Which Il-2 to get?

[-Pepegga-Armor]

So this should be a pretty simple discussion, so far I do not have a single Il-2 game but I do plan to join the community. I have played other "simulators" but I have been getting frustrated with problems that seem to not get fixed, and I truly love the way the Il-2 series is going. I will get Bodenplatte for sure, seeing that it has some of my favorite planes (the tempest, spitfire, jugg, mustang, and the 190), but besides that, what other battle from the Great Battles series should I get? If it helps to narrow it down, I love the la-5 series of planes for some apparent reason (not sure why but I do). I might end up getting all of them, depends on the budget I give myself whenever I finally get my PC, but I still would like to know which one you guys would recommend if you had to choose only 1.

 

 

[Finkeren]

BoS.

 

BoM is more fun IMO, but BoS has the most useful planeset overall.

[LuftManu]

As Finkeren have said BoS is the most useful and a great entry for the series.

Welcome aboard!

[CrazyDuck]

Yeah, BOS sounds like the best pick, but I'd also look at BOK - in "non-premium" edition it gives you A-20B, P-39, Fw 190 A5 (among Yak-7, IL-2 double seater, 109 G4 and 110 G2) - which are hard to say no to (for me at least). You also get a stunning Kuban map. If you want, you can additionally purchase all the "collector planes", which include La-5, La-5FN and Spitfire Vb among others.

[MasserME262]

as said, BoS its probably the "best" choice. In my case, I would chose it because it has 2 of my fav planes (F4 and G2).

But I could chose BoM, just because Im Inlove with the E7, which I consider one of the best, if not the best, plane lf the whole game.

Actually, its a tough choice, but I would go for BoS.

 

Anyways, welcome and enjoy the game and the community!

[Avimimus]

I'd probable recommend BoK for most people (mountains, ships, Yak-7, P-39, Hs-129 collector plane, two-seat Il-2 etc.)... for me it is BoM (because I'm weird and I like the Mig-3). BoS is beautiful in the right weather though (and it has a Lagg-3... which is more different then you'd think).

 

I'd recommend BoK & either BoM or BoS. For collector planes the Hs-129, Yak-1 late, and the Ju-52 (if you like civil flying) provide variety.

[sevenless]

BoS is the best start and overall planeset. Next module depends on your personal interest, early or later war? Both BoM and BoK have their merit.

 

A little help might be which aircraft can be flown in which module, if you own (like me) all modules and all collector and special collector planes:

 

BoM 10/41 - 04/42 (13 planes): 

I-16 Type 24
MiG-3 Series 24
P-40E-1
IL-2 AM-38 (model 1941)
Pe-2 Series 35
Bf 109 E-7
Bf 109 F-2
Bf 109 F-4
MC.202 Series VIII
Bf 110 E-2
Ju 88 A-4
He 111 H-6
Ju 52/Зm

 

BoS

08/42 - 02/43

(19 planes):

I-16 Type 24
MiG-3 Series 24
LaGG-3 Series 29
Yak-1 Series 69
La-5 Series 8
P-40E-1
IL-2 AM-38 (model 1942)
Pe-2 Series 87
A-20B
Bf 109 F-4
Bf 109 G-2
Fw 190 A-3
MC.202 Series VIII
Bf 110 E-2
Hs 129 B-2
Ju 87 D-3
Ju 88 A-4
He 111 H-6
Ju 52/Зm

 

BoK 

04/43 - 10/43

(24 planes):

LaGG-3 Series 29
Yak-1 Series 69
Yak-1b Series 127
Yak-7b Series 36
La-5 Series 8
La-5FN Series 2
P-40E-1
P-39L-1
Spitfire Mk.VВ
IL-2 AM-38 (model 1942)
IL-2 AM-38F (model 1943)
Pe-2 Series 87
A-20B
Bf 109 G-2
Bf 109 G-4
Bf 109 G-6
Fw 190 A-5
Bf 110 G-2
Hs 129 B-2
Ju 87 D-3
Ju 88 A-4
He 111 H-6
He 111 H-16
Ju 52/Зm

[dburne]

I would definitely start with the original release = Battle of Stalingrad.

[Matt]

For SP, i would suggest BoK.

 

Highest quality map (Stalingrad and Moscow map still look good, but not as good as Kuban)

Very interesting landscape (moutains, sea, etc)

Most diverse planeset and almost all collector planes can be used in BoK, so it's easy to expand a bit without buying a complete new pack

Overall most interesting SP experience

 

For MP, BOS would probably be a better idea. BoM has some very unique planes though (Ju 88, I-16, Mig-3) and many of those planes can be used during the BoS aswell, so a combination of BoK and BoM (probably with a few collector planes) would cover almost the entire period.

[Muff_Huggar]

Just for the record, if you do Steam, you need to have BOS first. If you buy direct, you can buy whatever you want. I bought Flying Circus first (that had to be purchased from the IL-2 folks). When the rest went on sale, I bought BOS and BOM on Steam because that's where all my games reside and some of them are only on Steam. I was able to easily link my IL-2 to Steam so the Flying Circus stuff shows up there as well. 

[ShamrockOneFive]

Battle of Stalingrad is an ideal place to start, mostly because of good prices during sales and because of its aircraft set that sits firmly in the middle between Moscow and Kuban.

 

Read my buyers guide for more thoughts about this and how the IL-2 series is structured: https://stormbirds.blog/2018/08/18/the-il-2-series-buyers-guide-2018-edition/

[-Pepegga-Armor]

Thanks for everyone that replied. Since most people said BoS, I guess I am going to have to go with that. Just waiting for the Christmas sale because I am a cheap man, and who doesn't love saving money?

[Herne]

1 hour ago, Armor said:

Thanks for everyone that replied. Since most people said BoS, I guess I am going to have to go with that. Just waiting for the Christmas sale because I am a cheap man, and who doesn't love saving money?

 

here ! save 25% right now with my promo code which I have been trying very hard to get rid of, I just can't seem to be able to give it away

R7W5XJ6N

[-Pepegga-Armor]

Oh thank you very much!

[EAF19_Marsh]

BoK is prettiest, BoS has the most dramatic battle and BoM has the interesting early a/c. Really depends on the kind of flying that you prefer.

 

BoS probably best ‘starter set’.

 

[il2crashesnfails]

I got BOS and im happy ! ?