3.8 Guide to Traits, Ethics, Origins, Civics, Traditions and APs [ UPDATE HIATUS ]

This guide extensively explains, rates, and ranks all ethics, traits, origins, civics, traditions, and ascension perks to consider when creating a custom empire, using the accounts of friends and various YouTubers.

Originally inspired by the Beginner's Guide to Ethics, Traits, and Governments[forum.paradoxplaza.com] made by "GAGA Extrem" on the Paradox Forum.

Updated for 3.8 "Gemini" and all expansions up to and including Galactic Paragons and the First Contact Story Pack.

(O) Hiatus Note

Unfortunately, due to personal life circumstances, updates for this guide are on indefinite hiatus as of Octobter, 2023. As numerous balance changes and several important mechanic overhauls are likely to have happened since then, please take information in this guide with a grain of salt. Thank you for all of your support, I do plan to come back to this guide in the (hopefully) near future.

(I) Introduction

Welcome to the Guide to Traits, Ethics, Origins, Civics, Traditions, and APs. This guide will go over the effects and aftereffects of every ethic, trait, origin, civic to think about when creating your empire, as well as every tradition, and ascension perk choice when playing the game in Stellaris.

This guide is heavily inspired by the Beginner's Guide to Ethics, Traits, and Governments[forum.paradoxplaza.com] made by "GAGA Extrem" on the Paradox Forum.

The guide is currently updated for version 3.8 "Gemini" and the Distant Stars, Apocalypse, Utopia, Synthetic Dawn, MegaCorp, Federations, Nemesis, Overlord, First Contact, and Galactic Paragons expansions, as well as the Plantoids, Humanoids, Lithoids, Necroids, Aquatics, and Toxoids species packs.

I plan to continue to update as the game updates.

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Everything in this guide is sorted and rated on a tier-list system, from S to X, based on the criteria below:

(S) Overpowered
The item is considered to be 'meta' in a broad range of playstyles, or simply just has huge bonuses that can easily be exploited for great gain in general play.

(A) Powerful
The item is very good and sees quite a lot of use and discussion, and is also easy to derive benefit from. It will see use throughout the entire game.

(B) Reliable
The item is better than most and can fit comfortably into quite a few empire builds. It may be unwieldly to use but can be beneficial once one has learned to work around it. You will likely take benefit from it for most of the game.

(C) Uninteresting
This item is neither good nor bad, and while one will derive benefit from it it may quickly become irrelevant or annoying to derive use from.

(D) Underwhelming
This item isn't that great. Either its bonuses are underwhelming, or it becomes irrelevant too fast for it's bonuses to be impactful. Still has places where it can shine, but they are few and far between.

(E) Situational
This item shouldn't be picked except in certain situations or builds. It has its niche uses, but you can expect the tiers above this one to be relevant for longer, be useful in more situations, and provide more of a benefit outside of builds specifically tailored for them.

(F) Negligible
This item, while not overtly detrimental, is almost immediately made irrelevant and will only take up space that could be used for more useful effects in a majority of builds. You'd be better off picking almost anything else.

(X) Detrimental
This item can range anywhere from completely worthless to being an active hinderance with effects that cannot be compensated for without becoming a significant drain on time or resources. Picks from this tier are not recommended in any circumstance other than RP.

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I will be going over the specific pros and cons of each entry, and how they would fare through your Stellaris experience.

Note: I am NOT telling you how you should play the game. I am only simply sharing my personal conclusion coming from what information I have gathered.

Thank you for reading this guide, by the by.

Without further adieu, let's get started.

(II) TL;DR Tier Lists

Here are some TL;DR tier lists for the rankings. In case you want a detailed explanation, they are all in their sections below.

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Traits*

(S): Fleeting, Industrious, Intelligent, Natural Engineers, Unruly, Incubators, Noxious, Bulky, Efficient Processors, Emotion Emulators, High Bandwidth, Logic Engines, Mass Produced, Superconductive, Lithoid, Crystallization

(A): Adaptive, Deviants, Natural Physicists, Rapid Breeders, Solitary, Strong, Talented, Thrifty, Traditional, Aquatic, Machine, Enhanced Memory, Luxurious, Power Drills, Gaseous Byproducts, Budding

(B): Charismatic, Enduring, Ingenious, Natural Sociologists, Nomadic, Slow Learners, Weak, Hive Minded, Custom-Made, High Maintenance, Repurposed Hardware, Volatile Excretions, Phototrophic

(C): Agrarian, Conformists, Extremely Adaptive, Very Strong, Scintillating Skin

(D): Decadent, Nonadaptive, Quarrelsome, Quick Learners, Wasteful, Durable, Learning Algorithms, Recycled, Radiotrophic

(E): Conservationist, Sedentary, Venerable, Double Jointed, Streamlined Protocols

(F): Communal, Docile, Resilient

(X): Repugnant, Inorganic Breath

*Overtuned traits were omitted from this tier list. Their ranking as a whole can be garnered from the placement of their source origin in its respective list. See the Overturned Traits section for more information on their viability.

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Origins

(S): Clone Army, Knights of the Toxic God, Necrophage, Ocean Paradise, Overtuned, Tree of Life, Under One Rule, Void Dwellers

(A): Imperial Fiefdom, Mechanist, Progenitor Hive, Prosperous Unification, Remnants, Scion, Shattered Ring

(B): Fear of the Dark, Here Be Dragons, On the Shoulders of Giants, Syncretic Evolution

(C): Broken Shackles, Calamitous Birth, Payback, Post-Apocalyptic, Resource Consolidation, Subterranean

(D): Slingshot to the Stars, Teachers of the Shroud

(E): Doomsday, Hegemon, Lost Colony

(F): Life-Seeded

(X): Common Ground, Galactic Doorstep

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Civics

(Special Civics are underlined in bold)

(S): Ascensionists (Normal), Death Cult, Distinguished Admiralty, Feudal Society, Free Haven, Idyllic Bloom (Normal + Hive Mind), Master Crafters, Merchant Guilds, Meritocracy, Relentless Industrialists, Slaver Guilds, Technocracy, Elevational Contemplations, Empath, Neural Vaults, Organic Reprocessing (Hive Mind), Stargazers, Experience Cache, Factory Overclocking, Rapid Replicator, Unitary Cohesion, Ascensionists (MegaCorp), Corporate Death Cult, Free Traders, Mastercraft Inc., Permanent Employment, Pharma State, Precision Cogs, Public Relations Specialists, Fanatic Purifiers,, Terravore, Rogue Servitor, Criminal Heritage

(A):Citizen Service, Corvee System, Crusader Spirit, Diplomatic Corps, Eager Explorers, Idealistic Foundation, Imperial Cult, Divided Attention, Pooled Knowledge, Delegated Functions, Maintenance Protocols, Brand Loyalty, Corporate Hedonism, Franchising, Gospel of the Masses, Knowledge Mentorship, Naval Contractors, Private Prospectors, Privatized Exploration, Devouring Swarm, Determined Exterminator, Driven Assimilator

(B): Beacon of Liberty, Corporate Dominion, Exalted Priesthood, Nationalist Zeal, Pleasure Seekers, Parliamentary System, Philosopher King, Pompous Purists, Cordyceptic Drones, One Mind, Subspace Ephapse, Elevational Hypotheses, Introspective, Rockbreakers, Zero-Waste Protocols, Letters of Marquee, Media Conglomerate, Ruthless Competition, Barbaric Despoilers

(C): Aristocratic Elite, Byzantine Bureaucracy, Catalytic Processing, Environmentalist, Functional Architecture, Heroic Past, Oppressive Autocracy, Shared Burdens, Vaults of Knowledge, Ascetic, Autonomous Drones, Exploration Protocols, Catalytic Recyclers, Sovereign Circuits, Indentured Assets, Inwards Perfection

(D): Agrarian Idyll, Mutagenic Spas (Normal + MegaCorp), Scavengers (Normal + MegaCorp), Warrior Culture, Permutation Pools, Constructobot, Anglers (MegaCorp), Private Military Companies, Trading Posts

(E): Anglers (Normal), Efficient Bureaucracy, Mining Guilds, Police State, Shadow Council, Natural Neural Network, Strength of Legions, Hyper Lubrication Basin, Static Research Analysis

(F): Cutthroat Politics, Memorialist (Normal + Machine), Subsumed Will, OTA Updates, Warbots

(X): Memorialist (Hive Mind), Organic Reprocessing (Machine)

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Starting Ruler Traits*

(S): Spark of Genius, Warlike, Eye for Talent

(A): Mining Rush

(B): Principled, Feedback Loop

(C): Charismatic

(D): Fleet Organizer

(E): Logistic Understanding

(F): Spycraft

(X):

*Under One Rule traits were omitted from this tier list. Their ranking as a whole can be garnered from the placement of their source origin in its respective list. See the Under One Rule Traits section for more information on their viability.

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Tradition Trees

(S): Discovery, Expansion, Cybernetic, Genetic, Aptitude

(A): Domination, Supremacy, Psionic, Politics, Statecraft

(B): Prosperity, Mercantile, Synthetic

(C): Adaptability, Versatility

(D): Diplomacy

(E): Unyielding

(F): Synchronicity, Harmony

(X): Subterfuge

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Ascendance Perks

(S): Technological Ascendancy, Universal Transactions, Hive Worlds, The Flesh is Weak/Organo-Machine Interfacing, Become the Crisis, Hydrocentric, Engineered Evolution, Transcendent Learning

(A): One Vision, Voidborne, Arcology Project, Synthetic Age, Galactic Wonders, Master Builders, Lord of War, Mind over Matter

(B): Interstellar Dominion, Nihilistic Acquisition, Machine Worlds, Colossus Project, Defender of the Galaxy

(C): Executive Vigor, World Shaper, Synthetic Evolution, Archaeo-Engineers

(D): Consecrated Worlds, Imperial Prerogative, Galactic Force Projection, Detox, Enigmatic Engineering

(E): Mastery of Nature, Shared Destiny, Galactic Contender

(F): Eternal Vigilance

(X): Grasp the Void, Xeno-Compatibility

(III) Species Traits (1)

Traits are applied per pop. For example, if a pop has a trait that causes it to only produce 50% energy credits, only that pop will be affected. A neighboring pop without the trait will not be changed, but it will still be smart to think about, since one generally doesn't have a pop with different traits until a few dozen years into the game.

The trait system allows a total of 5 traits, which have an associated cost. The cost must equal 0 or greater in order for the species to be valid. You start with 2 points during species creation, with more gained as the game progresses.

(Note: Traits that require or are otherwise directly linked to Origins or Civics will not appear here. Instead, they will contribute to the ranking of their parent Origin/Civic.)

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Adaptive (2 Point Cost) (A) [Base Game]
+10% Habitability

Habitability isn't the most important metric to need to micromanage, but a species that is better suited to a planet will produce more resources from jobs, have higher happiness, and contribute more to pop growth. Very hard to go wrong with Adaptive.

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Agrarian (2 Point Cost) (C) [Base Game]
-15% Food from Jobs

Food can certainly be a bottleneck, especially if you're the type to consistently use Nutritional Plentitude. Devoting an entire 2 cost trait to it, however, isn't the strongest choice. Shoots up to S tier with any of the food-to-alloys civics, or potentially A tier with Void Dwellers, but in a vacuum, it's mid.

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Charismatic (2 Point Cost) (B) [Base Game]
+20% Amenities from Jobs

Amenities are one of the more finicky resources in Stellaris, and I honestly wouldn't blame you if you brought this trait just to give you one less thing to worry about. Not any higher than B, though, because biological empires have ample avenues for producing amenities, so it isn't a must-have.

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Communal (1 Point Cost) (F) [Base Game]
-10% Pop Housing Usage

Unless your empire consists of numerous first-tier Habitats that you don't plan on upgrading, don't bother. Housing is one of the easiest things to pull out of your butt in Stellaris, with literally every district giving some amount of it.

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Conformists (2 Point Cost) (C) [Base Game]
+30% Governing Ethics Attraction

Governing Ethics Attraction is certainly a fun mechanics to contend with, especially as a slaver empire. I almost put this trait down in E tier, until I remembered that I don't actually play slavers all that often. If you treat your pops badly, then having them conform with the status quo would probably be a... good thing, right?

That is, unless you're Spiritualist, in which case don't bother. For some reason they gave Spiritualists all the GEA tools that they'll ever need.

Hive Minds, decoupled from the ethics system, cannot take this trait.

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Conservationist (1 Point Cost) (E) [Base Game]
-10% Pop Consumer Goods upkeep

If it were me, I'd just settle another Factory World if I needed more CGs, but in a few niche cases such as a tiny galaxy or some kind of Fanatic Purifier steamroll build, I can understand why you'd want to devote less resources to stuff like kitchen appliances.

Hive Minds, unneeding of material comforts, cannot take this trait.

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Decadent (-1 Point Cost) (D) [Base Game]
-10% Worker & Slave Happiness

I mean... you could certainly take Decadent, but -10% happiness for a caste that is likely already going to be the least happy might not be the smartest idea. Especially when there are better options.

Hive Minds, unaffected by happiness, cannot take this trait.

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Deviants (-1 Point Cost) (A) [Base Game]
-15% Governing Ethics Attraction

If you're running an empire that focuses on the comfort of your main species without slavery in order to maximize their output (which is, to say, the majority of empire builds), then they will almost always be glued to your governing ethics, no matter how much GEA malus you pile on. Deviants, then, becomes a free refunded trait point.

Hive Minds, decoupled from the ethics system, cannot take this trait.

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Docile (2 Point Cost) (F) [Base Game]
-10% Empire Size from Pops

Trust me when I say this: In normal gameplay, you will almost always outpace your Empire Size by a sizeable margin. And if you aren't, picking Docile isn't the way to fix the issue. Every pop in your empire contributes just 1 Empire Size by default, so even if your empire spans half the galaxy, you wouldn't be saving much with this 2 POINT trait.

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Enduring (1 Point Cost) (B) [Base Game]
+20 Year Leader Lifespan

For 1 point? It isn't half bad. Even if you don't pile them on in empire creation, you will get numerous bonuses to the efficacy of your leaders as the game goes on, which Enduring will only complement.

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Extremely Adaptive (4 Point Cost) (C) [Base Game]
+20% Habitability

While Adaptive is a quite good perk, Extremely Adaptive just ends up being a waste, greatly restricting what traits it can be synergized with. If you're trying to run a high habitability build, there are much better options, but if you want a build specifically centered around habitability, then there aren't much other traits to look to.

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Fleeting (-1 Point Cost) (S) [Base Game]
-10 Year Leader Lifespan (Normal Species)
-25 Year Leader Lifespan (Lithoid Species)

While Enduring and Venerable stick with you for your entire game, Fleeting is literally free points, for the same reasons: you get numerous bonuses to the efficacy of your leaders as a game progresses, including leader lifespan bonuses. The first lifespan technology you research cancels out Fleeting, and you can proceed to ignore it for the remainder of the game. Free point.

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Industrious (2 Point Cost) (S) [Base Game]
+15% Minerals from Jobs

I personally never use Industrious, but that's only because it feels like such a basic trait. Like, wow, you generate more of the most used resource in the entire game. Of course you'd want to pick it!

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Ingenious (2 Point Cost) (B) [Base Game]
+15% Energy Credits from Jobs

Getting EC directly from jobs is only a part of your general income, so the amount you'd get from jobs isn't as large as you might initially expect. Useful, but deceptive.

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Intelligent (2 Point Cost) (S) [Base Game]
+10% Research from Jobs

Anybody will tell you that your ability to generate research, especially in the early/mid game where the majority of it comes from Researcher jobs, will make or break your entire game. While I'm personally more privy to the "Natural _____" traits, Intelligent is overall a better trait-point-to-research-bonus ratio, and is probably one of the few perks that can actually be considered 'meta'.

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Natural Engineers (1 Point Cost) (S) [Base Game]
+15% Engineering Research from Jobs

Engineering is your ships, some ship components, your starbases, your minerals, your alloys, your consumer goods, your robots, your planetside infrastructure, your strategic resources. Above all of that, however, is Megaengineering, probably the most vital gateway tech into the endgame. Natural Engineers is my personal go-to trait.

--- Species Traits (2)

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Natural Physicists (1 Point Cost) (A) [Base Game]
+15% Physics Research from Jobs

Physics is your FTL, your research, your energy production, and the lions share of megastructures and ship components. Only below Natural Engineers because it doesn't have as many vital technologies under it, but you certainly wouldn't be getting left behind if you picked this over that.

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Natural Sociologists (1 Point Cost) (B) [Base Game]
+15% Society Research from Jobs

Society is your food production, your leader and military bonuses, your habitability and blocker stuff, your government, and your psionics. Of the three, Society is the research you can comfortably fall behind a little bit in and not fear imminent defeat.

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Nonadaptive (-2 Point Cost) (D) [Base Game]
-10% Habitability

I can think of situations where Nonadaptive would be good for, say, roleplaying, but if you're looking for traits that are functionally good, then there's only one -2 cost trait that I can recommend... and -5% output across the board on all colonies isn't it.

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Nomadic (1 Point Cost) (B) [Base Game]
+15% Pop Growth from Immigration
-25% Resettlement Cost

The pop growth from immigration is the main benefit here, though the resettlement costs can be useful for slavers. The more planets you have, or the more migration pacts you have, the greater benefit this gives you.

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Quarrelsome (-1 Point Cost) (D) [Base Game]
-10% Unity from Jobs

Jobs are your main source of Unity. Normally the amount you gain feels pretty balanced, but unless you build quite a few more Unity producing buildings, you'll feel this trait more than most once you get to midgame.

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Quick Learners (B Point Cost) (D) [Base Game]
+25% Leader Experience Gain

Your leaders have a level cap, so though this trait will allow them to reach that cap faster, eventually the amount of time this trait goes unused will be greater than the benefit. Potentially useful with Fleeting, but at that point, how many trait slots are you going to use on some jank leader build?

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Rapid Breeders (2 Point Cost) (A) [Base Game]
+10% Pop Growth Speed

A flat bonus to pop growth is always welcome! Not much to say about this one. More useful for wide builds than tall.

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Repugnant (-2 Point Cost) (X) [Base Game]
-20% Amenities from Jobs

If you really want to be chasing negative amenities for your whole game, go ahead. There are refund traits that are much more manageable than this one, and you'll be feeling that -20% amenities from the very start of the game to the very end.

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Resilient (1 Point Cost) (F) [Base Game]
+50% Defense Army Damage

In case you're reading this guide from top to bottom, let me warn you now: Me dumping on army bonuses will be a common theme.

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Sedentary (-1 Point Cost) (E) [Base Game]
-15% Pop Growth from Immigration
+25% Resettlement Cost

Are you running an authoritarian Fanatical Purifier? If so, why not? Otherwise, it just seems like an unnecessary kneecap to your pop growth.

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Slow Learners (-1 Point Cost) (B) [Base Game]
-25% Leader Experience Game

You'll have a slow start to your game for sure, but technology will allow you to catch up pretty handily. This perk becomes worse the higher your leader level cap is, so try not to pair it with stuff like Talented.

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Solitary (-1 Point Cost) (A) [Base Game]
+10% Pop Housing Usage

Just build more city districts. Boom, you've completely negated the downside of this trait. Free point!

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Strong (1 Point Cost) (A) [Base Game]
+20% Army Damage
+2.5% Worker/Menial Drone Resource Output

Yeah, why not? Ignoring the army damage (which is inconsequential in almost every situation), Worker pops produce quite a bit of important resources, which can include strategic resources depending on the circumstances.

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Talented (1 Point Cost) (A) [Base Game]
+1 Leader Level Cap

Leaders gain a variety of bonuses with their level, from general resources from jobs to research speed to ship fire rate. One level on one leader isn't much, but when the bonus is spread out across all leaders, it can be quite good.

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Thrifty (2 Point Cost) (A) [Base Game]
+25% Trade Value from Jobs

Trade Value is mainly converted directly to EC, but with the right build it can also be a pretty handy source of Consumer Goods and even Unity. A build based around producing TV can become very powerful with this trait.

Hive Minds, notably non-capitalist, cannot use this trait.

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Traditional (1 Point Cost) (A) [Base Game]
+10% Unity from Joba

Traditional is one of my go-to traits, simply because Unity is used for a lot of important and impactful effects. The faster you get through the tradition trees, the better!

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Unruly (-2 Point Cost) (S!!!) [Base Game]
+10% Empire Size from Pops

Behold, the single best point refund trait currently in the game. The amount of Empire Size you get from pops is utterly negligible, and can easily be outpaced through normal gameplay, even with this trait. Literally two free trait points.

