How to play

[Mr.Chaser]

have absolutely no idea wtf I am doing in the game. I've played Sins of a Solar Empire, all Sid Meier's, Tropico and other simulation games but this one in particular is extremely confusing. Please help

[corisai]

Watch some guides on YouTube.

In short - you want to maximize your alloys (fleet), science (obvious) and unity (ascension perks and after it - ascension of planets) production. To do so you also need a steady income of basic resources (energy and minerals), plus your pops can use "luxury" resources - food and consumer goods. For luxury resources you want only to cover the demand, there is no reason to overproduce them. If you're experienced with management games - Stellaris resource management is pretty much trivial.

P.S. And don't be scared to play on Ensign first. Devs patched basic AI long ago so it not completely braindead and pose a significant threat to new player on higher difficulties.

[Doctor Proteus]

To add to the above reply, if you are playing on PC, don't be afraid to use the console to cheat if you want a safety net to help you get to grips with the game before you play seriously.

Having access to the console will also help you bypass bugs, glitches, gameplay flaws and oversights from the developers, too, such as bogus Wars where the AI won't surrender/be defeated even though they have no armies, fleets, resources, systems, all planets are sieged/bombed to rubble, etc...

[corisai]

Originally posted by Doctor Proteus:

and oversights from the developers, too, such as bogus Wars where the AI won't surrender/be defeated even though they have no armies, fleets, resources, systems, all planets are sieged/bombed to rubble

That is NOT a bug - empire will never surrender if:
a) Result is a total loss of freedom, like being fully annexed or vassalized.
b) They still have an allies in battle (that's exactly how France ended among winners in WW2 even if their lands and cities were under complete Nazi control for almost whole war).

[ODINMASTER]

Kill everything that looks at you. Usually works

[Pilgrim]

I have over 500 hours in game and I'm still learning basic concepts. I've played several campaigns and about 50% of them got to a point where they were unwinnable scenarios.

What makes Stellaris unique among other 4X games is that here, losing is not bad. It encourages original thinking, and this is similar to Crusader Kings where playing the hand you're dealt sometimes means you can't "win". Plus, in Stellaris most of the time winning means you annihilate the galaxy and kill everyone in it. Which isn't typically the protagonist story in most games! Maybe it's a good thing that guy loses or never gets close.

You get better by jumping into a new campaign and learning from your most recent mistake, determined not to screw up that way again. So next time you start building a defense fleet right out of the gate, or you get your economy sorted out first, or whatever.

Anyone who is "good" at Stellaris has lost games before. Some of my most memorable campaigns were a desperate fight for survival that I lost. But I blew up planets and sacrificed billions of lives in a desperate bid for survival that no other 4X game has ever even come within a fraction of replicating the complexity and flair for dramatic storytelling.

[Crimson Shadow]

hey you still want help learning im bored and willing to do a multiplayer/cooperative game and teach you stuff

[Kalemenos]

Yes, it is confusing at first, and it aggravated me when I first started playing; now it is by far my favorite game. And I just keep learning all the cool stuff you can do. Because it is so versatile there are endless new directions you can go.

Save a lot, and then try stuff; if it is a disaster, you can re-load the save. For beginning and learning that's fine. Early on I had to scrap games and start over: failure is a great teacher, don't fear it especially in this game.

Begin with building. It costs resources not only to build, but to run a district or building, even if you don't have pops to fill those jobs, so get ahead a little but not too much.

[Smokey The Bear]

I just started playing a few days ago and I have about ~1800 hours in other Paradox 4X games (mostly EU4). Here's a couple of links to videos that helped me understand the basics of modern Stellaris.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P21cVLosfe0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dR3mX0EuxOU

After watching those, I would recommend just playing the game and taking it slow. Whenever you encounter a new mechanic or concept you don't understand, pause the game & look it up on Google or the wiki. Everyone will tell you that you never stop learning in these games, even after thousands of hours.

The complexities of Paradox games can be really daunting and many people give up before they get a grasp on things, but if you break through that barrier then you can get 1000+ hours of fun out of one game.

P.S.
If you do get into it, then you will also need to research the DLC to see which ones might be worth it for you (ONLY BUY DLC ON SALE).