Can't make my mind about this one...
Maybe I expected a bit more?
I waited patiently to play a few games and give my thoughts about ways of war DLC. Can't say I didn't had some fun, but I was a bit less enthusiastic when compared to some previous DLC's.
But, first things first: Ways of War is absolutley gorgeus. This is a huge step in game aesthetics. New units are beautifully designed, new map addons also. It's my opinion, maybe because I'm freak for far east cultures, maybe it's universal, can't say for sure.
Secondly: in my first game, I encountered intrigue happening and I was happy with it. I thought that it added some depth and variability to the game. But after a few games I realized that it's always the same (maybe it's a coincidence, will play a bit more to confirm). When compared to the Toll of Seasons, I thinks it's inferior. Some ruler is replaced and you can work to bring him/her back or just befriend the usurper. There is a quest chain behind intrigue, but every time the same pattern is present. Similar story is with mentioned Toll of Season but I felt that Toll of Seasons is SIGNIFICANT. It can alter the game in serious ways, for you or your opponents. Also, resolving the main quest felt powerful. So there is some room for improvement here.
At the third place (or should I say, the first) we have a new culture: Oathsworn. It's versatile culture which allows you to choose how you want to play it. Peaceful of aggressive approach or something in the middle. I tried every way and concluded that Strife is the weakest of them all. Basic order point feels like wasted since you are discouraged from good relations with city states. It's meh. I don't know. Primal culture or Reaver from previous DLC's felt better and more fun to play, at least for me. Oathsworn culture has a devotion system - when you follow the rules of your culture you get to be more powerful by collecting devotion points. In meta, maybe it's a thing, but as a casual player, I never felt some significant difference on max or min devotion points. There are ofc, don't get me wrong, but it's not "THE THING".
For the final thoughts I would like to say that almost every previous DLC was better for me than this one. Yes, I like overall changes of heroes and gameplay but it's free even without this DLC.
I will recommend it but advise buying on sale.
Score: 6/10
izigame.me
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