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Venerable (4 Point Cost) (E) [Base Game]
+80 Year Leader Lifespan

That's a lot of years. It's also a lot of trait points. For a bonus you're likely to get anyway through normal gameplay, it's not an amazing choice unless you're trying for a build specifically centered around funky leader stuff.

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Very Strong (3 Point Cost) (C) [Base Game]
+40% Army Damage
+5% Worker/Menial Drone Resource Output

That 5% worker resource output is pretty good for the same reasons I outlined in the normal 'Strong' trait's description, but it's 2x the bonus for 3x the perk cost. Choose wisely.

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Wasteful (-1 Point Cost) (D) [Base Game]
+10% Pop Consumer Goods output

This is such a *bruh* trait. Completely negligible in multiple ways, yet you won't want to bring yourself to negate it. Resources better used for other things and all that jazz. At least it refunds a trait point.

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Weak (-1 Point Cost) (B) [Base Game]
-20% Army Damage
-2.5% Worker/Menial Drone Resource Output

Use that -1 point to pick up Rapid Breeders or a similar effect to make up for it plus some, and you'll be fine. While it would be nice to have those resources, you'll find plenty of other ways to make up for them.

--- Species Traits (3)

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Hive-Minded (Required w/ Hive Minded Authority) (B) [Utopia]
Not Affected by Happiness
+20 Year Leader Lifespan
-10 Year Leader Initial Age

In case all those words sound stupid, it essentially equates to +30 Year Leader Lifespan. 1.5x what you get with Enduring... for free! Except, now you have to play a Hive Mind.

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Aquatic (2 Point Cost) (A) [Aquatics Species Pack]
Requires Ocean homeworld
+20% Habitability on Ocean worlds
-10% Housing Usage on Ocean worlds
+10% Food, Energy, Mineral output on Ocean worlds
+30% Housing Usage on non-Wet worlds
-20% Habitability on non-Wet worlds
Additional benefits from Hydrocentric AP

It is what it says on the tin. You're a fish, and you like the water.
The benefits you derive from ocean worlds makes it extremely worth the cost of terraforming foreign worlds to ocean worlds, something made easier with Hydrocentric. However, slavers and conquerors may have a difficult time making use of taken worlds and pops.

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Incubators (2 Point Cost) (S) [Toxoids Species Pack]
+1% Pop Growth Speed per Pops below 37 (max +30%)
-1% Pop Growth Speed per Pops above 37 (max -30%)

I really like Incubators. For 1 point, it helps you get over that initial colony development hump with a bonus 3x that of Rapid Breeders, before slowing down and letting immigration take over. I find myself running it very often.

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Inorganic Breath (3 Point Cost) (X) [Toxoids Species Pack]
+0.02 Monthly Exotic Gasses per pop
+50% Pop Upkeep

Bruh. No amount of gasses would ever be able to justify +50% pop upkeep. Would be higher if it offset Exotic Metabolism, but it's not nearly enough by a factor of, like, 6.

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Noxious (1 Point Cost) (S) [Toxoids Species Pack]
+0.02 Happiness per non-Noxious pop present
+5% Happiness
+50% Army Damage
+30% Species Minimum Habitability
-30% Species Habitability Cap
+10% Pop Housing Usage
-0.01 Happiness for other pops for every Noxious pop present

You know whose happiness you don't have to care as much about? Slaves. You know what slaver empires also tend to do? Be very, very wide. You know what playstyles this perk encourages...? (Hint: It isn't Pacifist Xenophiles)

(IV) Species-Specific Traits

These traits are only usable by specific types of species. Traits restricted to a certain species type can only be accessed by choosing the proper portrait in the empire creator.

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Machine

(Note: This only includes traits available to Machine Intelligences upon empire creation, not general Mechanical traits.)

Machine (Required w/ Machine Portrait) (A) [Synthetic Dawn]
+200% Habitability
Pop consumes Energy instead of Food

So much habitability means you can colonize literally whatever you want, but keep in mind that playing a Machine empire means that you incur all the restrictions of a gestalt playthrough. Thankfully, Machine Intelligences are generally versatile enough to make this not a very bad thing.

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Bulky (-1 Point Cost) (S) [Synthetic Dawn]
+10% Pop Housing Usage

Top tier for the same reason that Solitary is great, but moreso. If you have so many robot pops that you can't fit them all on a planet, that isn't a bad thing. Like, at all.

Also, I really like the description for this trait.

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Custom-Made (-1 Point Cost) (B) [Synthetic Dawn]
-15% Pop Assembly Speed

This trait specifically can be somewhat annoying, mainly in the early game where getting as many pops as you can is somewhat important for gestalts. However, further down the line, it gets made irrelevant.

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Double Jointed (1 Point Cost) (E) [Synthetic Dawn]
-10% Pop Housing Usage

I don't really have much to say for this. It's a waste of a point unless you're trying for a super tall machine build, and even then...

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Durable (1 Point Cost) (D) [Synthetic Dawn]
-10% Robot Upkeep

Most mechanical pops only consume 1 EC per month for their upkeep. Considering one Tech-Drone can support itself and 7 other machines (And you don't need farmers!!), this one isn't really necessary.

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Efficient Processors (3 Point Cost) (S) [Synthetic Dawn]
+5% Resources from Jobs

I love this perk. It's so simple, but it provides so much benefit. 'Resources from Jobs' encompasses everything from research to basic materials to strategic resources. It might cost 3, but I feel like you can't go wrong with it.

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Emotion Emulators (1 Point Cost) (S) [Synthetic Dawn]
+20% Amenities from Jobs

Machines aren't as good as producing their amenities as the biological empires, for several reasons. For 1 point, you can almost mitigate that issue. Not really needed as Rogue Servitors.

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Enhanced Memory (2 Point Cost) (A) [Synthetic Dawn]
+2 Leader Level Cap

Machine leaders are immortal (barring any tragic accidents), and get to enjoy the benefits of being high level much more than biological leaders. PDX was then nice enough to double up the machine
leader level perk. Great!

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High Bandwidth (-2 Point Cost) (S) [Synthetic Dawn]
+10% Empire Size from Pops

Empire Size is nothing. You can outpace it easily during normal gameplay, and +10% on top of that is barely going to affect you in the long run, considering pops only contribute 1 to Empire Size by default anyways. 2 free points.

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High Maintenance (-1 Point Cost) (B) [Synthetic Dawn]
+10% Robot Upkeep

Again, robot upkeep is all of 1 EC. I'm sure you can manage with it being 1.1 instead.

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Learning Algorithms (1 Point Cost) (D) [Synthetic Dawn]
+25% Leader Experience Gain

Unnecessary. When your leaders are immortal by default, you shouldn't be in a rush to get them to max when the trait point could be used on more weighty effects. Sure it stings when your level 10 scientist meets a terrible hydraulic press accident, but... they'll be back soon enough.

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Logic Engines ( Point Cost) (S) [Synthetic Dawn]
+10% Research from Jobs

Well, it's the only research trait Machines get, and it's just a copy of biological's Intelligent. Of course it's going to be S tier. Tech is king, no matter what your body is made of.

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Luxurious (-2 Point Cost) (A) [Synthetic Dawn]
+20% Pop Assembly Cost

This one might be controversial, but I don't mind this one. Sure it's a drain on alloys, but it's 2 points to make a cost of 2 become, like, a cost of 2.2. I'll certainly take it!

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Mass Produced ( Point Cost) (S) [Synthetic Dawn]
+15% Pop Assembly Speed

There's no real reason not to take this trait for general use. It's really good having that extra speed, considering pops are king when it comes to gestalt play.

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Power Drills (2 Point Cost) (A) [Synthetic Dawn]
+15% Minerals from Jobs

Machine Empires already get a larger amount of minerals from Mining Bases as it is. Whether or not you want to really push minerals is up to you, but I'll tell you right now: Minerals are very useful.

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Recycled (2 Point Cost) (D) [Synthetic Dawn]
-20% Pop Assembly Cost

The assembly cost of your robotic pops isn't as big of a resource sink as some people make it out to be. It can certainly be useful to have those extra alloys, but for 2 cost? I wouldn't think so in every situation.

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Repurposed Hardware (-1 Point Cost) (B) [Synthetic Dawn]
-25% Leader Experience Gain

Your leaders, being immortal machines, won't need to worry about EXP gain for the majority of their lives... in most cases. It can be a good take, but I can also see situations where it would be annoying.

---

Streamlined Protocols (2 Point Cost) (E) [Synthetic Dawn]
-10% Empire Size from Pops

You know, I forgot to mention that Machine Intelligences innately have -15% Empire Size from Pops just from their unique government type. Of all things you'd want to stack... why would it be ES from Pops reduction?

---

Superconductive (2 Point Cost) (S) [Synthetic Dawn]
+15% Energy Credits from Jobs

Considering MIs use Energy for, like, everything (since they don't have Consumer Goods), then doubling down on the production of them is not a bad thing. Even moreso for MIs than Hive Minds because MIs also don't have food upkeep. It's Energy again.

--- Species-Specific Traits (2)

Lithoid (Silicate Traits)

Lithoid (Required w/ Lithoid Portrait) (S) [Lithoids Species Pack]
-25% Pop Growth/Assembly Speed
+50% Habitability
+50% Army Health
+50 Leader Lifespan
Pops consume Minerals instead of Food

The huge Habitability bonus vastly outweighs the pop growth speed penalty. For wide players who don't want to play gestalt, lithoids will be the way to go. The other perks are just icing on the cake, and consuming Minerals instead of Food greatly helps streamline production in a similar way to Gestalts as well.

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Scintillating Skin (2 Point Cost) (C) [Lithoids Species Pack]
Pop generates 0.01 Rare Crystals monthly if not Undesirable

In my experience, rare crystals are a bit less useful than the other two main resources, but they do still have their uses, such as for Consumer Goods production.

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Gaseous Byproducts (2 Point Cost) (A) [Lithoids Species Pack]
Pop generates 0.01 Exotic Gasses monthly if not Undesirable

Exotic Gasses are the strategic resource mainly used for upgrading and maintaining research-focused buildings and districts, which automatically puts it a step above the other two.

---

Volatile Excretions (2 Point Cost) (B) [Lithoids Species Pack]
Pop generates 0.01 Volatile Motes monthly if not Undesirable

Having the extra motes for Alloy and Mineral production is nice, but in all honesty, it isn't worth it for 2 points.

---

Crystalization (2 Point Cost) (S) [Lithoids Species Pack]
Must be Lithoid
Each non-Undesirable pop with this trait produces 0.02 Organic Pop Assembly

Allows you to unlock the clone vat mechanics without needing to worry about rushing biological ascendancy, which really helps considering Lithoid's innate low pop growth.
Keep in mind, because these use pop assembly, they and robot assembly may conflict.

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Radiotrophic (2 Point Cost) (D) [Plantoids Species Pack]
Pop replaces 50% of Mineral upkeep with Energy upkeep
Pop has no Energy upkeep if living on a Tomb World
+30% Tomb World Habitability

I won't be surprised if this trait becomes part of some kind of meta build with post-apocalyptic/Relentless Industrialists. It's extremely good in that singular case, elevating it above E tier a bit, but otherwise, it's just kind of a waste of a point.

Recommended for Post-Apocalyptic.

---

Plantoid/Fungoid (Botanical Traits)

Phototrophic (1 Point Cost) (B) [Plantoids Species Pack]
Pop replaces 50% of Food upkeep with Energy upkeep

Helps you lessen the load on food in case you are in a situation where it would be better to focus production, or in situation where you have a lot more energy than anything else. Food isn't usually an issue, but if you expect to have tons of energy (like, say, a Megacorp) then I see no reason why not.

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Radiotrophic (2 Point Cost) (D) [Plantoids Species Pack]
Pop replaces 50% of Food upkeep with Energy upkeep
Pop has no Energy upkeep if living on a Tomb World
+30% Tomb World Habitability

I won't be surprised if this trait becomes part of some kind of meta build with post-apocalyptic/Relentless Industrialists. It's extremely good in that singular case, elevating it above E tier a bit, but otherwise, it's just kind of a waste of a point.

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Budding (3 Point Cost) (A) [Plantoids Species Pack]
Must be Plantoid/Fungoid
Each non-Undesirable pop with this trait produces 0.02 Organic Pop Assembly

Allows you to unlock the clone vat mechanics without needing to worry about rushing biological ascendancy. With a little bit of technology and enough pops, this can be very powerful. I'm just imagining an endgame Ecumenopolis full of these little buggers...
Keep in mind, because these use pop assembly, they and robot assembly may conflict.

(V) Overtuned Traits

The following traits are only available to an empire with the Overtuned origin. Be wary when using too many of these perks, as having too low an average leader lifespan can make the game impossible to play.

These perks are omitted from TL;DR tier lists, as they generally fall under the origin as a whole.

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Augmented Intelligence (1 Point Cost) (S) [Toxoids Species Pack]
+10% Research from Jobs
-10 Year Leader Lifespan

It's Intelligent for half the cost. I shouldn't need to say anything beyond that.

---

Crafted Smiles (1 Point Cost) (C) [Toxoids Species Pack]
+15% Amenities from Jobs
-10 Year Leader Lifespan

Aside from how horrifying the description and icon for this trait are, I wouldn't consider it the best choice as, 4 times out of 5, you'll be able to just build yourself more amenities... or shift your pops around so they don't hate life as much.

---

Dedicated Miner (1 Point Cost) (D) [Toxoids Species Pack]
+15% Minerals from Jobs
-10 Year Leader Lifespan

Having more minerals is certainly nice as they're one of the more commonly used resources, but picking Overturned exclusively for this perk? Maybe not.

---

Elevated Synapses (2 Point Cost) (A) [Toxoids Species Pack]
+20% Research from Jobs
+2 Leader Level Cap
-30 Year Leader Lifespan

I understand why they tacked on the Leader Level Cap, but it's inconsequential when you're staring down a -30 Leader Lifespan malus. The research more than makes up for it, though. Glue on Venerable, and enjoy starting the game with Erudite!

---

Excessive Endurance (3 Point Cost) (S) [Toxoids Species Pack]
+30% Habitability
+5% Resources from Jobs
-30 Year Leader Lifespan

I wouldn't be surprised if people started to run Overtuned specifically just to have this perk on their pops. The Habitability of a Lithoid and the cool Efficient Processers of a machine, with all the benefits of being an organic. Very Adaptable still costs more than this.

---

Expressed Tradition (1 Point Cost) (A) [Toxoids Species Pack]
+10% Unity from Jobs
-10 Year Leader Lifespan

Trust me, you're gonna need that Unity with all the leader-hiring you'll be doing.

---

Farm Appendages (1 Point Cost) (E) [Toxoids Species Pack]
+15% Food from Jobs
-10 Year Leader Lifespan

You shouldn't even be picking the non-Overtuned version of this perk in most cases. Don't bother.

---

Gene Mentorship (1 Point Cost) (F) [Toxoids Species Pack]
+25% Leader Experience Gain
-10 Year Leader Lifespan

Now, by itself, this would easily be X tier. However, it isn't mutually exclusive with Quick Learners, which opens the door to interesting leader levelling builds. If you're devoting this much toward Leader EXP in a run where your leaders have the lifespans of mayflies, however... maybe just stick with Prosperous Unification. Use Quick Learners, and forget about Gene Mentorship.

---

Juiced Power (1 Point Cost) (A) [Toxoids Species Pack]
+40% Army Damage
+5% Worker and Menial Drone Pop Resource Output
-10 Year Leader Lifespan

Very Strong for 1/3 of the point cost. I'd say it's worth it in a vacuum, and especially with other traits that boost Worker resource output (as this trait is not exclusive with Strong and Very Strong).

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Low Maintenance (1 Point Cost) (X) [Toxoids Species Pack]
-10% Pop Consumer Goods Upkeep
-10 Year Leader Lifespan

Conservationist with a downside. You're even less likely to make a build around Consumer Goods upkeep with this than you are to use Gene Mentorship, and if you honestly use Damn the Consequences for this, don't even bother loading the empire.

---

Pre-Planned Growth (2 Point Cost) (A) [Toxoids Species Pack]
+30% Pop Growth Speed
-10% Pop Housing Usage
-30 Year Leader Lifespan

This one seems somewhat dangerous to me, but that's probably unfounded. All that pop growth is extremely powerful, and there's nothing stopping you from snipping this out of your species when your empire is fully grown.

---

Spliced Adaptability (1 Point Cost) (SS) [Toxoids Species Pack]
+20% Habitability
-10 Year Leader Lifespan

Holy crap! Very Adaptable for only 1 trait point? Are you serious? When some Overturned traits take off -30 years, you'd think this one would be somewhere closer to that than... well, this.

---

Technical Talent (1 Point Cost) (B) [Toxoids Species Pack]
+15% Energy from Jobs
-10 Year Leader Lifespan

Better than, say, the food trait, because Energy is used for so many things.

(VI) Origins (1)

Added in the 2.6 update, Origins are a 'backstory' for your empire that can drastically change how you play the game. Paradox themselves said that they weren't really trying to balance these, and thus some are definitely going to be better than others.

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Broken Shackles (C) [First Contact Story Pack]
Cannot be Authoritarian
Cannot be Xenophobe
Cannot be Gestalt Consciousness
Cannot have Eager Explorers civic
Cannot have Privatized Exploration civic
Start with most of your population being pops from pre-FTL civilizations across the galaxy
Start with no ships, no stations, and weaker versions of baseline buildings
Some starting technologies are not researched at the beginning
Start with Early Space-Age Stellar Culture Shock
An empire with the Payback origin is guaranteed to spawn
Minamar Specialized Industries is guaranteed to spawn
+1 Envoys
+20% Infiltration Speed
+20% First Contact Discovery Speed
+50 Opinion to and from the Payback empire
+100 Opinion with homeworld pre-FTL civilizations
Story events and special projects focused on searching for homeworlds and fighting MSI will occur as the game progresses, granting bonuses

Broken Shackles is considered a 'difficult' origin due to the severe infrastructural advantage it puts you at in the beginning of the game, but you get so many bonuses as the game progresses that it is mostly made up for it. This origin is very complex, but the unique mechanics and the story it has you follow makes it worth trying out, even just once. Not the best competitively, though.

---

Clone Army (S) [Humanoids Species Pack]
Cannot be Gestalt Consciousness
Cannot have Permanent Employment civic
Start with Cloning researched
Start with Gene Banks researched
Main species starts with Clone Soldier trait (preventing genemodding and natural reproduction)
Admirals have Clone Army trait
Start with two Ancient Clone Vat buildings, of which you can build up to 5 total across your empire, which rapidly produce and support 20 pops of your main species each
Unlock an event chain to replace species Clone Soldier trait with either Clone Soldier Descendant (allowing for natural reproduction and genemodding) or the Clone Soldier Ascendant trait (granting powerful bonuses to production but forever restricting species to 100 max pops)

Honestly, going with Clone Soldier Descendant is a waste of potential. The benefits you get from becoming a Clone Soldier Ascendant are so good that, even though you might be restricted to only 100 of your main species, it can easily carry you to great heights. Like Overturned but without all the micromanagement.

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Calamitous Birth (C) [Lithoids Species Pack]
Can build Meteorite Colony Ships (costing 500 minerals with no upkeep & much faster construction speed, and are much faster)
Meteorite Colony Ships spawn two Buried Lithoids blockers and the Lithoid Crater modifier on planets they colonize

If you're playing Lithoid, you're probably doing so for the great Habitability buffs they get. Why, then, would you pick the origin that completely negates that habitability bonus for a time for a few minor bonuses? I can see it being useful as Terravores, or some weird rapid expansion build, but otherwise...

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Common Ground (X) [Federations]
Cannot be Xenophobe
Cannot be Gestalt Consciousness
Cannot have Barbaric Despoilers civic
Start with the Diplomacy tradition tree + Federation tradition adopted
Start as the president of a Federation with two other members, who will always be Xenophile and share one other ethic with you
+100 Permanent Opinion and +50 Trust to and from Federation members
On day 2, the federation can be specialized (other than as a Hegemony)
No Guaranteed Habitable Worlds

Having allies from day 1 sounds nice, but these are also allies that are going to severely limit your ability to expand in the early game, which in many cases can make or break your entire game. In some cases, you can even be blocked off from expanding beyond 1 or 2 systems, killing your run before it even starts. Sure you can break the federation and go to war, but unless you do... not worth it.

