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Favorite DLC/Expansion pack?

TintoConCasera

I bought a sex doll, but I keep it inflated 100% of the time and use it like a regular wife
So yeah Gaf, which is your favorite DLC or expansion pack to have been ever released? Taking everything into account like the price, content added and how it fits into the main game or if it was blatantly cut off from the game instead of something being developed afterwards.

For me it has to be Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen, as it forgets about the less developed part of the game (the open world) and focus on the really fun part of the game, which is dungeon crawling alongside your pawns while you fight against cool (and new) monsters on a brand new huge-ass dungeon. It also adds a lot of difficulty (which was one of my few complaints with the base game) and has one hell of a final boss fight.


Runner up imo would be the Artorias of the Abyss DLC for Dark Souls, and I would also like to mention the United Offensive expansion for the first CoD game, which was basically a sequel in terms of content.
 

Con-Z-epT

Live from NeoGAF, it's Friday Night!
The Old Hunters DLC for Bloodborne is an incredible expansion to an already incredible game.

Levels like the research hall with its crazy layout or the fishing hamlet with those deadly sharks or out of this world. Than you have some of the collest boss fights like Ludwig, Lady Maria or the Orphan of Kos. Same for the weapons that get introduced or the lore that gets added. It is just so good from start to finish. I love it!

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RiccochetJ

Gold Member
Atorias of the Abyss was amazing! Actually, I've largely enjoyed all of the expansions that FROM put out for their Souls Series and Bloodborne.

Outside of that, I really enjoyed pretty much all of the Mass Effect dlcs. As a whole package, it makes the 3 games an excellent experience.
 

Codes 208

Member
-Old hunters (bloodborne)
-The ringed city (dark souls 3)
-banjo and kazooie (SSB:U)
-the shivering isles (oblivion)
-the vietnam expansion from BF:BC2
-ssjb vegito/gogeta, UI goku, cooler (dbfz)
-tiny tinas assault on dragon tower (bl2)
 

Con-Z-epT

Live from NeoGAF, it's Friday Night!
All the Dead Cells DLC.

They added a ridiculous amount of free content to the game and somewhere down the road, paid DLC which is incredible in terms of quality! Very addictive game!



 

kingpotato

Ask me about my Stream Deck
My GOAT, is easily Bloodborne the old hunters. It didn't feel like a cash grab at all and added so much amazing content to an already amazing game. In fact, I've bought all the From Software Souls DLCs and never been disappointed.


Others that stand out thinking back:
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion - The Shivering Isles


Breath of the Wild Expansion Pass


Not sure if free updates count, but:
FTL: advanced edition (Free update)


Terraria (Multiple Free Updates)
 
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Bragr

Banned
GTA IV DLC's & Witcher 3 DLC's has to be the goats.

I remember Fallout 3 had some great DLC, the Point Lookout one, or whatever it was called.

The new Tsushima one is a lot more substantial than I thought it would be too. And of course, you have the old Blizzard ones, Brood War & Frozen Throne comes to mind.
 

Bartski

Gold Member
Ghost of Tsushima: Legends multiplayer mode.
Bloodborne: The Old Hunters second.

Also, RDR: Undead Nightmare... but that's not a DLC
 

Seraphym

Member
Borderlands 2 Tiny Tina is a good shout, not sure if I could face a full game of it.
Mass Effect Lair of the Shadow Broker is superb.
Witcher 3 DLC are games in themselves.
Forza Horizon 4 DLC is more of the same but some nice little changes to the formula, the Lego expansion was/is great fun!
The Fallout games have some great stuff, as janky as 4 is Far Harbour has nice terror from the deep/Fog vibe.
Elder Scrolls Oblivion and Skyrim, especially the Shivering Isle.
 

Ge Os

Member
Bloodborne: The Old Hunters has to be one of the best DLCs ever made, if not THE ABSOLUTE best.

Everything about it kicks ass:
- The levels
- The LORE
- The enemies
- The new outfits
- The new weapons (Whirligig Saw goes brrrrrrr)
- The Bosses
- and the music... JESUS CHRIST THE MUSIC

I actually started the DLC on NG+, so it got pretty rough real quick. Ludwig killed me like 10 to 15 times, Living Failures only 3 to 5, Maria was nice, 3 or 4 tries, Laurence was actually the one that got me the least, 2 or 3 tries, but the Orphan... my God, that skinny SOB. He killed me like 50+ times before going down. I can still hear him screaming.

15/10 DLC
An example on how to make an expansion for a game.

YvyFthh.jpg
 

ManaByte

Member
The greatest DLC in the history of the concept is the Duke Nukem DLC for Bulletstorm. Basically you play through Bulletstorm, but as Duke who knows he's in the wrong game.

 

10101

Gold Member
I liked both the GTAIV DLC's, but if I were to pick just one would go with The Balled of Gay Tony.

I'm struggling to think what else I've bought lol. Not much of a DLC person.
 

Mozzarella

Member
From my perspective I judge DLC based on a criteria, sometimes a DLC can benefit from simply having a good main game to build its foundation on, so that helps it, in the case of for example Bloodborne, where its a great DLC but most of its good things come from the main game being really good.

