feel. But when that day finally comes, what do you do find? A broken empire. A shadow of the thing that hurt you. The final battle that you promised yourself was had a long time ago, and you missed it. Your final victory never came, and now you must decide what kind of empire yours will be. Will you take what scraps of revenge you can get by wiping out the remnants of your oppressors and in doing so risk becoming as vicious as them, or will you instead try to build a better galaxy where such fates will never befall anyone ever again. Will you break the cycle of vengeance, or continue it.

[@damonedrington3453]

I feel like the subspace drive of eager explorers, and the reduced remote outpost cost of slingshot to the stars could be a very interesting combination

[@Routerproblem]

especially since they massively buffed the fleet yeeter start

[@sevyne]

An interesting thing about Broken Shackles - I played with some friends and all 4 of us picked this origin, we all started with some of eachothers pops. Had we known we could have metagamed and collaborated when building our species and choosing ethics to be extra advantageous.

[@animewarrior3]

Payback origin is actually OP atm on commodore and lower. All you have to do is rush getting the battleship from the archeology site, build up to force limit and most any AI empire you meet will agree to be subjugated due to fleet power. Militaristic empires on commodore might have enough fleet power themselves to resist however.

[@johnproctor1675]

Dude you should look into the paranoid origin. Specifically the absolute busted strength of the first contact war option. My paranoid pals wanted me to immediately declare war on the first person I made contact with (they were neighbors and I had aggressive first contact protocols) The amazing thing is it’s total war so any system you capture is just yours, no claims no end of war full blown free systems. I doubled my size and colonies immediately. As well as a free cloaked fleet! Figured it’d make a good video :p

[@delrunplays2903]

Well, looks like this DLC is for me. I was looking forward to the primitive part the most.

[@MontuPlays]

Me too. I have actually really been enjoying it!

[@ulruc]

I wonder how Fear of the Dark could be merged with Inward Perfection. It would be fun in that scenario to be the second group, instead of being the first one. Maybe something for mods to change in the future? One thing I do not understand about cloaking (or more precisely detection) is, can the detection range of one starbase span accross more than the sector it is built in? I mean, can I build a station on my border with weapons, with one station the sector behind and detection to spot cloaked ships trying to enter? If not and I must pick either one or the other, indeed, I do not want cloaking at all in my games. It should be a balance in your economy (number of star bases to cover your territory) vs either having only defenses vs having only detection and fleets.

[@imaloser5689]

I'm pretty sure based on the dev diaries that they do.

[@hockeypan8066]

It is sadly incompatible

[@RaptureBoiX]

A detection starbase reveals everything within its sensor range, so with the right tech you can have one that covers your entire empire

[@StalwartTirith]

Definitely going to get it. I've always been a huge fan of uplift, first contact stories and that sort of thing, and this looks like Paradox really going in that direction to make that system more in-depth. I'll happily support such a move.

[@sylvie_v2939]

influence needs a complete rework, more max, more ways to get it -- there's so many ways to spend it. I'd almost suggest splitting it up into "raw influence" and political (external), military, popular influence (internal), expansion influence, and other influence types you can increase and spend in different ways. Different factions and ethics could increase these and make certain operations more or less expensive

[@SHDUStudios]

I got Ancient Relics like 2 days ago and then I learn that Archaeotechs are a part of it now? This is great!

[@StrudelerOfTheTSociety]

I enjoy the concept of an advanced Megacorp being the baddy. It's like a "game-start crisis."

[@WRanger87]

The problem is, there are other advanced AI starts, and MSI’s build will lose to any randomly rolled good aggressive build.

[@morunaga]

Forcing Minamar as the fixed antagonist for those two origins was a bit dumb. I'd rather have a random advanced start AI play that role, like in other origins.

[@Sephiroth144]

Or an (RNG'd) option of Minmar being a subsidiary of an Advanced Start: Minmar? Yeah, they're *one* of out companies, and you backwater apes are messing with our profit margins...

[@suddenimpulse030]

that would require the developers to actually think things through.

