This probably says a lot about the psychology of achievements but since I heard that Stellaris only awards achievements on ironman I've been thinking about playing that mode for my first run. Normally in these games I never play ironman to ward myself from fuckups due to not understanding the game fully and bugs. However tying all achievements to this mode sends a clear message: if its not in this mode it doesn't count.

I like my first runs of these games to have a proper narrative which Stellaris more than most is perfect for. Wrinkle is if a single locked save that narrative can easily become "and then they overspent on fleet upkeep and never fully recovered the end". While I totally get the appeal of even that being the arc of your faction I feel like the first run is special and having it go out like that is a bit of a bummer.

I'm pretty decent at games like these but that said that has always been with the ability to reload a save. Is Stellaris the kind of game where things can go unrecoverably bad if you don't know the system?

Typing this out makes me realise I don't think I'd have as much fun in an ironman run even with the shame of the devs hanging over normal mode.

When you did your first game of Stellaris did you do ironman and without spoilers (I am trying to go in blind either way) how did it go? What are the odds of a freshfaced run ending in a win condition?

As a second point what do you think of my assessment of how crazy achievements have made me. Would any of you ever consider playing a different way than what you'd normally do because of it? I'm nuts for not just playing on normal aren't I?

Edit: If I want people to give me a proper assessment I'd better lay out my start:

Pacifist/materialist/xenophiles (goal: become The federation basically. Aiming for the dominant victory condition rather than exterminate). Warp drive ftl. 1000 stars. 4 arm spiral (I know this can make expanding tougher but I want to "simulate" the milky way) Max civilizations (although not sure if I should put this on max or leave at the default). Everything else normal (Ai aggressiveness/difficulty at normal)

My first run was on normal but I was able to fully grasp the systems after about an hour. If I was able to experience this game again for the first time I would definitely go for an ironman run, just be sure to maintain your navy or make friends with your neighbors. For your FTL speed type I would recommend the wormhole. Your faction typically can't be wiped out in a single war so if your first one doesn't go your way you will have ample time to learn from mistakes and recover.

@the_tribunal: Hmm that's encouraging. My faction is pacifist though so I'd be avoiding wars as much as possible anyway. Did you ever need to load a save to avoid disaster or change an outcome? Be honest haha.

Edit: actually if I want people to give me a proper assessment I'd better lay out my start:

Pacifist/materialist/xenophiles (goal: become The federation basically. Aiming for the dominant victory condition rather than exterminate). Warp drive ftl. 1000 stars. 4 arm spiral (I know this can make expanding tougher but I want to "simulate" the milky way) Max civilizations (although not sure if I should put this on max or leave at the default). Everything else normal (Ai aggressiveness/difficulty at normal)

There are some things that happen later in the game that have the potential to quickly change the entire landscape of the universe or even end your campaign depending on the status of your empire at the time and RNG. This has a lot to do with how bad the AI is. I got to a point where I had to restart because I had taken my empire in a certain direction that wasn't appropriate for directly dealing with the event. Plus the other AI empires were so dumb, that didn't really help things either. It was pretty frustrating, in my next game I ended up using a mod that disabled that event entirely.

@mike: Bummer. That's exactly why I like to have a older saves. I suppose in a sense its save-scumming but I feel like sometimes its just evening the odds. Have you done your subsequent playthroughs on normal or ironman and how did they go?

If you don't already know how combat works in these games you're most likely gonna fuck up to the point where you're screwed, but playing on normal might help with that. I haven't really played on anything other than insane since 1.1 dropped so I can't say for sure how it is on lower levels, but it made the AI much less of a floppy fish waiting to get stomped on.

I could give you some tips as far as your starting setup, but you said you wanted to go in blind, so... All I'll say is that there are many factors other than your starting choices that will significantly affect how your game will play out.

Also, as a side note, I've been playing a fair amount of ironman lately for the achievements, but I found that the constant auto-saving made the game slow down way too much for my taste.

@ares42: Haha thanks. Yeah I know how silly it is to basically ask for advice but want zero detail. I'm leaning towards normal for my first run. I can forsee myself playing this game more than once easilyyyyyy.

@mike Supposedly the AI has been improved in the latest patch.

I haven't started the game yet but i'm sure my first campaign will end horribly like they all do!

@hayt: Have you played Paradox games before? Stellaris has this issue less than previous games but it still has a bunch of ways that completely turn game around without you necessarily making a mistake. As long as you are ok with losing or (more likely) feeling like you lost while the game is still technically active then go for it but I'd say you have pretty small chance of getting a win in your very first campaign.

@twigger89: played a bunch of Ck2 but never got what you'd call a win in that game. More played it to tell stories if that makes sense? My goals in empire building games like Stellaris are different enough that I think normal is for me. Out the gate anyway.

@hayt:I assumed you meant the actual victory conditions for Stellaris, if that is the case than I think you will be disappointed. If you are asking whether you will enjoy playing ironman blind secure in the knowledge that you will most likely lose than yeah it'll still be fun.

@hayt: The event he is referring to is unavoidable unless you have a mod. It is the end game.

Extremely. Do it, and hey, have fun.

@hayt: Tell you what, I'll leave some tips behind a spoiler here, so you can read it when you've played some games or whenever you want.