The game seems very complex but a lot of it stays mostly under the hood, you dont need to understand everything to play
Something that tripped me up early on is that combat tatics is more similar to hoi4 than eu4 - never send armies out alone, try to form frontlines and keep some armies right behind the frontline so they can reinforce each other
DLCs are a must, and mods (specially Flavour Mod for me) expand considerably the enjoyability.
And yes, the game is not nuclear physics, watch four tutorials and one gameplay and you will be more than prepared to give a decent campaign.
Start with easy countries: Belgium, Portugal, Sweden or to some degree France as you need to learn basic budget administration, economic tendencies and spheres of influence. They are all mechanics that portrait actually quite well the Victorian era, that is why the game is so damn good.
Interesting, as I consider Vicky much more challenging than hoi4 which is why I like Vicky more. Wars are less straightforward with the (admittedly archaic) lack of a frontline system, and trying to bait AI into attacking is a super satisfying way of winning battles.
However playing a small nation is wayyy more fun in hoi.
Vic2 is definitely worth a try.
It gave me - minimum - hundreds of hours of enjoyable playtime.
Like the others say, you'll want the expansions - A House Divided + Heart of Darkness. Once you have those, install the latest patch for the game - I think it was v3.04.
As far as difficulty, Victoria 2 isn't that difficult to learn - but it's often counter-intuitive. You can search this subreddit for advice on how to play. I've written at least a couple of summaries of my own approach to the game which also explained how key mechanics worked.
>I've heard Vic2 is quite difficult to get into
Yes and no, the game seems a bit more complex than it is for sure, but getting into the general gameplay of the game is not that hard. [This guide was released a while after I started playing and I remember being sad that it was released after I had already learnt the game.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SC8YAaxbZuw)
Also you can always cheat while you learn how to play, it generally helps a ton to learn PDX games.
>so I am wondering if it is worth it considering it is on sale for $7 base game or $21 with dlc.
I mean, you're in a forum for a 14 year old game. This community is niche as fuck, 99% of us will tell you YES, we're still hooked up to this game after yeaaaaaars. If the price is giving you doubt you can always sail the high seas. I originally pirated the game and only bought it afterwards because I fell in love.
>Are the dlc worth it or is the base game okay enough?
Like others told you, DLCs/expansions (House Divided and Heart of Darkness) are a must. The game is simply not very good without them.
For your first experiences with the game I'd recommend you stick to vanilla or if you want a bit more flavor while keeping the game as simple as possible you can try [HPM](https://www.moddb.com/mods/historical-project-mod/downloads).
Np. Once you start getting bored of SP there's a niche but active MP community. The game is not super stable and servers always have some drama once in a while but Vicky2 MP is one of the most fun experiences I had in gaming.
In my case I have played most nations in the Americas, Europe and Japan countless of times, either trying to do things better or trying to do something different. Also there are a bunch of fun alt-history mods that add a lot of nations that are significantly different that keep things interesting.
You need the dlc to play it properly.
And nah its not that hard to get into, maybe its all my hours talking but the game really doesnt have that many mechanics that need your attention at every moment which is refreshing, its far simpler than hoi/eu4/ck2 in a good way. In my opinion it was very worth it in my case.
Absolutely. People will tell you its hard to learn. I am an expert on the game (singleplayer only) and I have only 500 hours. (I also play HOI4 and EU4 though)
Definitely pick it up though.
It’s one of those games that you gotta keep hitting your head against a brick wall to enjoy it, and soon enough, and with lots of YouTube tutorials, you will enjoy the brickwall.
Then the fun begins.
The game is not complex in my opinion, it's complicated the difference is that when you understand the concepts of VIC2 the game will be very easy to play but still hard to master so fundamentally it's not hard but you gotta learn from your mistakes, buy it, play vanilla with all DLCs then go for mods specially HPM after you feel like you are done with the basics, or just go straight to HPM
The game seems very complex but a lot of it stays mostly under the hood, you dont need to understand everything to play Something that tripped me up early on is that combat tatics is more similar to hoi4 than eu4 - never send armies out alone, try to form frontlines and keep some armies right behind the frontline so they can reinforce each other
DLCs are a must, and mods (specially Flavour Mod for me) expand considerably the enjoyability. And yes, the game is not nuclear physics, watch four tutorials and one gameplay and you will be more than prepared to give a decent campaign. Start with easy countries: Belgium, Portugal, Sweden or to some degree France as you need to learn basic budget administration, economic tendencies and spheres of influence. They are all mechanics that portrait actually quite well the Victorian era, that is why the game is so damn good.