[@joeandrew8752]

I like two origins being tied, but part of stellaris’s appeal is each play through is unique. I hope mods can add some randomness back

[@MrVictor1227]

What about playing as Minamar? That would make me buy the DLC just for their design

[@joeandrew8752]

@@MrVictor1227 don’t think you can. Maybe you can design an empire just like them but not play as them in that role im the origin

[@adriankoch964]

Interesting review, Monty! Question: Can ships use the Subspace drive automatically for pathing further than just a single jump? What's the cooldown on those? If they work exactly like Jump Drives, where jumping is all player-manual now, that Civic and promise of a "Players can choose to never use hyperdrives"-playstyle is DOA. What looks good is the pre-FTL rework to allow for a "First One" playthrough and then see actual normal Empires spawn with real origins to back them up. Good call on pointing out Ancient Relics, that one is a fantastic DLC, wich itsel synergizes with Leviathans and Utopia as well.

[@kevinhenrique4256]

Thats The First Thing i Will do when i get Home,First one Playtrough

[@adamnevraumont4027]

What promise? They just added a "you lack.hyperlane tech" origin as an option Not "you never use them".

[@EternitynChaos]

if you want Minmar to be powerful start with a lot of pre-ftl empires and few if any normal or advanced ones, they blob out quite nicely then, I've been playing Fear the Dark with a forced empire with the payback origin and nothing else so the empires are just the ones connected to Minimar, myself and whatever pre-ftl empires claw there way out of the craddle, and with 5x worlds and pre-ftl civs it's a lot of fun so far

[@seandor]

It would nice to have some customization on these story packs. Like changing who the villains are or maybe the races you find

[@AizaakThurston]

Man where I live $15 is like a mcdonalds meal now >.

[@MrHellknightimp]

Dude game prices have been all over the place recently, like when I brought Surviving Abyss for 15 I thought it was a glitch. I bought ixion for 40 and I would have gladly paid 60. Seems like every game now is either way cheap or way too expensive, no middle ground.

[@TheRuzenqures]

Thanks for not being a shill. This proves your love for the game is a genaune

[@TheRewasder97]

I mean, I have everything and I was not going to miss this one, specially as it has some very interesting things from my perspective. I'm very interested in the origins and civics. Cloacking seems very interesting. And the primitive intereactions might make me not just conquer them.

[@Demortra]

I still remember the old days with 3 different exploration types, and I still remember that all but hyperlanes were turned off 90% of the time all the time.

[@Michael-yf1wo]

I figure $15 is the cost of a single order at MickyD's or a movie ticket. I'm good with it. And I think our energy credits are a vote for more Stellaris content in the future. If the cost is an issue think of it as splitting the cost between the Story Pack and a gratuity for the 3.7 update. I agree that the major DLC's should come before this pack but we need to support Paradox to keep Stellaris growing.

[@isaacshultz8128]

This man is in the pocket of the big P

[@jonahmiller5881]

$15 for an order? What kinda gourmet McDonald's you been ordering?

[@QueenAleenaFan]

"Yes, but I'm very certain mods will fix that." Thank you for saving me from having to buy this DLC.

[@sylvie_v2939]

@montu plays - I hope you get this. I was able to defeat the grey tempest by sneaking about 80 cloaked frigates to the control node and opening fire - vaporizing the rest of the threat. Wasn't exactly a legit play they by then since they kept sniping the salvager enclave but needless to say your wolfpacks can snipe leviathans through closed borders and get around actual mechanics of some crisis (snipe the Khan?) and I'll want to play with this some more.

[@teaser6089]

I'm pretty sure it will be modable so that other empires are less likely to attack Minima. Just give them a fat AI related modifier that makes other AI not willing to attack Minima as much.

[@flayrekapperz7862]

You actually made me sweat over my pre-order lmfao. I was sure I was safe after seeing all the pre-release content, but Daddy Montu knows best after all 🤣

[@eduard7736]

Waiting for the DLC that puts all those driven exterminators far far away from my empire when I play grand admiral.

