ENDLESS™ Space 2 - Vaulters Review Summary

Vaulters offer unique fun with portal fast travel, and pirate diplomacy adds depth, though unbalanced pirates and overpriced DLC undermine the experience.

Vaulters are fun and unique: Multiple reviews highlight the Vaulters as an enjoyable, unique faction with excellent design and playstyle. They are also considered very new-player friendly, making them a great pick for beginners.

DLC is highly praised: The expansion is considered one of the best DLCs, adding a lot of fun and content to the base game. Reviewers appreciate the new faction, pirates, and additional features that fill gaps in the game.

Pirate diplomacy adds depth: The addition of pirate diplomacy is praised for adding a new layer of strategy and spice to the game. Players enjoy negotiating with pirates, hiring them, and using them to attack enemies.

Portal ability enables fast travel: The Vaulters' portal ability allows instant travel across the galaxy, making it easy to cover vast distances and manage far-flung territories. This is a key feature that enhances their mobility and strategic options.

Vaulters are very strong: The Vaulters are described as very strong and flexible, with immense defense power and science bonuses that allow them to outpace other factions. They are considered formidable foes and an awesome race.

Pirates are unbalanced: Pirate mechanics are inconsistent: they are either too powerful early or too weak later, and their actions are not deep. The cost and effectiveness of pirate diplomacy are also problematic.

DLC overpriced for content: Multiple reviewers state the DLC is overpriced relative to the content, which is seen as a single faction pack rather than a true expansion. The small file size and lack of major mechanics reinforce this perception.

Vaulters expansion is slow: The Vaulters' expansion is slow and expensive because only the mothership can colonize and must recharge, making colonization tedious. This is frustrating when systems are stolen.

DLC adds only one race: The DLC is criticized for adding only one race, the Vaulters, compared to four in the original Endless Space DLC. This is seen as insufficient and a mere civ pack.

Game-breaking bugs occur: The DLC can corrupt game files, cause turn-stuck issues, and make saves unplayable, forcing reloads or losing progress. These bugs severely impact the experience.

Vaulters use unique portal colonization: The Vaulters have a distinctive colonization system based on a legacy colony ship and portals, allowing rapid expansion and instant travel between systems. This sets them apart from other factions in the game.

Pirate diplomacy adds negotiation options: The expansion introduces pirate diplomacy, allowing players to negotiate with pirates using money or influence, hire them for contracts, or fight them. This adds a new layer of strategic interaction with neutral factions.

Portals enable instant fleet movement: Portals function as wormholes, allowing ships to jump instantly between systems within a single turn once built. This provides a significant strategic advantage for the Vaulters in terms of mobility and defense.

Pirates can be bribed: Players can buy black marks to turn pirates against specific opponents, effectively using them as a tool for harassment. This adds a diplomatic and covert option for dealing with rivals.

Vaulters focus on science: The Vaulters are a science-based race with a defensive playstyle, emphasizing research and technological advancement. This makes them suitable for players who prefer a more methodical approach.

Bugs cause unplayable saves: Players report that bugs can make a save file unplayable, and the game becomes unplayable around turn 140. This suggests a critical progression-blocking issue.

Alliance system causes bugs: The new alliance system triggers bugs and can cause the game to get stuck. This is a specific feature-related issue that disrupts gameplay.

Client stability issues: Players mention that the client had issues, indicating general stability problems beyond specific in-game bugs. This may affect overall user experience.

DLC is worth buying: Multiple reviewers strongly recommend the DLC, stating it is worth the price and provides good value for the content offered. The consensus is that the purchase is justified.

Recommended for franchise fans: The DLC is recommended for fans of Endless Space and Endless Legend, as well as for players who already enjoy Endless Space 2. It is seen as a natural addition for existing fans.

Essential for Endless Space 2: Some reviewers consider this DLC essential, noting that without it, the base game feels very empty. It is highlighted as the only DLC for Endless Space 2 that is truly needed.

Buy on sale or full price: While some reviewers recommend waiting for a sale, others state it is worth the full price. The price is generally considered not excessive for the content provided.

Recommended despite minor issues: The DLC is recommended even with some stability issues, as the pirate diplomacy mechanic is not bad enough to hurt the game. The overall experience remains positive.

Community fair range: $15.00 - $25.00.

The Vaulters faction is enjoyable from the start, with early game options like pirate diplomacy and a powerful colony ship. The faction also enhances late game fun, but no early friction is reported.

Devoted Endless Fan: Immersive, story-driven, exploring faction identity and meta-universe connections. Motivation: To continue the Endless universe lore and experience the Vaulters' story. Stance: buy.

Strategic Optimizer: Analytical, planning-focused, optimizing faction strengths for large maps and long games. Motivation: To master the Vaulters' unique mechanics and achieve late-game superiority. Stance: buy.

Cautious Pragmatist: Cautious, reloading to avoid bugs, attentive to mechanics and costs. Motivation: To enjoy the new content despite technical flaws and additional costs. Stance: sale.

Monetization: The review discusses the Vaulters DLC for Endless Space 2, with mixed opinions on its price. There is no mention of microtransactions, loot boxes, pay-to-win mechanics, or any real-money in-game purchases. The only negative is a complaint about the DLC's cost, which is a base price issue, not predatory monetization.

Vaulters are returning franchise favorites: The Vaulters are a well-known faction from previous Endless games, including Endless Legend and Endless Space 1. Reviewers frequently compare their portrayal and mechanics to these earlier iterations.

Lore connects to Endless Legend: The Vaulters' storyline is a direct continuation from Endless Legend, following their narrative events and survival from the ice planet Auriga. This deepens the connection between the two games.

Amplitude provides continuous support: The developer Amplitude is praised for continuous patches, free content updates, and community additions. Reviewers appreciate the ongoing support and balance changes.

Price considered too high: Some reviewers feel the DLC is overpriced for its content, comparing it unfavorably to Paradox DLC policy. Others note it is worth the small price and not required.

Game compared to other strategy titles: Reviewers compare the game to Endless Legend and Endless Space 1, noting similarities in traits and gameplay. One review compares pirate diplomacy to Civ VII's barbarians.