Should You Buy Stellaris: Cosmic Storms?

[@Sean_AA]

I appreciate the honesty. It's clear you have a very good relationship with the dev's, however, you haven't allowed that to influence your review. A rare breed these days.

[@MontuPlays]

@@Sean_AA I try to stay honest. I think that's important. People know when you're full of crap anyway so, really what would be the point I suppose 🤔

[@walkir2662]

It's rare to see reviews as opposed to outsourced PR for games, just like for movies and TV shows. At least from people with good relations to the company in question, and Paradox is way closer to AAA than to Indie...

[@volairen]

I agree. Keep giving your honest opinion and keep your integrity regardless of your Relationship with paradox. I respect that man. If paradox wants you to recommend them they can simply release better content.

[@tegridyfarms6197]

@@MontuPlaysTrue but IGN would have scored it still as a 9/10.

[@Metalton95]

@@tegridyfarms6197 But then again, any (singleplayer) gamer above the age of 18 probably just watches IGN for entertainment and an additional POV from the pros & cons at the Verdict section. ..and the comment sections :P

[@evrenselaga22]

You are a hell of a lucky guy, stellaris devs just released an update that doesnt invalidate all the tierlist you've made :D

[@Lucasdelima04]

Nah mate, I need those videos to watch before sleep it gives me peace of mind, now i have to stay awake till next expansion 😭😭

[@henrywill124]

Surely we'll need a new tierlist that includes where the two new precursors stack up?

[@dangerface300]

Nah. Invalidating old teir lists keeps him in business.

[@helcarloki1887]

Don't jinx it....

[@darnchacha1632]

You know I'm suprised they didn't take the opportunity to include some Energy based lifeforms in this pack, Cloud and electricity people would of themed well with the storm dlc

[@circuitusproductions]

way too much work, adjusting the spreadsheet is easier!

[@garymcjerry]

Tbf, I think that’s probably bc the Species (mainly the art if i had to guess*) team just came off MA which had a lot of Species and portrait relevant content. I’ll agree it’s a bit of a missed opportunity but I don’t think it’s realistic to keep that* team churning out content every DLC. Edit; phrasing*

[@tymeier7570]

Psionics DLC when?

[@EJ_Red]

@@tymeier7570 I want a psionics AND genetic engineering DLC

[@Asgardians3t]

@@tymeier7570 maan i used to play Psionic every game but after the Cosmogenesis DLC i can actually play machines lol ive never been able to handle playing a machine empire before lol!

[@JackAndrewAcer]

it would be nice to have parts of galaxy that are permanently affected by storm, for example its centre. Then it would make more sense to pursue certain storm-based development paths

[@Lmaokekw975]

or a megastructure which generates storms in 1 system and which can be upgraded to cover more systems.

[@garymcjerry]

@@Lmaokekw975+1 I quite like this.

[@worldspam5682]

it would be interesting to get another fallen empire, which planets or starbases have a special building that works as constant storm generator. Imagine tech that could be researched only from remnants of this fallen empire. Sounds like a content for a far late game, which this game lacks.

[@tobiasbayer4866]

Or an origin where your homesystem and the surrounding ones have a much higer chance of getting storms. Maybe even make it another one of the "challenging" origins, we have way to few of those.

[@kyosukearashi3523]

that is more likely to be another crisis, like cats as the endgame crisis in gigastructure mod.

[@Kiwi9552]

I think storms suffer from the same problem as espionage: You can't make it impactful and fun, without making it also possible annoying at times, cause it's hard to defend against. I'd personally love rare storms, that are way more impactful, like killing pops and destroying starbases and the like. However I realize most people would just find that annoying. So the thing we are left with is stale feeling storms with limited impact.

[@Urielthalas]

I for one would be okay with the espionage/subterfuge game being way more impactful and developed.

[@volairen]

I believe espionage needs to be simplified and dumbed down. Just give the intel we require. That's what its there for. Don't need to make an entire dlc out of it and drag out the mechanics. I don't know about some people but alot of my viewers just want to know what ships the bully next to them has so they can counter them. Or if there fleets are stronger than that devouring swarm they just noticed. The way it is right now is just ineffective.

