statecraft - is there a concensus?

[nullptr]

i cant tell if its good or bad because updates been changing traditions drastically and opinions drift
i read aptitude takes the cake on traditions but i usually start with either expansion or discovery, depending on wide or tall
where does statecrraft fit in?

[tathen]

Prosperity/Expansion/Discovery/Ascension (first 4 i normally go with)
Supremacy/Diplomacy/Politics/ (depending what happening ill pick from these 3)
Mercantile is also really good if you are a mega corp

statecraft just looks so meh i never take it

[xycotta]

It isn't really on my list to be honest.

[Razorblade]

I haven't used it since they took away the free tech progress on Galactic Administration from the tree.

It's alright for leveling your leaders, but unless you're running some kind of heavily leader-focused build, I can't see a lot of reasons to take it. Even then, Aptitude is likely the superior choice in that scenario.

[adobo]

If you take Galactic Contender ascension and use the Statecraft agenda of Oppose the Fallen, You can probably take out a fallen empire early with that 50% damage bonus on them. With the industry of Fallen empire worlds, you can basically roll over the rest of the galaxy.

[mister_lobos]

when it had the "ALL leaders gain experience when completing an agenda" it was one of my early picks..
now it's only council positions that gain xp.. meh.. not so much. the faster AND longer lasting agendas are nice, but not great. so, it's not horrible, but not great either.

[Violet]

Recently I've really leaned into a more leader focused empire in the early game, it used to be much better before the expansion update though. I typically do go for statecraft as my first or second, while getting leaders with agenda speed perks as well. Having 3 agendas online at one time is kinda bonkers as they do give some pretty decent bonuses. I find a lot of the tradition trees just kinda bland now though. I think the main advantage is having a nice edict being maintained, like research subsidies, and that +1 to councilor skill is a lot better than you think. With some good bonuses and experienced leaders, you council will give a lot of passive modifiers that help tremendously into the mid-late game.

I guess it really depends on playstyle, but I find the council to be pretty core in my empires. Again, the other traditions just don't feel impactful. Also, mixing aptitude with the statecraft will just boost your leaders pretty nicely as well. Not as good as before, but it's still reliable getting lvl7s and 8s on my council, which is really nice lol

[TwoTonTuna]

Originally posted by nullptr:

i cant tell if its good or bad because updates been changing traditions drastically and opinions drift
i read aptitude takes the cake on traditions but i usually start with either expansion or discovery, depending on wide or tall
where does statecrraft fit in?

All my opinions are based on single-player casual play, not competitive PvP multiplayer. This means that you are not currently facing any existential threats that could end your empire, allowing you to splurge on non-essential picks.

That said, I find Statecraft pretty decent for a) agenda spamming if you can keep your empire size under something like 500 and b) boosting important councilor levels if they play a key role in the goals of your empire.

Take for example Machine Empires. The head-honcho reduces empire size from pops by -3% per level. A perk from Statecraft increases councilor level by 1, and the launch modifier of Departmental Efficiency temporarily increases councilor effective levels by 2. That's -9% empire size from pops right there, which is pretty significant in the mid and late game when you have hundreds/thousands of pops gunking up your research and traditions.

The other perks of Statecraft also help accelerate councilor levels, which go up stupid-fast if you have low empire sprawl and can spam council agendas. Especially useful for Curator Archivist, Trader Liaison, Labor Intendant, First Citadel, Director of Trade, Labor Magistrate, and other councilor positions with major empire effects.

[Cerodil]

Originally posted by tathen:

Prosperity/Expansion/Discovery/Ascension (first 4 i normally go with)
Supremacy/Diplomacy/Politics/ (depending what happening ill pick from these 3)
Mercantile is also really good if you are a mega corp

statecraft just looks so meh i never take it

I agree with this but I would add that domination and harmony are both also very strong in the right circumstances.

Also don't forget the accession path they're all very strong.

Edit: typo

[mss73055]

To me it is unimpressive. Agendas got a cooldown of 40 years.
This makes Statecraft the tradition of second choices. 4th or 5th choice really.
+50 edict fund is a good starter, but at this time in game you don't have many agendas.

Maybe as a machine empire.

[CrUsHeR]

Aptitude is mandatory as first tradition.

Without this, literally all the changes from the Paragon DLC are a huge downgrade.

Leaders are too expensive, have too high upkeep, get too many negative traits, get too few options for useful traits, and the overall leader capacity per class is too low.

Aptitude gets you back on track, simple as that.