From best:
1. Southeast Asia Animal pack
I like build alot asian and tropical zoos (but I am from Europe. So this one is still my favourite DLC, yes it has bugged Clouded leopard (but our awesome community manager Lydiah promised to take this issue to the devs, so I hope it will be fixed soon.) but I really like alot of unusual animals and niche animals, so this is perfect pack for me. It was my first ever bought DLC and it is still my favourite one.
2. Tropical pack
I told you this will be controversial. Maybe some people do not like second Gibbon and Asian Water monitor but I welcome them both, I love primates and would welcome any more and this scenery pieces are perfect to complement with my favourite Southeast Asia Pack. Red River Hog, Fossa and Sloth are also very welcome species.
3. Wetlands animal pack
I very like Asian Small Claw Otter and Red-Crowned Crane from this pack but also Capybara and Spectacled Caiman give us another south American Species. I only wish we would get Pelican in this.
4. Grasslands animal pack
I also enjoy this pack, all animals are very good quality. Armadillo and maned Wolf are my favourite and the Armadillo is so beautiful! And middle east got finally Striped hyena and Caracal. And the butterflies! Emu is funny
5. Conservation pack
More asian species for me! Siamang and Przewalski Horse is so good! And amur leopard have beautiful coat. Very nice scenery too.
6. South America pack
Weird Anteater and Capuchin Monkey win this pack for me. Scenery in this is very useful for my tropical zoos. I wish we had more plants.
7. Aquatic pack
In this I love the scenery, I think we need much more like these fake rocks and trees. Very zoo-theme. And intoduced alot of great plants. For animals I like all, but mostly Giant Otter.
8. Africa pack
Very cute small animals and rhino. Nothing species for me, but make alot of people happy from what I read.
9. North America animal pack
Again very nice animals I use Panthers and Alligators and sea lions very often.
10. Twillight Pack
Wombat is very cute and the Racoon? It could have more fluff but is very nice. I like Bats very much!
11. Australia pack
I like the Cassowary and Dingo. I think Koala might use a rework, I think their fur does not look like real, because it is so dark? I am not sure about this.
12. Arctic pack
I only use Polar Bear mostly, but it is just personal opinion because I build mostly tropical zoos, so this is not very useful for me, but good for people who build in Europe I think?
13. Europe Pack
Same reason, I do not use these animals because I do not like to buid in Europe, but it is just personal opinion.
14. Deluxe Pack
I will tell you, I bought this just last sale, because I wanted very much just Komodo Dragon, they are very majestic and top predator (they eat goats alive though:-(). I think if Frontier added more animals, like 2 more it would be worth full price, but I say wait for sale on this one. I still like it, because I want all animals. But if Frontier added to it maybe like American Flamingo and American Black Bear, it would be perfect.
I'm not going to rank them all, but I do think it's harder to rank them now than before. The reason I say that is that animals that were sorely missed in some packs have shown up in others, making their initial exclusion not as big of a negative towards the initial pack they could have gone in. Example: no Capybara (or sloth now) in the South American pack, but included now, so their absence is no longer felt. Although I'd have to say that the major "missing" animals for South America and Australia have now been added for the most part, and the packs now fare much better for it.
Still...I rank the SEA pack lowest simply because of the (to me) overall weak lineup offered. It had a lot of oddball choices, and only one main want for me, the Clouded Leopard. Not that there aren't others that are great, but half the pack I rarely use.
My top three remain the same as they have since release; North America Animal Pack, Africa Pack (these two have the strongest rosters of any of the packs, IMO), and the Australia Pack. And with what we've gotten, I can't think of another full roster for a pack that would beat the NA and Africa pack's rosters. Sure, maybe on an animal by animal basis, but overall not so much. Even birds, I'd love an all bird pack, but it still wouldn't compete with the NA and Africa packs rosters filling in so many missing species that, for the most part, were absolutely needed.
North America
My favorite DLC so far. The reason why I love the North animal pack is because it added so many key animals from North America (I originally assumed they were from Africa. Who knew?!) Maybe a bit biased, but 4 of the species in this pack were exactly what I needed for a local species zoo:
American alligator - a reptile I see quite often. Seeing a gator always makes me excited, so now I can recreate that excitement and bring them to the Planet ZOO swamps
North American beaver - I've only ever seen one, but I've seen their work before: in the farm, they dammed up a creek and made a little pond over the path, so now the trek to the rest of the swamp is kinda blocked. But, it's still really cool to see
Puma - while I've never seen one, the puma is a powerful American cat and has a huge range, from northern United States all the way to Argentina. Having them is great
American bullfrog - a cool species around here I see quite often, so yes
About the other animals:
California sea lion - common in zoos and great vocalizations. They are exciting to have in the game
Black-tailed prairie dog - these are great to represent the North American prairies, to go alongside our larger bison and pronghorns. A great filler/mini animal
Moose - I don't care much for the moose, but just the same it's quite an impressive animal
Arctic fox - my only complaint. I would've so preferred the red fox here or, even better, the gray fox
Wetlands
My 2nd favorite. While I don't use all the animals often, the roster was solid and a great mixture:
Platypus - while not common in international collections, the platypus is an Australian icon, and I remember seeing it in the trailer and was mesmerized. Ironically, I don't use them often, but they are one of my favorites in-game
Nile lechwe - while I've only used it once, the lechwe is really cool and a unique antelope that was 1 out of 2 oddballs. Ironically, the other oddball was more hated and is now more loved, with it being the...
Spectacled caiman - an animal deeply hated by many at 1st, now the caiman is loved and a way better alternative to the Cuvier's dwarf caiman. An apex South American predator that really adds something needed to a lacking continent
Asian small-clawed otter - probably THE most important otter, the ASCO was begged to come, and it does not disappoint. These little guys are adorable to watch
Wild water buffalo - a mix of love and hate, while the animal itself isn't bad, the one people wanted was the domesticated version. But, they are essentially the same thing, so let's give it a pass
Red crowned crane - this is 1 out of 2 birds to arrive in 2022. The crane is my favorite of the pack because it's so versatile. How? Japanese gardens. I can make a Japanese garden in just about any zoo, regardless of country, and it'll make sense. Huh? Huh?
