Colonization Tips

[luke0328]

I just got this game (and i'm enjoying it very much), but I feel as if i'm going too slow in the colonization process. So I have a few questions.
1. Within how many years should I start colonizing my first planet?
2. Is it good or bad to have 2 or more colonies at once?
3. Any tips in general to help my colonies grow faster

[Cryten]

1: ASAP
2: As many as possible. you will loose all your capitals growth but each new colony is an additional 1.5 growth, or 3 when they get to 10 pops.
3: In policies changes food policy to nutritional plentitude. Get the edicts from the 2 unity social technology once of which helps growth. Gene clincs is a tech you should take as soon as you can. Its building give amenities and pop growth.

*edit* Keep in mind that low hab planets will be worthless and/or not very effective come 2.3 in a few days.

[Red Dox]

It kinda depends on your playstyle. Tall or wide, fast and aggressive or leaned back and more focused on building up research/economy.

I usually take my time for some exploration and a fast rush to cover important chokepoints first. I can always colonize planets in between my borders later. It is not unusal that by the time I build my first colony ship, I have already finished the Discovery Tradition tree, and get my first points in the Expansion tree to kickoff my first colony with an extra pop ^^ Of course you could just start wite Expnasion Tree so the extra pop will definitly be available.

How many colonies you should initially start, is depending again on your playthrough (like how much would you have available within your borders if covering chokepoints). Take a look on your adminstrative overview and probably keep it "balanced" enough that you do not bankrupt fast due to too much penalities. 2-3 colonies should be sufficient to climb up. Later in the game you will and must exceed your adminstrative points, but early game it is not wrong to watch it carefully. Especially if you are new to the game.

And for grow faster: If you have enough food production to cover it, boost up your pop speed with 1000 food in your planets decisions tab. Might be annoying every ten years to renew the boost (or keep the food for it around) but it will pay off longterm.

[Mistfox]

Another trick you can use is to not scan every single system you come across, that takes time that you need to find chokepoints to defend your empire. Rush through every system to get a rough map of the local space and hyperlane layout first, find a nice chokepoint then scan from both directions to meet in the middle. This way you know which direction to expand to and where to fortify up for security.

[Meewec]

i explore the systems near me until i find one of the two guaranteed(depending on settings) nearby planets of your type. i then survey that system and the system connecting it to my capitol if it's not in a neighboring system. while i'm surveying i'll start the colony ship as soon as i can afford it and build outposts out to the system that has the planet. usually i have the colony ship on the way within the first few years this way. then i try to find the 2nd nearby world and repeat before sending my science ship out surveying as much as i can. and ignore anomalies you find unless it's on one of the worlds you want to colonize. you can go back later when your scientist has leveled up and research them faster or send out a follow up science vessel to pick them all up.

[mk11]

Originally posted by Meewec:

you can go back later when your scientist has leveled up and research them faster or send out a follow up science vessel to pick them all up.

Usually, get someone sent home when a discovered race closes borders. Transfer best scientist (level, anomaly speed benefits) and use them to clear up all the bypassed anomalies.

[mk11]

After establishing your colony build a city district (or nexus district) and a resource district. Transfer pops to make 5 and build a Gene Clinic (or Robot assembly plant) to get amenities and more growth.

At the start, I allow food to accumulate to 1000 to use enhance pop growth decision on the homeworld and then switch to nutritional plentitude policy. Note that the pop growth penalty on a colony is to the base so the effectiveness of pop growth decision, or health campaign, is halved on colonies.

With the Nomadic trait each pop growth point you lose at home gives you 1.15 at the colony.

[Evilgenius]

For now, get a many colonies as soon as possible, after tomorrow this will probably drastically change. Habitability will matter again, finally.

[Botji]

Originally posted by evilgenius:

For now, get a many colonies as soon as possible, after tomorrow this will probably drastically change. Habitability will matter again, finally.

I think having all your pops on a planet using 50% more amenities and eating 50% more food kinda matter as it is right now but they needed to make it even worse for sure, im just a bit worried that the new changes will make it so you wont want any planets below 70-80% due to all the penalties.

The habitability traits will be huge as well, the added habitability will be super nice to have and the reduced habitability will almost be as limiting as the life seeded civic since you will only really want planets that are your starting biome and even those might be kinda borderline.

[Cryten]

Originally posted by Botji:

Originally posted by evilgenius:

For now, get a many colonies as soon as possible, after tomorrow this will probably drastically change. Habitability will matter again, finally.

I think having all your pops on a planet using 50% more amenities and eating 50% more food kinda matter as it is right now but they needed to make it even worse for sure, im just a bit worried that the new changes will make it so you wont want any planets below 70-80% due to all the penalties.

The habitability traits will be huge as well, the added habitability will be super nice to have and the reduced habitability will almost be as limiting as the life seeded civic since you will only really want planets that are your starting biome and even those might be kinda borderline.

Pops will remain the biggest driver of economies so I think 20% production malus will still be fine. That would make 60% planets passable as basic resource planets and pop growing planets. Machines getting no product penalty and the new stronger planet classifications will be an indirect nerf to organics.

[Evilgenius]

the debuff you get from habitability now is %increase to food and consumer upkeep. And those are easily remedied with an extra factory or district. It really means nothing. There is no reason to not colonize a 0% world. At most a pop will consume 2 food and 1 consumer good. But it can easily produce 6 food or 6 consumer goods, so no reason not to colonize the planet.

Now to adress your fears, the new debuff will add a pop growth and production modifier. This will make any planet below 40% really not worth it. 60% should be alright to colonize, it will get a 20% growth reduction and a 20% production debuff, but generally you will be able to produce more then the colony uses, and the gene clinic or some other earlier modifier counters the growth speed.

Terraforming or Glandular Acclimation will be more important (after 2.2 they were far less important or even useless) and Migration treaties are going to be very good. Also Machines/robot Empires and pops will be awesome (they already are).

[Jewbacca]

Currently colonize everything style.

In new patch yellow might worth it, but below that will be really bad. In Stellaris there is no real backhit for having many plants, and you don't lose pop for doing so. The more the better.