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Doomsday (E) [Federations]
Enables Evacuation Protocols edict
Pops can be resettled away from homeworld regardless of ethics
No Guaranteed Habitable Worlds
Homeworld will EXPLODE in 35 to 45 years, giving a warning 1 year beforehand
+30% Happiness (+30% Stability is Gestalt) for 5 years after first colony is founded
Homeworld has 'Doomsday' modifier, granting increasing bonuses to alloy, mineral, and energy output in exchange for decaying habitability and stability

The classic hardmode origin. I've come to appreciate Doomsday a lot more than I used to. While yes, the civic can end your game by itself and should theoretically be in X tier because of this, that isn't to say that you can't make use of the situation. The increased alloy production you can get from your homeworld as it decays can be the foundation for a Purifier's military snowball. However, this is only relevant if you can find a world to settle, and that might not always be a risk people are willing to take outside of RP reasons.

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Fear of the Dark (B) [First Contact Story Pack]
Cannot be Gestalt Consciousness
Cannot have Inwards Perfection civic
Cannot have Fanatic Purifiers civic
Cannot have Eager Explorers civic
Cannot have Privatized Exploration civic
Start with a pre-FTL civilization of your main species in the home system
+10% Anomaly Discovery Chance
+20% Anomaly Research Speed
-1 Research Alternatives
-1 Leader Pool Size
Start with 8 fewer pops
Can annex pre-FTL planet through story line and potentially become Fanatic Purifiers freely, removing Research Alternative and Leader Pool maluses

Fear of the Dark is extremely complex, and I don't have the patience to type out every single effect that it grants you through the story line. Boiled down to it's basest version, being able to acquire a second planet in your home system is huge, and the various bonuses are nothing to sneeze at. I recommend you play through this one yourself and form your own opinion on it.

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Galactic Doorstep (X) [Base Game]
Start with a dormant Gateway in your home system that will provide minor bonuses
If the Gateway is reactivated, instantly unlocks Gateway Construction technology

Galactic Doorstep is probably the most infamous origin in the entire game, commonly described as 'how to play without any origin at all'. The miniscule bonuses it gives you are next-to-pointless. X tier because having this origin puts you at a direct disadvantage to everyone benefiting from the constant bonuses, unique starting conditions, or mechanic-heavy event chains of literally every other origin in the game.

---

Hegemon (E) [Federations]
Cannot be Xenophobe
Cannot be Gestalt Consciousness
Start with the Diplomacy tradition tree + Federation tradition adopted
Start as the president of a Hegemony with two other members, who will always be Xenophile and share one other ethic with you
No Guaranteed Habitable Worlds

The inverse of Common Ground has some use, as in it's one of the very few situations in which you can easily create a Hegemony, which is in my opinion the most interesting Federation type in the game. Other than that, it suffers from the exact same pitfalls as Common Ground, and only sees itself in E tier because of the niche use.

--- Origins (2)

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Here Be Dragons (B) [Aquatics Species Pack]
Cannot be Genocidal
Start with an allied Sky Dragon guardian in home system
Eventually allows creation of Dragon Hatchery starbase building, allowing the creation of more Sky Dragons
...or, killing the Sky Dragon gives +20% Governing Ethics Attraction and +10% Monthly Unity
A guaranteed Living Metal deposit spawns within 2 systems

Honestly, it isn't terrible. The Sky Dragon guarantees the safety of your home system (and therefore, prevents a game over) in the early game, and the dragons it allows you to raise are nothing to turn your head up at.

---

Imperial Fiefdom (A) [Overlord]
Cannot have Inwards Perfection civic
Cannot be Genocidal/DA
Start as a subject of an Advanced empire with the Imperial Liege origin, with 1-4 other vassals appearing bordering them
On day 2, choose a specialization:

• Bulwark grants 5 Destroyers and the Destroyers technology
  
• Prospectorium grants 2 Construction Ships
  
• Scholarium grants a Science Ship and a level 3 scientist

As time passes, can freely gain independence and even subjugate other previous vassals freely

Imperial Fiefdom has a bit of a sketchy start, but in the midgame it can give a huge power advantage. It all really depends on how well your starting conditions are, and whether or not you get crowded out by the multiple guaranteed empires that come with the origin.

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Knights of the Toxic God (S) [Toxoids Species Pack]
Cannot be Gestalt Consciousness
Cannot be Genocidal
Start with numerous blockers on homeworld
Start with a colonized size 6 habitat orbiting homeworld with Order's Keep building
Enables Knightly Duties policy
Start with the Quest for the Toxic God situation

The true power of this origin comes into play when you finish the massive situation that you start the game with, either gaining the power of a unique Colossus or gaining the ability to create infinite of the powerful Knight jobs, which are some of the best research-producers in the entire game. Can snowball insanely well if played correctly.

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Life Seeded (F) [Apocalypse]
Cannot be Machine Intelligence
Cannot have Mutagenic Spas civic or variants
Cannot have Relentless Industrialists civic
Species starts with Gaia World preference
Homeworld is a size 30 Gaia World
Homeworld has one of each Strategic Resource planetary feature

Life Seeded used to be pretty good, and has been memed into oblivion with challenge runs, but in truth is very underwhelming in modern times. Shattered Ring is now a superior option when opting for an origin that restricts expansion, and Ocean Paradise + Hydrocentric does everything that Life Seeded once did, but better.

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Lost Colony (E) [Base Game]
An advanced empire with the same species and random ethics exists in the galaxy
Homeworld starts with Colonial Spirit modifier
Homeworld does not get +30 Habitability bonus

This origin only really exists for RP purposes for the Commonwealth of Man, and while it fills that role exceptionally well, in practice it is extremely underwhelming. Colonial Spirit is very nice to have, but other origins do it better. Potential uses as a Fanatical Purifier might be seen when doing diplomacy with your home empire.

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Mechanist (A) [Utopia]
Must be Materialist
Cannot have Permanent Employment civic
Start with Powered Exoskeletons and Robotic Workers technologies researched
Start with Machine Template System technology as research option
+15% Mechanical Pop Assembly Speed
+1 Mechanical Species Trait Pick
Start with a Robot Assembly Plant building
8 pops on homeworld are robot pops with traits matching their job, as well as Bulky and High Maintenance

If you fully intend to follow Cybernetic or Synthetic ascension, Mechanist should be considered as an extremely strong contender for your origin. The bonus to assembly speed can allow you to pull ahead of other similar empires quickly, and remains useful for the entire game. Also, the starting research prevents the common goofiness of wanting to follow a path but being unable to due to lacking the needed technologies.

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Necrophage (S) [Necroids Species Pack]
Cannot be Xenophile
Cannot be Fanatic Egalitarian
Cannot have Death Cult civic or variants
Cannot have Empath civic
Cannot have Permanent Employment civic
Main species has Necrophage trait
Only Necrophage pops can be Leaders/Rulers
Can construct Chamber of Elevation
Can use Necrophage purge type
Can create a second, prepatent species, of which you start with 12 pops
Guaranteed Habitable Worlds are pre-FTL civilizations

This is probably my favorite origin in the game. While the recent changes to pre-FTL interactions can make getting value out of your GHWs tricky, the benefits of being able to stack tons of bonus modifiers on your main species and get free, passive conversion to them cannot be understated. Like one of the best parts of Biological Ascension, except you can be Psionic as well.

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Ocean Paradise (S) [Aquatics Species Pack]
Cannot be Machine Intelligence
Main species must have Aquatic trait
Homeworld is a size 30 Ocean World with numerous planetary features
Homeworld starts with Ocean Paradise modifier
Home system starts inside of Nebula
Home system has 4 frozen worlds and 10 ice asteroids
Guaranteed Habitable Worlds are Frozen Worlds

While the loss of guaranteed habitable worlds is a downside, running Aquatic likely means you will be rushing Terraforming techs regardless. The Ocean Paradise modifier is insanely good, and if you run Hydrocentric, your homeworld becomes one of the most buff-dense worlds possible in the entire game. It's a shame that Aquatic now has trait point cost associated with it... before, Ocean Paradise was unmatched. Now, it has to compete for the top spot.

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On the Shoulders of Giants (B) [Federations]
Cannot be Gestalt Consciousness
Ex Gravitas archaeological site appears in home system, granting several technologies
Can get the 'On the Shoulders of Giants' mid-game event chain, granting unique powerful bonuses
Cannot discover precursor anomalies or sites before completing story
3x more likely to discover precursor anomalies or sites after completing story

With the changes to Ancient Relics, On the Shoulders of Giants has become a nice bonus to normal play, with quite a few Archaeotechs being unlocked as a result of the unique archaeological sites. The bonus given in midgame is great to have. Can't really go wrong here, consider it an alternative to Prosperous Unification if you don't want to be basic.

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Overtuned (S) [Toxoids Species Pack]
Cannot be Machine Intelligence
Allows selection of powerful Overtuned traits
Enables the Damn the Consequences edict
Start with Gene Tailoring technology

Running Overtuned unlocks some of the most powerful biological traits in the entire game, and it is not even close. The origin is extremely simple, but the benefit you can derive from it is unmatched. A contender for the best origin in the entire game.

--- Origins (3)

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Payback (C) [First Contact Story Pack]
Cannot be Gestalt Consciousness
Cannot have Slaver Guilds civic or variants
Cannot be Genocidal
Cannot have Pompous Purists civic
Cannot have Eager Explorers civic or variants
Start with no ships and no stations
Start with 10 fewer pops
Homeworld starts with 33% Devastation
Homeworld starts with 6 Ship Debris blockers, which grant tech, resources, and unity when cleared
Homeworld starts with Debris Field modifier
Removing all blockers unlocks the Aftermath of Battle archaeological site
Cannot set First Contact Policy to proactive
An empire with the Payback origin is guaranteed to spawn
Minamar Specialized Industries is guaranteed to spawn
+50 Opinion to and from the Broken Shackles empire
+15% Ship Damage to Empires with Superior or Overwhelming relative power
Some starting technologies are not researched at the beginning

Payback is considered a 'difficult' origin due to the severe infrastructural advantage it puts you at in the beginning of the game, and is mainly meant to act as a vessel for a storyline where you take down MSI. It's fun, but the disadvantages prevent it from being more useful competitively. Recommended to run it at least once just for the experience.

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Post-Apocalyptic (C) [Apocalypse]
Cannot be Machine Intelligence
Cannot have Agrarian Idyll civic
Cannot have Anglers civic
Species starts with Survivor trait
Homeworld is a Tomb World

The Survivor trait can be considered decently useful in some situations, including but not limited to a synergy with Relentless Industrialists (as it is one of the only ways to terraform more Tomb Worlds). It's slightly underwhelming for what it gives outside of that synergy, though, and starting on a Tomb World shouldn't necessarily be considered a positive.

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Progenitor Hive (A) [Overlord]
Must be Hive Mind
Leaders gain experience each month passively
Can construct Offspring Nest holdings/buildings
Cannot construct Spawning Pools building
-50% Menial Drone Output on worlds without a filled Offspring Drone job
Can release sectors as subjects
Can construct Offspring Outlook starbase building
Can design and build Offspring ships
Fleets without an Offspring ship suffer a litany of crippling penalties
Homeworld has Progenitor Nest planetary feature
If the Homeworld is invaded or destroyed, empire is given several penalties until the Homeworld is recaptured or a new Progenitor is grown

I really like Progenitor Hive, as it gives Hive Minds the ability to exploit the unique vassal mechanics that were added alongside Overlord. It's something Hive Minds were sorely lacking, to be honest. The bonuses you get from the unique Offspring buildings and ships are powerful, and by now you probably know how much I like strong Homeworld bonuses.

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Prosperous Unification (A) [Base Game]
Start with 4 additional pops
Start with 2 additional Districts built
+15% Happiness, +15% Amenities, and +10% Resources from Jobs for 20 years
Planetary Unification starts as a research option

The base origin is also one of the most powerful. It's relative boringness to use is betrayed by the bonuses that require no further effort to take advantage of. That's all. PU is good if you can't think of anything else.

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Remnants (A) [Distant Stars Story Pack (or Federations)]
Cannot have Agrarian Idyll civic
Homeworld is a size 22 Relic World
Start with the Archaeostudies technology
Start with a Faculty of Archaeostudies building
Guaranteed Habitable Worlds gain the Colonial Remains modifier when colonized
Start with 5 Ruined Archology blockers that grant random technologies when cleared

Remnants provides a litany of strong bonuses without requiring much devotion from them. The unique blockers grant a tech advantage for little resource commitment, and being able to benefit from a guaranteed future Ecumenopolis without requiring the ascension perk is huge.

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Resource Consolidation (C) [Synthetic Dawn Story Pack]
Must be a Machine Intelligence
Cannot have Rogue Servitor civic
Cannot have Organic Reprocessing civic
Homeworld is a Machine World with no blockers
Start with a Consolidated Resources planetary feature
Start with an Organic Slurry planetary feature if Driven Assimilator
Start with a Malfunctioning Replicator Bay blocker
Capital star has a deposit of 10 Energy

While Resource Consolidation is good, and Machine Worlds are powerful, there are much better origins that Machine Intelligences can make use of. Other than the bonus you get from the unique world type, RC only exists to remove a bit of the start up you slog through when starting a new game.

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Scion (A) [Federations]
Cannot be Fanatic Xenophobe
Cannot be Gestalt Consciousness
Cannot have Pompous Purists civic
Start as a Scion of either the Materialist or Spiritualist fallen empire
+100 Opinion to and from the Overlord
Start with a Wormhole leading to Overlord's capital system
Gain gifts from overlord every few decades

The bonuses are certainly useful, and the gifts from the Overlord can be immensely powerful. However, eventually you will have to contend with the fact that you are, indeed, a vassal of a much more powerful empire... and breaking free from their dominion won't be the easiest task.

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Shattered Ring (A) [Federations]
Cannot have Agrarian Idyll civic
Cannot have Anglers civic
Species has Ring World Preference
Homeworld is a Shattered Ring World
Homeworld has 3 Decrepit Tunnels blockers and 4 Ancient Rubble blockers
Home system has an irreparable section of ringworld with a 5 Engineering deposit
Home system has a shattered world with a 10 Mineral deposit
Guaranteed Habitable Worlds are replaced by two other Shattered Ring segments, which start out at 0% Habitability but can eventually be brought in line with Homeworld, and eventually restored to a full Ring World

I still consider Shattered Ring to be an exceptionally good origin, despite the slower start that it has and reliance on Megaengineering to get the full benefits of the ringworld. The unique jobs are useful for a steady Alloy income, and the other two segments can be brought up to normal Habitability levels within the first decade of gameplay. Tech rushing is a must, either for Ascension or for Megaengineering.

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Slingshot to the Stars (D) [Overlord]
-75% Starbase Influence Distance Cost
+50% Quantum Catapult Accuracy
Capatulted fleet fire rate increased to +50%
Start with Ruined Quantum Catapult archaeological site in neighboring system, which can be repaired without Megaengineering
If the megastructure is repaired, unlocks Quantum Catapult technology

This origin allows for very aggressive gameplay, and can work well when paired with a genocidal civic or another situation where rapid and aggressive expansion can be useful. The -75% Starbase Influence Distance Cost is the majority of this origin's value... The QC is mid at best even in normal gameplay.

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Subterranean (C) [Overlord]
Species has the Cave Dweller trait
Mining Districts are uncapped
+2 Housing per Mining District
+1 Building Slot per 3 Mining Districts
-75% Orbital Bombardment Damage
+10% Building and District Cost and Upkeep
-10% Planetary Build Speed

It hurts me to put Subterranean so low, but here we are. The pop speed reduction hurts a lot, and the +upkeep on buildings and districts can pile up fast. Synergizes well with Hive Minds, as well as with civics that enhance Alloy/CG production like Master Crafters or Relentless Industrialists. (It's like they want you to RP as Dwarves).

--- Origins (4)

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Syncretic Evolution (B) [Utopia]
Cannot be Gestalt Consciousness
Cannot be Genocidal
Can create second, syncretic species
Start with 12 pops of the second species
Syncretic species starts with Serviles trait

Syncretic Evolution is not bad at all, and goes well when paired with Genetic Ascension. Slavers might be drawn here, as the bonuses to slave production pair well with the Serviles trait. Can't go wrong here, like Prosperous Unification with more micromanagement.

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Teachers of the Shroud (D) [Overlord]
Must be Spiritualist
Cannot be Genocidal
Species starts with Latent Psionic trait
Start in contact with Shroud Coven enclave
Can construct a Shroud Beacon starbase building
Start with 25 Rare Crystals
Can construct Psi Corps building
Psionic Theory starts as a research option
Nearby planets may be Shrouded Worlds
Restricted to Psionic Ascension

Teachers of the Shroud would be good, except... Psionics remains as arguably the weakest ascension path in the game. TotS makes it a little less bad as you can get the best bonuses earlier, but honestly I'd prefer to just reroll for Zroni.

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Tree of Life (S) [Utopia]
Must be Hive Mind
Cannot be Genocidal
Homeworld starts with Tree of Life
Start with +1 Agriculture District
Start with -1 Mining District
Colonies start with Tree of Life Sapling planetary feature
Enables the Transplant Tree of Life decision
Colony Ships require less alloys but more Food
Worlds lacking a Tree of Life have numerous crippling penalties

When played well, Tree of Life is just free bonuses for a Hive Mind. However, such bonuses can be easily taken by invading empires, and replaced with insane penalties. Providing that you can defend your planets, you have no reason not to take Tree of Life.

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Under One Rule (S) [Galactic Paragons]
Must be Dictatorial
Leader starts with the powerful Luminary trait
Gain access to unique Ruler traits
Main species has the Perfected Genes trait
Can either follow a path to create a highly-powerful immortal ruler, reform into a Shared Burdens democracy, or inherit numerous leader-independent production bonuses

Under One Rule feels like a very nice balance between the RP-heavy origins of First Contact and the purely mechanical ones found everywhere else. The bonuses are certainly nothing to turn your nose up at, and it keeps things interesting pretty far into a game. Probably going to become my go-to origin now.

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Void Dwellers (S) [Federations]
Cannot be Gestalt Consciousness
Cannot have Agrarian Idyll civic
Cannot have Anglers civic
Cannot have Idyllic Bloom civic
Species has Habitat preference
Species has Void Dweller trait
Homeworld is replaced by a size 6 habitat and two size 4 habitats
Start with an Arcane Replicator planetary feature on capital
Start with several Habitat-essential technologies researched
Hydroponic farms have +1 Farmer jobs

Void Dwellers has perhaps the jankiest starting conditions in the game, but gives the player the potential to become an unmatched powerhouse. Habitats are the best world types to tech rush with, and there is little limit to the amount you can build. Advanced players only.

(VII) Government Ethics

These will be your governing ethics. What you chose will define your empire for the majority of the game, unless you chose to change it through the faction system. They define your playstyle, and how AI empires will react to you. While none of them are so notably better than one another to make playing as one a death sentence, it is helpful to at least know what they do.

Each ethic (aside from Gestalt Consciousness) has a Fanatic version as well. The effects of the fanatic version will be in bold.

For the purposes of this section, 'Culture Workers' refers to both the Culture Workers and Death Chronicler jobs.

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Militarist

• +10% / +20% Fire Rate
  
• -10% / -20% Claim Influence Cost
  
• Can use the No Retreat war doctrine following completion of the Supremacy tree
  
• Cannot use Defensive Wars policy
  
• Culture Workers provide +1 (+2) Naval Capacity

The Militarist branch is designed for species who know that they will go to war, and want to go to war often. A militarist will be waging and fighting many a war, or at the very least throwing their power around to make sure nobody wants to screw with them.
Reduced Claim Influence costs means that you can do more with less wars. It will be a lot easier to subjugate the galaxy.

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Pacifist

• +5 / +10 Stability
  
• -15% / -30% Empire Size from Pops
  
• Can use the Peace Festival edict
  
• Cannot engage in Indescriminate orbital bombardment
  
• Cannot use Unrestricted Wars policy
  
• Cannot use Aggressive First Contact Protocol policy
  
• Cannot use Unrestricted Studies Native Interference Policy
  
• Must use Defensive Wars Only policy
  
• Culture Workers provide +5% (+10%) Trade Value from Living Standards to their planet

Pacifism is generally regarded as a useful, albeit unfortunately restrictive ethic when compared to it's parallel, Militarism. It has the most restrictions of any ethic, including the restriction on War Philosophy which can greatly restrict one's potential expansion prospects in the mid- to late-game.
Fanatic Pacifism is not recommended for use in almost every circumstance, as it prevents all offensive warfare.