Capybara - I'm not gonna explain all the pros
Danube crested newt - this is a funky newt. That's all I'm gonna say
Grasslands My 3rd favorite. A lot of important animals, I don't think any of them were hated, to be honest:
Maned wolf - up until that point, THE most requested canine AND South American animal at the time. The crimson canine is a beautiful addition to our parks
Blue wildebeest - the other wildebeest species. While I don't care TOO much, the wildebeest is a nice animal to have
Emu - the other bird we got in 2022 AND an important Australian species. Fans were happy
Red-necked wallaby - our cheaper alternative to the red kangaroo. Lovely little jumpers
Striped hyena - a great species and some ZT2 nostalgia
Nine-banded armadillo - our 1st, and only, armadillo. Found throughout the southern United States all the way to Argentina. Desert dweller, grasslands living
Caracal - same a the hyena
Butterflies - while we technically received 5, hey all behave the same. Beautiful animals, with 2 super popular and iconic species: the blue morpho (my favorite) and the monarch. I only wish we had more butterflies in the game
Tropical This is a great pack, if I'm honest, While the animals themselves (except the sloth) don't bring anything new, the choices of species were great:
Fossa - the fossa is the apex predator of Madagascar. Not a cat, not a civet, the fossa is unique and adds to the low roster of Madagascar. Honestly, this practically completed the island, regarding habitat species
Red river hog - an important tropical African species, the RRH is essentially the capybara of Africa: adorable, small, and a friend to all
Asian water monitor - the AWM is the spectacled caiman and blue wildebeest of the pack. Right now, it's generally disliked, but is the better monitor model and it can deep-dive
Lar gibbon - the smaller gibbon with its cute, high-pitched sounds. They also helped in the perfecting the brachiation (maybe)
Brown-throated sloth - a controversial animal. 1st, they are WEs. 2nd, they are the "wrong" species. But, I prefer them as WEs and I don't care what species we get: WE GOT A SLOTH
The build set isn't bad, either. The ancient ruins/temple pieces are quite nice...
South America A great pack to add to the lacking South America roster:
Jaguar - the key apex predator of the Amazon. Jaguars are also my favorite big cat
Giant anteater - our only anteater in the game, the giant anteater is another essential animal for a South American section
Colombian white-faced capuchin - while I would've chosen a different monkey, the capuchin is great. I actually love their loud vocalizations in the game
Llama - a disputed animal, the llama is a great domestic species to have. Unfortunately, they are one of very few domestic animals in-game, so it's a struggle to make a nice barnyard/petting zoo area
Red-eyed tree frog - my favorite frog species that IS found in South America, but in a small area
The build set is amazing, and I frequently use the bamboo pieces in my builds...
Africa The animals, wow. All important in their own ways:
Southern white rhinoceros - we needed an African rhino. We got the most common rhino. That's a win-win
African penguin - while not necessarily the most asked for penguin, the African penguin brought us the warmer-climate penguin we all wanted. But, I think the Humboldt penguin was more asked for, right? Maybe I'm wrong
Fennec fox - probably the most important canine to come from Africa. Also, the 1st fox and an adorable one we all love
Meerkat - an important member, and only member in-game, of the mongoose family. I love these
Sacred scarab beetle - the poop-eating beetle is quite important to Africa and Egyptian culture
The build set is actually very nice, and it's great for the animal choices we have now. Just, the statues don't always fit. That's a recurring thing...
Twilight Interesting pack. Animal choices are actually quite good:
Red fox - while I prefer the gray fox, the red fox kinda filled my want for a better fox species than what we have (although I like the other 2). Also, the colormorphs are beautiful
Common wombat - a key Australian animal. I like these. That's all imma say
Striped skunk - while I like them (they are great for local species), I wouldn't have asked for them. However, they are a nice model and the only member of their kind
Raccoon - the hugely requested raccoon, boosted with movies like Guardians of the Galaxy and in pop culture, such as the phrase "trash panda". I am over the moon that they arrived
Egyptian fruit bat - our 1st WE animals, our 1st, and only, bats. The bats are lovely, the sounds they make so eerily great. With enough bats, you don't even notice the loops
However, I hate the building theme. I don't like the fantasy pieces, and I only use the generic building pieces, like the stone walls... Australia Australia DLC is great. All 5 species are the best choices, if I'm honest:
Dingo - controversial at 1st, considering the lack of Australian animals, but now it's kinda just there. I still like them, though
Red kangaroo - the most iconic Australian animal and important for this area
Koala - same as above, but 2nd most iconic
Southern cassowary - the living velociraptor, these are very cool birds and I love that they were added
Eastern blue-tongue lizard - this is a cool species. Unfortunately, I haven't seen their blue tongues yet
The build set is very nice and flexible. The only reason this is rated lower than Africa is because you need other DLCs to compliment it while the Africa pack is good on its own... Aquatic Very nice DLC, and at the time it was the best:
Giant otter - it was the 1st otter, but the ASCO kinda replaced it as the go-to otter. However, they are great for South American sections
King penguin - our 1st penguin species. These are great, but I rarely use them, now
Grey seal - our 1st pinniped and a great one. North American, Arctic, and European representation
Cuvier's dwarf caiman - while it was a great animal, the spectacled caiman kinda made it obsolete (not really, but the latter is prefered)
Diamondback terrapin - I've seen terrapins all the time, so it's kinda cool we got one. I would've preferred the red-eared slider, but this one isn't bad, either
The beach theme isn't bad, and the natural/faux pieces are amazing...
Europe A great pack with iconic European animals:
European fallow deer - our 3rd deer and the 1st deer-like deer. Lovely for walkthroughs
Alpine ibex - while I rarely use it, this is a great mountainous species to have
Eurasian badger - I love the look of these guys and think that they are great filler animals
European lynx - I don't care too much for them, but the model is nice
Fire salamander - a lovely, toxic species that's well-known throughout the world
The build set is amazing, and I use the rustic pieces often Conservation The animals are actually very good:
Siamang - the animal that brought us brachiation, even though at the time it was only for a set enrichment item. Their vocalizations are wonderful
Przewalski's wild horse - our 2nd horse species and a fantastic animal as it's the last true wild horse
Scimitar horned oryx - our 1st, and only, extinct in the wild animal. It's also great for representing the African deserts
Amur leopard - our last big cat and a key species found in zoos
Axolotl - the coolest amphibian ever, endangered, iconic Mexican representation, and it has many alternate colors, too
The build set is nice, with a lot of great backstage pieces and plants...
Southeast Asia This was the 1st of its kind: an animal pack. And, the pack hits different than the rest. How? Well:
Ussuri dhole - a lovely dog that nobody asked for. The dhole is actually quite nice, but I don't recall anybody asking for it. However, they are great to build Indian sections
North Sulawesi babirusa - a semi-common pig, the babirusa is actually very cool and my favorite of the pack
Malayan tapir - controversial. Yes, we have this tapir species, which was heavily requested. But, the model, while giving off the Malayan tapir look, is inaccurate, made worse for many because it's a literal clone; a recolored Baird's tapir. If this is fixed, then the pack itself will boost to a higher level
Sun bear - a strange, funky bear. I don't recall anybody asking for these, either, but we have them. I actually like them, though, even though I rarely use them
Proboscis monkey - while very cool and a unique, semi-aquatic monkey, they aren't very common in zoos, only found in zoos within their own range. Also, it's a bit harder to accept it considering it's the only tropical Asian monkey
Binturong - very few asked for it. When 1st announced, it had issues: the most inaccurate model. But it was fixed the weekend before release, if I remember correctly. A strange animal to have, but loved nonetheless
Clouded leopard - while a popular cat to have, the clouded leopard, while iconic and important to zoos and the region, suffers from slow motion jumping. This is a big thing that needs updating. Once fixed, if ever, then the pack will boost its level
Giant Malaysian leaf insect - not a bad choice, as they are common zoo animals, the leaf insect is just there. I wouldn't have chosen it, but I'm not against it, either
So, yeah. the 2 bugs/issues with this pack are what's preventing its popularity. If/when these are fixed, then this pack will be on a higher level. Until then, then yeah... Deluxe Ok, weird pack. Apparently, back in 2019, buying this gave players the beta version of PZ. I got this in 2020, so that isn't applicable anymore. Also, this comes with some wallpapers (that you could download elsewhere), the music (which is available on Spotify and to buy separately), and 3 species:
Komodo dragon - a key zoo animal, the largest lizard, and a great representative for Southeast Asia
Pygmy hippo - a lovely, reclusive animal that's great for African representation. I use these often
Thomson's gazelle - the kinda dull choice. While I like these gazelles, the springbok kinda took its glory. Maybe if it was in the base game...