Instead of just writing a list and posting pretty picture i will also write how i judge a DLC as good or bad.
For me the criteria goes like this;

1) Content/Price Ratio: Since I'm paying extra money for more content i want to know how much content im getting for the price im paying.
2) Quality: While more content is always good, the new content has to be of good quality for example: if it adds extra levels, then the level design quality, if it adds a main story campaign how good the main story is.
3) Improvements: DLC/Expansions should strive to improve the main game, this is their first priority imo. Does it improve gameplay? Does it improve story? Does it improve level design?
4) Fresh Experience: I love it more when DLC/Expansion doesnt just stick to the main formula and instead goes for that fresh experience, like building a new world and throwing the player there. This gives the feeling of a distinct purchase that feels rewarding and fresh.

Expansion that checks all of this is instantly good in my book, regardless how disappointing the main game is.

Example of short-comings within a DLC/Expansion;

- Poor quality but tons of things to do; which means the expansion is not really at the same level of the main game but it offers a lot of new content.
- Good quality but very short and high price expansion; some of them are good but they can be completed in few hours thus lacking content.
- More of the same; The main game was good but the expansion didnt improve it, it simply just added more of the same!


As for my favorite DLC/Expansion pack here is a small tier list based on the ones i played.

S Tier:
- The Frozen Throne (Warcraft 3) S+
- Blood and Wine (Witcher 3) S+
- Brood War (Starcraft)
- Shivering Isles (The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion)
- Minerva's Den (Bioshock 2)
- Fallout New Vegas collection
- Lord of Destruction (Diablo 2)
- The Old Hunters (Bloodborne)

A Tier:
- The Shadow of Death (HoMM 3)
- War of the Chosen (Xcom2)
- Hearts of Stone (Witcher 3)
- Artorias of the Abyss (Dark Souls)
- Age of Conquers (AoE 2)
- Brave New Worlds (Civ V)
- Undead Nightmares (Red Dead Redemption)
- Citadel and Lair of the Shadow Broker (Mass Effect)
- Awakening (Dragon Age Origins)
- Throne of Bhaal (Baldur's Gate 2)
- Bloodmoon (Morrowind)
- Dragonborn (Skyrim)
- Opposing Force (Half-Life)
- Mask of the Betrayer (Neverwinter Nights)

B Tier:
- Ringed City (Dark Souls 3)
- The Pitt and Point Lockout (Fallout 3)
- Dawnguard (Skyrim)
- Specter of Torment (Shovel Knight)
- The Knife of Dunwall (Dishonored)
- Episode 1 and 2 (Half-Life 2)
- Hollow Knight DLCs
- Death of the Outsider (Dishonored 2)
- Torna the Golden Country (Xenoblade Chronicles 2)
- The Following (Dying Light)




This small tier list, if you notice the two S+ above are 2 expansions i consider the best ever made. Those are all good DLC/Expansions btw, so dont look at the B tier and think i dont like them.
Blood and Wine is the gold standard for modern expansions and the classic goes to Frozen Throne.
The Frozen Throne improved a lot on the game, added lore, added great story campaign and characters, more modes and spawned an entire Esport genre that today many gamers and people in gaming make living out of it.

Great all around and legendary Expansion.

Blood and Wine is known, it basically checks all the boxes on the gold standard dlc.
Huge content for a fair price? Check
Great high quality throughout the expansion? Check
New fresh landscape and area that feels distinct from the main game and provides the player the feeling of new experience? Check
Improved story from the main game? Check
Better Gameplay? Check it adds better enemies, better boss fights, better weapons, more gwent cards, new soundtrack album, new skill tree and UI improvements.
Great and memorable side quests? Check
Better Open world map and exploration? Check

Overall package its god tier DLC/Expansion.


Compared to other DLC/Expansion it stands out, when compared to others it probably adds more content at cheaper price and with the same tier of quality as well, which makes it my choice if i had to make one.
Also this video talks about it better than anything i will write here.
 
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GametimeUK

Member
Mario Kart 8's DLC was incredible. The way I remember it is that there were 8 cups in the game and the game cost £40. They added another 4 cups which is half a games worth of tracks and charged us around a quarter of the price.

Amazing value for money with that DLC pack and a lot of fun to play.
 

Isa

Gold Member
For me the most memorable Expansions I played and loved were Ghost Bear's Legacy for Mechwarrior 2, Halflife: Opposing Force and Blue Shift. The latter two being made by a now much larger Gearbox.

Fromsoft has great DLC's. Overall I'm not as impressed as I thought I'd be back before the PS2/360 gen when gaming mags tried to sell the public on the idea of game updates, dlc and expansions. So many offer little compared to a full game. I think it could work, but I think game development is too stuck in prior established methods to properly keep a steady supply of content and player engagement. Most seem to be cut content merely added later passed off as meaningful additional content, which has lead to many of my friends just waiting for GoTY editions, and me being stuck trying to either form new groups for content, or just giving up certain games entirely.