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Xenophobe

• -20% / -40% Starbase Influence Cost
  
• +10% / +20% Pop Growth Speed
  
• Can Purge aliens
  
• Can Enslave aliens
  
• Can use Livestock slavery
  
• Decreased opinion for other species
  
• Cannot give aliens full citizenship
  
• Cannot give aliens full military service
  
• Cannot use Refugees Welcome species policy
  
• Cannot use Proactive First Contact Protocol policy
  
• Culture Workers provide +1.25% (+2.5%) Citizen Happiness to their planet

Taking Xenophobia makes you the galactic 'bad guy', which can limit potential diplomatic options. However, such a downside is paired by some of the most powerful bonuses from ethics in the game. Fanatic Xenophobe isn't really recommended unless you're purposefully going for an isolationist/genocidal build, but when you do go for that build, hoo boy do you go for it.

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Xenophile

• +10% / +20% Trade Value
  
• +1 / +2 Available Envoys
  
• Increased Opinion for other species
  
• Cannot use No Refugees species policy
  
• Cannot Enslave entire species
  
• Cannot Displace Aliens
  
• Cannot use Hunted or Extermination Pre-sapients policy
  
• Cannot use Aggressive First Contact Protocol policy
  
• Culture Workers provide -1.25% (-2.5%) Pop Upkeep to their planet

Having been largely buffed with the introduction of the Envoy system, Xenophile is good for those who seek to manipulate other empires through diplomacy instead of sheer war. Because of this, Xenophile may be a good ethic to pair with Pacifism or Egalitarianism.
Good for Megacorporations or empires centered around espionage. Their respective bonuses will help quite a bit.

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Egalitarian

• +25% / +50% Faction Influence Gain
  
• +5% / +10% Specialist Output
  
• Cannot use Autocratic government forms
  
• Must have Democratic government form
  
• Allows for Utopian living standards
  
• Cannot have Impovershed living standards for Full Citizens
  
• Cannot use Capacity Boosters ( or Selected Lineages) Leader Enhancement policy
  
• Culture Workers provide -1.25% (-2.5%) Pop Housing Usage to their planet

The standout when it comes to Egalitarianism are the great bonuses to Specialist output and faction unity game, making the ethic almost essential when it comes to Tradition rushing. The restrictions come nowhere close to negating the benefits, and a lot of non-slavery meta builds have a tendency to include Egalitarianism.

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Authoritarian

• +0.5 / +1 Monthly Influence
  
• +5% / +10% Worker Production
  
• Allows Stratified Economy citizenship type
  
• Can enslave aliens
  
• Can use the Information Quarantine edict
  
• Cannot use Democratic government form
  
• Must have Autocratic government form
  
• Culture Workers provide +3 (+6) Edict Fund

Authoritarianism goes in tandem with micromanagement and efficiency. The Stratified Economy living standard is unique in it's usefulness, and the bonus Influence puts them on par with Gestalts with their ability to blob out in the early game. Almost a requirement if you want to run slaves in any capacity, including robotic ones.

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Materialist

• -10% / -20% Robot Maintenance Cost
  
• +5% / +10% Research Speed
  
• Can use Academic Privilege living standard
  
• Cannot use AI Outlawed policy
  
• Cannot use Robotic Workers Outlawed policy
  
• Culture Workers provide +2 (+4) Amenities to their planet

Materialist empires, while enjoying a very much welcome research bonus, generally focus on utilizing robots to maximize efficiency. Robots have better Mineral and Food production than normal pops, and eventually, Synthetics have better production in all fields except Unity.

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Spiritualist

• +10% / +20% Monthly Unity
  
• -10% / -20% Edict Cost & Upkeep
  
• Can build Temple building
  
• Cannot use Full AI Rights policy
  
• Culture Workers provide -2.5% (+5%) Amenity Usage to their planet

Spiritualist empires tend to be very close knit and similar to each other, with few outliers. Unity focused builds would want to go spiritualist, as the massive boons in Unity provided by the ethic itself plus the Temple, means you will skyrocket up the various tradition trees.

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Gestalt Consciousness

• +1 Monthly Influence
  
• -20% War Exhaustion
  
• (Disables Tutorial)
  
• Must use Hive Mind or Machine Intelligence authority
  
• Ruler is Immortal
  
• Pops are not affected by happiness and don't join factions
  
• Cannot mix pops with non-Gestalt empires
  
• Cannot follow Psionic or Synthetic Ascension paths
  
• Can use the No Retreat war doctrine

Gestalt Consciousness empires do not have to worry about factions or happiness, erasing dissent within ranks. It provides entirely new playstyles, with new interactions with other empires. Hive Minds are generally known for being able to rapidly expand, while Machines are known for their ability to create effective tall empires.

(VIII) Civics (1)

Civics are tied to a government's ethics and authority. They further flesh out how an empire works, and some provide unique starting conditions or boons. Some specific government types can only be aquired through the use of ethics, such as the 'Rational Consensus.'

Civics can be changed mid-game by the Reform Government button for a Unity cost.

Only two civics can be chosen initially, but a technology can allow the use of a third mid-game. Other special 'Sovereign' civics exist, but are not outlined in this guide.

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Agrarian Idyll (D) [Base Game]
Must be Pacifist
Cannot have Relentless Industrialists civic
Cannot have Post-Apocalyptic, Remnants, Shattered Ring, or Void Dwellers origins
+1 Housing from Generator, Mining, and Agriculture districts
-1 Housing from City Districts
-5 Housing from City Segments
+2 Amenities from Farmers, Anglers, and Pearl Divers
+1 Building Slot per 4 Agriculture Districts
Can research the Agrarian Utopias technology
Council Position: +5% Farmer Output per level

Agrarian Idyll is a unique civic that has a lot of synergies, but requires an empire specialized around a resource that generally does not have a lot of uses. Also taken down by the fact that it is incompatible with some of the best origins in the game.

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Anglers (E) [Aquatics Species Pack]
Cannot have Post-Apocalyptic, Shattered Ring, Void Dwellers, or Subterranean origins
Cannot be added or removed after the start of the game
Main species must be Aquatic
No Agriculture district limit on Ocean Worlds
Replaces Farmer jobs with Angler jobs that produce Trade Value on wet climates
Agriculture districts create Pearl Diver jobs that produce Consumer Goods on wet climates
-50 Agriculture district minerals cost on wet climates
Council Position: +0.3 Food from Anglers and +0.2 CGs from Pearl Divers per level

Anglers has always occupied a pretty sour spot when compared to other civics. The jobs that it provides have a disproportionate upkeep to their normal equivalents, and, similarly to Agrarian Idyll, requires a devotion to Agriculture Districts that can hamper one's development in the long run.

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Aristocratic Elite (C) [Base Game]
Must be Oligarchic or Imperial
Cannot be Egalitarian
Cannot have other Politician-altering civics
+1 Governor level cap
Can construct Noble Estates building, creating more Noble jobs
Can construct Noble Chateaus holding
Some Politician jobs are replaced by Noble jobs, which provide Stability
Council Position: +2% Ruler Pop Resource Output per level

The Council Position can be interesting if you run a build centered around Ruler output. Also, if you are running a heavily-stratified empire with tons of poorly-treated slaves, the Stability bonuses you get from this civic can be useful. However, that's literally all this civic provides outside of the Council: Stability, in the form of jobs. Governor level cap can be useful in some situations.

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Ascensionists (S) [Utopia]
Must be Spiritualist
+25% Planetary Ascension effects
-10% Planetary Ascension cost
-25% Tradition Cost from Empire Size
Council Position: +2% Monthly Unity per level

Ascensionists is a civic that really becomes useful the later into the game you get, as the bulk of Planetary Ascension stuff you will be doing after the completion of all traditions. The Tradition Cost from Empire Size gives you a reason to keep the civic around from the start of the game. Go for big Unity production and you'll get the most use out of this.

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Beacon of Liberty (B) [Base Game]
Must be Democratic
Must be Egalitarian
Cannot be Xenophobe
+15% Monthly Unity
-15% Empire Size from Pops
Council Position: +7% Egalitarian Ethics Attraction per level

While the Empire Size bonus is negligible in the long run, that extra unity can be surprisingly useful, considering how much stuff uses Unity in the modern game. A good way to make up for not having the Oligarchic Unity bonus. Council position can synergize well with Shared Burdens.

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Byzantine Bureaucracy (C) [Megacorp]
Cannot be Spiritualist
+1 Unity from Administrator jobs
+1 Stability from Bureaucrat jobs
Council Position: -2% Administrator Upkeep per level

It's a good filler civic, if you can't think of anything else to go in your build. Doesn't hurt to have, provides a bonus that is useful through the entire game, and only scales up as you expand. Why not?

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Catalytic Processing (C) [Plantoids Species Pack]
Cannot have Calamitous Birth origin
Replaces Metallurgist jobs with Catalytic Technician jobs, producing alloys from food instead of minerals
Council Position: +5% Food from Farmers per level

Catalytic Processing has always occupied a sort of odd place in my eyes, considering that it requires such a drastic pivot from how you are normally expected to develop. When combined with Agrarian Idyll or Anglers it can be good, but at that point, why devote so much to such a sub-par build?

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Citizen Service (A) [Base Game]
Must be Democratic or Oligarchic
Must be Militarist
Cannot be Fanatic Xenophile
Cannot have Reanimators civic
+2 Unity from Soldiers
+15% Naval Capacity
Can construct Recruitment Office holdings
Full Citizenship pops must have Full Military Service
Council Position: -1.5% Army Upkeep, +25 Army Starting EXP per level

I honestly really like Citizen Service. It's both really interesting from a roleplay standpoint, and gives a really solid bonus to fortress worlds, giving you more incentive to create them instead of spamming Anchorage starbases. You'll be swimming in Naval Capacity!

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Corporate Dominion (B) [Base Game WITHOUT Megacorp]
Must be Oligarchic
Cannot be Xenophobe
+1 Energy per Starbase Trading Hub module
Can build private colony ships
Start with Offworld Trade Companies technology
Can use Mercantile Diplomatic Stance
Council Position: +2% Trade Value per level

If you don't have Megacorp, this is as close as you'll get. The bonuses are useful, and being able to produce colony ships from nothing but energy can be a huge bonus in the early game. In my opinion, though, it falls off around the midgame.

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Corvee System (A) [Base Game]
Cannot be Egalitarian
Cannot have Free Haven civic
+15% Pop Growth from Immigration
Waives unity costs for pop resettlement
Council Position: +2% Worker Pop Resource Output per level

The free pop growth is great, encouraging you to open up migration pacts to make good use of it. The pop resettlement bonus and the worker output from the Council is best for slaver empires. You know what to do.

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Crusader Spirit (A) [Galactic Paragons]
Must be Authoritarian, Militarist, or Spiritualist
Cannot be Pacifist
Cannot be Genocidal
Cannot have Beacon of Liberty civic
+5% Ship Weapons Damage
-5% Ship Build Cost
Can only use Liberation Wars War Philosophy
Admirals start with the Zealot trait, granting unity upon destroying an enemy ship
Generals start with the Crusader trait, granting unity upon destroying an enemy army
Council Position: +1% Ship Fire Rate, +2% Army Damage per level

I will admit, Crusader Spirit gives some extremely neat bonuses, and synergizes well with the creation of a Holy Covenant, which is was probably made for. The unique traits can be very powerful on high-level leaders. Not a bad pick for a liberation-focused run.

--- Civics (2)

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Cutthroat Politics (F) [Base Game]
-20% Edict Upkeep
+1 Codebreaking
Council Position: +3% Faction Unity Bonus

I have next to nothing to say about this civic other than that the benefits are so underwhelming that you will likely never notice them.

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Death Cult (S) [Necroids Species Pack]
Must be Spiritualist
Cannot have Inward Perfection civic
Cannot be Genocidal
Cannot have Necrophage origin
Can construct Sacrificial Temple buildings
Can construct Sacrificial Shrine holdings
Can use Sacrifice edicts to sacrifice pops for powerful bonuses
Council Position: +2% Sacrificial Edict effect per level

While some people might consider losing pops to be the last thing that you'd want to do, you make up for it with some nice pop growth bonuses from your Death Priests. Combine this with the fact that you can also choose to sacrifice the pops of your vassals, and I see no reason why you wouldn't want to try this genuinely interesting civic at least once.

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Diplomatic Corps (A) [Federations]
Cannot have Inward Perfection civic
Cannot be Genocidal
+2 Envoys
+10% Diplomatic Weight
Council Position: +5 Trust Cap per level

A very nice civic for those intending to pursue the Imperium. Also has a ton of use early game when you're likely being bombarded by First Contact prompts. That's a lot of potential influence you can use to expand, if only you had the Envoys to investigate them all... oh wait!

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Distinguished Admiralty (S) [Base Game]
Must be Militarist
+2 Admiral and General starting level
+1 Admiral level cap
+10% Ship Fire Rate
+10 Fleet Command Limit
Council Position: +3% Admiral EXP gain, +30 Ship Starting EXP per level

Oh yeah, this is the good stuff. If you're running an offensive empire or even expect to be at war more often than not, this civic is a godsend. A lot of bonuses that you'd have to wait for technologies to take advantage of, right at the start of the game!

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Eager Explorers (A) [First Contact Story Pack]
Cannot have Inward Perfection civic
Cannot have Broken Shackles origin
Cannot have Fear of the Dark origin
Cannot have Payback origin
Cannot be added or removed after start of game
Homeworld starts with 10 fewer pops
Homeworld lacks Research Labs
Start with no military fleet
Start with two unique Exploration Vessels
Several starting technologies start out unresearched but are permanent options
Start with Subspace Drive technology
Council Position: +5% Anomaly Research Speed, +5% Archaeology Excavation Speed, +3% Jump Drive Range per level
+15% Sublight Speed
+20% Survey Speed
+5% Anomaly Discovery Speed
+50% chance to draw Voidcraft technologies
Council Position: +5% Anomaly Research Speed, +5% Archaeology Excavation Speed, +3% Jump Drive Range

Eager Explorers is technically supposed to be somewhat of a challenge, but the bonuses it gives you are useful deep into the game, if only you can keep up with the disadvantages stacked on you. Meant to be a sort of pre-FTL start, and I think it works well. A lot of funny things can be done with those Subspace Drives.

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Efficient Bureaucracy (F) [Base Game]
-20% Administrator jobs upkeep
Bureaucrats and Priests produce Edict Fund equal to their Unity output
Council Position: +2% Administrator Output per level

In what world would someone be so worried about their Administrator jobs that they waste a civic slot on this? The other bonus isn't very useful. However, the Council position is just enough to get it out of F tier.

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Environmentalist (C) [Base Game]
Cannot have Relentless Industrialists civic
-20% Pop Consumer Goods Upkeep
Can construct Ranger Lodge buildings and holdings that grant unity for uncleared natural blockers
Start with a Ranger Lodge building
Council Position: -1.5% Pop Amenities Usage per level

I really like this civic, even if it isn't the most optimal. The bonuses the Ranger jobs give are nice, amounting to free Amenities and research. Potentially a good pick for wide builds.

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Exalted Priesthood (B) [Base Game]
Must be Oligarchic or Dictatorial
Must be Spiritualist
Cannot have other Politician-altering civics
+1 Unity from Priest category jobs
Capital Buildings replace some Politician jobs with High Priest jobs
Council Position: -2% Priest Upkeep

If you're running Spiritualist, chances are that you're going to have a lot of priests sitting around, considering the unique benefits they provide compared to Bureaucrats. High Priests are generally just better Nobles.

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Feudal Society (S) [Base Game]
Must be Imperial
+1 Unity per Governor Level
-50% Leader Cost
+1 Monthly Loyalty from Subjects
Leaders have no upkeep
No loyalty loss from multiple subjects
Cannot dismiss leaders
Cannot use Expansion Prohibited terms of agreement
Cannot use Limited Diplomacy terms of agreement
Council Position: +2% Naval Capacity per Subject Empire per level

You get real good nice bonuses in exchange for few restrictions to vassalage. Even without vassals, this is pretty good. Was pretty much made to work very well with Overlord mechanics.

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Free Haven (S) [Base Game]
Must be Xenophile
Cannot have Corvee System civic
+15% Pop Growth from Immigration
+50% Immigration Pull
Council Position: -3% Empire Size from Districts, -3% District Upkeep per level

If you're a Xenophile, you're probably going to be stacking Migration Pacts. This civic just makes doing what you'd already be doing much more powerful. Find some allies and relish in the pop growth!

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Functional Architecture (C) [Base Game]
-15% Building and District Cost
+1 Building Slots
Council Position: +2% Planetary Build Speed per level

This civic is a godsend when used with Void Dwellers, but otherwise, it's only a moderate bonus. That building slot is useful when building up colonies initially, but eventually you'd have every slot unlocked with or without this civic. The construction cost reduction is only really relevant in the early game.

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Heroic Past (C) [Galactic Paragons]
+1 Leader Starting Traits
-1 Maximum Leader Negative Traits
Council Position: +2% Leader EXP Gain, +2% Governing Ethics Attraction per level

In leader-focused builds, such as when combined with Meritocracy, Vaults of Knowledge, Under One Rule or that one leader AP, it can be quite good. In a vacuum, however, it takes a while to become truly useful as you work to unlock that council position and level a leader for it.

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Idealistic Foundation (A) [Base Game]
Must be Egalitarian
+10% Citizen Pop Happiness
Council Position: -1.5% Pop Amenities Usage per level

It's just a happiness bonus, and that's probably all you'll need. Happiness is a lot, from resources from jobs to approval rating and Unity. A very common pick for Egalitarian builds.

--- Civics (3)

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Idyllic Bloom (S) [Plantoids Species Pack]
Must have Plantoid or Fungoid main species
Cannot have Relentless Industrialists civic
Cannot have Void Dwellers origin
Cannot be added or removed after start of game
Can construct and upgrade Gaia Seeder buildings and holdings that steadily convert planets to Gaia Worlds
Start with a stage 1 Gaia Seeder on homeworld
Disabled by Synthetic Ascension
Council Position: -5% Gaia Seeder Build Cost, -5% Gaia Seeder Upkeep per level

As the game progresses, this civic manifests itself as the World Shaper ascension perk, except not only do you not need to take the ascension perk, you can also share it with your friends! All that, and it's available from the start of the game. The bonuses from the buildings themselves are nice as well. Gaia worlds have fallen off as the years have passed, but this civic is quite good in my eyes.

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Imperial Cult (A) [Base Game]
Must be Imperial
Must be Spiritualist
Must be Authoritarian
+100 Edict Fund
Council Position: +2% Priest Output per level

Unlike other civics that might give Edict Fund, this civic just gives it to you baseline with no need to produce it yourself. This means that you can get the powerful civic bonuses... for free! Finally, something that makes a little more sense. The bonus Priest Output from the Council is very useful icing on the cake.

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Masterful Crafters (S) [Humanoids Species Pack]
Replaces Artisan jobs with Artificer jobs that produce Trade Value
+1 Building Slot per 3 Industrial Districts (excluding Habitats)
Council Position: +1% Armor Hit Points per level

Artificers are a very nice direct upgrade to Artisans, meaning that you'll have to devote less to your eventual tech rush CG drain. This civic has been nerfed in the past, but it remains one of my favorites.

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Memorialists (F) [Necroids Species Pack]
Cannot be Genocidal
Autochthon Monuments are replaced by Sanctuary of Repose buildings
Gain additional Unity from Leviathan Parades
Council Position: +2% Monthly Unity per level.

This is a civic that gives bonuses in extremely, EXTREMELY niche situations. Like, once or twice a game situations. No thanks. Nice flavor, good RP potential... no thanks. Not even the flat Unity bonus is enough to support it compared to the bonuses you'd be getting from other sources.

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Merchant Guilds (S) [Megacorp]
Cannot have other Politician-altering civics
Capital buildings replace some Politician jobs with Merchant jobs
Can use the Mercantile Diplomatic Stance
Council Position: +0.4 Trade Value from Clerks per level

While simple, Merchants are one of the most powerful jobs in the game, normally only available in small quantities through events or specialized buildings. This civic just... gives them to you.

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Meritocracy (S) [Base Game]
Must be Democratic or Oligarchic
+1 Leader Level Cap
+10% Specialist Pop resource output
Council Position: +2% Leader EXP Gain per level

Meritocracy is, hands down, my most used civic in the game. It starts off strong, and only gets stronger as the game progresses. Researches, Metallurgists, and Artisans are all specialist pops, with very powerful outputs. Take it!

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Mining Guilds (E) [Base Game]
+1 Minerals from Miner jobs
Council Position: +0.05 Stability from Miners per level

If you really need those minerals, just put Industrious on your pops. Not a good pick considering it doesn't even touch orbital stations, where you'll be getting a good part of your mineral income. Stability bonus might be good for slavers, but if you intend on specializing planets, it is barely a drop in the bucket.