[@asgerkrogh5671]

Paradox: Patches two of three ftl modes out of the base game Also Paradox: Makes dlc with one of the removed ftl modes as a selling point four years later :P

[@PinkBroBlueRope]

bro you have the exact accent and inflections as josh strife hayes

[@UnknownRex]

For me it is a very very easy YES. I mean, where I live I can get one beer at a bar for that price. But the game lasts me way longer than one beer.

[@mimaneneko8386]

Now there's a real world comparison I can get behind

[@sigmachad96]

I recommend the DLC, the new civics offer a very unique way to play the game that synergises interestingly with a lot of the other options in the game, and the primitive interactions add a bit of flavour that requires very little interaction (which is a good thing because there's already a lot of pop ups in the game that require your attention)

[@evankimori]

With the Payback origin, even if it's a little Meh at release: there's SO much that can be done with it in nods or official. -Freed Slavers -Spiritual (FE) who you didn't agree with their religion and got cast out. -Gestalt uplifting you for Food (Hive) with preset traits that you can't remove without Genetic Modification. -Mechanical empire uplift to Assimilate and you escaped. Same preset traits unremovable without research. It doesn't HAVE to be a Megacorp as your nemesis. You can eventually choose to re-merge with your Overlord and then take over, use Subterfuge whilst Vassal to assassinate the leaders and take control...there's idea potential here.

[@alextros3549]

Think the DLC price hike is due to the general price hike in games as of late. Its inflation related, but it is what it is. DLCs to other games see the same increases. Its unfortunate but considering that sunk costs for devs have gone up, I would consider it fairer than most inflation increases as of late.

[@randymoffat4226]

Thank you for a great in-depth review. They really help me decide which expansions and DLCs to get when I continue to purchase the add-ons.

[@matheusGMN]

Honestly, I think the way to fix that underwhelming sensation when MSi is defeated by someone else is basically giving MSI a buff that lasts up until the player makes contact with MSI, so that they will survive up until that point, and after that whatever happens, happens

[@Aci_yt]

I per-ordered it and I'm super happy with it :)

[@imverytired1164]

I was mildly curious to know how cloaking turned out, and it's sad but nice to know it seems like a win more mechanic so far.

[@Barghaest]

“You can choose to never research hyperdrive”… does that mean there’s an alternative prerequisite for Jump Drives and Gateway Construction?

[@matthewshields]

I feel that the influence cost of spy operations should scale based on the primitives level of development.

[@leohal456]

Montu, I found an AMAZING combination. If you combine eager explorers civic with the new update to slingshot to the stars, it makes for the FASTEST expansion in existence. You can skip straight past unknown hyperlanes, claim choke points whilst not having nearby systems for extremely less cost, and secure your potential territory faster than any other empire. In my first few games testing this, I've secured areas as large as 50 stars within the first 10 years, on 400 star galaxies nonetheless. That's 1/8th of the galaxy claimed as my own within 10 years all thanks to this combination. I've also devised a challenge playthrough with this setup, where you ONLY use subspace drives until you get jump drives. You cannot research hyperdrives either or else your colony ships will end up using them.

[@hiwhatsyourface]

I think it would be interesting if MSI scaled with more payback or broken shackles empires. That way you're not just ganging up on them later in the game

[@gallendugall8913]

When I found MSI they were strong and threatening, but I like the idea of the burning desire for revenge to coming to naught because they're already wiped out - they inevitably upset the wrong species.

[@Nomadic_Gaming]

and this is why im glad the console version has dlc passes for getting dlc in sets at a decent cost

[@phluphie]

FTL inhibitors not being affected by cloaking makes sense to me.

[@rogue7744]

Appreciate this. I mainly buy all the DLC's to keep supporting the project overall. I love paradox and all the content they put out, so I look at it as more of a support thing than anything else. TBH it does seem like a weaker DLC but, eh, i still really enjoy it. I just love stellaris anyway. ty for your time!