Now some Single Player stuff is alright, but there is also an overload of nickle and diming, as well as the current plague of multi-tiered sucker editions of gaming pre-orders. Will that content appear at a later date? Does it come with which version, deluxe or schmucks? Who knows, and who even has the time to track all this shit? Better just get the penultimate edition to be safe. But wait, now those Season Passes are Year 1 passes, get ready to fork out for more promised content 3-6 months after release. Hell yeah. Its this trend that has me and my girl constantly going back to the golden oldies, just plug and play, no worries and hey if you want more content just get the sequel like it should be.

Sorry to rant on negatively, my point is that for all the well done expansions, I feel that those of note and quality are the rare exception and not the rule sadly. Wish I was wrong.
 

CatLady

Selfishly plays on Xbox Purr-ies X
Shivering Isles expansion comes to mind as it was one of the first I’ve ever played.

Shiveringislesbox.jpg
Shivering Isles was fantastic, probably my favorite DLC/expansion.
I also really liked:
The Fate of Atlantis - AC Odyssey
Point Lookout - Fallout 3
Far Harbor - Fallout 4
Edit: - I forgot Hivebusters - Gears 5
 
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Freeman76

Member
Apart from the obvious ones already mentioned (TW3, BB etc) The Big Pack for Trials HD, cost 3.99 and I played those tracks for hundreds of hours.
 

bitbydeath

Member
Jetpacks!
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They arrived in the Omega Dawn expansion for Warhawk and were fantastic.

I didn’t use them so much to fly around (and become an easy target for snipers) but rather to boost my movement speed whilst on the ground.
 

Griffon

Member
Old Blizzard's expansion packs were amazing. Brood War, Lord of Destruction, Frozen Throne, and then the WoW expacs were huge too.
 
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Ozzie666

Member
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Just when you thought the original Everquest couldn't get any bigger or more scary, they released this expansion, the first of it's kind.

Defender of the Empire featuring Admiral Thrawn, after the Heir to the Empire book trilogy was the best thing since Jedi.

Both just awesome and stuck in my memory.
 

MiguelItUp

Member
Half Life 2: Episode 1 & 2
Jedi Knight: Mysteries of the Sith
Alien Vs Predator 2: Primal Hunt
The Binding of Isaac Repentance (and the DLCs before it)
GTA IV: The Lost & Damned and Ballad of Gay Tony
Bioshock 2: Minerva's Den
Shovel Knight DLCs
 

TheInfamousKira

Reseterror Resettler
Mass Effect 2 - The Lair of the Shadow Broker
Mass Effect 3 - The Leviathan
Mass Effect 3 - The Citadel
Final Fantasy XV - Royal Edition
Final Fantasy XIII-2 - Requiem of the Goddess
Kingdom Hearts 3 - ReMind
Resident Evil 5 - Lost in Nightmares
 

Reizo Ryuu

Member
inFAMOUS™: Festival of Blood


Dragon's Dogma: dark arisen
Monster Hunter World: Iceborne
RE5: Lost in Nightmares
Rise of the Tombraider: Endurance mode (actually upset this wasn't in shadow)
Most of the stuff for Arkham knight.
 
Back when Gears of War was the shit and all my bros were playing it religiously for years the bit of dlc that made me daydream about what it be and how it could expand on a world I was in love with was all of the new maps and modes that came with Gears 1.

If I recall there were a couple of few ones and a like 4 paid ones, and Epic added some modes for free, too. It blew my mind to have new content and was my indoctrination into patches/patch notes. Fixing balancing issues was relatively new to console gaming and the fact that we had our lists of fixes we hoped would be addressed made us focus in on more of the mechanics. That along with the map packs were a magical time in gaming for me. I was 26 - 30 at the time and had been gaming since 86 - 87.
 
Sorry, I realized I wrote like a chump in my previous post and couldn’t edit in time. So here a better version! -

Back when Gears of War was the shit and all my bros were playing it religiously for years, the anticipation for the dlc made me daydream about what it could be and how it could expand on a gaming world I infatuated with was the map packs that were released for Gears 1.

If I recall there were a couple of free ones and maybe four paid ones, and Epic also added some modes for free, too.

It blew my mind to have new content and it was also my indoctrination into patches/patch notes (for better or worse).

Fixing balancing issues via patches was relatively new to console gaming, and the fact that we had our lists of fixes we hoped would be addressed made us focus in on more of the mechanics even more. That along with the map packs were a magical time in gaming for me. I was 26 - 30 at the time and had been gaming since 86 - 87. Rip young me.
 
Bloodborne and Witcher 3 are probably tops.

For stuff I've not seen mentioned yet, Splatoon 2's Octoling expansion was fun and offered quite a bit.
 

Astral Dog

Member
Resident Evil 7 i think, the problem is it feels like something that should been included in the main game, at least the first ones.

But they are what DLC should be imo, meaningful side stories that complement the main story, but give the focus to other characters
 

OrochiJR

Member
The Frozen Wilds from Horizon Zero Dawn. The vanilla game was already ace, and the DLC did follow suit.

Iki Island from Ghost of Tsushima was also a very good add-on.
 
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