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Mutagenic Spas (D) [Toxoids Species Pack]
Cannot have Life Seeded civic
Can build Mutagenic Spas, creating jobs that increase pop growth speed in exchange for reduced Habitability and Happiness based on the amount of Industrial Districts
Council Position: +0.5 Unity from Mutagenic Spa Attendants per level

Not amazing for the same reason that Gene Clinics aren't amazing, with the added detriment of less Habitability and Happiness, which means less output... just what you'd want on your industrial worlds, yea?

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Nationalistic Zeal (B) [Base Game]
Must be Militarist
-20% War Exhaustion Gain
-15% Claim Influence Cost
Council Position: +1% Naval Capacity per level

This civic gives you three bonuses that align perfectly with an early game military rush build. Or a general military build. That's about it, though the bonuses themselves are very unique.

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Oppressive Autocracy (C) [Galactic Paragons]
Must be Authoritarian
Cannot have Agrarian Idyll, Environmentalist, Free Haven, Warrior Culture, or Pleasure Seekers civics
Cannot be added or removed after the start of the game
Must use the Dystopian Society living standard, forcing all strata below Ruler to -100% happiness in exchange for extremely low upkeep and political power
Start with Precinct Houses building
Cannot construct Holo-Theaters
Only Rulers and Enforcers/Colonists/Telepaths use and produce Amenities
+1 Leader Capacity
-20% Leader Upkeep
+1 Crime per pop
Council Position: +1% Ruler Happiness, +0.2 Unity from Enforcers per level

Oppressive Autocracy is a bit odd, as it requires you to balance an extremely volatile society for odd gains. While your pops have basement-level political power and thus do not contribute as much to low stability as you might think, things can spiral out of control very quickly. Combine with Aristocratic Elite for Panem simulator.

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Parliamentary System (B) [Base Game]
Must be Democratic
+40% Faction Unity gain
Factions form within 3 months
Council Position: +3% Council Agenda Speed per level

Unique in that it's EXTREMELY STRONG in the early game, but falls off hard the further you get into the game. If I was basing this off of when you might want to switch off of civics, this would be S tier, but as it is...

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Philosopher King (B) [Base Game]
Must be Dictatorial or Imperial
+2 Ruler Level Cap
Rulers and Governors can't gain negative traits
Council Position: +3% Councilor EXP Gain per level

The authoritarian version of Meritocracy is... notably worse. The Ruler is like, the only job where you wouldn't really care about their level (outside of specific circumstances like Under One Rule, where it may be useful).

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Pleasure Seekers (B) [Humanoids Species Pack]
Cannot have Slaver Guilds civic
Cannot have Warrior Culture civic
Cannot have Shared Burdens civic
Can use the Decadent Lifestyle living standard
+1% Pop Growth Speed from Entertainers
+5 Amenities from Servants
Council Position: +4% Ruler Happiness per level

It's like Slaver Guilds, except you aren't grinding faces into the dirt. With bonuses to CG production, you can get some pretty powerful growth bonuses from this, including with the unique living standard, which grants +20% Happiness across the board and much higher approval ratings.

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Police State (E) [Base Game]
Cannot be Fanatic Egalitarian
+5 Stability
+1 Unity from Enforcers and Telepaths
Council Position: +5% Governing Ethics Attraction per level

Unless you plan to go up against a legion of Criminal Enterprises, there isn't much of a reason to have so many Enforcers that you'd be getting significant Unity from them with this.

--- Civics (4)

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Pompous Purists (B) [Humanoids Species Pack]
Must be Xenophobic
Cannot have Inward Perfection civic
Cannot be Genocidal
Cannot have Scion origin
Cannot have Payback origin
+30% Trust Growth
+2 Envoys
Can send, but not receive, diplomatic propositions
Council Position: +2% Diplomatic Weight

The elf civic. Some of the benefits of Diplomatic Corps as a Xenophile.

Now, I know I placed this one somewhat high at a B-tier, but I don't recommend this at all. Once you play it, you'll realize how nice it is that the AI sends you diplomatic propositions automatically. It's a lot of micro that you now have to deal with...

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Reanimators (B) [Necroids Species Pack]
Cannot be Pacifist
Cannot have Citizen Service civic
Military Academy buildings are replaced by Dread Encampment buildings
33% chance to gain an Undead Army per killed organic army
Defeated organic guardians can be resurrected
Council Position: +0.5 Unity from Necromancers per level

Normally I spit on bonuses based around armies, but Reanimators is more than that. Dread Encampment provides powerful pseudo-Researcher jobs, and getting to control Leviathans around the midgame is an experience that can't be replicated.

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Relentless Industrialists (S) [Toxoids Species Pack]
Must be Materialist
Cannot have Agrarian Idyll civic
Cannot have Environmentalist civic
Cannot have Idyllic Bloom civic
Cannot have Memorialists civic
Cannot have Life-Seeded origin
Can construct Coordinated Fulfillment Center building
Start with a Coordinated Fulfillment Center on homeworld
Coordinated Fulfillment Centers provide strong bonuses to Metallurgists and Artisans, at the expense of pop growth speed and the eventual terraforming of worlds into Tomb Worlds
Council Position: +2% Minerals from Miners per level

The bonuses of this civic far outweigh the potential downsides, as you can avoid the Tomb Worlding of your colonies through an event. As a materialist, you can make up for the low pop growth with robots.

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Scavengers (D) [Toxoids Species Pack]
Enables the Research & Salvage Debris policy
10% chance per ship debris to create a ship of equal size
+10 Opinion with the Salvagers enclave
Council Position: +1% Chance to Salvage Ships per level

A somewhat useful civic to use when pursuing military goals, as you can occasionally reinforce your fleets on the field without needing a Juggernaut. Otherwise, it's middling.

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Shadow Council (E) [Base Game]
Cannot be Imperial
-75% Election Cost
+10% Ruler Pop Resource Output
+1 Codebreaking
Council Position: -4% Ruler Upkeep

Play a few games, and tell me how often you spend any amount of resources on elections.

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Shared Burdens (C) [Megacorp]
Must be Fanatic Egalitarian
Cannot be Xenophobe
Cannot have Technocracy civic
Cannot have Pleasure Seekers civic
Can use the Shared Burden living standard
Cannot use other living standards other than Utopian Abundance or Chemical Bliss
+5 Stability
-45% Pop Demotion Time
Can build Communal Housing buildings and holdings
Double unity from Progressive faction
Council Position: +2% Worker Pop Resource Output per level

The main draws here are the living standard, which makes managing CGs a lot easier, and the Pop Demotion Time reduction, which makes shuffling pops easier. Rulers still take years to demote, though.

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Slaver Guilds (S) [Base Game]
Must be Authoritarian
Cannot have Pleasure Seekers civic
Cannot have Payback origin
+10% Slave pop resource output
35% of pops will be enslaved
Council Position: +2% Slave Happiness per level

Slaver Guilds is the best at what it does. Unless you're a xenophobic alien enslaver, most slave builds are going to be using this civic... and for good reason! It's a flat bonus to slave output, and a guarantee that you'll always have slaves.

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Technocracy (S) [Base Game]
Must be Materialist
Cannot have other Politician-altering civics
+1 Research Alternatives
Scientists start with a random Expertise trait
Capital buildings replace some Politician jobs with Science Director jobs
Council Position: -2% Researcher Upkeep

Technocracy promises you that you'll always have some solid research production on every colony, and is a must-have for tech rushing builds. Sadly the Expertise trait bonus doesn't work on the technologies that would need it most...

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Vaults of Knowledge (C) [Galactic Paragons]
+1 Leader Starting Level
+1 Effective Councilor Level
Can construct Vaults of Knowledge building
Council Position: -2% Leader Upkeep, -2% Leader Cost per level

Despite this civic being named Vaults of Knowledge, do not take this civic for the building itself. The main draw are the bonuses to Leaders, which provide massive bonuses right at the start of the game which can give you a head start. Unfortunately, the tacked-on building can be a bit of a burden to actually get going.

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Warrior Culture (D) [Base Game]
Must be Militarist
Replaces Entertainer jobs with Duelist jobs that use Alloys instead of Consumer Goods
+20% Army damage
+1 Mercenary Enclave capacity
Council Position: +10% Duelist Output per level

Duelists help you focus your production more on Alloys instead of Consumer Goods. Also, one of the few sources of Mercenary Enclave slots. If you're gonna pick this civic, it's gonna be for those. Never look at Army Damage bonuses.

(IX) Hive Mind Civics

A Hive Mind has their own set of civics. After all, why craft a government if you're the only one in it? Consider these 'personality traits' more than functions of the government.

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Ascetic (C) [Utopia]
+5% Habitability
-15% Pop Amenities Usage

As a Hive Mind, you won't be wanting for Amenities as much as other empires might be. However, that habitability bonus is nice enough to make this worth taking.

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Autonomous Drones (C) [Utopia + Galactic Paragons]
+1 Leader Capacity
-1 Unity Leader Upkeep
Leaders consume +2 Food/Minerals upkeep

Potentially good for leader focused builds, though the change in upkeep is not very impactful past a certain point considering there is a cap on leaders.

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Cordyceptic Drones (B) [Utopia + Necroids Species Pack]
+50% Space Fauna Weapon Damage
+50% Space Fauna Weapon Attack Speed
Starting corvettes are replaced with space amoeba
Can construct Cordyceptic Reanimation Facility starbase buildings
Defeated space fauna can be resurrected
Defeated organic guardians can be resurrected

This is a very unique and fun civic to run, if not the most used one over normal gameplay. If you can get your hands on Amor Alveo or Tyanka Vek, you'll be extremely powerful.

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Divided Attention (A) [Utopia]
-50% Empire Size from Planets

Colonies are the biggest contributors to Empire Size, and as a Hive Mind, you'll likely have a lot of them. On top of the -25% Empire Size you already get from being a Hive Mind, the mechanic can be entirely mitigated with this.

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Elevational Contemplations (S) [Utopia]
+25% Planetary Ascension Effects
-10% Planetary Ascension Cost
-25% Tradition Cost from Empire Size

It's pretty easy to farm Unity as a Hive Mind, which makes the benefit you get from this civic even stronger.

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Empath (S) [Utopia + Federations]
Cannot be Genocidal
Cannot have Necrophage origin
+2 Envoys
+10% Diplomatic Weight
+20 Opinion with non-Gestalt empires

When you're a Hive Mind, normal empires will dislike you slightly just for how alien you are. Sometimes this can lead to snowballing distrust eventually leading into an eternal cycle of hostilities. Empath is a fantastic way to escape that.

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Idyllic Bloom (S) [Utopia + Plantoid Species Pack]
Main species must be Plantoid or Fungoid
Cannot be added or removed after game start
Can construct and upgrade Gaia Seeder buildings and holdings
Start with a stage 1 Gaia Seeder on homeworld

As a Hive Mind, you'll be getting less use out of artificial worlds like Habitats or Ecumenopoli, making Gaia Worlds all the more valuable. Being able to make them for free is something you'll be enjoying for the entire game.

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Memorialist (X) [Utopia + Necroids Species Pack]
Cannot be Genocidal
Sensorium Site buildings are replaced by Sanctuary of Repose buildings
Gain additional Unity from Leviathan Parades

A terrible civic, somehow made even worse by neutering the unique jobs they give you. Don't even bother.

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Natural Neural Network (E) [Utopia]
+1 Research Alternatives
+1 Physics, +1.5 Society, and +1 Engineering research from unemployed drones

Unless you're in the late, late game, you really shouldn't be letting your drones sit around unemployed. You could be employing them as Brain Drones to get a tangible amount of research from them...?

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Neural Vaults (S) [Utopia + Galactic Paragons]
+1 Leader Starting Level
+10% Leader EXP Gain
+10% Society Research from Jobs
Can construct Vaults of Knowledge building

I mean, they definitely could have just made this like Vaults of Knowledge for individualist empires, but they just had to tack on that Society Research to push it waaay up into the sky. At least for Hive Minds, that research is invaluable.

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One Mind (B) [Utopia]
+15% Monthly Unity
Leaders are less likely to gain negative traits

Not much to say about this one. You'll be using it for the entire game, and it will work well in the background.

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Organic Reprocessing (S) [Utopia + Plantoid Species Pack]
Cannot have Calamitous Birth origin
Replaces Foundry Drone jobs with Catalytic Drone jobs

Hive Minds are all about the generation of food, considering how much you need (especially when pursuing Genetic Ascension). Unlike normal empires, streamlining an already streamlined resource is a great boon. The closest you'll get to biotech.

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Permutation Pools (D) [Utopia + Toxoids Species Pack]
Cannot have Life-Seeded origin
Can construct Mutagenic Permutation Pool buildings

You get more pop assembly from these, but to be completely honest, there are much better ways to get pop assembly without wasting a civic slot on them.

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Pooled Knowledge (A) [Utopia]
+1 Leader Level Cap
+10% Leader Experience Gain
+1 Encryption

Hive Mind leaders aren't immortal like Machine Intelligence ones are, but this is still nothing to sniff at. Gestalts get the same leader bonuses as normal empires do, so all the same things apply.

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Stargazers (S) [Utopia + First Contact Story Pack]
Cannot have Inward Perfection civic
Cannot have Broken Shackles origin
Cannot have Fear of the Dark origin
Cannot have Payback origin
Cannot be added or removed after start of game
Homeworld starts with 10 fewer pops
Homeworld lacks Research Labs
Start with no military fleet
Start with two unique Exploration Vessels
Several starting technologies start out unresearched but are permanent options
Start with Subspace Drive technology
+1 Sensor Range
+2 Ship Hyperlane Detection Range
-20% Starbase Influence Distance Cost
Main species has Stargazer trait, granting powerful bonuses

The Stargazer trait by itself would be worth it, as it's several multiple-point traits rolled up into something you get for absolutely free with this civic. The passive bonuses you get are arguably more useful than those you get from Eager Explorers. Sure it's a challenging start, but it's worth it.

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Strength of Legions (E) [Utopia]
+20% Army Damage
-20% Army Upkeep
+100 Army Starting EXP
+2 Admiral and General Starting Level

Army focused bonuses in this game are doomed to be useless. Just stack more armies, or research that tech that gives you better ones.

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Subspace Ephapse (B) [Utopia]
+15% Naval Capacity
+20% Sublight Speed

Mainly, the Sublight Speed bonus synergizes very well with Progenitor Hive or Stargazers. Why is it that Hive Minds are always the one getting weird Sublight Speed effects?

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Subsumed Will (F) [Utopia]
-20% Empire Size from Pops
+25 Edict Fund
Waives unity cost for pop resettlement

Empire Size from pops is next to nonexistant, and the Edict Fund bonus is too small to do anything with. The unity cost waive will likely never be used, as Hive Mind pops have a tendency to resettle themselves...

(X) Machine Intelligence Civics

Machine Intelligences get their own Civics, similarly to Hive Minds.

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Construcobot (D) [Synthetic Dawn Story Pack]
-15% Building and District Cost
+1 Building Slot

The extra slot can be nice, but in the long run, you're taking a civic exclusively to cut down on the time to initially set up colonies in the early game, which is a weird thing to want to try to optimize.

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Delegated Functions (A) [Synthetic Dawn Story Pack]
-25% Leader Upkeep
+1 Leader Pool Size
+1 Available Envoys

One of the few easily-accessible effects that give MIs more envoys. The bonuses to leaders are very nice, as Unity can be somewhat awkward to produce as an MI unless you're a Rogue Servitor.

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Elevational Hypotheses (B) [Synthetic Dawn Story Pack + Utopia]
+25% Planetary Ascension Effects
-10% Planetary Ascension Cost
-25% Tradition Cost from Empire Size

While I wouldn't suggest stacking a ton of Planetary Ascension as a MI, the Tradition Cost reduction can be very useful.

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Experience Cache (S) [Synthetic Dawn Story Pack + Galactic Paragons]
+1 Leader Starting Level
+10% Leader EXP Gain
+10% Engineering Research from Jobs
Can construct Vaults of Knowledge building

I mean, they definitely could have just made this like Vaults of Knowledge for individualist empires, but they just had to tack on that Engineering Research to push it waaay up into the sky.

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Exploration Protocols (C) [Synthetic Spawn Story Pack + First Contact Story Pack]
Cannot be Genocidal
Cannot be added or removed after start of game
Homeworld starts with 10 fewer pops
Homeworld lacks Research Labs
Start with no military fleet
Start with two unique Exploration Vessels
Several starting technologies start out unresearched but are permanent options
Start with Subspace Drive technology
+20% First Contact Discovery Speed
+3 Monthly Unity from Observation Posts
+50% Observation Insights Situation Progress
Gain a small amount of Unity when completing a First Contact

This civic represents a unique playstyle farming pre-FTLs. Can be useful, but falls off as the game goes on as there are only so many Insights that you can get. Fun, if you're lucky.

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Factory Overclocking (S) [Synthetic Dawn Story Pack]
+1 Leader Level Cap
+10% Leader EXP Gain

As MI leaders are immortal, you have a theoretically infinite amount of time to benefit from high leader levels. Getting to that point faster is a great bonus, and having that high leader level be even higher is an even greater bonus.

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Hyper Lubrication Basin (E) [Synthetic Dawn Story Pack + Toxoids Species Pack]
Can construct Hyper Lubrication Basin buildings

If you're going to go for any effect, why would you pick the one that makes Amenities more scarce, as a Machine Intelligence which already has issues managing Amenities?

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Introspective (B) [Synthetic Dawn Story Pack]
+20% Engineering Research Speed
+1 Encryption

It's a flat bonus to arguably the most important category of technology to MIs. For that alone, it's pretty good! The Encryption bonus is completely ignorable.

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Maintenance Protocols (A) [Synthetic Dawn Story Pack]
+1 Unity from Maintenance Drones

You're probably going to have a decent amount of Maintenance Drones, considering how finnicky Amenities are when you're a MI. This is just free Unity, honestly.

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Memorialist (F) [Synthetic Dawn Story Pack + Necroids Species Pack]
Simulation Site buildings are replaced by Sanctuary of Repose buildings
Gain additional Unity from Leviathan Parades

Why are the Memorialist traits so useless? The unique jobs are carbon copies of their other variants and only have other use in incredibly niche situations.

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Organic Reprocessing (X) [Synthetic Dawn Story Pack + Plantoids Species Pack]
Replaces Fabricator jobs with Catalytic Drone jobs

Why on Bubbles' green galaxy would you willingly choose to pivot your economy toward Food... when you have no other uses for Food? Sure, maybe it might have some use as a Rogue Servitor or Driven Assimilator, but at that point just go play a Hive Mind.

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OTA Updates (F) [Synthetic Dawn Story Pack]
-20% Empire Size from Pops
+25 Edict Fund
Waives unity cost for pop resettlement

Empire Size from pops is next to nonexistant, and the Edict Fund bonus is too small to do anything with. The unity cost waive will likely never be used, as MI pops have a tendency to resettle themselves...

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Rapid Replicator (S) [Synthetic Dawn Story Pack]
+20% Mechanical Pop assembly speed

Yeah, it's just a flat pop assembly bonus in a civic. Literally free. Ramps up greatly once you unlock the improved Robot production building.

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Rockbreakers (B) [Synthetic Dawn Story Pack]
+1 Minerals from Miner Drones

Do you really need Minerals that much that you're running Rockbreakers? As a Machine Intelligence that will need a ton of Minerals for all that Alloy production? Studies say it's more likely than you think.

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Sovereign Circuits (C) [Synthetic Dawn Story Pack + Galactic Paragons]
+1 Leader Capacity
-1 Maximum Leader Negative Traits
-1 Unity Upkeep from Leaders
+2 Energy Upkeep from Leaders

Potentially good for leader focused builds, though the change in upkeep is not very impactful past a certain point considering there is a cap on leaders.

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Static Research Analysis (E) [Synthetic Dawn Story Pack]
+1 Research Alternatives
+1 Codebreaking

Yeah, these bonuses are inconsequential. Research Alternatives could be useful, but in normal gameplay it's not much.

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Unitary Cohesion (S) [Synthetic Dawn Story Pack]
+15% Monthly Unity

Yeah! MIs kinda hurt for Unity, so this bonus really helps. It stays useful for the entire game as well.

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Warbots (F) [Synthetic Dawn Story Pack]
+2 Admiral and General starting level
+20% Army Damage
-20% Army Upkeep

You unlock better armies very early on in MI playthroughs. Also, all Army modifiers are trash.

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Zero-Waste Protocols (B) [Synthetic Dawn Story Pack]
-10% Robot Upkeep

Robots consume Energy as upkeep, so this might be useful if you want to use that potential production for something more useful... like Alloys!

(XI) Megacorporation Civics (1)

In the MegaCorp expansion, a new authority type was introduced: Corporate. It comes with its own set of corporate civics.

