Aquatic pack - worth in 2024 ?

[Tamandua]

Basically I am debating what pack should I buy since I got some money to spare and it seems Aquatic pack is suggested alot on other sources, but what a better way to get advice than on this forum, people on here seem to play the game alot.

Do you think Aquatic pack still holds at this time, when there are so many other packs? I am slightly interest in the otter. Penguins not so much, since I already have 2 from Oceania and Africa. The plants and pieces from this pack look very good, but are there any that are more useful in later packs? I only want to buy one pack, so I am sorry if I am overthinking it. For reference, the packs I currently have are South America, Africa, Twillight, Tropical, Oceania and from animal packs I have Arid, Eurasia and Southeast Asia.

Thanks alot.

 

[Hinvolur]

The faux rock pieces are probably some of the best pieces in the game.

 

[NachoB]

Yes. It is. Faux rocks and roots, proper Aquatic plants. Wood and metal pieces great for any building theme. The seal is one of the most endearing animals in the game. Sure You have the small clawed otter but you get another larger SouthAmerican species and the penguin is the only polar one in the game and quite different from the other two species.

 

[Captain Callum]

The aquatic pack minus the animals is still one of the strongest sets of scenery items. You get the only faux rocks and faux log sets in the game allowing much nicer rock walls and details in your habitats than the base game rock sets. The plants are also a great addition which brings life to the bottom of aquatic habitats, ponds, lakes etc with the variety of underwater plants, grass and ground cover. Pair both faux rocks and underwater plants for very realistic natural water areas. In addition to the foliage, the stained wood wall is still among the strongest in the game as vertical wooden walls are a very common building material in zoo buildings, you can rotate the non grid walls to get horizontal wood walls as well.

The animals however are only good if you like the animals, giant otter and the caiman are good for tropical aquatic habitats and the grey seal and king penguin are good for cold weather habitats but in my opinion, other packs do it better with the animal selection. The aquatic pack is still highly recommended due to the scenery pieces over the animals these days as the base game animals can deep dive regardless which was the original draw to the aquatic pack.

 

[Marvinb]

For me personally the Aquatic pack lost alot of relevancy over the years. I mean the scenery set is still one of the better ones to this day and the faux rocks a great, but the animals are a mixed bag for me. They are all nice to have, but do have good alternatives that i like more in other packs like the small clawed otter, sea lion and african penguin.
In the end its for everyone to deceide on their own which packs are worth getting and which are not.

If you are on a budget i might suggest waiting a little, the next dlc should be announced in the very near future. Maybe that one will be more to your liking.

 

[FoxyDee]

To be honest, it is one of the best DLC in regards of building pieces. The faux rocks and trees are a must have. I cannot imagine the game without them now. As others have stated the animals have other alternatives that you may or may not like more.

Looking at your owned packs, you have 2 penguins, but you could still use an otter, pinniped and caiman, so it would probably still enrich your animal roster alot.

 

[RightWhale]

If you are like me you want every animal so you get every pack. I don’t like not having every species, and this pack has some very cool animals.

I’ll agree with everyone else, the scenery is worth it. Though the pack as a whole has become a bit redundant as time has gone on. So the choice is up to you, I’ll just highlight what I like about aquatic even if it hasn’t aged as well:

1. The king penguin is the most “penguin” of all the penguin species. It is still the only Antarctic native species in game.
2. The grey seal is another cool pinniped for NA, and of course a European staple. Also the only turtle species in game is in this pack
3. Two good South American animals, being the giant otter and dwarf caiman. While admittedly very niche, SA needs all the reps it can take.
4. The faux rocks and plants are awesome, you will get a ton of mileage out of them.
5. Admittedly a niche want for this pack, but if you ever want an “aquarium in Planet Zoo” this pack has some very useful animals and especially scenery. One of the wall decorations is this thing of fish and it is literally perfect if you want to build an aquarium.

 

[Aramar]

As said above by others, the faux rocks and the flexicolour wood set are great. The foliage of the pack is good too. I'm not sure if the waterfalls are part of the pack or the free update, but I can't live without them.

For the animals, I like the exhibit terrapin, and the way grey seals "walk" is so funny.

So I would recommend getting the aquatic pack!

 

[Orkan]

Aquatic pack is very useful, but if it’s just the animals you’re after I cannot recommend Grasslands enough. But honestly even I don’t use aquatic animals a lot but I still use the parts quite frequently.

