On Nov.11, the latest DLC (downloadable content) for “Europa Universalis IV” by Paradox Interactive was released– “Europa Universalis IV: Origins.” “Origins” is classified as an immersion pack, meaning that it adds new detail and flavor to the game rather than new mechanics. “Origins” focuses on the long-neglected continent of Africa and is available on online retailers for $9.99.

“Origins” is the EU4 DLC, which finally makes it fun to play in Africa with the immersion, detail and flavor it adds to the countries there. While it doesn’t add much outside of Africa, it is now a must-have if players intend to play a nation in Africa. 

The main thing “Origins” adds is 16 new mission trees for various African nations, specifically seven big mission trees for major countries, five smaller trees for smaller states and four regional missions, which are applied to nations in that region which don’t have anything else. 

Other features available are more depth to the Jewish faith, new army sprites (3-D models which appear on the map), two missionary sprites and 24 minutes of new music. 

The release of “Origins” was also accompanied by a free update, which added 52 new monuments (only available if players own the “Leviathan” DLC), a rework to the concentrate develop feature (also available only with “Leviathan”), adjusted Catholic Curia powers, overhauled technologies and new formable nations in Africa, such as Nubia and Somalia.

In “EU4,” mission trees are requirements players have to meet to get certain bonuses, such as positive modifiers or claims on lands. Once a player completes said mission, the player gets access to more missions. Having a specialized mission tree for a nation makes playing the game so much more fun as players will feel they have something for which to work and a path to follow. 

While some of the nations which were given mission trees in “Origins” did have them previously, such as Ethiopia, the new mission trees given are exponentially more detailed and fun to complete. 

The regional missions trees (the mission trees which are given to any nation in said region without its own mission tree) do sometimes give the player claims, which don’t fit well with that player’s nation specifically, such as claims on land which is hard to reach. However, these claims still are significantly better than the generic missions given to any nation in every part of the world which don’t have a tree. 

The other features added in “Origins” are also nice additions, which help to better immerse the players in the African continent. While the Jewish faith is one that is never very prominent and often not even on the map in “EU4,” it still is nice to see it more fleshed out.

Compared to the last “EU4” DLC, “Leviathan,” “Origins” was not accompanied by nearly as many bugs like the ones that made “Leviathan” so unplayable. Any issues that did exist were very quickly fixed with an update four days later.

While it is promising to see fewer glitches with the release of “Origins,” players also have to take into account just how much less complex this DLC was.