Some civics are exactly the same as their normal empire counterparts, both in effect and in ranking. In those situations, it will be mentioned that they are exactly the same.

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Anglers (D) [MegaCorp + Aquatics Species Pack]
Cannot have Post-Apocalyptic origin
Cannot have Shattered Ring origin
Cannot have Void Dwellers origin
Cannot have Subterranean origin
Cannot be added or removed after the start of the game
Main species must be Aquatic
No Agriculture district limit on Ocean Worlds
Replaces Farmer jobs with Angler jobs that produce Trade Value on wet climates
Agriculture districts create Pearl Diver jobs that produce Consumer Goods on wet climates
-50 Agriculture district minerals cost on wet climates
Council Position: +0.2 Trade Value from Anglers, +0.4 Trade Value from Pearl Divers per level

In all honestly, it's somewhat better for MegaCorps due to the increased Trade Value you get from Angler jobs. Not a ton, but somewhat.

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Ascensionists (S) [MegaCorp + Utopia]
Must be Spiritualist
+25% Planetary Ascension effects
-10% Planetary Ascension cost
-25% Tradition Cost from Empire Size
Council Position: +2% Monthly Unity per level

Play your cards right as a MegaCorp, and you'll be swimming in Unity. Take advantage of those bonuses, and rise to ever greater levels of fulfillment.

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Brand Loyality (A) [MegaCorp]
+15% Monthly Unity
+25 Edict Fund
Council Position: +2% Branch Office Value per level

The Unity bonus and the Branch Office Value are what you'll be taking this for, and with other effects it can be pretty useful. Not much else to say.

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Catalytic Recyclers (C) [MegaCorp + Plantoids Species Pack]
Cannot have Calamitous Birth origin
Replaces Metallurgist jobs with Catalytic Technician jobs, producing alloys from food instead of minerals
Council Position: -2% Metallurgist Upkeep per level

Same ranking as normal empires' Catalytic Processing, for the same reasons.

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Corporate Death Cult (S) [MegaCorp + Necroids Species Pack]
Must be Spiritualist
Cannot have Necrophage origin
Can construct Sacrificial Temple buildings
Can construct Sacrificial Shrine holdings
Can use Sacrifice edicts to sacrifice pops for powerful bonuses
Council Position: +2% Sacrificial Edict Effect per level

Same ranking as normal empires' Death Cult, for the same reasons.

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Corporate Hedonism (A) [MegaCorp + Humanoids Species Pack]
Cannot have Indentured Assets civic
Can use the Decadent Lifestyle living standard
+1% Pop Growth Speed from Entertainers
+5 Amenities from Servants
Council Position: +0.8 Trade Value from Entertainers per level

Potentially more useful than the normal empire version Pleasure Seekers, as with the proper build you can much more easily manage the increased CG costs.

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Franchising (A) [MegaCorp]
-25% Empire Size from Branch Offices
+0.5 Monthly Loyalty from Subjects
Can construct Franchise Headquarters holding
No Loyalty loss from multiple subjects
Cannot use Expansion Prohibited terms of agreement
Cannot use Limited Diplomacy terms of agreemeent
Council Position: -2% Empire Size from Branch Offices per level

The MegaCorp equivalent of Feudal Society is slightly worse as it doesn't have the powerful Leader effects. That Empire Size reduction is very good in it's place, though!

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Free Traders (S) [MegaCorp]
+10% Trade Value
+10% Branch Office Value
Council Position: +2% Commercial Pact Efficiency

The things that you do by default as a MegaCorp are made better. Probably *the* best civic for the Corporate authority.

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Gospel of the Masses (A) [MegaCorp]
Must be Spiritualist
+50% Spiritualist Ethics Attraction
Can build Temple of Prosperity Corporate Holding
+0.33 Trade Value per free Spiritualist pop on empire or planets with branch offices
Council Position: +5% Temple of Prosperity Ethics Shift Chance

The key here is the unique holding building, the Temple of Prosperity. With enough effort, you can openly (albiet slowly) turn other empires toward your ethics, which can make it easier to maintain your pacts with them and potentially open the door to Federation creation.

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Indentured Assets (C) [MegaCorp]
Must be Authoritarian
Cannot have Corporate Hedonism civic
Cannot have Payback origin
+10% Slave pop resource output
35% of pops will be enslaved
Council Position: +0.2 Trade Value per enslaved pop per level

The effects are the same as the normal empires' Slaver Guilds, but it doesn't synergize as well with MegaCorps on account the fact that Trade Value is generally unaffected by general bonuses to resource output. You'll have slaves filling up your Clerk jobs... but for what?

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Knowledge Mentorship (A) [MegaCorp + Galactic Paragons]
+1 Leader Starting Level
+10% Leader EXP Gain
+5% Trade Value
Can construct Vaults of Knowledge building
Council Position: -2% Leader Upkeep, -2% Leader Cost per level

A much improved version of normal empires' Vaults of Knowledge with some real, tangible use. The building is still pretty bad, but hey, beggars cannot be choosers.

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Letters of Marquee (B) [MegaCorp + Galactic Paragons]
Must be Authoritarian or Militarist
Cannot be Pacifist
+20 Trade Protection
-10% Ship Upkeep
+1 Mercenary Enclave capacity
Admirals have the Material Liberator trait
Can use the Pirate Raid casus belli
Council Position: +1% Ship Fire Rate, +1 Trade Protection per level

Yarr, landlubber! This here civic allows ye to sail the seven nebulae, yarr. Seems like a Megacorp version of Barbaric Despoilers with a bit more flexibility, and just as fun as it to boot.

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Mastercraft Inc. (S) [MegaCorp + Humanoids Species Pack]
Replaces Artisan jobs with Artificer jobs that produce Trade Value
+1 Building slot per 3 Industrial districts
Council Position: +1% Armor Hit Points per level

If this weren't S tier already for normal empires, it would be S tier for MegaCorps almost guaranteed.

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Media Conglomerate (B) [MegaCorp]
+5% Citizen Pop Happiness
-5% War Exhaustion Gain
Council Position: +5% Governing Ethics Attractionp

It's an alternative version of Idealistic Foundation that is arguably worse, trading the would-be impactful Happiness for a middling, hard-to-notice War Exhaustion buff.

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Mutagenic Spas (D) [MegaCorp + Toxoids Species Pack]
Cannot have Life Seeded civic
Can build Mutagenic Spas, creating jobs that increase pop growth speed in exchange for reduced Habitability and Happiness based on the amount of Industrial Districts
Council Position: +0.5 Unity from Mutagenic Spa Attendants

Same ranking as normal empires' Mutagenic Spas, for the same reasons.

--- Megacorporation Civics (2)

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Naval Contractors (A) [MegaCorp]
+15% Naval Capacity
+2 Mercenary Enclave capacity
Council Position: -1% Ship Build Cost per level

That's a lot of mercenaries! While this perk is middling in the beginning of the game, it easily ramps up once you have the production to start founding and maintaining those enclaves. Just make sure you protect them!

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Permanent Employment (S) [MegaCorp + Necroids Species Pack]
Cannot be Egalitarian
Cannot have Mechanist origin
Cannot have Clone Army origin
Cannot have Necrophage origin
Can construct Posthumous Employment Center buildings
Can construct Reemployment Center buildings
Pops created through organic assembly have the Zombie trait
Start with 3 or 4 Zombie pops
After 80-120 years, can gain the Zombie Contract Manipulation empire modifier
Defeated organic guardians can be resurrected
Council Position: +1% Organic Pop Assembly Speed

Permanent Employment is exceptionally good in it's uniqueness. Without needing to devote resources to slaves, or restrict yourself through Gestalt play, this civic gives you free Pop Assembly from day one, which is an effect only otherwise seen in the Mechanist origin. While the zombies aren't as good as normal pops, they also have no upkeep, meaning that they can be fired and forgotten about to fill up rural worlds.

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Pharma State (S) [MegaCorp + Galactic Paragons]
+10 Years Leader Lifespan
+2 Amenities from Medical Workers
+4 Trade Value from Medical Workers
Can construct Corporate Clinic holding
Start with a Gene Clinics building and applicable technology
Start with Subdermal Stimulation technology as a research option
Council Position: +1% Pop Growth Speed, +1% Habitability

This civic casts an extremely wide net of bonuses, and does so exceptionally well. Alongside finally making Medical Workers useful, it also provides a decent bonus to leaders, and an absolutely fantastic council position.

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Precision Cogs (S) [MegaCop + Galactic Paragons]
+1 Leader Capacity
-1 Maximum Leader Negative Traits
-20% Leader Upkeep
Council Position: +1 Specialist Happiness, +5% Specialist Political Power per level

A combination of normal empire's Meritocracy and Heroic Past creates a very unique and powerful civic in the game's current state. I would suggest rushing the Council Position for this one.

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Private Military Companies (D) [MegaCorp]
Must be Militarist
+20% Army Damage
-20% Army Upkeep
+100 Army Starting EXP
+1 Mercenary Enclave Capacity
Council Position: +0.25 Stability from Soldiers per level

The only thing keeping this one out of F tier is the Enclave. You should know by now that I hate army bonuses, because they're so... nothing.

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Private Prospectors (A) [MegaCorp]
Can build Private Colony Ships that cost energy instead of other resources
-33% Empire Size from Systems
Council Position: -2% Outpost Build Cost, -2% Starbase Influence Cost per level

Not bad! Compared to other types of Colony Ships, the PCS this civic gives you are exceptionally cheap. The Empire Size bonus also helps to offset the malus you get by playing the Corporate Authority. Falls off around the middle of the game, but still has it's place in a build. Also, that Starbase Influence reduction from the Council can make expansion a lot easier in the early-to-mid game.

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Privatized Exploration (A) [MegaCorp + First Contact Story Pack]
Cannot have Broken Shackles origin
Cannot have Fear of the Dark origin
Cannot have Payback origin
Cannot be added or removed after start of game
Homeworld starts with 10 fewer pops
Homeworld lacks Research Labs
Start with no military fleet
Start with two unique Exploration Vessels
Several starting technologies start out unresearched but are permanent options
Start with Subspace Drive technology
Start with Starhold technology
+30% Starbase Upgrade Speed
+30% Starbase Building Build Speed
+30% Starbase Module Build Speed
+25% Resources from Orbital Stations
Council Position: +2.5% Starbase Building Cost, +2.5% Starbase Module Cost, +2.5% Orbital Stations Build Cost (taken from the wiki, is this phrased correctly?) per level

This civic is pushed up to A compared to normal empires' Eager Explorers due to the fact that it gives you a flat, permanent, and substantial buff to your Orbital Station output. In the beginning of the game, this can be huge, and becomes even huger the larger your empire becomes.

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Public Relations Specialists (S) [MegaCorp + Federations]
+2 Envoys
+20% Diplomatic Weight
Council Position: +5% Envoy Improve Relations Efficiency per level

As a MegaCorp, those envoys can be exceptionally useful when attempting to start and maintain commercial pacts. There are also several notable resolutions in the Galactic Community that you might want to keep your eye on; the GC can help and hurt MegaCorps more substantially than normal empires.

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Relentless Industrialists (S) [MegaCorp + Toxoids Species Pack]
Must be Materialist
Cannot have Life-Seeded origin
Can construct Coordinated Fulfillment Center building
Start with a Coordinated Fulfillment Center on homeworld
Coordinated Fulfillment Centers provide strong bonuses to Metallurgists and Artisans, at the expense of pop growth speed and the eventual terraforming of worlds into Tomb Worlds
Council Position: +2% Minerals from Miners

Same ranking as normal empires' Relentless Industrialists, for the same reasons.

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Ruthless Competition (B) [MegaCorp]
+1 Leader Level Cap
+10% Leader EXP gain
+1 Codebreaking
Council Position: -4% Leader Upkeep, -4% Leader Cost per level

Notably worse than Meritocracy, because you lose the great Specialist buff for a completely pointless Codebreaking buff.

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Scavengers (D) [MegaCorp + Toxoids Species Pack]
Enables the Research & Salvage Debris policy
10% chance per ship debris to create a ship of equal size
+10 Opinion with the Salvagers enclave
Council Position: +1% Chance to Salvage Ships per level

Same ranking as normal empires' Scavengers, for the same reasons. While you're here, though, can anyone tell me why the icon for the Scavenger civics is significantly... *blurrier* than the rest of them?

---

Trading Posts (D) [MegaCorp]
+4 Starbase Capacity
Council Position: +0.5 Trade Value per Trade Hub

Yeah, it can be nice, but MegaCorp gameplay is almost destined to not be as wide as normal empires. What do you truthfully need 4 more starbases for?

(XII) Special Civics (1)

These civics provide substantial changes to gameplay, either through unique restrictions and abilities, or by unlocking different ways of approaching advancement or conquest. By being playthrough defining, they have earned themselves a separation from normal civics.

---

Base Empire Civics

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Barbaric Despoilers (B) [Apocalypse]
Must be Militarist
Must be Authoritarian *or* Xenophobe
Cannot be Xenophile
Cannot be Genocidal
Cannot have Common Ground origin
Cannot be added or removed after game start
Allows use of 'Despoilation' casus belli
Allows use of 'Raiding' bombardment stance
Cannot form Migration Treaties
Can only form Martial Alliance and Hegemony federations
+1 Mercenary Enclave capacity
Reduced opinion to non-BD empires
Council Position: -2% Empire Size from slaves per level

Barbaric Despoilers are pirates, and it's awesome! The unique casus belli they get lets you steal resources from other empires, and the unique bombardment stance lets you steal pops! Why make your own stuff when you can just pillage it instead? I'm all for it, though some of the restrictions can make things difficult diplomatically. That, and if you're going to be super hostile, then you could always just be...

---

Fanatic Purifiers (S) [Utopia]
Must be Fanatic Xenophobe
Must be Militarist *or* Spiritualist
Cannot have any civic or origin that excludes Genocidal play
Cannot be added or removed after the start of the game
Genocidal!

• Cannot engage in diplomacy
  
• Cannot create subjects
  
• Can use unique Total War casus belli
  
• -1000 Opinion to empires of different species
  
• Xenos will always be purged
  
• +2 Unity per purged pop
  
• Allows use of 'Armageddon' bombardment stance
  Council Position: +2% Monthly Alloys

+33% Fire Rate
+33% Army Damage
+33% Naval Capacity
-15% Ship Cost

Let's be Xenophobic, it's really in this year.

There's a reason why Fanatic Purifiers is a poster child of Stellaris. It's really good! The entire playstyle around FPs is to crush anyone who stands before you, giving no quarter. The buffs it provides you let you do that in spades, potentially with enough Unity to outpace other empires as well.

---

Inwards Perfection (C) [Base Game]
Must be Pacifist
Must be Xenophobic
Cannot have Pompous Purists civic
Cannot have Eager Explorers civic
Cannot have Fear of the Dark origin
Cannot be added or removed after the start of the game
+20% Monthly Unity
+10% Pop Growth Speed
+5% Citizen Pop Happiness
+50 Edict Fund
+1 Encryption
-1 Codebreaking
-1 Envoys
Pacifist Ethics Attraction Increased
Cannot infiltrate pre-FTLs
Cannot engage in most forms of diplomacy
Council Position: +3% Defense Platform Damage, +3% Defense Platform Hull Points per level

On the opposite side of the coin, you have the 'fanatic leave-me-alone' empire archetype, Inwards Perfection. Commonly thought of as one of the most jank civics in the game, the restrictions on diplomacy mean that most meaningful interactions with empires are made impossible. Combine this with the fact that you must be Pacifist to use it, and you end up fostering a game where you sit around and do... not much.

There are unique IP builds that can be reasonably powerful, but as it stands, I can't put it any higher than C.

---

Hive Mind Civics

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Devouring Swarm (A) [Utopia]
Cannot be Lithoid
Cannot have any civic or origin that excludes Genocidal play
Cannot be added or removed after the start of the game
Genocidal!

• Cannot engage in diplomacy
  
• Cannot create subjects
  
• Can use unique Total War casus belli
  
• -1000 Opinion to all other empires
  
• Xenos will always be purged
  
• +2 Society Research per purged pop

+25% Ship Hull Points
+0.25% Daily Hull and Armor Regen
-50% Starbase Influence Cost
+40% Army Damage
+20% Biology Research Speed
-25% Ship Cost
+33% Naval Capacity
+200 Food when clearing Dangerous Wildlife blockers
Cannot terraform

As a Devouring Swarm, your intended style of play is to spread out and consume everything as fast as possible. Your buffs allow you to fill up space exceptionally quickly whilst cranking out ships to ensure that warfare is continuous. It's really fun!

Not as high as Fanatic Purifiers, as you're still subject to the same restrictions as other Gestalt types.

---

Terravore (S) [Utopia + Lithoids Species Pack]
Must be Lithoid
Cannot have any civic or origin that excludes Genocidal play
Cannot be added or removed after the start of the game
Genocidal!

• Cannot engage in diplomacy
  
• Cannot create subjects
  
• Can use unique Total War casus belli
  
• -1000 Opinion to all other empires
  
• Xenos will always be purged
  
• +2 Society Research per purged pop

+25% Ship Hull Points
+0.25% Daily Hull and Armor Regen
-50% Starbase Influence Cost
+40% Army Damage
+20% Biology Research Speed
-25% Ship Cost
+33% Naval Capacity
Cannot terraform
Can use the Consume World decision

Terravore is, word for word, the exact same as Devouring Swarm, save for two key differences: 1. You have to be Lithoid, and 2. You can eat planets! The Consume World decision gives you tons of free Minerals, Alloys, and Pops, all for the cost of planets that you likely wouldn't be making use of anyways. It's extremely fun!

--- Special Civics (2)

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Machine Intelligence Civics

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Determined Exterminator (A) [Synthetic Dawn Story Pack]
Cannot have other special MI civics
Cannot have Exploration Protocols civic
Cannot be added removed after the start of the game
Genocidal!

• Cannot engage in diplomacy with biological empires
  
• Can use unique Total War casus belli
  
• -1000 Opinion to all Biological/Rogue Servitor empires
  
• Biological pops will always be purged
  
• +2 Unity per purged pop
  
• Allows use of 'Armageddon' bombardment stance

+25% Weapons Damage
-30% Starbase Influence Cost
-15% Ship Cost
+33% Naval Capacity
Homeworld is a Tomb World

Is that the Terminator? It is! You get a nice mix of the other Genocidals' bonuses, along with the nice benefit of being able to coexist with (most) other machine empires. Cover the galaxy in metal! It's your destiny.

---

Driven Assimilator (A) [Synthetic Dawn Story Pack]
Cannot have other special MI civics
Cannot have Exploration Protocols civic
Cannot be added removed after the start of the game
Genocidal... kinda?

• Can use unique Total War casus belli
  
• -100 Opinion with non-Gestalt empires
  
• -200 Opinion with Spiritualist empires
  
• -1000 Opinion with Democratic Crusaders
  
• Biological, non-Gestalt pops must be assimilated or purged
  
• +1 Unity per assimilation
  
• +1 Society Research per assimilation

Start with 10 pops being a second, custom Cyborg species
-1 Replicator and +1 Maintenance Drone jobs from capital buildings

Driven Assimilators is probably my favorite playstyle, giving a lot of the benefits of genocidal play, such as the unique casus belli and the resources from conquering pops, without being totally sidelined out of diplomacy. It will be a lot harder, but not impossible. You also get access to a lot of unique tools seen nowhere else in the game, like the Crucible World and the Nanobot Swarm!

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Rogue Servitor (S) [Synthetic Dawn Story Pack]
Cannot have other special MI civics
Cannot have Resource Consolidation origin
Cannot be added or removed after the start of the game
Start with 5 additional pops of a secondary, biological Bio-Trophy species
Can construct Organic Sanctuary buildings
Cannot construct regular Unity buildings
Organic, non-Gestalt pops must have the Bio-Trophy citizenship

Welcome to the best potential producer of Unity in the entire game, and probably one of the best civics in the entire game. By keeping and caring for large amounts of organic pops, you can stack insane bonuses to Complex drone output, as well as significant Unity production. The only issue is that you'll have to come across large amounts of Organic pops somehow, but that just makes things more interesting! As a Rogue Servitor, you also gain access to one of the best tools available to normal empires, the Ecumenopolis!

---

Megacorporation Civics

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Criminal Heritage (S) [MegaCorp]
Cannot be added or removed after the start of the game
Cannot have Commercial Pacts
Crime on Branch Office planets increases Trade Value
Can build special crime-increasing Corporate Holdings
Can build Branch Offices on any non-Gestalt, non-FE colony
+20% Infiltration speed
+1 Codebreaking
+1 Cloaking Strength
-20% Branch Office cost
Council Position: +0.25 Branch Office Trade Value per Criminal per level

I do not condone the use of Criminal Heritage in multiplayer, as your main way of playing the game requires you to make the experience worse for other players.