[@ben230000]

Thank you for your analysis of the DLC :) Got Overlord instead and I'm now doing a artifact and vassal centered megacorp playthrough.

[@kingseb2252]

I have all the DLCs except megacorp and i will get first contact because it's reaction interesting the primitives the origins the cloaking it makes for a good story and can be fun

[@isaacshultz8128]

Megacorp was so good

[@CatKingCole82]

I already bought every other one! IM IN TOO DEEP I CAN'T QUIT NOW IT'S GOT A HOLD ON ME!!!

[@mochiboot6502]

I respect the honest review, dude.

[@benblue361]

Me who preordered and have been waiting to play: NOOOO

[@ixamisus]

I actually bought it because he promoted a link to buy it

[@callumunga5253]

I'll just take this opportunity for my usual spiel: Do not preorder games. Any game. It is an anti-consumer practice which encourage the kind of day-1 monster patches we see from the soulless AAA giants. There is no stock limitation which would mean you will miss out by other people preordering. Wait a few days, let the reviews from a variety of sources you trust come in to see if it's a broken mess. If it is, wait a week until they either hotpatch it, or never buy the game because they never fix it. There is literally no reason to preorder games, and every reason to wait with cautious optimism. You'll get a finished product, they'll get your money. Everyone wins.

[@bumbus8333]

god same! I wondered if this DLC would be standard paradox "great concept, bad execution" for their DLCs but gave em the benefit of the doubt for the sake of new content. ah well, mods will fix

[@Lankpants]

I haven't seen the event so I'm not 100% sure, but the many tentacled one sounds like a reference to Futurama. Could be wrong here though.

[@cobbil]

Honestly, thank you for the review. Both Stellaris and Europa Universalis IV are having big DLC come out roughly at the same time and I had to make the decision between the two.

[@horizonhunterX]

I love do a roleplaying in stellaris even in first contact, cuz this is sandbox game where you do anything.

[@maciejekhem1408]

Holy fucking shit you had me at playing as Minmatar

[@williamseymour1620]

I believe the many tentacled one is a reference to the "love the tenticle" episode of futurama .....

[@robbiondolillo4825]

I think this will be good. Lots of new events and general improvements and I like the stories. I but from Insta-gaming and its sold out temporarily. Any new Stellaris is good Stellaris. If I'm new though, I buy the big stuff first.

[@DianaBell_MG]

I usually get DLCs later on sale, I grabbed this, specifically cuz I wanted to play around with Broken Shackles, I just like that story idea.

[@TheFi0r3]

Honestly, I'd buy it right away, but since I'm quite a bit short on the economic side, I'm going to have to give it a pass, at least until I figure my stuff out or gets a discount during summer (whatever comes first)

[@CrispiestRiver0]

12:42 ? Only pop culture reference I know involving tentacles is Futurama lol can’t wait to find out for myself what you’re talking about!

[@thewanderers97]

Used to watch planet 51 a lot when I was a kid, took me by surprise seeing it in the start of the video lol

[@vulcanjoe8258]

I’m a massive fan of Total War and Stellaris (all paradox games honestly) - but holy crap between the price of this dlc and the chaos dwarf announcement.. I’m starting to really consider picking up any further content for games.

[@konigsbergmarshal1695]

Im pretty sure the tentacled one is a reference to Lovecraft/Cthulu

[@___.51]

MSI is my new favorite recurring character on the galactic stage, even if I don't have the appropriate origin I add a number of empires with either broken shackles or payback into the mix. MSI generally becomes a major power in the galaxy, their AI seems to like subjugating over annexing, and I think all of that is neat.

[@gaymin3252]

I love how it's been less than an hour and he's already on it

[@t2force212]

*Pre-orders First Contact, See's this video and the thumbnail* Me: Shit

[@Stforv]

"AI using stealth effectively" that was a good one lol)))

[@Alister222222]

There is another reason to get the DLC: It funds the continued development of the game, which includes the free content and the custodian content. When I pay for a Paradox DLC, in my head I include all the free features as well, because without the DLCs those features would almost certainly not happen. I am the sort of person who would rather buy an update for a game I know I love and play repeatedly, than buy a whole other game that I might play once and then never again, and Paradox are perfect at this.