[@Urielthalas]

@@volairen I definitely agree the current system is completely useless.

[@dangerface300]

​@volairen then uninstall the dlc and play with the vanilla mechanics. Espionage is already too simple, it certainly does not need to get simpler.

[@volairen]

@@Urielthalas I understand some of the actions look fun, they LOOK fun, but let's get real. We want the damn intel pls. Also they take way tooo long. It shouldnt take me 50+ years or never to get full intel on an empire. Especially if I'm sacrificing an envoy and influence. If not simple, it should at least be effective and rewarding. Plus vanilla is/ was just the same as with dlc. Just thought i'd address both points here.

[@Najter]

I think really devs should ask community a question what kind of DLC/update they want. I would love to see some internal politics in the game or more satisfying diplomacy.

[@theguyfromsaturn]

Yes and no. The community is large, and varied. Sometimes we don't know that we would like something until we get it. Sometimes, I'm sure I would like something (or vice versa) and find out that it's the opposite when I have it. Too many cooks in the kitchen rarely makes for great fare.

[@jankieek8218]

I for one would love too see a "Machine Age" type of DLC for hive minds.

[@Jernsaxe]

While I get the sentiment, I think this tend to lead to catastrophe in practice. Firstly because of how long development cycles last, we would ask and then have to wait likely a year or more for the result. Secondly I've heard devs from multiple genres give similar feedback that boils down to "players are good at spotting problems, but bad at providing solutions". Saying "diplomacy isn't satisfying" is spotting a problem, but asking what kind of DLC the players want is "providing a solution" and that is often problematic. For an old game like Stellaris with an even older engine many community wishes might even be impossible and we end up with players being unhappy when asked and the devs being unable (or slow) to deliver.

[@2MeterLP]

@@jankieek8218 or biologics in general.

[@matielholloway]

I want Fallen Empires to be relevant again.

[@CuriousLumenwood]

I mean, I probably will just because I love this game but I can understand why you wouldn’t want to

[@DeranRoute-vu5jy]

In the same boat here.

[@supergamergrill7734]

I “Borrowed” all the dlc and feel bad since stellaris is such an amazing game that I already have 300 hours in 2 months. So even if this dlc isn’t all that, I’ll make a effort to buy the dlc Also it’s like 13 bucks so way less than other dlc

[@alexshinra6722]

Lol you paid for weather.

[@DeranRoute-vu5jy]

@@alexshinra6722 Lol we paid for weather.

[@cosmictreason2242]

Stellaris 2 needs octa core multithreading support

[@thomassclark2139]

For me adding in some additional flavor is always good as it makes the game feel more alive. I rarely engage with the galactic government due to my playstyle, but I love that it's in the game. That being said I can understand why someone might not want this one.

[@kettlehead8994]

Ahh yes, the Cicatrix Maledictum

[@PieMoe]