So, 2/3 of these animals are amazing, but the gazelle is kinda dull, especially since we have the springbok, which is almost identical. However, the 2 good animals make up for it since I use them so often...
Arctic The pack is meh, in my opinion. I rarely use the animals and it's lacking an exhibit animal:
Polar bear - while a nice animal and the most iconic Arctic animal, the polar bear uses a huge habitat in-game, so it throws me off. It's already been improved, but it's still a lot. However, the animal itself is very nice
Reindeer - I never use these, to be honest. They're nice, but I just don't use them enough
Arctic wolf - a lovely wolf model, but while I like the Arctic wolf, it bothers me that we have the gray wolf species and then a specific subspecies. I dislike that inconsistency
Dall sheep - while a nice model, and our only sheep (right?), I rarely use the Dall sheep. But, maybe I'll use them more often since they can now use the rock enrichment
The build thing is meh, but too themed. I occasionally use the wood pieces, though...
14: Deluxe - Charging $2 more than any of the other packs while having less content is bizarre to me. The animals are good, but they're not worth $12.
13: Arctic - A niche building theme, a pointless clone in the Arctic Wolf, no Musk Ox, no Walrus, and no exhibit animal all factor into this being the worst of the post-launch DLCs. I have literally never used the ice or snow building pieces.
12: Twilight - The most disappointing pack to me personally. The Wombat is great, and the Egyptian Fruit Bat was a big surprise, but the other animal choices are really dull, and the building theme doesn't do much to justify it's own existence.
11: Africa - This really should have been an animal pack. The animal selection is good, but the scenery pieces are just okay, and there's no gridded wall or roof pieces.
10: Europe - This is where my ranking starts to pick up. Although I was skeptical at first, I ended up liking this pack. The building pieces are pretty good, especially the rustic stone walls, and the animal selection is surprisingly solid, despite my overall lack of interest in European animals.
9: Australia - With good animals, a good building theme, and good foliage, this is a perfectly middle of the pack DLC.
8: Conservation - Despite the animal selection being a bit too Asia-focused for my liking, this is still a good pack. I especially like the building pieces, which are so unique from anything else we have.
7: Southeast Asia - The first animal pack, and the one I ranked the lowest. That's not to say that it's not good, because it is. It gave a pretty underrepresented region of the world a massive boost, and the animal selection is pretty strong. They still need to fix the Malayan Tapir though, it's just a black and white Baird's Tapir right now.
6: Aquatic - The building theme is pretty versatile, and the faux rocks are excellent, especially for realistic habitats. However, the four habitat animals have each been supplanted by superior animals introduced in later packs, and as a result it feels a bit dated.
5: Tropical - The newest pack, and one of the better ones if you ask me. All the animals are really well done, and the building theme has quickly become one of my favorites.
4: South America - The building theme alone has propelled this pack up my ranking, I can't count the number of times that I've used the bamboo and palm thatch pieces for my zoos. And the animal selection is good, although the absence of the Capybara stuck out for a while.
3: Wetlands - Speaking of the Capybara, we finally got it in this pack! This pack exemplifies why I love animal packs, because of the potential for really biodiverse animal lineups. This pack includes animals from every corner of the globe, and if the Spectacled Caiman and Danube Crested Newt had been replaced with better animals, this pack could have easily been first.
2: Grassland - Not a whole lot to say on this one. Every animal inclusion is justified in its own way, and it helped to really flesh out the rosters of South America and Australia. I only have one complaint, and that is WHERE IS MY SECRETARY BIRD FRONTIER.
1: North America - This has been my favorite pack since it came out, and although some have come close, none have managed to overthrow its number one position for me. The animal selection is near-flawless, and every single animal is beautifully designed. North America didn't have a very large animal roster before, but after this pack, it became really well represented. It brings together animals from all over North America, from the swamps of Florida to the forests of Canada to the prairies of the Midwest, and I will continue to sing this pack's praises for the rest of the game's lifespan.
i completely forgot to post mine, lol.
well this is going to be how i rank all the dlcs, from the worst to the best: 14.Deluxe - there's two reasons why this is easily the worst dlc, the first one is the fact it comes with only three "clone" animals, with the Komodo dragon being a perfect animal, the pigmy hippo being decent and the Thompson gazelle being dull, it's also the most expensive dlc if you don't buy the deluxe edition when you buy the game.
so in the end you have two good animals and basically nothing else in the most expensive dlc so far, so yeah, i think it's deserves the last place. 13.Southeast Asia animal pack (SEA) - being a animal pack, all the appeal of this pack is that will give us three more animals instead of a scenery... And this is why it fails.
form the beginning, the only animals that i really like and find useful are the binturong, babirusa and proboscis monkey, then we have the tapir, with the worst model in the game, but honestly i don't think it would be useful for me even with a fixed model, the we have the "generic carnivore" trio, with the buggy clouded leopard, the sun bear and the dhole, being the most redundant animals in the game, honestly even the leaf insect have more appeal from me than those three.
so we end up having a animal pack where only three of the animals are good, and all the rest is mediocre, honestly this should had been a scenery pack, with tropical being a animal pack. 12.Arctic pack - honestly, for a first pack it isn't that bad, the campaign was my personal favorite even compared with the ones from the base game, and the reindeer is a very good animal, also we still have some of the best wood pieces and the torch's are really good, but, that's it, the rest of the animals weren't really good, in retrogression the polar bear should have been a base game animal, the Dall sheep is ok, but i would have liked a musk ox, and the arctic wolf is simply disgusting, also half of the scenery pieces where useless giving that they were either Christmas pieces or iglu pieces, with are way too much thematic even for me.
in the end i feel like the only reason because arctic is better than SEA is that the wood pieces and campaign are pretty good, and half of the animals were good 11. twilight pack - this is the only pack i still didn't buy and will probably stay like that for a while, aside form the wombat and red fox all the animals seems very dull for me, plus the scenery theme seems to thematic even for me. 10 - conservation - honestly, my main problem with this pack are the animals, the Przewalski horse is easily one of my favorite animal in the whole game, siamang is a good animal and axolotl is one of the best exhibit animals, but both leopard and oryx were very boring from me, also the scenery pieces is 8 or 80, they were perfect to build staff areas but pretty terrible for anything else, it's still a decent pack, through. 9. tropical pack - honestly, I'm pretty "meh" with this pack, the animals vary to perfect to meh, the theme was good, but it fit's better with the SEA then "generic tropical forest", saying on that my two main problems with the pack are the lack of birds and new world primates, and the fact it's a scenery pack, if this was a animal pack with new world monkeys, bird and a coati it would have been perfect.
