I mean, I’m the same way, but even just the new stuff in 1800 is somewhat overwhelming (though awesome). As a first game I’d just think it’d be a bit much, but if you’re game who am I to tell you otherwise? There’s no bad choice here, really. That said, if you already own 1404, I don’t know why you wouldn’t play it, it’s great!
I was being a bit facetious when I said 1404 was the only answer to “Which Anno?” I like all of them going back to 1701. I just think 1404 is still the peak of the series, but they all add something interesting to the core game. (Well, 2205… it’s just the weird step-child, but still interesting.)
That said, I am shocked SHOCKED that anyone would recommend 1800 over 1404 for the new player. Especially when he already owns 1404??
There are some quality of life improvements in 1800 over 1404, for sure. But not one of them overcomes 1800’s vastly inferior approach to the “new world” or its clunky (if cool in concept) mechanics like expeditions and museums and such.
Fire up Dawn of Discovery, Arrendek. If you love it (you will), then 1800 is waiting for you.
I’d be curious too. I read the descriptions of the DLC and they don’t seem like game changers - but maybe I don’t fully understand the implications since I don’t have a ton of experience with 1800. Anyone? @jpinard?
Which DLC’s do you want to know more about?
Some of the big game changing things are tools we needed such as the marketplace information and the statistics and items sheets that we can bring up. The production tab is incredibly useful now and I use it to constantly check to make sure all my production buildings aren’t over nor under producing.
Balance is also way better than before, especially when it comes to influence.
I guess we were wondering which DLCs were considered must haves and why. Is it just more content, or new interesting features? Is the marketplace info dlc, or just added via a patch? The base game is quite cheap at Epic with the coupon, but the complete version is expensive.
Brief rundown on DLC:
Big ones:
Sunken Treasures adds a new map (of the “Old World” type, so that’s not new, but it has new diving mechanics) and (brief) storyline
The Passage adds a new map (“Arctic” type, so new stuff), and (brief) storyline
Land of Lions (not yet released) will add a new map type (“Africa” type?)
Small Ones:
Botanica adds botanic gardens, which are exactly like museums and zoos
Seat of Power adds a palace with policies, fun for juicing up your late game empire
Bright Harvest adds tractors and feed silos, so you can boost agricultural production
IMHO, go through it first with vanilla, and if you like it then get the ones that add new maps, as those are pretty big content additions. Then get the smaller ones if their stuff sounds interesting to you.
OTOH, they’re packaged into “Season Passes”, so if you like the base game just get the season passes because they all enhance it in one way or another.
I’d say they’re not really game changers, per se, and there’s certainly enough stuff in the base game to keep you busy for a long time. But if you like the game, then you can get a ton more stuff to divide your attention between (and I mean that in a good way).
I believe this not part of the DLC but was patched simultaneously with a DLC release, but I could be wrong.
Yeah, I feel ya. Do you still get another $10 coupon after buying a game? Or was that only for that earlier sale? 'Cause if you do, then that brings the season passes down in price quite a bit.
Thanks for the detailed response :-)
Epic doesn’t let you use the coupons on DLC, otherwise that would be pretty good. The complete edition is $55 - $10 coupon. I guess $45 only $5 more than buying everything separately and using a coupon on each. I’m not a huge Anno player so I don’t know if I’m ready to spring for it even though it’s a decent deal.@arrendek sounds ready to jump in though :-)
I think I’ll spend a few days with 1404 and see what the hubbub is all about. :)
No, that was only during the summer sale. I did use them to buy Anno 1800 and each of the 2 DLCs separately, paying $35 for the whole thing :)
Sadly, I haven’t played it much…
Oh man, all this agonizing over the Anno 1800 DLC on epic and someone casually mentions that you can’t use the coupon on DLC, which I completely forgot about. So there’s really no reason I would ever consider buying it on epic then, off to Uplay for me!
Thanks for describing the DLC. When I see adding for a game I instinctively think “I should get this I’m sure it’s important” and as it turns out it seems that’s not really true, so there’s no reason I should put off playing before getting the season 2 stuff.
If you have those UPlay points to get 20% off the complete pack is even a bit cheaper than on Epic with the coupon.
I definitely used the coupon on the Season 2 Pass a couple weeks ago. That statement was inaccurate at least for that one piece of DLC back then. :-)
Thanks for the clarification but I’m still giving up!
Hmm, their site says you can’t use it on DLC. I guess it doesn’t matter too much in my case since I wouldn’t get another coupon when I used the one I have.
Does the Uplay 20% coupon definitely work on Anno 1800 Complete and come off the $55 price?
It looks like it does, but I didn’t try it. There is a get discount button in my cart with it.
Do you need to play through the Anno 1800 Campaign? Or can you start cold turkey (I suppose I am really asking if your first game would have hints without playing the campaign).
Your first game will have hints even if you don’t play the campaign and, frankly, I didn’t find the actual campaign missions much help in learning the game - they’re mostly just distracting.
So my guide for the Colonists is up. I would like to gather a few more screenshots, but I think it’s a good compendium of tips that can help you out.
Honestly, for new owners of Anno 1800, get the season passes. Mixing and matching DLC doesn’t make the most sense as they integrate so well. As I’ve played over the past few days I tried to think of which ones I would suggest a person not buy, but every time I choose one I realize I’m about to use several facets of the DLC. A major one I was going to suggest would be the Arctic, but then you’d miss out on gas production which has become important for me to get electricity supplied to areas where the train network can’t keep up. And I’d miss the expeditions and animals. The Palace one is the next I was thinking, but I’m heavily dependent on the boosts to balance my influence and production.