This DLC exists in a precarious position that I think is shared by the Espionage system. How can you tune it to make it worth interacting with without making it a crazy OP corner build? If storms are overtuned, it turns into a "Aww dangit, VLUUR just rolled in and ruined my empire." if you're not building for it, and a "I'm going to roll over the galaxy by summoning hurricanes that you can't counterplay against or have to devote your entire empire into counterplaying against!" multiplayer meta. Which... actually sounds kinda cool, like an alternative way to turn yourself into a midgame crisis depending on the counterplays. But also has the chance to become too dominant in the Meta so now you're stormrushing. But this DLC kinda swung the opposite direction and made storms way too low-consequence and are set up like the other DLC systems that you can ignore entirely unless you want to focus it entirely... like Espionage! It just feels like such an inconsequential part of the game that I would be remiss to spend a whole Official and actual influence on operations just to... reduce neighbor relations? Get some science buff? Spawn some pirates? If you killed the Stellarite Devourer you get to put an egg in a star, that's pretty neat. But you have to find it, kill it, be invested in spying and have an established spy network in another empire with high enough infiltration to do it, and there's still a chance it may not work. And your reward is you destroyed a colony without needing to go to war. A similar dilemma is present with storms as is: you can ignore storms and see minimal consequences, maybe you'll try not to fight in the system that's covered in a thick fog that blocks laser weapons if your a laser empire, but that's the extent of your decision making. You can't decision-make around storms otherwise: even if you're storm chasing, you can't rely on the super-awesome-alloy storm to spawn every time because sometimes you'll get the less exciting "I just make people kinda interested in religion" storm that probably exists. And the stormrushing thing is off the table because of this fact too, no reason to throw a hurricane at someone if there's a chance that they'll just believe in Jesus after the fact. Also, implications of this DLC: Do storms happen in L-space? Do storms have any lore implications, like playing a role in the fall of a precursor/FE? Are storms purely material phenomena, or are they influenced by the shroud like everything else somehow? What happens to VLUUR if you turn storms off? And not an implication, but a thought... can storms be influenced by galactic development, like storms being more likely to follow relays or particular kinds of storms being generated around particular megastructures (like how the Aetherophasic Engine changes its system to look like its star is turning inside out or something, will a quantum catapult be prone to particle storms)?

[@thunderhead9338]

"-If you decide to zoom down to that level. If you manage to have a fight or a battle in the system with a storm, It's going to freeze your game and light your motherboard on fire if it's in the unbidden spawn location"

[@NagolM]

I feel like we need a new mega structure dlc, for all the newer stuff. Make a mega structure that can control storms or hold them would probably be useful

[@Roartykarma]

That's why you're not working in sales. You don't add a whole dlc with loads of megastructures, you add one or two big cool megastructures per dlc so you spend more in the long run ;)

[@theonesithtorulethemall]

@@Roartykarma well… where’s our megastructure then??? Also wasn’t the last MEGAstructure released in utopia??? We had kilo but…

[@thomasator1139]

I like this idea but only for certain origins or civics. I think locking megastructures and similar things behind civics or things like that can really help make empires feel more different from each other. Other ideas: -some sort of special artificial habitat for aquatics that can be unlocked with hydrocentric -a mega church planetary decision to turn ecumonopolis into a mega church for spiritualist mega corp -terraform into shroud worlds for psionics -special matter decompresser that collects dark matter as well for dark consortium

[@walkir2662]

Planetscaping sounds nice, but with space storms and Gagh, I can only see that as a joke Star Trek DLC. Money easily saved. Let's see what the next one is.

[@nick-hu1nx]

i got it, only for planetscaping and the new precursors but i was at the absolute edge of waiting on this one.

[@user-ez9ng2rw9c]

We already know the next one, story pack based on the grand archive. It'll prolly come out just next patch, before we get a gap patch till the next actual dlc which I'd guess would be early next year. Honestly I'm starting to lean towards them doing a sequel at this point. It won't be popular as it won't have the decade long development cycle level flavour at launch but they could do so many things which would be fresh and interesting. Since the leader rework all the mechanic changes feel like add ons instead of genuinely big stuff.

[@renhardhalim]

​@@user-ez9ng2rw9c If they follow how TTW WH series do their sequel then i believe Stellari 2 can easily be more popular than Stellaris 1. All they need to do is add some kind of mods like IE from WH3 that let you play/use any factions/mechanic from the previous game with a new upgraded mechanic from the latest game

[@user-ez9ng2rw9c]

@@renhardhalim They can't and won't do that because this is nothing like total war. They'll be using a much newer engine and porting the dlc to it would mean more or less redoing the dlc. Not to mention that they'd be stuck in the current day problem of not being able to innovate as much. Total war games just have to port over the map and then give graphical upgrades alongside minor mechanic adjustment, because people play those games for the ip and battles. They always just do more of the same every game. Paradox games are massive revamps. Even then, every game has a lot more content at launch than the previous game did at launch. CK2 didn't even have all the areas playable at launch, in fact only Europe was playable while ck3 launched with the entire ck2 map, more or less, with plans to add the rest of the old world.