it's definitely not a bad pack, but it isn't good either.
before i proceed with the rest of the packs, i must say that my opinion about all the rest vary a lot,with means its very likely that i will change it in the next months. With that said let's proceed: 8. Africa pack - this pack is actually very good, white rhino + meerkat was a perfect combination, plus the fennec fox is a really good animal overall, however i really don't like the African penguin, mainly because i would have liked a Guinea fowl or secretary bird more, also the theme seems very random, but it's still a very good pack overall. 7. aquatic pack - gone say something very strange for the standard of this community: I don't use the rocks they added in this pack, with that said, the animals are actually great, king penguin is my favorite penguin (and favorite ingame bird) grey seal and giant otter are still great animals, with only the dwarf caiman being a "meh" animal, the rest of the scenery itens are still ok. 6. Australia pack - putting tthe two most iconic Australian animals in this pack the is one of the factors that this pack is so high, but the other two reasons are the brutal cassowary and the great scenery theme and pieces, my only problem here is the dingo, but i eventually start liking it. 5. Europe pack - my only let down here was the lack of the red deer, but after it addition on the base game this pack become almost perfect, all the animals are great and the scenery theme is one of my favorite. 4. South America pack - well, here we are: with the least, but best scenery pack that frontier ever launched: to start all the animals are perfect, jaguar is the best of all big cats, capuchin is a great monkey even to modern standards, also the giant tamandua and llama are still good animals, by last the scenery is easily the best from all of packs. 3. Wetland animal pack - "third time is a charm", and well, this pack indeed was something else, adding three of the best animals (capybara, ASCO and platypus) all at once make it really good, while the lechwe, water buffalo and crane are really good, making this pack one of the best pack ever, however the reason why this is in third place is that fact that spectated caiman is there. First, i don't have any issue with crocs, in fact i would prefer get three more crocs over any cat, but the thing with spectated is that he isn't a good choice for a croc, from a croc in the general, the Nile croc would be a best choice cuz, we still don't have a African croc, plus there's was best choice from a SA caiman (main choice is black caiman, but the Broad-snouted caiman is my persona favorite) so, because of the croc choice this pack couldn't be in a higher place, but it's not like this could matter. 2. Grassland animal pack - Maned wolf, i close my case.
talking seriously now, almost everything is perfect, maned wolf, armadillo, caracal, emu, wallaby and hyena are easily the best combination and 5 butterfly's was definitely one of my favorite things that happen in the game, plus Maned wolf is my most wanted animal since always, making this pack the only one i bought at day one, however there's two reasons why this isn't the best pack, being the first one the lack of the African porcupine, with this pack being the best opportunity for one, the second is the blue wildebeest instead of the blackbuck, changing both those things we would have a perfect pack, however this wouldn't mean this pack would be the first, it's a good pack but it's not as good as the best pack this game ever made, with the pack being: 1.North America animal pack - there isn't a better way to describe this pack other than:
this pack make what no other pack manage to do: making all the animal choices perfect:
Moose, California sea lion, beaver and cougar we're in the top of the Wishlist on the epoch the pack come out
American alligator was considered by some the last "essential croc" mainly because by that epoch we had all the others group of crocs, with the alligator being considered the last one.
the prairie dog being our second rodent (the first was also in this pack) and the arctic fox being considered essential and missing since arctic pack.
the animal choice make this pack a perfect pack in all standards, and this is why i put it as the best pack ever made.
so yeah this took a while. btw here is a rating about all the dlcs:
deluxe: 1.0 SEA: 2.5
arctic: 3.0
twilight: 3.5 conservation: 4.5
tropical: 5.0 Africa: 7.0
Aquatic: 7.2
Australia: 7.5 Europe: 8.2 South America: 9.0
wetland and grassland: 9.5
North America: 10
i completely forgot to post mine, lol.
well this is going to be how i rank all the dlcs, from the worst to the best: 14.Deluxe - there's two reasons why this is easily the worst dlc, the first one is the fact it comes with only three "clone" animals, with the Komodo dragon being a perfect animal, the pigmy hippo being decent and the Thompson gazelle being dull, it's also the most expensive dlc if you don't buy the deluxe edition when you buy the game.
so in the end you have two good animals and basically nothing else in the most expensive dlc so far, so yeah, i think it's deserves the last place. 13.Southeast Asia animal pack (SEA) - being a animal pack, all the appeal of this pack is that will give us three more animals instead of a scenery... And this is why it fails.
form the beginning, the only animals that i really like and find useful are the binturong, babirusa and proboscis monkey, then we have the tapir, with the worst model in the game, but honestly i don't think it would be useful for me even with a fixed model, the we have the "generic carnivore" trio, with the buggy clouded leopard, the sun bear and the dhole, being the most redundant animals in the game, honestly even the leaf insect have more appeal from me than those three.
so we end up having a animal pack where only three of the animals are good, and all the rest is mediocre, honestly this should had been a scenery pack, with tropical being a animal pack. 12.Arctic pack - honestly, for a first pack it isn't that bad, the campaign was my personal favorite even compared with the ones from the base game, and the reindeer is a very good animal, also we still have some of the best wood pieces and the torch's are really good, but, that's it, the rest of the animals weren't really good, in retrogression the polar bear should have been a base game animal, the Dall sheep is ok, but i would have liked a musk ox, and the arctic wolf is simply disgusting, also half of the scenery pieces where useless giving that they were either Christmas pieces or iglu pieces, with are way too much thematic even for me.
in the end i feel like the only reason because arctic is better than SEA is that the wood pieces and campaign are pretty good, and half of the animals were good 11. twilight pack - this is the only pack i still didn't buy and will probably stay like that for a while, aside form the wombat and red fox all the animals seems very dull for me, plus the scenery theme seems to thematic even for me. 10 - conservation - honestly, my main problem with this pack are the animals, the Przewalski horse is easily one of my favorite animal in the whole game, siamang is a good animal and axolotl is one of the best exhibit animals, but both leopard and oryx were very boring from me, also the scenery pieces is 8 or 80, they were perfect to build staff areas but pretty terrible for anything else, it's still a decent pack, through. 9. tropical pack - honestly, I'm pretty "meh" with this pack, the animals vary to perfect to meh, the theme was good, but it fit's better with the SEA then "generic tropical forest", saying on that my two main problems with the pack are the lack of birds and new world primates, and the fact it's a scenery pack, if this was a animal pack with new world monkeys, bird and a coati it would have been perfect.
it's definitely not a bad pack, but it isn't good either.