[@DN_123]

This is one of my issues when it comes to paradox dlc, it's not a complete experience without the other dlc, and buying them all one by one is just too much. Paradox should release like a full version or atleast some sort of like a bundle parts for dlc.

[@vi6ddarkking]

I need to wait until all the mods I use get updated so i think I'll wait for a sale.

[@Slop_Dogg]

stellaris is cool because it costs like $200 to play the full game

[@flinfake]

A complaint made was that the big bad evil empire gets taken out, or is otherwise made inconsequential, before you can properly interact with them. This actually adds to the storytelling aspect of the game IMO. Going to confront someone who gave you a hard time years later only to find them a pathetic shadow of their former selves or dead? It is both realistic and a great subversion of expectations. Even better would be finding out that they were never that big or important in the first place. They just looked that way because they were bigger than you. In actuality, they were in almost as tenuous a position and were just trying to elevate themselves by punching down.

[@WRanger87]

Yah, subverting the expectation that you get to have an important narrative role, and a story arch.

[@Rusty126]

It really adds to the idea of how vast and dangerous the universe is in Stellaris. Your people get enslaved and fight tooth and nail to free themselves from a superior foe. And when you find them again, you realize they're only some bush league corporation.

[@flinfake]

​@@WRanger87 "Someone training up to fight The Big Bad™ only to find out that the enemy is not a significant threat and then using their newfound powers to fight a legit threat/threats" is a staple wdym? This arch describes a significant portion of major literary characters who have antagonists.

[@homoe7976]

There should be some sort of extra event chain when your payback/ broken chains empire is so much stronger than MSI when first encountering them that you can go "lol, serves you right". Something like that.

[@RogerValor]

Dear Montu. I agree. Mods will fix it. But... And I say this *EXACTLY* because of what you say: when our friends play together, the 5 guaranteed AI Empires that I designed are _known_ by the most usual participants and it actually makes it more interesting, because some of those empires tend to behave a certain way, and become somewhat familiar I think it would still benefit Stellaris, if we can fine tune our AI Empire flair ourselves, *if* *we* *want* - design Fallen Empires, Marauder Empires, etc. for our game - choose which empires are the emperor, the special so-and-so if possible - have an easy way to set up how much randomization is added - influence on how AI behaves by allowing us to tune the custom empires with selections that only count for them being played by the AI. - have our own custom text lists for planet names, leader names, etc. that we can attach to empires, also for our own empires in MP - allow these "Soft Choices" that only influence the flair of the game to work without mods, so hosting games will become more interesting OR implement mod loading on game join last point might be useful anyway if implemented along the whole code, because atm. even joining another lobby will change global settings on your game, that affect the next game you start, which means the state machine that represents a stellaris game including the lobby settings is not independent data, and while this is okay, it is not an ideal technical solution.

[@shadeblackwolf1508]

I hope they give fallen the same rework. Give them some special origin types as well. Interactions with the scion and remnant origin, and more

[@Dieselboater582]

Cloaking kinda allows “submarine” tactics. Cool!

[@TheRedneckGamer1979]

"The Many Tentacled Wand"....? Sounds like something the Drow of dungeons and dragons use in a lot of the media.

[@erutherford]

I'd like to see MSI treated specially when there are people with the proper origins in the galaxy. Maybe even as far as a flag saying "no war to/from AIs" until specific events have been triggered. I wouldn't even mind seeing them in a category of their own where [perhaps] they are treated as a "really advanced, but not fallen empire level" type of empire. I would imagine this would help a lot.

[@johndude8076]

From the two challenging start i would like to start without a Starbase, that should be a special project

[@William0271]

Thank you for giving your honest reaction here, most people would be afraid to bite the hand that feeds them but criticism like this is necessary to improve the game