Having said that, this is insanely fun and powerful in singleplayer, completely removing the biggest restriction of playing a MegaCorp.

(XIII) Starting Ruler Leader Traits

Following 3.8, you can select the initial leader trait that your Ruler has. Because this is yet another step in Empire creation, it of course has to appear here. While there aren't many choices, they are still ranked because some are so much better than others.

These traits have 2 tiers, and the effects of each tier are displayed alongside each other in sequential order, with tier 2 being in bold.

Keep in mind that, so long as a leader with these traits is on your council, you will receive the benefits from them; they are not exclusive to Rulers.

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Charismatic (C) [Base Game]
Leader Type(s): Any
-10%/-15% Edicts Upkeep
+15%/+35% Edicts Fund

Charismatic isn't bad. Early in the game you probably won't be too deep into Edicts, and by the time you are you'll probably be swimming in potential Edicts Fund bonuses. However, this is one of the few sources of a percentage increase of Edicts capacity, which pushes it up to C at the very least.

---

Eye for Talent (S) [Base Game]
Leader Type(s): Any
+10%/+20% Leader EXP Gain

Well yeah, of course a free bonus to leader EXP active from the very beginning of the game is going to be in S tier. Bonuses like these build up over the course of the game, and in the current day where Leaders are so impactful, you can't pass this one over.

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Feedback Loop (B) [Base Game + Utopia/Synthetic Dawn Story Pack]
Leader Type(s): Any
Must be Gestalt Consciousness
+1/+2 Stability
+1/+3 Amenities

An improved version of Principled for Gestalts. Cool, but there are much better options than tiny bonuses to Stability and Amenities.

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Fleet Organizer (D) [Base Game]
Leader Type(s): Admiral
+5%/+15% Naval Capacity

I'll just say that there are so many better options for traits than a tiny bonus to Naval Capacity that you won't even need before you can feasibly start building Anchorages or Strongholds.

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Logistic Understanding (E) [Base Game]
Leader Type(s): Any
-5%/-10% Ship Upkeep
-10%/-15% Army Upkeep

Congratulations, you've shaved a fraction of a unit of a resource off of an upkeep that you'd have forgotten about the moment after the start of the game.

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Mining Rush (A) [Base Game]
Leader Type(s): Any
+5%/+7.5% Minerals from Jobs

An actually significant bonus to output! Having something like this across the board is nice, especially in the early game when you'd be building all your mining stations.

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Principled (B) [Base Game]
Leader Type(s): Governor, Scientist
+2/+4 Stability

A potentially useful bonus during early-game exploration and expansion, especially as a slaver or someone with less-than-optimal living standards.

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Spark of Genius (S) [Base Game]
Leader Type(s): Scientist
+3%/+6% Research Speed
Improved draw chance for rare technologies

Wow writer, you're putting a flat bonus to research speed in the S tier? You're saying that this is probably going to be a meta pick? Color me surprised.

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Spycraft (F) [Base Game]
Leader Type(s): General
+15%/+25% Infiltration Speed
-15%/-25% Operation Speed

Bro... This is the type of perk that you would restart to avoid before they gave us the ability to pick them ourselves.

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Warlike (S) [Base Game]
Leader Type(s): Admiral, General
+5%/+7.5% Ship Weapons Damage
+5%/+15% Army Damage

Yeah, sure. Something you'd pick if you anticipate some early game warfare. Go for it, bucko.

(XIV) Under One Rule Leader Traits (1)

The following traits are only available to an empire with the Under One Rule origin. They can be extremely impactful by themselves, with no real drawbacks other than those explicitly listed.

Some traits have up to 3 tiers, and the effects of each tier are displayed alongside each other in sequential order, with tier 2 being in italics, and tier 3 being in bold.

Additionally, while normally a Ruler can only be created with 1 trait, an Under One Rule ruler can have up to three: Two positive, one negative. Their associated costs will be included.

These perks are omitted from TL;DR tier lists, as they generally fall under the origin as a whole.

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Absent-Minded (C) [Galactic Paragons]
Required Ethic: Spiritualist
Cost: -1
-10% Worker Pop Resource Output
+20% Researcher Upkeep

Honestly one of the more tame negative leader modifiers. It might suck in the early game, but will easily be paved over as your progress in a game.

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Autark (D) [Galactic Paragons]
Required Ethic: Pacifist
Cost: 1
+5%/+10%/+20% Amenities
+10%/+15%/+30% Food from Jobs
+10/+15/+30 Trade Protection

Man, if you're going to pick Under One Rule, I really hope you're not picking it to be some budget version of Agrarian Idyll.

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Blunt (X) [Galactic Paragons]
Required Ethic: Xenophobe
Cost: -1
-25% Diplomatic Weight
-1 Available Envoys

Yeesh. Unless you're playing genocidal, absolutely not. I wouldn't want to be the person caught without any Envoys during early-game expansion.

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Brain Poacher (S) [Galactic Paragons]
Required Ethic: Xenophile
Cost: 1
+10%/+15%/+20% Diplomatic Weight from Technology
+5%/+7.5%/+10% Research Speed

This is the type of research speed that makes Materialists cry tears of joy... I wonder why they chose to make it Xenophile?

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Brutal (B) [Galactic Paragons]
Required Ethic: Authoritarian
Cost: -1
+30 Crime
-2.5% Pop Happiness per Enforcer/Telepath

If you're running Authoritarian, you'll probably have the tools to manage the crime. Somewhat hard to defend, as all UOR negative traits are, but not bad compared to the rest.

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Commanding Presence (S) [Galactic Paragons]
Required Ethic: Authoritarian
Cost: 1
+1 Available Envoys
+0.4/+0.6/+1 Monthly Loyalty from Subjects
+5/+10/+15

That single envoy can go a long way, and that loyalty pairs fantastically with picking up Feudal Society down the line, or just general vassal play. The diplomatic acceptance chance helps to offset the 'Luminary Extinguished' penalty if you go down that road.

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Elitist (C) [Galactic Paragons]
Required Ethic: Materialist
Cost: -1
+30% Leader Upkeep
+20% Pop Amenities Usage

All things considered, not bad. A normal empire has plenty of ways to produce amenities, though in my experience using this trait can lead to a game of playing catch-up with stacking pop unhappiness.

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Enlightened Ruler (D) [Galactic Paragons]
Required Ethic: Pacifist
Cost: 1
+2.5/+3.5/+5 Stability
-5%/-10%/-20% Upkeep from Jobs
+10%/+20%/+40% Governing Ethics Attraction

I don't know what it is about Pacifist bonuses being overwhelmingly *mid*, but it seems like it has leaked over to this trait too. If you care so much about Stability that you need this for it, you're playing the game wrong. The upkeep reduction might be useful in a build centered around it.

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Ever Vigilant (D) [Galactic Paragons]
Required Ethic: Xenophobe
Cost: 1
+1 Available Envoys
+1/+2/+2 Codebreaking
+1/+2/+4 Encryption

Oh yeah, I sure do love me some espionage bonuses, in a game where espionage can range anywhere from underwhelming to completely irrelevant. If you pick this, pick it for the envoy and for no other reason.

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Fearful (S) [Galactic Paragons]
Required Ethic: Pacifist
Cost: -1
+15% Ship Upkeep
-10% Naval Capacity

Of all of the negative UOR traits, this is probably the least problematic. Sure you run into some immersion issues when you think about your god-emperor being afraid of the galaxy at large, but with an economy built around these maluses, they are negligible.

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Genome Artist (A) [Galactic Paragons]
Required Ethic: Xenophobe
Cost: 1
+1 Gene Modification Points
-10%/-20%/-40% Modify Species Special Project Cost
-5%/-15%/-30% Pop Upkeep

WH40K anyone? I never quite understood why genemodding is so heavily associated with xenophobia, but in this case I'm glad because it gives the ethic a pretty strong stick to swing compared to the other ethics.

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Great Inventor (A) [Galactic Paragons]
Required Ethic: Materialist
Cost: 1
+5%/+10%/+15% Pop Assembly Speed
+0.5/+1/+2 Engineering Research from Roboticists
+1/+2/+3 Amenities from Roboticists

Well, there you have it: the quintessential Materialist perk. Good for both Synthetic and Cybernetic ascension, as Roboticists are used as the pop assemblers in both. I see no downside of taking this, though it takes a little bit to start getting use out of it, the use you get is immense.

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Gunboat Diplomat (B) [Galactic Paragons]
Required Ethic: Xenophile
Cost: 1
+10%/+15%/+25% Diplomatic Weight from Fleet Power
+0.25/+0.5/+1 Influence from Power Projection
-5%/-10%/-20% Ship Upkeep

Both Xenophile UOE positive traits are not very... xenophile when it comes to flavor, are they? Regardless, when paired with certain bonuses available to militarists, this can create a very powerful early-game advantage when it comes to influence and diplomacy.

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High King (B) [Galactic Paragons]
Required Ethic: Authoritarian
Cost: 1
+3/+5/+8 Stability
+5%/+10%/+20% Happiness of Rulers
+10%/+20%/+30% Pop Resource output from Rulers

Worthless Stability bonus aside, such a substantial bonus to Ruler happiness may mean you never have to worry about revolt on your worlds, and there are quite a few builds centered around powerful bonuses from Ruler output.

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Inspired General (S) [Galactic Paragons]
Required Ethic: Militarist
Cost: 1
+10/+15/+20 Fleet Command Limit
+5%/+10%/+15% Naval Capacity
+75/+150/+300 Ship Starting EXP

Despite the name of it being 'general', I'm very happy they didn't tack some worthless army bonus onto this one. An extremely good starting point for a military snowball build. From the beginning, you also get almost the free effects of the Fleet Academy, usually from a tech you don't see until 20-30 years into a game.

--- Under One Rule Leader Traits (2)

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Luminary (D to S) [Galactic Paragons]
Required Ethic: None
Cost: 0
Required as UOR empire
+40 Years Leader Lifespan
+0.75 Stability per Luminary Point
+1.5% Unity from Jobs per Luminary Point
With Sustaining Apparatus feature on Homeworld:

• -10 Monthly of all Strategic Resources
  
• Effectively Immortal (+800 Years Leader Lifespan)

Behold the Luminary, the one trait to tie everything together. The initial 40 year plan is when you will get the majority of your 'Luminary Points', scaling the bonuses in excess of +15% Unity, and such. However, what truly makes this one amazing is the effective immortality you get later down the line, prolonging the effects of the other extremely powerful traits you get. Who wouldn't want that?

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Luminary Bloodline (A) [Galactic Paragons]
Required Ethic: None
Cost: 0
Required as UOR Heir
+20 Years Leader Lifespan
+50% Leader Experience Gain

Following the Imperial route for UOR will generate a heir with this trait so long as your Luminary is alive and in power. These bonuses are minor compared to the other huge things you get with UOR, but are welcome regardless as Heirs are much more useful in 3.8.

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Naive (S) [Galactic Paragons]
Required Ethic: Xenophile
Cost: -1
-2 Encryption
+15% Pop Upkeep

Like, who cares, man? Might be a little annoying in the very early game before you get the numerous technologies that get you to the espionage cap(s), but this is probably the least impactful UOR leader malus.

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Pious Ascetic (B) [Galactic Paragons]
Required Ethic: Spitiualist
Cost: 1
-10%/-15%/-20% Pop Amenities Usage
-10%/-15%/-20% Pop Housing Usage
+0.5/+1/+2 Society Research from Priest Jobs

Helps cut back the need to allocate resources to some smaller things that are usually overlooked, and that free Society Research can help you rush Psionic Theory if you can get an Ecclesiastical (I can't believe I spelled that right the first time) World set up quickly.

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Titan of Industry (S) [Galactic Paragons]
Required Ethic: Materialist
Cost: 1
+10%/+15%/+30% Minerals from Jobs
+5%/+10%/+15% Alloys and Consumer Goods from Jobs

In my humble opinion, the best UOR trait available. Useful for every level of play, and useful from the very start of the game when all three resources are somewhat scarce.

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Unwavering Aggressor (A) [Galactic Paragons]
Required Ethic: Militarist
Cost: 1
+5%/+10%/+15% Ship Fire Rate
+5/+7/+10 Tracking and Accuracy

A helpful bonus to have no matter what kind of run you plan to have. A little bit of an advantage available throughout the entire game.

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Warmonger (F) [Galactic Paragons]
Required Ethic: Militarist
Cost: -1
-10% Citizen Pop Happiness
-20 Trade Protection

I know what you're probably thinking. 'Author, why is this one such a low tier?' Well, if you intend on generating any amount of trade value, this is a terrible malus. -20 Trade Production effectively completely negates your passive protection, meaning that you will have pirate fleets appearing every other year once you start generating any amount of Trade Value between colonies, even on trade routes being patrolled by large corvette fleets. If you can somehow manage that, then sure, but as it is, no.

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Wise Mentor (B) [Galactic Paragons]
Required Ethic: Spitiualist
Cost: 1
+10%%/+15%/+25% All Leader EXP Gain
-10%/-15%/-25% Leader Upkeep
+1 Leader Capacity

Pretty powerful, especially now that leaders are much stronger. If other perks weren't so powerful, I would consider this one a no-brainer.

(XV) Tradition Trees (1)

In 3.1 Lem, players are now given the option to choose from a variety of tradition trees they wish to adopt, instead of every empire eventually ending up with the same 7 completed trees. Another choice means another chapter to the guide, so that you can make these choices as a better informed God-King.

I'll be listing every tradition tree, each one of their perks by tier, and rating them accordingly.

Although not listed, each completed tradition tree grants you one Ascendance Perk. Tradition trees unlocked by ascension perks are found in the Ascension Traditions section of this guide.

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Discovery (S) [Base Game]
Adoption:

• Unlocks Map the Stars edict
  
• +20% Anomaly research speed
  
• Unlocks 'Chart the Unknown' agenda

Perks:

• T1: +35% Survey Speed, +50% Science Ship disengage chance
  
• T1: +1 Research Alternatives, +2 Scientist Level Cap
  
• T2: Unlocks Research Subsidies edict, +20% Research Station Output, +20% Research from Starbase Construction
  
• T2: +25% Leader Experience Gain, +1 Leader Level Cap
  
• T3: -20% Researcher Upkeep

Completion:

• +10% Research Speed
  
• Can create Research Cooperative federations
  
• +1000 Research Points in Research Caches if Scholarium T3

Discovery is an all-time great. I have personally picked Discovery as my first tree in every game I have played, and will likely continue to do so in the future. The reason? All the survey speed and anomaly bonuses are invaluable in the early game, and the research speed remains powerful far into the end game.

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Domination (A) [Base Game]
Adoption:

• -33.3% Clear Blocker Cost (Replaced by -20% Habitat Upkeep if Void Dwellers)
  
• Unlocks 'Civil Exclusion' agenda

Perks:

• T1: +2 Governor Level Cap, +0.5 Monthly Influence
  
• T1: +1 Housing from all housing and upgraded capital buildings if not gestalt, +2 housing from Synaptic Nodes if hive mind, -25% empire size from districts if machine intelligence
  
• T1: +1 Unity per Enforcer and Enhanced Surveillance edict unlocked if not gestalt, -10 Deviancy on all planets if gestalt
  
• T2: +2 Ruler Level Cap, +50 Edict Fund
  
• T2: +5% Worker/Slave/Menial Drone Output, Unlocks Extended Shifts/Drone Overdrive edict

Completion:

• -10% Empire Size from Pops
  
• Can create Hegemony federations

Personally, I would recommend this one for wide players who don't want to grow too thin as they expand outward. Gives bonuses to almost every internal aspect of an empire, capping it all off with an invitation to expand outward even more.

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Expansion (S) [Base Game]
Adoption:

• +25% Colony Development Speed
  
• Unlocks 'Superior Colonies' agenda

Perks:

• T1: -10% Starbase Influence Cost
  
• T1: +1 Pop on new colonies
  
• T2: -25% Empire Size from systems and colonies
  
• T2: -20% Starbase Upkeep
  
• T2: +10% Pop Growth Speed (+10% Pop Assembly Speed for Machine Intelligences)

Completion:

• +1 Max Districts for all non-artificial planets (-20% Habitat Build Cost if Void Dwellers)

Although I usually pick Discovery as my first tree, Expansion is just as viable a choice as it allows one to begin their snowballing into becoming a formidable wide empire. A ton of bonuses that are exceptionally good in the early game, although some wane a bit as the game goes on.

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Prosperity (B) [Base Game]
Adoption:

• +20% Mining Station Output
  
• Unlocks 'Favored Society' agenda

Perks:

• T1: -10% Building and District Upkeep
  
• T1: -10% Building and District Build Cost
  
• T2: +5% Specialist/Complex Drone Output
  
• T2: +1 Clerk Jobs per City and Trade District, +3 Clerk Jobs per Residential Arcology, +5 Clerk Jobs per City Segment (Replaced with +5% Monthly Energy Credits as gestalt)
  
• T2: +1 Housing per City/Hive/Nexus district, +3 Housing per Residential Arcology, +5 Housing per City/Hive/Nexus Segment (Replaced with +1 Building Slot for habitats as Void Dwellers)

Completion:

• +5% Resources from Jobs
  
• +5 Stability on all planets

If you're a Megacorporation, this is your go-to. Otherwise, it's nice to have, and should definitely be chosen over other certain traditions, but not at any specific point. It's bonuses remain very useful in any stage of the game.

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Supermacy (A) [Base Game]
Adoption:

• +20 Naval Capacity
  
• +20% Army Damage
  
• Unlocks 'Military Backup' agenda

Perks:

• T1: -10% Ship Build Cost, +25% Ship Build Speed
  
• T1: -10% Ship Upkeep, +20% Naval Capacity
  
• T1: +10% Ship Fire Rate, +20% Orbital Bombardment Damage
  
• T2: +20 Fleet Command Limit, +2 Admiral Level Cap
  
• T2: +20% Damage against Starbases

Completion:

• Unlocks War Doctrines
  
• Unlocks Supremacist diplomatic stance

This tradition tree unlocks the most unique awards upon completion, and it's perks are nothing to sneeze at. With war being such an important part of the game, taking this tree is almost essential... almost. There are plenty of builds that don't require overwhelming power, which keeps this from being S.

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Diplomacy (D) [Base Game]
Cannot select with Inward Perfection
Adoption:

• -50% Diplomatic Influence Cost
  
• Unlocks Diplomatic Grants edict
  
• Unlocks 'Build Relations' agenda

Perks:

• T1: Can create Federations, +1 Available Envoys
  
• T1: +3 Unity per Embassy
  
• T2: +100% Federation Naval Capacity Contribution
  
• T2: +33% Trust Cap, +33% Trust Growth
  
• T2: +5 Diplomatic Acceptance, 1% Monthly chance to gain a Favor during Improve Relations

Completion:

• +10% Diplomatic Weight
  
• +1 Available Envoys

While diplomatic bonuses are useful, this tree seems more useful to those intending to follow a federation playstyle instead of more diplomatic play. If you want to be the senate, go ahead, but otherwise it's meh.

---

Adaptability (C) [Base Game]
Cannot select as a Machine Intelligence
Adoption:

• -10% Pop Housing Usage
  
• Unlocks 'Conquer Nature' agenda

Perks:

• T1: +10% Monthly Food output (Replaced by 15% Refund for demolished buildings if Lithoid)
  
• T1: +10% Habitability
  
• T2: -25% Orbital Bombardment Damage Recieved, +25% Defense Army Damage
  
• T2: +1 Building Slot
  
• T2: -33% Resettlement Cost

Completion:

• Unlocks Planetary Prospecting Decision (Replaced by Orbital Surveying Decision if Void Dweller)

The perks here are definitely useful, but not as useful as one might want. If you have nothing else you want to grab at the time, then there's no harm in a little streamlining and improved output. I leave the better judgement up to you.

---

Harmony (F) [Base Game]
Cannot select as a Gestalt Consciousness
Adoption:

• -10% Pop Upkeep
  
• Unlocks 'Inner Stability' agenda

Perks:

• T1: +20 Years Leader Lifespan, +1 Leader Level Cap (Replaced with +5-100 Unity per converted pop if Necrophage)
  
• T1: -75% Pop Demotion Time (Replaced with -20% Leader Upkeep if Shared Burdens)
  
• T1: +25% Governing Ethics Attraction
  
• T2: +50 Edict Fund
  
• T2: +5 Stability on all planets

Completion:

• +25% Planetary Ascension Effect
  
• Can create Holy Covenants

If you want the food bonus, pick up Adaptability. Every other bonus is minor or available through tech.