before i proceed with the rest of the packs, i must say that my opinion about all the rest vary a lot,with means its very likely that i will change it in the next months. With that said let's proceed: 8. Africa pack - this pack is actually very good, white rhino + meerkat was a perfect combination, plus the fennec fox is a really good animal overall, however i really don't like the African penguin, mainly because i would have liked a Guinea fowl or secretary bird more, also the theme seems very random, but it's still a very good pack overall. 7. aquatic pack - gone say something very strange for the standard of this community: I don't use the rocks they added in this pack, with that said, the animals are actually great, king penguin is my favorite penguin (and favorite ingame bird) grey seal and giant otter are still great animals, with only the dwarf caiman being a "meh" animal, the rest of the scenery itens are still ok. 6. Australia pack - putting tthe two most iconic Australian animals in this pack the is one of the factors that this pack is so high, but the other two reasons are the brutal cassowary and the great scenery theme and pieces, my only problem here is the dingo, but i eventually start liking it. 5. Europe pack - my only let down here was the lack of the red deer, but after it addition on the base game this pack become almost perfect, all the animals are great and the scenery theme is one of my favorite. 4. South America pack - well, here we are: with the least, but best scenery pack that frontier ever launched: to start all the animals are perfect, jaguar is the best of all big cats, capuchin is a great monkey even to modern standards, also the giant tamandua and llama are still good animals, by last the scenery is easily the best from all of packs. 3. Wetland animal pack - "third time is a charm", and well, this pack indeed was something else, adding three of the best animals (capybara, ASCO and platypus) all at once make it really good, while the lechwe, water buffalo and crane are really good, making this pack one of the best pack ever, however the reason why this is in third place is that fact that spectated caiman is there. First, i don't have any issue with crocs, in fact i would prefer get three more crocs over any cat, but the thing with spectated is that he isn't a good choice for a croc, from a croc in the general, the Nile croc would be a best choice cuz, we still don't have a African croc, plus there's was best choice from a SA caiman (main choice is black caiman, but the Broad-snouted caiman is my persona favorite) so, because of the croc choice this pack couldn't be in a higher place, but it's not like this could matter. 2. Grassland animal pack - Maned wolf, i close my case.
talking seriously now, almost everything is perfect, maned wolf, armadillo, caracal, emu, wallaby and hyena are easily the best combination and 5 butterfly's was definitely one of my favorite things that happen in the game, plus Maned wolf is my most wanted animal since always, making this pack the only one i bought at day one, however there's two reasons why this isn't the best pack, being the first one the lack of the African porcupine, with this pack being the best opportunity for one, the second is the blue wildebeest instead of the blackbuck, changing both those things we would have a perfect pack, however this wouldn't mean this pack would be the first, it's a good pack but it's not as good as the best pack this game ever made, with the pack being: 1.North America animal pack - there isn't a better way to describe this pack other than: View attachment 352914
this pack make what no other pack manage to do: making all the animal choices perfect:
Moose, California sea lion, beaver and cougar we're in the top of the Wishlist on the epoch the pack come out
American alligator was considered by some the last "essential croc" mainly because by that epoch we had all the others group of crocs, with the alligator being considered the last one.
the prairie dog being our second rodent (the first was also in this pack) and the arctic fox being considered essential and missing since arctic pack.
the animal choice make this pack a perfect pack in all standards, and this is why i put it as the best pack ever made.
so yeah this took a while. btw here is a rating about all the dlcs:
deluxe: 1.0 SEA: 2.5
arctic: 3.0
twilight: 3.5 conservation: 4.5
tropical: 5.0 Africa: 7.0
Aquatic: 7.2
Australia: 7.5 Europe: 8.2 South America: 9.0
wetland and grassland: 9.5
North America: 10
These are easily the hottest scenery takes ive ever heard, may i ask why you say that the SA scenery is the best?
Its among the themes that got sidelined the hardest imo, with its foliage and wood being outclassed by later ones, the ruin pieces are nice but niche and the bamboo, while great cant carry a theme like for example the faux pieces can so id love to hear what you see in this theme that i dont
These are easily the hottest scenery takes ive ever heard, may i ask why you say that the SA scenery is the best?
Its among the themes that got sidelined the hardest imo, with its foliage and wood being outclassed by later ones, the ruin pieces are nice but niche and the bamboo, while great cant carry a theme like for example the faux pieces can so id love to hear what you see in this theme that i dont
These are easily the hottest scenery takes ive ever heard, may i ask why you say that the SA scenery is the best?
Its among the themes that got sidelined the hardest imo, with its foliage and wood being outclassed by later ones, the ruin pieces are nice but niche and the bamboo, while great cant carry a theme like for example the faux pieces can so id love to hear what you see in this theme that i dont
the bamboo pieces can be very versatile if you are creative enough, some uses i found for them include:
animal shelter for SEA and SA animals.
make thematic areas, naturalistic buildings and whole tropical zoos with those itens.
climbing structures in general (it's my personal favorite use for then).
the woods can still be very good for realistic buildings and the hopes add nice details for building of any kind.
temples pieces are more versatile than people think, plus they do they niche very well, beyond the fact that is a very common niche, so it's not like "wow, this is super niche". Also the plants are still some of my favorite of any pack so it's a bonus
i think the pieces just stands pretty well independent of your building style and whatever you want to do, they can be so versatile in the general, becoming quickly my favorite building pieces and scenery theme.
I LOVE all scenery in every pack (spare holiday-based stuff) so I pick the order for the animals given.
14: Twilight: I really dislike the animal choices for this one, I don't care for halloween in zoo's. Worst pack of all time, and even when I like skunks and wombats, the other two are really no-go for me.
WORST - BEST
(Number, 1 = very bad 10 = very good)
Red Fox (2) - Raccoon (4) - Wombat (7) - Skunk (7)
13: Arctic: Another pack I really can't stand, the animal choices are a disaster, only the Polar Bear was needed here, with a Walrus, Polar Fox and Musk Ox this pack could stand out, but a sheep I never heared about, a copy-paste wolf and the rather plain Reindeer... No thanks
Arctic Wolf (1) - Dall Sheep (2) - Reindeer (5) - Polar Bear (7)
12: Conservation: Spare for the horse, none of the animals appeal to me at all, one of my least favorite antelopes, my least favorite big cats and something I can't even remember, was it the first gibbon? Well that is also something I really dislike. Meh pack.
Siamang (1) - Amur Leopard (4) - Oryx (4) - Przewalski’s horse (8)
11: Europe: Good animals for an Europe pack, but Europe is my least favorite continent for animals, so I had to place it here.
Badger (1) - Lynx (5) - Fallow Deer (7) - Ibex (8)
10: Deluxe: Very expensive for such a low number of extra animals... But two of them are very very good.
Thompson's Gazelle (6) - Pygmy Hippo (9) - Komodo Dragon (10)
09: Aquatic: Love this pack, but the animals are a bit meh to me. I like the Spectacled Caiman better and I wanted the Emperor Penguin instead of the king. Giant Otter is the big standout for me, unlike 100% of the other humans on this forum, Giant Otters are my favorite otters species, I dislike the small things coming later.
Grey Seal (3) - Dwarf Caiman (5) - King Penguin (5) - Giant Otter (9)
08: Tropical: I'm still angry the Sloth can't be used outside those habits, two animals are VERY bad taking this spot down, two are VERY good.