[@cosmosyn2514]

@@user-ez9ng2rw9c i REALLY hope they dont do the same thing as their more recent sequels and keep the 2d portraits. if they go 3d i could see it slowing down development time and harming the modding community. the only way i could see 3d working is if they go all the way and let the player build a species like in spore.

[@Gary_The_Man76]

i love the concept of weather, bringing more life to the galaxy, so imma buy it

[@thestoryteller2514]

people like you are the reason they make slop like this dlc

[@outland2874]

@@thestoryteller2514 just because you personally dont like something doesnt make it slop, it is just a mid dlc that some like and some dont. Get over it

[@MillennialKiwiGamer]

​@@thestoryteller2514its a great dlc stfu nerd games not for your sort

[@terrypennington2519]

@@outland2874 Yeah this isn't really an Astral Rifts situation, where literally nobody cared nor liked that DLC. Cosmic storms are at least cool to look at and add a nice, albeit gimmicky, mechanic that really adds to the flavor and life of the galaxy.

[@thestoryteller2514]

@@outland2874 get over what? I'm just saying if people stopped buying mid shit they would be forced to release better dlc instead of releasing a single feature and slapping a price tag on it lil bro. Keep consuming tho!

[@Venefcus]

I ended up getting the season pass, so I have it. But this was the dlc I was least excited for, oh well. Here’s to looking forward to the zoo story pack! Which I’m honestly all about.

[@Oghier]

This will be the first DLC I haven't bought. I just don't find space weather to be interesting. That's OK -- everything is not for everybody. I hope the next one makes more sense to me.

[@aquilazyy1125]

Imagine the ultimate isolationist play style if they allowed constant storm lingering for the new origin: You are a civilization born amidst an unknown area of the galaxy that is constantly shrouded by cosmic storms. No ships that attempted to chart the area have ever returned to their home planet. Now that you have gone to the stars and have discovered technologies unbeknownst to the Xenoes, that can transform the powerful natural barriers that have protected your species to a creeping menace that slowly devours the rest of the galaxy. They don't stand a chance.

[@Justin-ui5ti]

That kinda reminds me of the Star Wars Unknown regions that have largely been unexplored due to the extreme difficulty of navigating the anomalies there.

[@aquilazyy1125]

@@Justin-ui5ti Exactly

[@treyphillips7668]

Dude, that sounds cool as heck if somebody made a mod like that, I would download it no questions asked

[@cosmictreason2242]

Permanent system storm definitely needs to be an option

[@aquilazyy1125]

@@treyphillips7668 I just feel like the origins from the most recent DLCs are a little bit lackluster that they serve only to strengthen the main mechanic in that DLC but doesn't make much sense story-wise, like the rift walkers worshipping a rift when they were still primitive somehow makes rifts appear more often in their systems. The only unique one imo is the Synthetic Evolution.

[@musicheaven1679]

I wish we got an entire update cycle dedicated to endgame content honestly. I think the early-mid game in stellaris has tons of things to do with lots of interesting things but I can't shake the fact that I feel like endgame is just "endgame crisis and/or war in heaven" done. Technology becomes stagnant, economy has usually scaled to the point you dominate either way.

[@fyrestorme]

I wish they would do an update that added animated planet-surface army battles and re-worked how the invasions function.

[@damienmccullough9365]

Excellent. I am going to buy it anyway, as I've sold my soul to Paradox long ago. Thanks for the review!

[@247230]

Really enjoyed the dlc honestly, planetary effects and using storms to strategically give your own ships advantage near the border is a fun mechanic

[@DrWarbird]

Appreciate the honest review.

[@TheMorninGlory23]

Yo dawg i heard you like some complexity so i added another layer of complexity to your complexity I like it :3 but i can understand not everyone might share my feelings

[@CallMeSomething7]

Machine age was so big and good, and honestly I just want a part two for that. Origin for spiritualist machine, more civics, and more portraits

[@cstains5543]

This always looked like a wait a while, purchase on good discount DLC and I still think that's how it plays out.

[@matt46142]

Yeah. I played it a little today and I’d say it should either be super cheap or just a free update with what you’re getting out of it.

