The Blackangel Posted January 25, 2021 Share Posted January 25, 2021 I should give my definition of the difference between the two, as I'm sure there are people here who will say they are the same thing. To me a DLC is something released by the company that published the game. Extra levels/challenges, new weapons, new worlds to explore, etc. A mod is something made by fans of the game and isn't something recognized or licensed by the publisher. So the question here, is which is better and/or preferred? Me personally I prefer DLC's because it feels more like it's how the game is supposed to be. I don't mean lootboxes or microtransactions. For the purposes of this post, those don't exist. Mods in my eyes, are people making a game be what they want it to be instead of playing the game as the developer intended/designed it to be played. Would anyone here really enjoy an invincibility mod in Skyrim/CoD/Witcher/RDR2 and so on? I highly doubt it, but I'm sure there's someone out there that has written that mod. I know some mods are used to increase the difficulty, and those I can respect. if you get too good at a game you get bored with it and don't want to play it anymore. But if you can increase the difficulty, then you either stay interested, or get interested again. Increased difficulty can make you feel like a n00b again. But either way, I still prefer the DLC's as per my definition of the two. Where do you all stand on this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
staticradio725 Posted January 25, 2021 Share Posted January 25, 2021 Personally, for me and my life situation, I prefer mods to DLCs. Why? First of all, as far as DLCs go, a lot of them always felt to me like the game company was just trying to milk more money out of the customers. It's like, rather than buying a whole sandwich, like you used to, now you have to buy all the ingredients separately. I've seen so many DLCs that really should have just been included in the vanilla release of the game, but weren't. Why? Ker-ching, that's why. Secondly, I'm what you might call "financially challenged". I can't afford to buy DLCs the vast majority of the time. I can't even afford to buy new games most of the time. So what do you do when you've played the same game for nearly 1000 hours and you're bored with it, but you can't afford to buy any new games? You mod it. You mod it until it doesn't even look like the same game anymore. You mod it until it breaks, and then you really do have to buy a new game. Besides, even if something doesn't really "fit" with the lore or the feel of a game, that doesn't necessarily mean it's not fun or worthwhile. I'm sure Bethesda would never have released a DLC to make all the dragons in Skyrim sound like Macho Man Randy Savage, but that mod gave me endless hours of entertainment nonetheless. 😄 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kane99 Posted January 25, 2021 Share Posted January 25, 2021 Really depends on the game. If it's a story driven game, I often would like to see a continuation or a new storyline to go along with it. So DLCs are nice for that. But, DLCs can also add new clothing items, new weapons etc. Usually this stuff is paid for, unless it's free, which is sometimes the case. As for mods, those are more community based, though developers of the game can certainly add their own mods if they so desire. Mods tend to be free for the most part, but some places sell mods similarly like DLC. Mods also give you a lot more freedom, which is what I like, as you can add new textures, maps, items, characters, character models, etc. So much can be done. But with DLC, there's probably rules they have to follow, especially if it's being listed for sale in a marketplace. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Withywarlock Posted January 25, 2021 Share Posted January 25, 2021 (edited) I should explain that I didn't get into PC gaming proper until 2014, so I had zero experience with mods for the longest time. Because of this I guess I'm rather 'old fashioned' in some respect, as I'm used to the only additional content or fixes being provided by official sources. Up until recently I hadn't even bothered with recommended or essential mods, preferring not to muck around with the load orders, opening local files and following steps to install things. That said, I speak in defence of modders whenever their ability to change a game that in no way affects anyone else is compromised, and if the devs or publisher aren't going to capitalise on the freedom modders have, I have no sympathy for first parties saying what people can and can't do with their own copy of a game. As I'm becoming more comfortable with the use of third party fixes and cheat engines, I may well end up using mods more liberally. Perhaps The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim really can be a significantly better game with mods, even if I've seen everything it has to offer. I can't really know until I try it for myself. ^^ Edited January 25, 2021 by Withywarlock Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrik Posted January 25, 2021 Share Posted January 25, 2021 I prefer DLC's only when they are meant for expansion, something that most of the mods aren't perfect for (because they might lack lot of things that the game has), mods are usually a lot of fun, but only when they are replacing something Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
killamch89 Posted January 26, 2021 Share Posted January 26, 2021 9 hours ago, Withywarlock said: I should explain that I didn't get into PC gaming proper until 2014, so I had zero experience with mods for the longest time. Because of this I guess I'm rather 'old fashioned' in some respect, as I'm used to the only additional content or fixes being provided by official sources. Up until recently I hadn't even bothered with recommended or essential mods, preferring not to muck around with the load orders, opening local files and following steps to install things. That said, I speak in defence of modders whenever their ability to change a game that in no way affects anyone else is compromised, and if the devs or publisher aren't going to capitalise on the freedom modders have, I have no sympathy for first parties saying what people can and can't do with their own copy of a game. As I'm becoming more comfortable with the use of third party fixes and cheat engines, I may well end up using mods more liberally. Perhaps The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim really can be a significantly better game with mods, even if I've seen everything it has to offer. I can't really know until I try it for myself. ^^ Also, just to add, it was modders who created patches to fix the numerous bugs in Skyrim so that the game is at least playable and functions how Bethesda has intended. The Mods in Skyrim are so varied and unique that you can create nearly endless amounts of playthroughs depending on your combination of mods. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skyfire Posted January 27, 2021 Share Posted January 27, 2021 I think if you want new content then DLCs are something you would look forward to. And once the game development stagnates you would open up to community for the mods to play old game in new ways. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Empire Posted January 27, 2021 Share Posted January 27, 2021 Additional content and DLC is not a "modification" of what defines the game (engine, assets). Mods, at least from what I've played on the PC, generally fundamentally change the way the game originally was intended to function, be it small or huge. I suppose it could go either way. There are graphical mods, huge overhauls, that don't really change the game aside from superficial levels. But there are some that are entire game-changers. So yes and no, but I'd tend to go with "no" if we're speaking of simple DLC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m76 Posted January 27, 2021 Share Posted January 27, 2021 DLCs are expansions you buy for money, while mods are fan created fixes, modifications for games to make them better. I don't even understand why is this an either or question? I like both, when they are well done. The biggest advantage of mods that they are made by individuals who are enthusiastic about something, and they don't care about how popular their mod will be, they just want something in their game. So mods are great to fulfill niche interests. Meaning they are not catered towards the lowest common denominator. They aim to make a few people very happy, who want the same thing out of a game. So in a way a game can never be as good as with mods out of the box, because one man's dream might be another's nightmare and vice versa. By my rambling you probably already can see that I love mods, they are a gift from the heavens, that can make otherwise average games shine much brighter. I'm a simple guy, and even some simple mods can give me a lot of joy. That said, I don't like story/gameplay altering mods that fundamentally change how a game plays. But everything else, audio swaps, graphics upgrades, cosmetics especially cosmetics are great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