Water Monitor (1) - Lar Gibbon (3) - Sloth (5) - Red River Hog (10) - Fossa (10)
07: Africa: Should have been a animal-only pack, but I really also like the scenery, so Frontier can make it up by releasing a animal-pack Safari/savannah later on. All animals are needed, not my ultimate favorites, but very good indeed.
African Penguin (7) - Fennec (8) - Meerkat (8) - White Rhinoceros (8)
06: North America: Most of my favorite animals don't come from this continent, like Europe I think America (north) is a bit boring in Animal species, BUT I really love the animals in this pack, so it deserves a high placing. Missing a mountain goat and wolverine, this could take it even higher.
Prairie Dog (5) - American Alligator (5) - Cougar (6) - Sea Lion (6) - Arctic Fox (7) - Beaver (8) - Moose (9)
05: South America: Two very good and one meh species, but the Giant Anteater is my second favorite animal in the game I think.
Llama (5) - Capuchin Monkey (7) - Jaguar (9) - Giant Anteater (10)
04: Australia: Very good animal choices made here, but this could have been another ANIMAL-only pack, too much australian animals still missing. Dingo is pretty meh, others are awesome, with the Cassowary being my ultimate favorite animal in the game.
Dingo (5) - Koala (8) - Red Kangaroo (8) - Cassowary (10)
03: Southeast Asia: Everybody dislikes the animal choices made here, I think they are pretty awesome, I really like this pack, the animals are really bizarre but awesome, my favorite bear, pig and tapir! Too bad the Dhole took a spot, especially after we just got the Dingo. Rather see the Gaur.
Dhole (1) - Tapir (7) - Binturong (7) - Proboscis Monkey (8) - Clouded Leopard (9) - Sun Bear (10) - Babirusa (10)
02: Wetlands: Damn this is a good animal mix, I could have done without the small otter and had the Waterbuck and Shoebill over the Crane and Lechwe, but overal those two animals are still awesome! Very good pack!
Small Otter (4) - Red Crowned Crane (6) - Nile Lechwe (6) - Water Buffalo (7) - Spectacled Caiman (7) - Platypus (10) - Capybara (10)
01: Grassland: I really liked the butterfly garden with this! Only one animals was MEH to me, the others were GREAT and very needed as well, overal best animal choices, while not my all-time favorites, only 1 animal was bad, so that's why this pack is the highest. Wildebeast should have been in main game, get rid of the Black Wildebeast in Planet zoo 2 please.
Wallaby (2) - Wildebeast (6) - Armadillo (7) - Caracal (8) - Emu (8) - Striped Hyena (9) - Maned Wolf (10)
I only bought the game one month ago, mostly because of the Grassland + Wetlands expansions, I didn't bought the game earlier because I had other games I played and because I wanted to wait for a complete edition, eventually I couldn't wait anymore because of the Fossa and those two expansions adding so much missing animals that I bought the entire collection for 160 euro's, and I have not a single regret, (and I bought it with tips received from my work anyway lol)
14: Deluxe - Charging $2 more than any of the other packs while having less content is bizarre to me. The animals are good, but they're not worth $12.
13: Arctic - A niche building theme, a pointless clone in the Arctic Wolf, no Musk Ox, no Walrus, and no exhibit animal all factor into this being the worst of the post-launch DLCs. I have literally never used the ice or snow building pieces.
12: Twilight - The most disappointing pack to me personally. The Wombat is great, and the Egyptian Fruit Bat was a big surprise, but the other animal choices are really dull, and the building theme doesn't do much to justify it's own existence.
11: Africa - This really should have been an animal pack. The animal selection is good, but the scenery pieces are just okay, and there's no gridded wall or roof pieces.
10: Europe - This is where my ranking starts to pick up. Although I was skeptical at first, I ended up liking this pack. The building pieces are pretty good, especially the rustic stone walls, and the animal selection is surprisingly solid, despite my overall lack of interest in European animals.
9: Australia - With good animals, a good building theme, and good foliage, this is a perfectly middle of the pack DLC.
8: Conservation - Despite the animal selection being a bit too Asia-focused for my liking, this is still a good pack. I especially like the building pieces, which are so unique from anything else we have.
7: Southeast Asia - The first animal pack, and the one I ranked the lowest. That's not to say that it's not good, because it is. It gave a pretty underrepresented region of the world a massive boost, and the animal selection is pretty strong. They still need to fix the Malayan Tapir though, it's just a black and white Baird's Tapir right now.
6: Aquatic - The building theme is pretty versatile, and the faux rocks are excellent, especially for realistic habitats. However, the four habitat animals have each been supplanted by superior animals introduced in later packs, and as a result it feels a bit dated.
5: Tropical - The newest pack, and one of the better ones if you ask me. All the animals are really well done, and the building theme has quickly become one of my favorites.
4: South America - The building theme alone has propelled this pack up my ranking, I can't count the number of times that I've used the bamboo and palm thatch pieces for my zoos. And the animal selection is good, although the absence of the Capybara stuck out for a while.
3: Wetlands - Speaking of the Capybara, we finally got it in this pack! This pack exemplifies why I love animal packs, because of the potential for really biodiverse animal lineups. This pack includes animals from every corner of the globe, and if the Spectacled Caiman and Danube Crested Newt had been replaced with better animals, this pack could have easily been first.
2: Grassland - Not a whole lot to say on this one. Every animal inclusion is justified in its own way, and it helped to really flesh out the rosters of South America and Australia. I only have one complaint, and that is WHERE IS MY SECRETARY BIRD FRONTIER.
1: North America - This has been my favorite pack since it came out, and although some have come close, none have managed to overthrow its number one position for me. The animal selection is near-flawless, and every single animal is beautifully designed. North America didn't have a very large animal roster before, but after this pack, it became really well represented. It brings together animals from all over North America, from the swamps of Florida to the forests of Canada to the prairies of the Midwest, and I will continue to sing this pack's praises for the rest of the game's lifespan.
Yeah I don't have my computer ATM but I could check for sure when I get home. From my knowledge deluxe is 6 or 7 dollars and all normal packs are 12$. I got deluxe on sale for 3$ though so I thought it was a bargain.
If someone from Australia has steam up could you confirm the prices.
Regarding the Deluxe pack, initially it was for the animals, the soundtrack and temporary beta access. That last part was a key selling point prior to the game releasing. About a month or two before the game initially launched, there was a two week period (I think it was two weeks?) where people who ordered the deluxe pack could play the game, test things out, and what not. Not all the species were available, I think around 20-30. I learned a lot and enjoyed my time and glad I was able to take part in the beta, something I've never done with a game before.
However, that beta part is no longer a point at all. I'm not sure why the deluxe price has not been decreased and it does make the animals look more expensive than they would be otherwise. I mean, 3 animals and the soundtrack for $12USD? I realize they're selling the soundtrack separately for the same amount too, which is also odd. If one were to want the soundtrack wouldn't it be an easy decision to pay the same and get three animals?
The whole pricing with both of those DLC is just weird...a $12 soundtrack, and a $12 DLC that includes the soundtrack but also has one of the major selling points removed so it shouldn't really be at $12 anymore...yet...the soundtrack is at $12 so they probably can't lower the price of the Deluxe pack lower than the Soundtrack...and they may have some kind of contracted price on the soundtrack. SMH. It's just weird.