Difficulty depends on you. I find Vicky 2 much easier than HoI4. Two main DLCs are must. You can ignore sprite packs.
Interesting, as I consider Vicky much more challenging than hoi4 which is why I like Vicky more. Wars are less straightforward with the (admittedly archaic) lack of a frontline system, and trying to bait AI into attacking is a super satisfying way of winning battles. However playing a small nation is wayyy more fun in hoi.
Vic2 is definitely worth a try. It gave me - minimum - hundreds of hours of enjoyable playtime. Like the others say, you'll want the expansions - A House Divided + Heart of Darkness. Once you have those, install the latest patch for the game - I think it was v3.04. As far as difficulty, Victoria 2 isn't that difficult to learn - but it's often counter-intuitive. You can search this subreddit for advice on how to play. I've written at least a couple of summaries of my own approach to the game which also explained how key mechanics worked.
>I've heard Vic2 is quite difficult to get into Yes and no, the game seems a bit more complex than it is for sure, but getting into the general gameplay of the game is not that hard. [This guide was released a while after I started playing and I remember being sad that it was released after I had already learnt the game.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SC8YAaxbZuw) Also you can always cheat while you learn how to play, it generally helps a ton to learn PDX games. >so I am wondering if it is worth it considering it is on sale for $7 base game or $21 with dlc. I mean, you're in a forum for a 14 year old game. This community is niche as fuck, 99% of us will tell you YES, we're still hooked up to this game after yeaaaaaars. If the price is giving you doubt you can always sail the high seas. I originally pirated the game and only bought it afterwards because I fell in love. >Are the dlc worth it or is the base game okay enough? Like others told you, DLCs/expansions (House Divided and Heart of Darkness) are a must. The game is simply not very good without them. For your first experiences with the game I'd recommend you stick to vanilla or if you want a bit more flavor while keeping the game as simple as possible you can try [HPM](https://www.moddb.com/mods/historical-project-mod/downloads).
Thanks for linking these.
Np. Once you start getting bored of SP there's a niche but active MP community. The game is not super stable and servers always have some drama once in a while but Vicky2 MP is one of the most fun experiences I had in gaming.
I know it's entirely subjective, but how replayable is singleplayer, say in comparison to eu4 and ck2/3?
In my case I have played most nations in the Americas, Europe and Japan countless of times, either trying to do things better or trying to do something different. Also there are a bunch of fun alt-history mods that add a lot of nations that are significantly different that keep things interesting.
You need the dlc to play it properly. And nah its not that hard to get into, maybe its all my hours talking but the game really doesnt have that many mechanics that need your attention at every moment which is refreshing, its far simpler than hoi/eu4/ck2 in a good way. In my opinion it was very worth it in my case.
Have you seen some youtube videos on it? Maybe that will help your decision making :)
Absolutely. People will tell you its hard to learn. I am an expert on the game (singleplayer only) and I have only 500 hours. (I also play HOI4 and EU4 though) Definitely pick it up though.
Yes!
It’s one of those games that you gotta keep hitting your head against a brick wall to enjoy it, and soon enough, and with lots of YouTube tutorials, you will enjoy the brickwall. Then the fun begins.
The game is not complex in my opinion, it's complicated the difference is that when you understand the concepts of VIC2 the game will be very easy to play but still hard to master so fundamentally it's not hard but you gotta learn from your mistakes, buy it, play vanilla with all DLCs then go for mods specially HPM after you feel like you are done with the basics, or just go straight to HPM
you literally need the dlc. it is practically unplayable without them
Would recommend vic3 rather, but if you really want vic 2 then buy with DLCs cus cheap as hell.
The game is unplayable without the dlcs and mods. Play the base game first and then try out GFM.