[@JD-vj4go]

Thanks Montu. I'll wait for a sale for this one. Seems like there's a lot of stuff that happens in this one but not much stuff to do.

[@trevorr994]

Oh cool, they gave us an addon for buying the cube portrait dlc.

[@lithrandil290]

I mostly got it for the modding potential tbh ^^ The API looks pretty solid meaning you can create some very fun narratives/mechanics using the cosmic storm system.

[@trveheimer6360]

i cant watch your videos at regular speed im used to your voice in at least 1,25 hahaha. anyways, this was shoved up my youtube feed before i even knew i needed it! thanks

[@PandaWolf525]

Kind of sad about not being able to keep a permanent storm over your capital. But overall I’m going to still get this so I have something new to play with. It will be a fun way to mess with friends using storms if they let me host a game.

[@Lochost1986]

Thank you! Going to buy it. This is the opinion I needed.

[@EnlonWhite]

After seeing this, what they need is AFTER Storm effects that count as a "Storm" for trait/civic purposes, that have minor effects similiar to the storm that left, that last 2-3 times as long. With maybe choices to double this time, or even reduce it from tech upgrades or such. STORM AFTER EFFECTS, would be a great way to extend this, just make sure they are minor effects that just trigger the area as counted as in storm area basically.

[@grayrook8637]

TOO LATE!!! I knew I wanted the other two, so this one is just an extra on the season pass. Also Planet Scapers just makes my beloved Invasive Species even better.

[@briwanderz]

already purchased the season pack.. so... BUT, also, for the price of a days worth of food, OR a single meal depending how you eat , it adds: an origin and 3 civics, i'm sure i'll try them at least once... which already means more worth then a meal. two new precursors, relics, events, archeology, technologies, and ascension perk.. buildings.. story.. also, having my scientists, and a relic to summon storms sounds like it will easily keep me entertained longer then that meal i could have bought... and longer then several games i spent more then $13 each on did. also i can't go buy a different DLC, i already own them all. (sales are a great thing)

[@Meridian_Prime]

The day the season pass rolled out I knew this was going to happen. First release an awesome expansion to lure people into buying the patch, and then a filler

[@tristanshaltz2769]

One of the things I've noticed with the nebulae and neutron stars, is they are very pretty to look at, but the fps noticeable goes down if you zoom in on them. With the detailed and noticeable nature of the storms, they might reduce the fps even more.

[@Kristaliorn]

Please do a video reviewing / going over the new achievements?

[@Asgardians3t]

its gon be awhile before we get something as good as Cosmogenesis. I agree after reviewing this that if the storms were more permanent at least for your empire to where u can have bonuses for a long time it would be worth it. Or have a heavy storm with big negatives on the enemy for lets say 20-30 years. maybe with a huge cost to the storm to balance it out. But yeah i dont think this surpasses the last one .Thanks for the review Montu! You are my Stellaris "News" channel lol.

[@shumaltv]

I’m a relatively new player but I picked it up. Just summoned my first storm and it seems rockin’ So far I’m liking the surfing vibe. I can definitely see that if you’re not running this origin it could be more annoying than anything else.

[@HighLigerBimBam]

Lets hope the storm impact will be adjusted as time moves on.

[@gmradio2436]

At least options for a few more sliders for galaxy generation. Storm intensity, density, mobility, duration in addition to frequency.

[@LifeInGeneral-z6f]

I feel that this DLC need a mechanic that let's you have a nomadic empire. A feature to make that possible would be mobile habitats. So you are incentivised to follow and seek out storms to gain bonuses for your empire. The storm and cloaking mechanic allowing you to move through closed borders would be epic. Ontop of that, the Juggernaut would become the perfect ship to accompany your nomadic fleet because it would give you a mobile shipyard. Until then you'd need to build and abandon starbases as you moved from system to system

[@LifeInGeneral-z6f]

I guess the naming is what bugs me. Its called Storm "Chasers", But it seems more like to Storm "Callers" or Storm "Summoners"

[@jorgeramirez6060]

Honestly, I simply find no reason to get this one. I am curious about the relics and precursors, but everything else just doesnt do it for me. And learning that I will never get any storms now makes me happy :p I mean, it seems quite fun, just not for me.