Point is, the Deluxe as far as animal content initially was a good buy, but as time has gone on it's really not. Especially when one of those is yet another African Antelope. It'd be interesting to get a take on what animal was the biggest selling point for people; I imagine for the Deluxe it was almost entirely the Komodo and Pygmy hippo.
Yeah I don't have my computer ATM but I could check for sure when I get home. From my knowledge deluxe is 6 or 7 dollars and all normal packs are 12$. I got deluxe on sale for 3$ though so I thought it was a bargain.
If someone from Australia has steam up could you confirm the prices.
I stabd corrected the standard dlcs are 14.50$ and the deluxe is 16.50$. I definitley got the deluxe for like 75% off though. They probably haven't dropped the price cause it goes on sale for so much while the other dlcs go for 50% Max.
I think I got the prices wrong cause aside from wetlands, Twilight and austrlia I bought all the dlcs on sale.
A few notes about my highly subjective ranking:
I am not much of a builder and thus generally prefer animal packs. I also don't really enjoy building semiaquatic habitats, but many people do. I am from NA. I grew up with both of the old Zoo Tycoon Games. These factors influence my rankings. All of the packs are honestly cool and worth buying. They also come on sale if money is tight.
If I were to recommend five packs to new players (especially animal lovers; I can't really speak for builders), I would go with the Australia, Grasslands, South America, Aquatic, and North America packs. They add a lot of variety, especially to underrepresented regions. The Africa pack and Conservation packs are also pretty strong. Mostly, I would recommend looking at the roster to see which animals you like, and definitely get the pack from your local region, if there is one. Don't worry too much about what the community says. The packs appeal to different people. I like the aquatic pack the least, but it is a favorite of many. I also love the south America pack, which isn't typically a favorite.
Anyway on to my order personal preferences with a somewhat more objective scoring:
North America Animal Pack:
Animals: 10/10, great selection, great variety, great quality. All of them were highly requested. I myself was really wanting a moose, cougar, and prairie dog. The surprise pick, the arctic fox, came with a color variant and a diving animation. It was highly requested after the arctic pack. The animals really show off the diversity of NA biomes. Each habitat looks distinct. I still miss my black bear, but the lineup is great. NA animals were severely lacking in the base game, but this pack helps bring it up to speed.
Grasslands Animal Pack:
Animals: 10/10, great selection from underrepresented regions, great variety, great quality. I love the Maned Wolf! It and the armadillo added much needed SA. The caracal and striped hyena were also fantastic and covered the Middle East. Emus and wallabies are essential for international Oceania rep. I kind of wish the blue wildebeest was base game, and we got a more unique antelope
South America Pack:
Animals: 9/10, good selection, great variety, age is showing a little but still good quality. With how few SA animals are in the game, this pack is basically essential. The jaguar has a decently common black variant, and the llamas are colorful and funny. Capuchins are cute and add the only new world primate. Giant anteaters are awesome. The pack kind of illustrated how absent SA was in the base game roster, so the selection seemed lackluster in some ways. For that reason, I put off buying this pack. After I bought it, I found myself using the animals all of the time. It is probably the pack I use most often.
Scenery: 7/10, the bamboo pieces are useful, but I wish they had a bit more texture. I like putting the ruin pieces in jungle habitats. Some other pieces are fun and colorful. Some of the blueprints are a bit much, but I like the scenery overall.
Plants: Jungle plants are cool.
Arid Sahara Animal Pack:
Animals: 8/10, good selection, ok variety (a little ungulate-heavy, but they are sort of different from each other), fabulous quality (so far). The Dromedary and Porcupine were high on my overall list for a while. The Somali Wild, Sand Cat, and Addax were also high on my wishes for desert animals. I love building arid habitats. I love this pack.
Pack Name: 2/10. Calling it the Sahara pack would make many people like it more. I call it that in my head.
Conservation Pack:
Animals: 8/10: great selection, good variety (other regions besides Asia have key conservation species), great quality (the Gibbon's issues have been addressed somewhat). This added some of the most requested animals at the time: a gibbon, a leopard, and the wild horse. The surprise oryx pick is a major conservation icon and very welcome. I'm kind of glad they went with the siamang here. The siamang walked so the Lar Gibbon could run.
Scenery: 10/10 Even though I don't build often, I love having the backstage props when I do
Plants: I love the veggies and the sunflowers
Australia Pack:
Animals: 8/10 great selection, great variety, good quality (though the Koala is a little disappointing). These are some of the most iconic animals from Australia. The cassowary is fantastic. The kangaroo and the dingo are both excellent models as well, even if the latter isn't as popular. I know some people wanted the Tasmanian Devil instead, but once we get it, I don't think the dingo will stand out as a bad choice. They're an animal I learned about as a child.
Scenery: 7/10 I love the rusted pieces, and I think they were going with a lot of up-cycled material designs, which is very in line with Australia's admirable focus on conservation and environmentalism. I like the Maori influences, too. I just wish more of the pieces were flexicolor.
Africa Pack:
Animals: 9/10 great selection, good variety, great quality. An African rhino is kind of essential for a zoo game. The other animals are pretty popular and great, too. I would have liked to see a monkey, a serval, and a bird, like the grey crowned crane, but I would not want to get rid of the animals in the pack. They are awesome.
Scenery: 7/10 The blueprints and pieces are useful. I like the wood pieces, but I think they might have been a base game update?
Twilight Pack:
Animals: 7/10 ok selection (mostly not requested animals from NA), ok variety (mostly small carnivores), great quality. I really like this pack. The wombats are adorable. The skunk was an oddball I was hoping for. The foxes have so many pretty color variants, which is fun.
Scenery: 6/10 I don't typically use European styles too much, but I like the flexicolor stones. Halloween is a fun holiday, so I kind of like having decorations, but they seem a bit odd to me.
Wetlands Animal Pack:
Animals: 8/10 ok selection, great variety, excellent quality. I don't like building semi-aquatic habitats, so this pack wasn't for me. I love the otters and can appreciate the effort that went into making the platypus. This pack has a bird and capybaras, which are also pretty great.
Tropical Pack:
Animals 8/10: fabulous quality, ok selection, great variety: The animals are fantastic quality. The packs seemed to really take it up a notch around the Grasslands pack. However, I was only actively hoping to the Red River Hog and sloth at that point. The animals look great, though. I was pretty sad there were no new world monkeys. The great models help me get over it, but I think I could grow to love this pack better after more SA animals are added. I try to like the packs for what's in them instead of what's not, but I could not quite do it this time.
Scenery 9/10: It's kind of niche, but common decor for international Asian zoo sections. I like it.
Europe Pack:
Animals 10/10: great selection, great variety, great quality. Lynxes, Ibexes, and Fallow Deer are pretty iconic. The badger is also a good choice. I just don't see many European animals in NA zoos. I think I've seen fallow deer once, but that's about it. Maybe an Iberian Lynx, but my memory is a little fuzzy about it? They are great temperate animals and match some of the holes from NA. I mainly use the lynx and the fallow deer for its color variants
Scenery 9/10: I'm giving it a high score because others raved about it, but I honestly don't use it that much. The blueprints are cute though.
