Best traditional expansion pack? (no DLC garbage please)

[luj1]

I'm thinking probably Lord of Destruction

New classes, a new act that fits in seamlessly, new mechanics that greatly expand gameplay (charms, runewords), a new tier of items (Elite), etc.

It was just a full package.

And let us stick to a time when mighty Expansion Packs existed, not these shitty DLCs

 

[rumSaint]

LoD was great, but it was actually patches that made game great, especially 1.09 and 1.10 (which added synergies I think). Otherwise it was mostly "get to lvl 30 to get strongest skill".

What about Armaggedon's Blade and Shadow of Death for HoMM3? I cannot imagine playing the game without them.

Broodwar was also awesome. Tons of new units and really great plotwise.

 

[octavius]

LoD was great, but I detest those accursed Runewords that make a mockery of every Rare and most Unique items. And every bleeping build guide is centered around them.

Armaggedon's Blade and Shadow of Death for HoMM3 too were great, mostly for the added monsters, items, abilities and more powerful map editor, but the campaign maps could usually be completed easily by blitzing.

Tales of the Sword Coast deserves a mention for Durlag's Tower.

 

[Tyranicon]

Broodwar, Lord of Destruction, Tiberian Sun: Firestorm, BG2: Throne of Bhaal, basically any sequel they couldn't be bothered to sell a completely new game for.

Shivering Isles is probably better than the base game, but it's Oblivion so it's no high bar.

 

[Cyberarmy]

I love Gothic 2 Night of the Raven. Then follows with these

Broodwar, Lord of Destruction, Tiberian Sun: Firestorm, BG2: Throne of Bhaal, basically any sequel they couldn't be bothered to sell a completely new game for.

 

[Fedora Master]

Medieval 2: Kingdoms

 

[Gregz]

World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade
EverQuest: The Scars of Velious

Don't care if MMORPGs don't count.

 

[Damned Registrations]

I think Btoodwar does it for me. It wasn't just that it had new units, the units were really, really fucking cool. Dark templar/archons, corsairs, medics and lurkers were all really interesting units. Valkyries and Devourers felt a bit meh, but both had some cool mechanics as well.

Also, the Sonic & Knuckles cart for Genesis was mind blowing for me back in the day. That was some cool shit.

 

[Ezekiel]

Also, the Sonic & Knuckles cart for Genesis was mind blowing for me back in the day. That was some cool shit.

I don't think it counts. Sonic 3 & Knuckles should just be called Sonic the Hedgehog 3, because that first cartridge felt almost like half a game or 70 percent after 2.

 

[Odoryuk]

Bloodborne's The Old Hunters, of course

 

[Ezekiel]

Bloodborne's The Old Hunters, of course

FromSoftware DLC should be separated from the main story. Have us access it from the menu. It's always too long, hurting the sense of urgency, making the protagonists look like they forgot about their original goals. Also potentially overpowers them for the latter half of the story.

 

[Hag]

AoE2 : Conquerors. I mean, it brought automated farm renewal.

 

[SlamDunk]

Best I've played is Gothic II: Night of the Raven.

A prime example of how an expansion pack or add-on should be made.

 

[Average Manatee]

Can we count stand alone expansions? If so then there's Guild Wars (Nightfall, Factions), Shogun 2 FotS, Mechwarrior 2: Mercenaries.

 

[luj1]

Factions was pretty good

 

[KörangarTheMighty]

Mask of the Betrayer is somewhere up there. I really liked Heart of Winter, but it's not as essential as some of the others like LoD or ToB.

 

[Dreed]

Mask of the Betrayer for NWN 2

 

[3 others]

What's the difference between a prestigious expansion pack like TIE Fighter: Defender of the Empire and stinky pleb DLC like Suzerain - Kingdom of Rizia, apart from delivery media?

 

[Saint_Proverbius]

And let us stick to a time when mighty Expansion Packs existed, not these shitty DLCs

Total Annihilation: The Core Contingency. It added 12 new missions per side, hovercraft, seaplanes, and so on. It added the Core version of Godzilla, the Krogoth. It added high rate of fire long range artillery. Lots of new maps for Skirmish mode including new water worlds for the new units.

 

[Glop_dweller]

The expansions for Dawn of War included new armies, and a new campaign, and the multiplayer use of each of the armies present in the other installed expansions.
DarkCrusade [DoW] included new gameplay.

 

[Valestein]

Half-Life: Opposing Force.
Red Alert 2: Yuri's Revenge.

 

[King Crispy]

 

[mediocrepoet]

Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen. Yeah it was a console release, but it provided the best content in the game and raised an interesting but unfinished and flawed title up to the level of classic.

PC stuff... not sure about the best, but surely NWN2 MotB deserves a mention. It introduced a unique and weird setting and had a memorable narrative and dialogues after the banality of the OC.

 

[Valestein]

Also, the Sonic & Knuckles cart for Genesis was mind blowing for me back in the day. That was some cool shit.

I don't think it counts. Sonic 3 & Knuckles should just be called Sonic the Hedgehog 3, because that first cartridge felt almost like half a game or 70 percent after 2.

It provided some extra stuff too, like being able to play as Knuckles in Sonic 2.

 

[Beans00]

bg1 -> TOTSC
aoe2 -> the conquerors
red alert 1 -> both expansions were good(counterstrike and aftermath)
starcraft -> brood war
aoe1 -> rise of rome
ra2 & tib sun -> yuri and firestorm
exp packs for battlefield 2142,2,1942

Mixed feelings on TOB(bg2) and LoD(diablo 2). I like the changes both brought to the game but I'm not a fan of the actual content.

In my experience, most expansion packs for FPS games usually suck. Since it's usually just an excuse to stick overly convoluted levels into the game. There's some exceptions, of course.