 

[Iben]

The plants and pieces from this pack look very good, but are there any that are more useful in later packs?

Okay, I know my opinion is a bit controversial, but yes, I think that other packs are more worth it in terms of scenery if you are really looking into heavy detailed builds.

The Aquatic pack currently only has two sets of scenery that are really worth it. The stained wood panels that are flexicolor and the faux rock/tree pieces. Those are the really big standouts in terms of scenery. It's one of those things that you can live without for a while but at the end of the day you'll just need it if you want to build a proper zoo. The majority of the other stuff is usefull, but is either repetitive or has better alternatives in other packs. (The Twilight Roof pieces have less flexicolor options but look better because the lines aren't messed up for instance)

That being said, if you are looking for a pack that comes with a lot more pieces in all kinds of sizes and shapes, and all flexicolor; I would say that the combination Europe/Twilight is going to give you a hell of a lot more to work with instead. Twilight isn't necessary right away, but is like the cherry on top if you buy the Europe pack. The Europe/Tropical/Africa pack combo is a must have for any serious builder really, whilst you can still get a away without the Aquatic for a while.

In terms of animals, Wetlands and Grasslands both will offer you more animals and more common zoo animals. If you're really into getting more aquatic animals then honestly Wetlands in combination with North America just gives you far more common zoo aquatic animals than the Aquatic pack does.

For it's time, it was a very good and revolutionary pack, but nowadays I think there's better packs out there that can give you more versatile and a bigger range of both pieces and animals.It's still a pack that I'd advise getting, because it's still a really good pack, I just think that you're going to get more enjoyment out of getting packs like Wetlands, North America, Grasslands and Europe/Twilight instead so I advise getting those first.

 

[DarthQuell]

A common misconception is that you need the Aquatic pack to have deep diving mechanics. That's NOT true, the game already has it. The pack, however, does have semi-aquatic animals. Each one is quite nice on its own, especially the giant otters and the dwarf caimans, but, as the years went by, we got better alternatives.

However, the theme is fantastic. The faux rocks are extremely versatile and great to use in any enclosure, especially since they're flexicolor and can be recolored to match any style. I'd say that the rocks alone are worth it

 

[Veah]

Basically I am debating what pack should I buy since I got some money to spare and it seems Aquatic pack is suggested alot on other sources, but what a better way to get advice than on this forum, people on here seem to play the game alot.

If you come by the Planet Zoo Awards thread in this forum (maybe you say so because you already did it), you will certainly find that the Aquatic pack is frequently voted in different categories among the best scenery DLCs and I would be surprised if it doesn't reach the final phase.

 

[Tamandua]

Thanks everyone that took time to answer my question. I really appreciate it.

Okay, I know my opinion is a bit controversial, but yes, I think that other packs are more worth it in terms of scenery if you are really looking into heavy detailed builds.

The Aquatic pack currently only has two sets of scenery that are really worth it. The stained wood panels that are flexicolor and the faux rock/tree pieces. Those are the really big standouts in terms of scenery. It's one of those things that you can live without for a while but at the end of the day you'll just need it if you want to build a proper zoo. The majority of the other stuff is usefull, but is either repetitive or has better alternatives in other packs. (The Twilight Roof pieces have less flexicolor options but look better because the lines aren't messed up for instance)

That being said, if you are looking for a pack that comes with a lot more pieces in all kinds of sizes and shapes, and all flexicolor; I would say that the combination Europe/Twilight is going to give you a hell of a lot more to work with instead. Twilight isn't necessary right away, but is like the cherry on top if you buy the Europe pack. The Europe/Tropical/Africa pack combo is a must have for any serious builder really, whilst you can still get a away without the Aquatic for a while.

In terms of animals, Wetlands and Grasslands both will offer you more animals and more common zoo animals. If you're really into getting more aquatic animals then honestly Wetlands in combination with North America just gives you far more common zoo aquatic animals than the Aquatic pack does.

For it's time, it was a very good and revolutionary pack, but nowadays I think there's better packs out there that can give you more versatile and a bigger range of both pieces and animals.It's still a pack that I'd advise getting, because it's still a really good pack, I just think that you're going to get more enjoyment out of getting packs like Wetlands, North America, Grasslands and Europe/Twilight instead so I advise getting those first.

Thank you very much for your thoughts! I will definetely consider Wetlands/Grasslands for my next purchase.