[@malakifraize4792]

Jokes on you, I bought it the second it came out :p great vid montu

[@voodoowoodpecker4320]

Started a run of Molebots with Planetscapers. Since they have minimal 100% habitability Cultivated Worldscaping downside doesn't matter at all. Good stuff. I wouldn't be interested in buying this DLC without a discount but thankfully I already had Season 8. Now let's wait and see what surprises Grand Archive will bring

[@unholyxeras8182]

Ooh I hadn't even thought of that. Nice! Though flip side is that the 75% extra resource districts also matters less when you are already uncapped on one and have no use for one of the other two I suppose. So slightly better generator worlds I guess? Although tbf +3 districts on every world's is more than enough to make the civic good on it's own

[@voodoowoodpecker4320]

@@unholyxeras8182 Well, you can go Bioreactor route for energy or be a Rogue Servitor/Maniacal Assimilator and require some food, although it still wouldn't be significant enough for more food districts to feel impactful. Still, yes, +3 to max districts on its own is worth it, especially if playing tall

[@CrimsonReaper189]

If that does work with nebulas then that will be really useful for ocean paradise since they always start in a nebula

[@Coopershawk-lf8tx]

I kind of like it simply for the increased immersion, not all additions need to be game-changing in my opinion. some just add another option for people who want it.

[@locowolfie]

Cultivated with gaia terraforming perk is right up my alley.

[@Exakan]

The DLC is worth it for normal to experienced players. The Cosmic Storms add more micro management, which can be a nightmare for new players. For anyone else, its worth to buy to make the game map more alive :)

[@sirfrancis8732]

As a normal to experienced player, I'm not buying it because the game already has enough micro in it :)

[@Someguywhoplaystrategygames]

With mods -cough- darkspace, it gets worse

[@Exakan]

@@Someguywhoplaystrategygames What?

[@thesovietshark8945]

@@Exakan he's saying that the darkspace mod for stellaris makes the micro even more challenging

[@Exakan]

@@thesovietshark8945 Oh really? I thought my mods are quite micro friendly xD

[@jameshaws9986]

They'll do anything but update espionage

[@TheTwinTornado304]

The devs went to see the new twister movie and said yes let’s put that in stallaris

[@johnbauman4168]

Seems kinda interesting. I got the season pass so it's in my library anyway

[@tylerpetersen6226]

Ironic this releases a day before a hurricane is supposed to hit me.

[@davivaz6114]

How did it go? Are you ok?

[@tylerpetersen6226]

@@davivaz6114 storm veered east at the last moment never even saw rain

[@davivaz6114]

@@tylerpetersen6226 Happy to know you are safe brother!

[@Nooctae]

If you got the Season Pass, this DLC is kind of a free update cost wise compared to Machine Age + the third one we'll get for it I guess.

[@darcraven01]

9:23 honestly, i would not suggest buying the machine age by itself until we know how good or bad the last dlc in the season 8 bundle is.. if that dlc is a must have, i'd say buy the season 8 bundle. since the price put on machine age and cosmic storms is almost the whole price of the bundle (its about $1 short, which the cube rick portrait would make up for), the last dlc in the bundle is free. sooo....

[@thegrumpyraccoon]

Planetscaper plus hydrocentric seems like a way to go

[@adamxue6096]

This is certainly feels like a fluff dlc, as in it adds some new life, it adds cool things, generally, it seems like it's a story pack with a tiny bit extra on top. Considering the price tag, it is probably a very middle of the bar dlc. It's slightly more expensive than a story pack and species pack, but only by very little. So yeah, the review seems to do it very well justice I really however like the idea of 2 new precursors

[@mattseman5682]

"Montu, this is the seventh DLC in a row you've said 'Probably Not*'." No for real, always love your videos and honest reviews. They never help me cause I just always buy whatever new Stellaris DLC there is, but I love them all the same.

