Short and simple: I bought the Elder Scrolls Anthology some time ago, still haven't even opened the box. I now see GOG has the Oblivion GOTY on sale. I looked on my Anthology box and saw none of the GOTY expansion packs listed. Are the expansions "must have gaming", or is the standard version good enough without them? Please share your opinion, thanks.

I think the base game is fine on its own, the only two I would consider remotely essential are Shivering Isles and Knights of the Nine (the two marketed as expansions), which are the two that come with it anyway.

Okay, so I do see now that those two are listed on the box. I'll list the others and maybe solicit opinions on other expansion "must gets". Verbatim from the back of the Anthology:

Includes
Tribunal
Bloodmoon
Knights of the Nine
Shivering Isles
Dawnguard
Hearthfire
Dragonborn

Hi,

- "Tribunal ; Bloodmoon" are for Morrowind
- "Knights of the nine ; Shivering Isles" are for Oblivion
- "Dawnguad ; Heartfire ; Dragonborn" are for Skyrim

Shivering Isles is my favorite expansion from the TES Series :D

Pierre-Albert,

Thanks for your input. I'll save my $10 I guess, and just play through my anthology - eventually.

The version gog has here, Got all the DLC that was exclusive to steam and was and still never available on Disc so GOG version and steam have all this bonus dlc like the pirate ship, horse armor and such. so yeah these are the definitive editions of the game and the disc versions are not.

I just threw my game of the year edition game in the closet cause it does not have all the dlc GOG one has.

Actually, the DLCs were on disc at one point, minus the Fighter's Stronghold.
I want to say they were bundled in the KoTN retail disc.
FS was a digital exclusive though, you had to get it from Bethesda or the bundle on Steam.

Yeah man it's worth it, it's the same one that Steam has so getting it drm free is perfect

The Anthology contains a Steam key which adds Morrowind, Oblivion and Skyrim with all DLCs to the library. And this means all the DLCs from the Oblivion Deluxe Edition as well, which are not included in the normal GOTY edition on the discs. The disc versions of all games except Skyrim can be played without Steam though. None of these small DLCs are really essential, but some are nice to have.

Thanks again, folks. General noob question: what does DLC stand for?

DLC = DownLoadable Content.

I used to get all upset because The Elder Scrolls Anthology didn't have all the DLC, except for Shivering Isles and Knights Of The Nine. Found replacements for most of the DLC, and what wasn't found didn't matter.
Play both versions for the sheer fum of it. They're both worthwhile.
In regards to missing DLC, Less Annoying Magical Enhancement I think it's called. Mostly it's called LAME. It is anything but lame. This is a decent magical system, and as good as Spell Tomes.
Hoarfrost Castle makes up for Battle horn Castle and Frostcrag Spire. Excellent mod and worth playing through.
These are my suggestions. I'd do what you want to do. Whatever you do, have fun.