Deluxe DLC:
Animals: Komodo dragons are awesome staples of SEA, Pygmy Hippos are adorable, and I actually bought this pack for the Thomson's Gazelle (which most think is the weakest). There are only 3 animals, but I use them a lot. The pack was initially more expensive, but it is usually on a bigger sale. I would pick it up on sale.
Arctic Animal Pack:
Animals 7/10: good selection, great variety, some quality issues. I love the arctic wolves. They are one of my favorite animals. Caribou and Polar Bears were missing staples from other games. I like the Dall Sheep, but it is a more obscure cousin of the Bighorn. The similarly-ranging Rocky Mountain Goat might have been cooler, but the Musk Ox would have fit the theme the best. This pack never got an exhibit animal, but I don't think that matters too much. They've somewhat fixed the Polar Bear space requirements.
Scenery 6/10 Christmas decorations are fun and good to have. The architecture is interesting, but I don't use it too much.
Southeast Asia Animal Pack:
Animals 4/10 great selection, great variety, quality issues present. The main thing I used from this pack is the leaf insect. I was initially excited for the Malayan tapir until I, unaware of the online controversy, placed it next to the Baird's to compare them because I wanted to know the differences between the New and Old World animals. The dhole had some problems, but all of the other animals are actually pretty great. I'm starting to use the binturong, and I use the proboscis monkey sometimes (the main reason I don't is that it and the apes are expensive). It has a great variety of SEA animals, especially now that we got two gibbons.
Aquatic Pack:
Animals 8/10 good selection, great variety, good quality. I just don't use these animals that much. I like their alternatives more. I also don't like building semi-aquatic habitats, but I really appreciate the effort that went in to implement diving. The update was very cool. I would recommend it for the prevalence of the new semi-aquatic animals.
Scenery 10/10: great versatility. Many people use the pieces of this pack for their builds, but I rarely do. The main thing I use is the faux rocks.
Even my least favorite packs are still great. All of them are at least worth the full price. Ranking them was hard, and it changes sometimes. I'm so happy the game has received support for so long. Thank you so much for all of your hard work, Planet Zoo Team!
New list based on the new dlc as well as the things that like in other dlcs changing.
14. Arctic
polar bear is Cool but I'm to use it because it doesn't fit well in most zoos. Reindeer is probably the one I use most out of the other 3. I generally don't make cold climate zoos though.
13. SEA
Alright roster but a weird to have it on such a specific area. I love the addition of the Proboscis even though I don't use it much and binturong is one of my fav animals. It was pretty buggy and had bad animal quality on release though so that marks it down a bit.
12. South america
Don't think I ever use the pieces from this pack. Especially now that we have the tropical temple pieces. I like the roster overall aside from the capichin where I would've preffered any other monkey.
11. Twilight
I love the raccoon and wombat. The red fox is saved by its amazing colormorphs. Skunk dosent do it for me though and bats are a bit repetitive. It's mainly th Halloween themeing though, a holiday I know nothing about.
10. Arid
Yeah this one just isn't for me. Way too ungulate heavy and ungulates aren't really my favorite. Especially when I'm carving more birds and reptiles. It might grow on me once we get a few more packs though.
9. Europe
It did its best for what a Europe pack could. Honestly I think it has the best possible roster for its theme. Badger is the GOAT.
8. Tropical
I love the build stuff in this one. Besides that it's very samey. Not in the way arid was though as these feel more unique and varied. It could've been way better as a tropical island pack though. Just had to swap water monitor for croc monitor and river hog for nene or visayan deer.
7. Africa
The one that should've been an animal pack. Well now it is... wait, no, please go back. In all honesty while Africa was very saturated in base game these feel like the staples of it. I'm sure I use meerkats, African penguin and the dung beetle in most of my zoos.
6. Conservation
This one has definitley gone up for me since it first came. Maybe cause since it came out I've seen all the included animals in zoos lol. I'll just the horse and siamang are awesome inclusions.
5. North America
Before you pull at the pitchforks I'd just like to say I like more variety in my packs. And also North America has the least exciting wildlife imo. But this pack does have Moose so...
4. Australia
Until we get more pack with like 3 oceanic animals I need this one to represent my home country. In terms of the animals, cassowary is boss and Koala look stupid and should climb more.
3. Aquatic
This one made so high because the pieces, THEIR SO GOOD. Until we get another pack with faux trees this is staying up here. The main thing holding down from the top is that we've got better alternatives for most of the animals now. Aside from the grey seal which I really like.
2. Wetlands
THE VARIETY IN THIS PACK. It's the only one with something from every continent (excluding anarctica) and it does it well. Somehow the nile lechwe and platypus are imo the best looking models in the game.
1. Grasslands
I mean, it covers my 3 favorite continents zoo wise with animals from areas that were really lacking at the time and their all top quality and the best use of the walkthrough exhibit so far. AND THERES THE MANED WOLF. What more could I ask for. I honestly don't think any other pack will beat this one out for me.
Hard to rank, but my personal favourite is the Grasslands Animal Pack, since the animals in it are diverse in terms of continents and taxonomic groups, there is also a bird and multiple exhibit species in it. The current Arid Animal Pack should also be like this.
I quoted myself from the other thread:
13. Arctic Pack
12. South America Pack
11. South East Asia animal Pack
10. Wetlands animal Pack
9. Conservation Pack
8. Tropical Pack
I would Put it into the middle Ranking but all in all every DLC had something to offer for me and especially places 5-11 are so close together. The Red River Hog clearly is my favourite within this pack
7. Australia Pack
6. Twilight Pack
I really like this pack. I cannot understand the critics of the animal choice. It brought such a variety of animals which mostly were very unique compared to the actual rooster. And it brought a new mechanic with the WT exhibits. In my opinion one of the most underrated Packs we got. No big animal but nice small ones which can be used very good for filler habitats.
5. Europe Pack
4. Africa Pack
3. Aquatic Pack
2. Grasslands animal Pack
Such a great pack in my opinion which showed another step of Frontiers improvement in animal Design. The animal choices were great. I really liked this Pack but it is still behind the best Pack we got in my opinion.
1. North America animal Pack
I rank it between a Lot of Packs which are so close together (place 5 to 12). The Pack delivered two out of my top 3 of my most wanted animals (Dromedary and Porcupine) plus the Somali Wild Donkey from my Top 25. We get now animals from a region which was Not covered that Well until now (hopefully South America will get a similar Pack). Only critics by me is the Name and potentially replacing one of the antelopes WE got either by a Baboon or a more diverse antelope species. But I love hoofstock, they are the Heart of normal Zoos, so I am really a fan of this Pack.
. So this one is still my favourite DLC, yes it has bugged Clouded leopard (but our awesome community manager Lydiah promised to take this issue to the devs, so I hope it will be fixed soon.) but I really like alot of unusual animals and niche animals, so this is perfect pack for me. It was my first ever bought DLC and it is still my favourite one.