[@RichardPhillips1066]

Jesus Christ finally an honest review

[@slenderminion2229]

I absolutely love the visuals of these storms and that they make the galaxy more interesting, but I will probably wait until the DLC will eventually get a discount. Whenever that might be.

[@matt46142]

I love how the whatever trader precursor spawns the relevant archeological site halfway through the events on the other side of the galaxy making it inaccessible until towards the endgame. So fun. Lmao

[@garmr2512]

yeah I got the expansion otherwise I would just miss this. But the next couple of things in the expansion interest me.

[@DarkCrimson25]

I will play it with some Mods, tomorrow. Because i like some more flavour. ^^

[@RubberToeYT]

It looks good but there are plenty other dlc I would get before this one, great video

[@highpriestofzuul8921]

Yeah, I wouldn't have bought this if it wasn't part of the season pack - and it might make me reconsider buying packs going forward.

[@casartherandom3010]

I enjoy it, but I do wish it was free tbh. Fun ideas though and the cosmic storms look amazing.

[@TheLastMando08]

Montu will you be covering Frostpunk 2?

[@Dharengo]

I already have that season pass thing. I thought the machine age was already so wirthwhile, getting a whole package would still have its value, even if the other DLC weren't as packed.

[@MaxHaydenChiz]

This DLC hits a bit close to home rn given that I'm evacuated for an actual hurricane right now. I imagine whatever marketing guy decided to schedule the release for the peak of Atlantic hurricane season is quite pleased with him or herself though.

[@Rougepelt]

I’m more interested about the 2025 & 26 expansion packs tbh, if my hunch is correct, these will be built around ‘become the crisis’ for biological and psionic ascension paths, since we got Cosmogenesis for machine age. Looking forward to Greenfly and Galaxia endgame….

[@chaseyork3131]

I've bought everything except for the Lithoid Pack. I'll buy this one too.

[@sirfrancis8732]

Unironically, the lithoid pack would probably be a better buy than this lmao

[@jeddpearce249]

I do want to try the astrometeorology civic with Ocean Paradise to see if the bonus is significant enough when permanent. Not sure about the rest though.

[@Vipersnake21]

Me buying every Stellaris DLC lol, I mean now the galaxy feels somewhat alive, new civics are every time nice and finally I get new precursors

[@Luke_the_legendary_hunter]

Should just be a free update, no new portraits etc

[@paradachshund]

I was disappointed that they didn't make storms more regional, as in certain systems or areas of space be frequently or constantly stormy. It seems to me that would make them something you could plan around instead of a random traveling nuisance. Feels like a mod waiting to happen though.

[@mister_enemy]

Where be my new Megacorp Civic tier list

[@Ko5is]

i got season 8 and i am happy to get 1 big and 2 smaller dlcs and i expected that from the start so i am happy it isnt some worthless dlc but something small but fun

[@Sarnith]

I have mixed opinions on the new origin and civic. The storms are interesting that I've experienced on my new playthrough, as I took both the origin and civic. But they also feel lackluster in a way compared to past DLC releases. I do however, like the storms interaction with combat vessels.

[@Serpenttine]

I appreciate what the dlc adds to the experience

[@l.a.3680]

Sounds fine for me. Many people feared that the storms would increase rng too much, but that is not the case.

[@LordProteus]

They need to be focusing all of their effort and resources on upgrading Genetics and Psionics to the same level as the Synthetic Ascension Paths.

[@xyreniaofcthrayn1195]

Stellaris: Storm space barbie revamp purchase now, side effects may include performance issues, headaches and or a minor case of oooh aaaah MY ECONOMY just crashed because I wasn't paying attention-itits.

[@EJ_Red]

Hey Montu, what are your thoughts on the possibility of getting a genetic engineering and pscionics DLC, something akin to Machine Age (Cyberization+synthesis) for both of them? Cause I've been wanting that since MA dropped

[@benthomason3307]

I'm mostly curious as to whether it adds anything new regarding VLUUR.

