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Paradox Interactive titles have, historically, enjoyed industry-leading post-launch content support across the board. One needn't look much further than Stellaris and Cities: Skylines for some obvious examples, but Europa Universalis 4, too, has had some stellar expansion packs over the years. Its Winds of Change DLC, in fact, may be its biggest X-PAC yet!
There are murmurs that Europa Universalis 4: Winds of Change may be the game's final major expansion pack, in fact. Due to release on May 8, Paradox Interactive is yet to chime in on whether this really is the case or not, but one thing's for sure: the DLC is huge.
So huge, in fact, that we're already thinking it's going to be one of those expansion packs you're going to want to get sooner or later, simply due to the sheer width and breadth of what it includes. Down below, we've gone over all of that goodness to help you decide if it's a good fit for you, too. And, if you're reading this early, you may even snag a sweet discount!
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Europa Universalis 4: Winds of Change DLC Explained
Europa Universalis 4: Winds of Change is all about three specific regions of the world that have, up until now, been arguably overlooked in favour of others. Not so anymore, though! America, Europe, and Central Asia are all being upgraded and iterated upon in this DLC, giving players a mind-blowing array of new gameplay options and goodies to chase after.
"Our ambition with Winds of Change has been creating interesting situations for the most requested countries that have not received content in a while," explained Paradox in one of its recent developer blogs. "So the main topic is the rise from the ashes of old empires, and the creation and the first steps of new ones. All of this is accompanied by the exploration into new lands, the trade of valuable resources, and the defeat of powerful enemies with your armies."
Good old EU4, then. Except, with the Winds of Change, the game will receive a whole new layer of complexity that just isn't there without the DLC. Let's get to explaining it all!
Play Europa Universalis 4: Winds of Change on May 8!
What is included in the Winds of Change DLC?
In truth, the full feature list of the Winds of Change DLC is far, far too long for us to post it all here. For those who need a more comprehensive, hands-on summary of everything that's coming, we recommend the official Paradox blog post! If you're just keen on getting an idea of what's being added in a broader sense, we've got you covered!
- Aztec Empire: Tonalli mechanic, encouraging open warfare and sacrificial rituals. A focus on centralization of the Aztec colonies and vassals, and reforms focusing on chinampa farming.
- Mayan Nations: A united confederation of Mayan nations, centralizing to weather the onslaught of other competing forces.
- Inca Empire: A focus on colonization and conquering the surrounding territories, crushing the enemy forces where they stand.
- The Netherlands: Economic reforms and decisions; participation in the regional power struggle between the monarchists and stadtholders, with the alternative being a bonafide revolution.
- Venice: Council of Ten mechanic, establishing the Golden Republic and leading to the new Venetian Renaissance.
- Austria: Universal Empire mechanic leading to the establishment of the Austro-Hungarian Empire variant nation and leading to new diplomatic options.
- Hungary & Bohemia: Hungarian Government foil to imperial domination attempts, Hussite-themed content and the ability to form the Greater Moravia.
- Timurids: Options to either focus on cavalry-focused conquests or to consolidate power in Persia; Soyurghal subjects and the Chinese Conquest casus belli.
- Mughals: Divine Religion mechanic, reducing the regional intolerance to promote monarchistic power; Mansabdar warrior-bureaucrats.
- Nomadic Horde Nations: Branching religion-focused missions with dozens of specialized objectives depending on your Horde's starting point.
- Germany & Italy: Establishment of major European nations, leading to a unification of cultures and cultural groups.
- Theodoro & Trebizond: A strengthening and revival of the Eastern Orthodoxy in the Black Sea.
- Hisn Kayfa & Hormuz/Oman: Abbuyid revival missions for an aggressive expansion through the Persian Gulf; trade-oriented variants for Hormuz/Oman.
All in all, these new features, mechanics, missions, and content additions are bound to make each affected regional power far more interesting to play both as and against, which will in turn do wonders for Europa Universalis 4's grander sandbox. Exciting times ahead!
Does Winds of Change warrant its price point?
Naturally, only time will tell whether the Winds of Change truly is everything it's been made out to be... however, it's hard not to be excited by the sheer breadth of goodness already confirmed for the update. With hundreds of new missions, unique culture shifts and bolstered faction mechanics, and oodles of other stuff to look out for, Winds of Change is compelling indeed.
Now, the thing to keep in mind is that EU4: Winds of Change comes with a baseline price tag of $19,99 (unless you purchase it with 2Game's discount active), which is a nice chunk of change.
For those who are on the fence, we recommend waiting for the reviews to pour in - as usual. That being what it is, 2Game's editorial team is hard-pressed to recall the last time a Paradox DLC was so positively loaded with content, and so we think it's going to be worth the initial investment, for sure.
Europa Universalis 4's free 1.37 'Inca' update - coming alongside the Winds of Change DLC
As we mentioned before, though, Paradox isn't straight-up making base game owners pay for everything coming to Europa Universalis 4. Quite the opposite, in fact, as update 1.37 - also known as Inca - delivers some phenomenal goodies at no additional charge.
The biggest improvement of them all is the fact that Inca reworks EU4's generic mission trees from the ground up. While many country-specific missions are staying as-is due to them being necessary for older post-launch content, Paradox has added claims tokens to them all, going so far as to introduce permanent claims in some instances.
Further, Prestige, Army Tradition, and Mercantilism points will now automatically convert into Monarch points should you go over the limit, which is a huge endgame quality-of-life improvement.
It gets better, too, as many missions now award discounted advisors, explorers, admirals, bonus power projection, and lots more.
According to Paradox, the team has facelifted over a dozen generic and shared mission trees, including (but not limited to) European, Indian, African, and Native American objectives.
Play Europa Universalis 4: Winds of Change on May 8!
Jump into Europa Universalis 4: Winds of Change on May 8
And there you have it: everything points to Winds of Change being an immense and hugely important part of Europa Universalis 4's lifecycle. Of course, the DLC itself isn't a must-have: the free Inca update more than makes up for it if you can't spare the money to purchase the DLC!
Yet, from what we've seen of it, we can't help but shake the feeling that Europa Universalis 4: Winds of Change will be instrumental in elevating the base game to unprecedented heights. With hundreds upon hundreds of good changes and exciting new features, there's not much more an EU4 player could ask for.
So, stay tuned and strap right in: May 8 is close now, and we can't wait to jump right into Winds of Change on day one.
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