Materialists getting psionics?

[Celestial Tesla]

I am playing fanatic materialists. I have read that the only way for materialists to get psionics. Is for them to get a psionic scientist. But i have read people saying they have never gotten a psionic scientist as a materialist. So does anyone know if it is possible for materialists to get a psionic scientist (or any reliable way for them to get psionics)?

[CelestialSlayer]

No it's for spiritualists only.

[Apeironic_Entelechy]

Originally posted by CelestialSlayer:

No it's for spiritualists only.

Technically incorrect, materialists can gain Psionic tech if the Head scientist has the Psionic trait.

[Hurodrik]

Originally posted by Fourthspartan56:

Originally posted by CelestialSlayer:

No it's for spiritualists only.

Technically incorrect, materialists can gain Psionic tech if the Head scientist has the Psionic trait.

I imagine integrating/annexing a spiritualist empire and having xenos allowed as leaders help with that?

[Astasia]

If you aren't a spiritualists and don't have a psionic research leader, the chances of getting psionic tech is nearly zero. It's like 0.05 compared to 1.0-5.0 or so for other techs. Maniacal research leaders also help.

Materialists actually have an extra penalty on this, and have literally no chance at all to get psionics without a psionic research leader. Here's the catch though, you can't get a psionic leader without first getting the psionic theory research done. So you need to somehow get the tech, or somehow get a special leader perhaps from an event.

[Malecord]

Summarizing from the Wiki:

To get "Psyonics theory" tech as a materialist you need a psyonic scientist.
To get a "psyonic scientist" you need psyonics theory tech.

The thing is that in my first game as a materialist / fanatic militarist I got a psi scientist pretty early. I don't remember how, I didn't pay attention. I think a scientist leveled up or something. And I got Psyonics Theory too although I can't say if the guy actually researched it or not. Never had any psyonic scientist to hire after that.

Now I'm ironmanning as an individualist fanatic materialist and psionics are nowhere to be found. Since I've got quite an edge on technology compared to the other guys I'm suspicious about this absence of psyonics techs.

Any insight on how to get it?

[Tom]

So does the actual researcher you have researching influence the type of cards you get?

[Hurodrik]

Originally posted by gfytfyt:

So does the actual researcher you have researching influence the type of cards you get?

Yes.

Edit: http://www.stellariswiki.com/Technology#The_card_system

[Mansen]

By quite a lot in fact. Take AI tech. The chances of seeing the later ones are really rare unless you happen to have researchers with the Factory icon (Industry focus?) and computing in their respective fields.

[Tom]

Originally posted by Hurodrik:

Originally posted by gfytfyt:

So does the actual researcher you have researching influence the type of cards you get?

Yes.

Does it count the researcher who started the research? Or is it the one who finished it? So you can switch to a specialised researcher, and switch to a non specialist one to get the cards you want? Or is it time spend researching?

[Avalanche]

I tend to just go for the 10% research speed, its faster overall....well, whenever i find them anyway.

[Zubenelgenubi]

How are psionic scientists even appearing in materialist societies without some giant schism in beliefs? And they can actually use the tech with no effect on their materialist beliefs as well?

The blatant favoritism towards materialists is becoming way too much. There is no reason to play anything else. Choosing spiritualist you are accepting a 10% reduction on literally everything except food which is pretty useless, and there are zero benefits.

[Mansen]

The same argument could be made for why spiritualists allow for robotics of any kind... Options.

[kesat]

Just like most already said, a psionics and maniacal traits will unlock those techs too. In fact: maniacal (weight factor 4-5) is actually more important than ethos or psionic expertise (weight factor 2 and 3).


Unfortunately Astasia is correct for the very first psi tech (which is the requirement for any other psi tech): You can't get psionic theory without psionic expertise as a (fanatic) materialist empire due to a weight modifier of 0.

[Yaldabaoth]

Originally posted by Zubenelgenubi:

The blatant favoritism towards materialists is becoming way too much. There is no reason to play anything else. Choosing spiritualist you are accepting a 10% reduction on literally everything except food which is pretty useless, and there are zero benefits.

Eh, I found spiritualists to be actually a lot more powerful. Materialists gives your guys in labs a few more percent. If pops are "happy" ALL of them get 10% more of EVERYTHING, if you manage to reach joyful make that 20%. If anything, materialists get zero benefits.

[Zubenelgenubi]

Originally posted by Mansen:

The same argument could be made for why spiritualists allow for robotics of any kind... Options.

The write up for materialists claims they've left superstitions like psionics behind. There is nothing in the spiritualist write up about them being complete luddites. If your goal was to make the game lore meaningless this is a good start.