[@CalamitasCalliope]

Yeah it just kinda looks neat, I'll probably get it on sale or maybe a friend of mine will pick it up for me as a gift. Overall, i think this mechanic is gonna be like espionage. Something you interact with rarely and that has extremely limited effects on the game

[@Peatingtune]

With all the Shareholders' Yacht Fund DLC Paradox sells It's hard not to justify buying the base games and the proper expansions and then periodically downloading repacks with everything and playing their games that way.

[@arthur97ist]

The storm provides!

[@MCNarret]

Surely mods could make this much better.

[@bitbucketcynic]

I'm staying on 3.12 until another worthwhile DLC comes out. I stayed on 3.4 until Machine Age dropped. I can be very patient.

[@evanhughes2161]

i did the stormchaser origin built storm attracting buildings in every one of my colonies and built the storm attracting building on my starholds and the only storm I saw all game was the guaranteed one you get at the beginning making my origin useless cause I wasn't getting any of the buffs for my buildings. I just couldn't see a difference with high attraction and the game a played before that one I got fucked by 3 storms in my borders that just killed my ship health and i couldn't repair at star holds so i just don't know what's going on and why I can't attract the storms because I think they're pretty cool otherwise

[@lem2004]

By the sounds of it, it sounds similar to espoinage, not much of an impact, but a nice way to play for a change of pace.

[@slippyfruit8538]

Okay so I made a tech focused build and right know the economy of my empire is booming but a race I made previously (devouring swarm) named Bug Traphouse already ate half a galaxy, what do I do??

[@hibacilacle2609]

What I would do is use that high level tech and economy to slowly build a decent fleet, make a few claims against them, go to war for those claims, then use the peace time after the war to prepare for the next step. Or, I would begin to make proper alliances and possibly a federation with any neighbors that might still exist, since you said that they only took half the galaxy… Though take what I say with a grain of salt since I’m not the most experienced with the game, especially on higher difficulties.

[@slippyfruit8538]

@@hibacilacle2609 I became the vassal of a stronger empire before the war so they meatshielded me from the swarm and a resolution was passed for every member of the federation to help in case of a war

[@slippyfruit8538]

@@hibacilacle2609 I might clutch this

[@unholyxeras8182]

I already bought the season pass when machine age came out so the question is irrelevant to me haha, its ashame this doesnt look better though...hopefully the next dlc from that pass is more worthwhile cos right now it feels like id have been better off just buying machine age on its own

[@locowolfie]

Hey Montu, have you ever played X4 id love to see your opinion on the game.👍

[@sukhdeepsingh1487]

I really like this dlc and the update for atleast acknowledging one of Stellaris's most underwhelming and boring "features" (if you can even call it that 😂). Storms for the longest time felt so uslessly boring and trite to the point where the event would trigger and I would not even know until I watch back my footsge 😂😂. Really greatful that Paradox adressed their lesst liked mechanic and atleast removed it for those who didn't like it much and gave everyone else the option for stroms, better yet the customization of storm chance is actually pretty nice.

[@matthewwest7906]

I mean I've bought all the dlc and expansion packs of console so yeah I'll buy it

[@Nechay.]

One lizard say. Billions humans must obey

[@onevillageidiot]

I'm really curious how the Zroni Precursor chain and that one Zroni astral rift would affect the storms from this DLC. Does the Zroni Stormcaster's storm not count as a cosmic storm? Does the Zroni storm modifier from the astral rift protect you from Cosmic storms? And if non-Cosmic storms are no longer in the game, does that make the Zroni unique and/or less useful? EDIT: answered my own question. Zroni Stormcaster creates a "artificial storm" that is the old storm type, and absolutely doesn't interact at all with any of the cosmic storm content. I wish it counted, it'd be a great bonus for the new origin.

[@frmt9030]

A storm gave my capital 48 devastation in the early game by going in and out of the system, also it was the -40% pop growth speed one, so I must have lost 5+ pops in the course of 40 years

[@petrusjnaude7279]

At this point, considering I have all the DLC (including this one), it's a case of being too deep into it by now. I realise I could probably stop buying them, but I am too deep into it to not buy a new release at this point.