Is there any downside to Plantoids?

[enricofermi2]

Lithoids, and even the upcoming water race have upsides and downsides. However plantoids seem to just be baseline pops, with the option of a few extra perk choices.

Is there any reason you couldn't just always play plantoid, if you were just min-maxing. Not talking RP reasons.

[TSP]

Things that have both benefits and drawbacks in one can allow a good player to capitalize on the benefit while ignoring its drawback. "+3 Y, -3 Z" can be a lot better than "+1 Y, +2 Z" assuming there are enough ways to capitalize on the "Y" and ways to circumvent the "Z". This is the power of percentages and using those opportunities.

An example:

If you generate 10 minerals/m & 30 food/m, then focusing on techs that give +10% food output and ignoring +10% minerals outputs because your traits give you drawbacks on your base income of those and instead focus on other engineering techs, allows you to use food to trade for minerals so you play "zero sum" or perhaps even still a net gain while jumping ahead on engineering techs that the "+1Y, +2Z" would be interested in.


Of course, it's a weak example because of the many modifiers and layers of what makes a successful empire, but it should get the point across without making things complicated. Sometimes one effect that's really strong can more than overcome certain drawbacks you get from going in "that direction" during empire creation.

[enricofermi2]

I'm not saying that lithoids are bad. I'm asking if there is any reason you couldn't always play plantoids. Are there any downsides?

[yuzhonglu]

You're an ugly plant?

[Sero]

No, there are no inherent drawbacks but you have to play an empire of plantpeople.

[andrew8j4brown]

ship set is a bit ugly

[enricofermi2]

Ok, so the reverse are some on the traits pointless? Trading half of your food upkeep for energy seems to do nothing. Not sure why it costs a trait point.

[Lady Crimson (RIP)]

Actually, there is.

So in terms of relations with other empires xenophobes and xenophiles often like or hate another empire more based upon how far away they are as a species.

Same exact species name. No opinion. Same portraits? Very minor. Same type like mammal, lithoid, plant.. medium, and so on.

Basically this means xenophiles benefit more from picking species in categories with less diversity of portraits, being much less seen as a group. Likewise xenophobes can improve relations by picking larger groups.

Plantoids are basically medium so no real up or down there, tecnically, but it does mean if you have certain empires likely to occur in game, like Humans, that you're at a disadvantage as a xenophobe, and an advantage as a xenophile.

Generally humanoids are the rare species, with anthropoids being the most common.. however.. given certain races are also tied to events you can get certain benefits from certain ones.. like the common Earth and Common Wealth Empires.

[Lady Crimson (RIP)]

Originally posted by enricofermi2:

Ok, so the reverse are some on the traits pointless? Trading half of your food upkeep for energy seems to do nothing. Not sure why it costs a trait point.

It's not pointless, if you are energy focused.. which most empires are, it's a great boon by letting you focus down on it more.

[BigTurnip]

Originally posted by enricofermi2:

Ok, so the reverse are some on the traits pointless? Trading half of your food upkeep for energy seems to do nothing. Not sure why it costs a trait point.

Normal empire pops generate base trade on ALL there pops, so the pop covers some or all of its energy costs

Pop trade is based on a pops living conditions + spiritualist ethics (if you are a mega church)

This trade value can range from 0-0.83, this value is then multiplied by your trade bonuses, its easy in a trade empire to get a 100% trade bonus.

Also the new decadent lifestyle gives all your pops 0.5 base trade output, that means all your pops produced 0.5 * trade bonus (100% for example) = 1 trade

1 trade can be 1 energy credit or 0.5 + CG + Unity.

So the pop covers the cost of its 0.5 energy upkeep and it can actually produce more than 0.5 energy.

This leaves the pop only costing 0.5 food upkeep.

You can run builds that allow a pop to generate 2 trade value.

Which if you are running trade league trade policy means the pop is producing
1 Energy Credit, 0.5 Consumer Goods, 0.5 Unity. That pop isn't just covering there energy cost they are giving you an extra 0.5 energy.

[Ryika]

There are no downsides to playing as plants or fungi, but there are also no meaningful upsides unless you plan to use their special traits. I guess one could argue that it's always good to have the option to do so, but the chances that you can utilize them in more than a very minor way if you're not building your empire around them, are slim.

If you don't care at all about the aesthetics of your empire, sure, go for it.

[RawCode]

with nerrophages you can play unpkeep free plants.

stellaris do not feature any kind of balance, it's just fun game where you decide your own challenge in current game.

in MP everyone going to play robots on ringworld as clearly superior meta, superior to everything else in game.

[Sir Laffsalot]

Dunno. Never played Plantoid. I only play bots. Got great riffs with them. Don't need food, or consumer goods, and can be on any type of world. The drawback is slow pop growth, and everything seems more expensive. I could be wrong about the high expense...
Another drawback is the lack of choices in type of government and trait set up - only 1. I was really wanting to try a hive mind so I could say, "We are Borg..." lol
JK, though I was wanting to try out some other government and economy. Oh, and I only play MP with only a selected few ~ Me, Myself, I, the voices in my head, and my hallucinations.

[BigTurnip]

Originally posted by Ryika:

There are no downsides to playing as plants or fungi, but there are also no meaningful upsides unless you plan to use their special traits. I guess one could argue that it's always good to have the option to do so, but the chances that you can utilize them in more than a very minor way if you're not building your empire around them, are slim.

If you don't care at all about the aesthetics of your empire, sure, go for it.

if your going either hive or Bio ascension then you pick plant or fungi for budding, picking any other species and you are weaker

[Heimdall313]

Lithoids have best puns, nameset, and announcer. They also beat scissors. There is no paper, so you are totally advantaged.

[Kexin]

I only play humans. They suck so the challenge is worth.