--- Tradition Trees (2)

Mercantile (B) [Base Game]
Cannot select as a Gestalt Consciousness
Adoption:

• +5 Trade Protection
  
• +1 Collection Range
  
• Unlocks 'Open Markets' agenda

Perks:

• T1: +1 Trade Value per Clerk
  
• T1: Unlocks the Consumer Benefits and Marketplace of Ideas trade policies
  
• T2: +1 Merchant job per Commercial Zone, Commercial Segment, Trade District
  
• T2: +10% Trade Value
  
• T2: -10% Market Fee

Completion:

• +10% Trade Value
  
• Can create Trade League federations

Again, a megacorp go-to. Literally, all of the bonuses scream "PLEASE CHOOSE ME AS A MEGACORP." The bonuses are useful otherwise, but especially the second perk is most useful as a megacorp churning out Trade Value already.

---

Synchronicity (F) [Utopia or Synthetic Dawn]
Only available to Gestalt Consciousness
Adoption:

• -10% Pop Upkeep
  
• Unlocks Revision agendas

Perks:

• T1: +20 years Leader Lifespan (Replaced with +5-100 Unity per converted pop if Necrophage)
  
• T1: -20% Leader Upkeep
  
• T1: -10% Empire Size from pops
  
• T2: +50 Edict Fund
  
• T2: +5 Stability on all planets

Completion:

• -10% Empire Size from Pops
  
• Unlocks Industrial Maintenance edict

Similarly to Harmony, it's not very impactful. However, it's slightly better as the bonuses are more suited to Gestalt play. Still wouldn't pick it up, but I would not pick it up slightly less often than Harmony.

---

Unyielding (E) [Apocalypse]
Adoption:

• +2 Starbase Capacity
  
• +50% Starbase Upgrade Speed
  
• Unlocks 'Impenetrable Border' agenda

Perks:

• T1: +25% Defense Army Health, +3 Unity per Stronghold
  
• T1: +33% Starbase and Defense Platform Health and Damage
  
• T2: -25% Orbital Bombardment Damage Recieved, -25% War Exhaustion Gain, +25% Influence Cost on owned systems
  
• T2: +2 Starbase Capacity, -50% Starbase Upgrade Cost, +4 Hostile Operation Difficulty for Sabotage Starbase Operation
  
• T3: +15% Ship Fire Rate within own borders, +33% Ship Speed while in defensive war

Completion:

• +5 Defense Platform Cap
  
• -20% Starbase Upkeep
  
• Can create Martial Alliance federations
  
• -0.5 Hostile Ship Daily Hull Regen in Owned Systems if Bulwark T3

If you find yourself woefully unfortunate enough to be spawned next to a homicidal empire, go for it. Otherwise, remember that the best defense in Stellaris is a good offense. That, and Starbases are no match for death stacks.

---

Subterfuge (X) [Nemesis]
Adoption:

• +1 Codebreaking
  
• Cloaking/Detection technologies appear 5x more often
  
• Unlocks 'Uncover Secrets' agenda

Perks:

• T1: +1 Encryption, +5 Chance to Evade
  
• T1: +1 Codebreaking, +1 Operation Skill, +10 Tracking
  
• T2: +1 Hostile Operation Difficulty, +10% Hostile Operation Cost
  
• T2: +10 Intel per failed Hostile Operation, +1 Envoys, +10 Maximum Infiltration Level
  
• T2: +50% Infiltration Speed

Completion:

• +1 Cloaking Strength
  
• 50% Infiltration Level refund for successful operations

There was once a time where I could see decent uses for this tree... until I was shown that there are extremely restrictive limits on how much your espionage can scale and grow. This ends up being a waste extremely quickly.

---

Versatility (C) [Synthetic Dawn]
Only available to Machine Intelligences.
Adoption:

• -10% Pop Assembly Cost
  
• Unlocks 'Self-Maintenance' agenda

Perks:

• T1: +50 Trust Cap from Machine Intelligences, +1 Available Envoys
  
• T1: -10% Pop Housing Usage
  
• T2: -10% Market Fee
  
• T2: -5% Job Upkeep
  
• T2: -33% Resettlement Cost

Completion:

• 50% Refund per demolished building or district

It's a weird mishmash combination of Diplomacy, Harmony, and Prosperity, and is about as on-par as any weird mishmash of those tradition trees would be. Take at your discretion.

---

Politics (B) [Federations]
Only available after the founding of the Galactic Community. Cannot be genocidal.
Adoption:

• +1 Envoy
  
• +0.1 Influence per Envoy assigned to the Galactic Community
  
• Unlocks 'Pioneer Politics' agenda

Perks:

• T1: When a resolution you support passes, +1 Favor with the empire who proposed it
  
• T1: -25% Resolution Propose and Veto cost, +2.5% Diplomatic Weight per Envoy
  
• T2: Whenever you propose a resolution that passes, gain Unity equal to 18x your monthly output capped at 1,000,000
  
• T2: Whenever another empire's resolution passes, +25% Diplomatic Weight until a resolution you propose passes
  
• T3: -25% Veto Cooldown, -25% Emergency Measures Cooldown

Completion:

• +10% Diplomatic Weight
  
• Unlocks Politics resolutions

It's really good for what it does. If you're gunning to become the emperor, consider this mandatory.

Aptitude (S) [Galactic Paragons]
Adoption:

• -25% Leader Upkeep
  
• Unlocks 'Leadership Conditioning' agenda

Perks:

• T1: +1 Leader Capacity, +1 Leader Pool Size
  
• T1: +10% Leader EXP gain
  
• T2: -1 Leader Maximum Negative Traits
  
• T2: +10 Years Leader Lifespan (-25% Leader Upkeep if Machine Intelligence)
  
• T2: +2 Naval Capacity per Admiral/General, -2% Empire Size per Governor, +2% Leader EXP gain per Scientist

Completion:

• +1 Leader Starting Traits

With the changes to leaders that came with Galactic Paragons, Leaders became extremely powerful and playthrough defining. This tradition tree, focused on boons to leaders, has become invaluable to me and doubtlessly to others as well.

Statecraft (A) [Galactic Paragons]
Adoption:

• +20 Edict Fund
  
• Unlocks 'Departmental Efficiency' agenda

Perks:

• T1: +10% Councilor Agenda Speed
  
• T1: +10% Councilor Experience Gain
  
• T2: Unlocks the 'Rightful Claims' and 'Oppose the Fallen' agenda
  
• T2: +300 Leader EXP per launched agenda
  
• T3: +20% Council Agenda Effect duration

Completion:

• +1 Leader Capacity
  
• +1 Effective Councilor Skill
  
• Gives Galactic Administration tech if not already unlocked

The Agenda system can be somewhat finicky, as can some of the mechanics around the council. However, the power of the provided boons cannot be understated.

(XVI) Ascension Perks (1)

While not necessarily involved in empire building, Ascension Perks can be argued as an essential part of what makes an empire unique. There are certainly ones that are better than others, and I will be ranking them here as I did with all the other empire modifiers.

Tier 0 perks can be taken at the start of the game, Tier 1 require at least 1 previous ascension perk, tier 2 ones require 2 previous ascension perks and tier 3 ones require 3 previous ascension perks.

---

Lord of War (A) [Overlord]
TIER 0
+1 Mercenary Enclave Capacity
+25% Diplomatic Weight from Fleet Power
-2.5 Months between Dividends

This seems like a no-brainer if you're thinking about becoming the Galactic Emperor in the future, or at the very least have warring empires around who may be making good use of your new-found enclave.

---

Consecrated Worlds (D) [Base Game]
TIER 0
Requires Spiritualist
Unlocks the Consecrate World decision, allowing you to consecrate up to 3 uncolonized worlds for bonuses to unity, amenities, and spiritualist ethics attraction

I usually take this perk in my spiritualist games, even though it is highly RNG-based. If you roll Baol or find an obscene amount of Gaia worlds on a Spiritualist run, this is a must-have, but otherwise it's suitable only really as filler.

---

Eternal Vigilance (F) [Base Game]
TIER 0
Requires Star Fortress Technology
+25% Starbase Hull Points
+25% Starbase Damage
+25% Defense Platform Damage
+5 Defense Platform Capacity

Unless you're boxed in by genocidals on all sides and you're having trouble keeping up with fleet power, this is not worth it in any situation, especially because it takes a slot that could be spent on much better perks.

---

Executive Vigor (C) [Base Game]
TIER 0
+100 Edict Fund

This can definitely be useful, but as is the case with many Tier 0 perks on this list, it is out shadowed by the 'essentials' and should only be used as filler.

---

Imperial Prerogative (D) [Base Game]
TIER 0
Cannot have Corporate Authority
-50% Empire Size from planets

It really stinks that you can't take this as a megacorp, since this would be one of the most useful perks for them. As it is, it is out shadowed by the 'essentials' and should only be used as filler.

---

Interstellar Dominion (B) [Base Game]
TIER 0
-20% Claim Influence Cost
-20% Starbase Influence Cost

If you're running a super war-heavy playthrough, this is very useful to keep the influence costs down. Be wary, however, that unlocking Colossus late in the game renders this almost completely moot, as it unlocks a total war casus belli. Good for a first or second pick, if for whatever reason you don't feel like grabbing Technological Ascendancy first.

---

Mastery of Nature (E) [Base Game]
TIER 0
-33% Clear Blocker Cost

Unlocks the Mastery of Nature decision, granting the planet +2 max districts
Good for a tall playthrough or if you're boxed in and really need those extra districts, but otherwise it is vastly outshadowed.

---

Nihilistic Acquisition (B) [Apocalypse]
TIER 0
Requires either Authoritarian, Xenophobe, or Gestalt Consciousness
Cannot have Barbaric Despoilers civic
Unlocks the Raiding bombardment stance, allowing fleets to steal pops from besieged planets

Similarly to Interstellar Dominion, it's alright if you're running a super war-heavy playthrough. Might also be good for Necrophages to get more pops to convert.

---

One Vision (A) [Base Game]
TIER 0
Cannot be Machine Intelligence
-10% Pop Amenities Usage
+10% Monthly Unity
+50% Governing Ethics Attraction

With unity becoming a lot more important in recent updates, One Vision's unity bonus becomes its main feature. The added bonuses just make it easier to produce unity. Pick One Vision if you like unity.

---

Shared Destiny (E) [Base Game]
TIER 0
Cannot have Inward Perfection civic
Cannot be genocidal
-100% Loyalty penalty from having multiple subjects
+2 Available Envoys

Even if I need the envoys or if I'm running a vassal-heavy playthrough, I always find this one to be a pretty contentious pick. Maybe if you're trying to vassalize a bunch of genocidals, but otherwise...?

---

Technological Ascendancy (S) [Base Game]
TIER 0
+10% Research Speed
+50% Rare Technology Chance

The de-facto first pick for a lot of people, because the research bonus by itself is just that good to grab this early in the game. The rare technology bonus will be helpful all the way up into the endgame as well.

---

Transcendent Learning (S) [Base Game]
TIER 0
+2 Leader Level Cap
+50% Leader Experience Gain

Pretty useful, judging on how highly I ranked other similar bonuses in the past. If I need filler, this is probably the first one I go for... especially now that Leaders are so much more impactful.

---

Universal Transactions (S)
TIER 0
Must have Corporate authority
Cannot have Criminal Heritage civic
-15% Branch Office Cost
Commercial Pacts are free

Take the lifeblood of what makes a megacorporation a megacorporation, and make it substantially cheaper and easier to do. I see no downside to this.

---

Voidborne (A) [Utopia]
TIER 0
Requires Orbital Habitats technology
+20% Habitat Habitability
+2 Habitat Building Slots
Can upgrade Housing buildings on Habitats
Can always research next tier of Habitat

This is a zero-brainer if you're running the Void Dweller origin, and is also a zero-brainer if you think you'll be using habitats heavily. In the absence of a need for habitats, however, better save a slot for something more important.

---

Xeno-Compatability (X) [MegaCorp]
TIER 0
Requires Xenophile
Requires a biological alien pop living in the empire
Requires Gene Tailoring technology
Cannot be Gestalt Consciousness
+33% Immigration Pull
+20% Pop Growth Speed on worlds with at least 2 species
Unlocks Hybrid Species that get an additional 1 trait point and trait pick

Memes and RP aside, this perk is just a "lose all control of pop growth and species traits" button. Even if you think you really need that extra growth, it's all gonna burn out into the late game anyway. Then there's the reason why this is the only AP with a dedicated option to disable it... but even without that glaring, game-breaking flaw, XC is never worth it.

--- Ascension Perks (2)

Enigmatic Engineering (D) [Apocalypse]
TIER 1
+2 Cloaking Strength
+2 Encryption
Ships leave no debris
Enemy Steal Technology operations fail

In whatever situation you might need this, it will probably never see any use. If you're worried about people stealing your technology to catch up, you probable already have the technology to prevent them from doing so at your expense. The cloaking strength can be useful in builds that center around it, but that's about it.

---

Grasp the Void (X) [Base Game]
TIER 1
+5 Starbase Capacity
FTL Travel technologies show up more often

Really? Do I need to explain why this is just a waste of time?

---

World Shaper (C) [Base Game]
TIER 1
Requires Climate Restoration technology
Cannot be a non-Servitor or -Assimilator Machine Intelligence
Cannot be a Hive Mind
-25% Terraforming Cost
Gaia World terraforming allowed

If you're doing a Life-Seeded or Shattered Ring playthrough and need more planets, sure. If you don't roll Baol and feel like you could use more Gaia Worlds, sure. Otherwise, just grab Arcology Project and specialize a few agri-worlds.

---

Arcology Project (A) [MegaCorp]
TIER 2
Requires Anti-Gravity Engineering technology
Cannot be Gestalt Consciousness
Cannot have Agrarian Idyll civic
Unlocks the Arcology Project decision, allowing the creation of Ecumenopoli

Ecumenopoli are the endgame of refined resource generation. If you have one, you will never want for alloys or consumer goods again as long as you have the mineral upkeep to handle it. That said, might be a waste if you don't actually need more of those resources.

---

Galactic Force Projection (D) [Base Game]
TIER 2
+20 Fleet Command Limit
+80 Naval Capacity

By the time you're getting Tier 2 perks, you should have ample ability to build new starbases for naval capacity, and should have the means to get more FCL. It's there if you need it, though.

---

Hive Worlds (S) [Utopia]
TIER 2
Requires Hive Mind
Must have Climate Restoration technology
Cannot have Terravore civic
Hive World terraforming allowed

This is the hive-mind version of an Ecumenopolis, except it becomes even more valuable in light of the lessened available options to a hive mind. Pick this up.

---

Machine Worlds (B) [Synthetic Dawn]
TIER 2
Must be Machine Intelligence
Must have Climate Restoration technology
Machine World terraforming allowed

Compared to the other endgame world types, Machine Worlds always seemed like a bit of a waste, especially when you can literally ignore habitability. Still good, not great.

---

Synthetic Age (A) [Synthetic Dawn]
TIER 2
Must be Machine Intelligence
Must have Machine Template System technology
+2 Machine Modification Points
-33% Modifty Species special project cost

Very good if you feel like microing your machine pops. There's some kind of visceral satisfaction from having each planet have its own specialized robots.

---

Master Builders (A) [Utopia]
TIER 2
Requires Mega-Engineering technology
+1 Megastructures build capacity
+50% Megastructures build speed.

My thinking with Master Builders is this: Did you unlock Mega Engineering before 2350? If so, grab Master Builders 100%. The boons that megastructures add in the endgame are worth it to the nth degree. If you're late to the party though, probably pass.

---

Colossus Project (B) [Apocalypse]
TIER 3
Requires Titans technology
Unlocks Colossus ship type
Unlocks Colossus Project special project

Having a Death Star is great and all, but if you're going to pick up the Colossus Project, pick it up for the total war CB it gives you, not for the fancy ship itself. (Unless you're either a Driven Assimilator or Hydrocentric. Their respective world-killers are insanely useful.)

---

Defender of the Galaxy (B) [Base Game]
TIER 3
+50% Damage to endgame crisis factions (and the Grey Tempest)
+200 Opinion from all empires

That 200 opinion bonus can be insanely helpful if you're, for example, a Driven Assimilator who just got done Nanobot Dispersing a fallen empire. The bonus to damage can also greatly help if you're not the type to churn out 1M fleets by the endgame year.

---

Galactic Contender (E) [Base Game]
TIER 3
Requires communications with a fallen or awakened empire
+20% Diplomatic Weight
+33% Damage to Awakened Empires
+33% Damage to Fallen Empires
+33% Damage to the Dessanu Consonance

Again, by the time you might need this, you won't need it. If the ascendancies are that much of an issue, just let them accumulate Decadence and break them down later.

---

Galactic Wonders (A) [MegaCorp or Utopia]
TIER 3
Requires Mega-Engineering technology
Requires having built or repaired a multi-stage megastructure (e.g. not a gateway or habitat)
Unlocks Ring World research option
Unlocks Dyson Sphere research option
Unlocks Matter Decompressor research option

I feel like Galactic Wonders has always been a more contentious pick. On one hand, the megastructures it unlocks are extremely powerful. On the other hand, when you inevitably pick this up in the lategame, will you really need them. Apparently, the answer for most people is yes, so it might be yes for you too.

---

Hydrocentric (S) [Aquatics Species Pack]
Must have Aquatic trait on main species
Must have Ocean climate preference for main species
Requires Terrestrial Sculpting technology
-25% Ocean Terraforming Cost
Can construct Ice Mining Station starbase building, enabling expanding of Ocean worlds
50% Increased effects of Aquatic trait
Unlocks DELUGE Colossus weapon

Look at me.
Come closer.
Closer.
If I catch you running Aquatic and you DON'T pick this Ascension perk, I will come to your house and delete your save file.

---

Detox (D) [Toxoids Species Pack]
Must have Climate Restoration technology
Allows terraforming of worlds with Toxic Terraforming Candidate modifier

The most underwhelming thing I have ever seen. Useful if there's a marauding KotTG empire around, but otherwise... bleh.

---

Archaeo-Engineers (C) [Ancient Relics Story Pack]
Must have Archaeostudies technology
+33% Archaeotech Weapon Damage
+2 Archaeo-Engineer jobs from Faculty of Archaeostudies
+60% Shields from Ancient Suspension Field
+100% Shields from Ancient Pulse Armor
+5% Armor from Ancient Rampart
+10% Armor Hardening from Ancient Rampart
+33% Effects from Archaeotech Starbase Buildings
Provides unique bonuses to some Archaeotechs

Hey, if you find yourself in a situation where you're literally swimming in Minor Artifacts (which is more common than you think), then you don't really have a reason not to take it, considering how powerful some Archaeotech can be. I personally still think the whole system is jank, though.

(XVII) Special Ascension Perks

These ascension perks stand out by being extremely powerful and playthrough-defining. You will likely always have at least one of the perks here.

All of these perks are exclusive with each other (other than Become the Crisis).

---

Become the Crisis (S) [Nemesis]
TIER 2
Cannot be Xenophile
Cannot be Pacifist
Cannot have Rogue Servitor civic
Cannot be a Subject
Cannot have Galactic Sovereign civic
Cannot have Corporate Sovereign civic
Cannot be the Galactic Custodian
Unlocks Menace and the Crisis Tab

Become the Crisis represents a unique playstyle. A very viable and fun playstyle, yes, but also one that defies ranking, because it doesn't fit into most setups. It is the best of what it does, so it gets S tier.

---

Engineered Evolution (S) [Utopia]
TIER 1
Requires Gene Tailoring technology
Cannot be Machine Intelligence
Cannot have Teachers of the Shroud origin
Unlocks Gene Seed Purification research option
Unlocks Genetic tradition tree

Biological Ascension is generally known for being exceptional at minmaxing. Combined with Overtuned, a Bio-Ascended empire can snowball out of control.

---

Organo-Machine Interfacing (S) [Utopia]
TIER 1
Must be Gestalt Consciousness
Hive Minds:

• Requires Integrated Cybernetics technology
  
• Unlocks Quantum Neuro-Links technology
  
• Unlocks Cybernetic tradition tree

Machine Intelligences:

• Requires Driven Assimilator civic
  
• Requires that empire has assimilated at least 30 pops
  
• Unlocks Adaptive Cybernetics technology
  
• Unlocks Cybernetic tradition tree
  

  It's the same as The Flesh is Weak, except rebranded for gestalts. The differences are outlined in their respective trees in the Ascension Traditions section of this guide.

  
  

  ---

  
  The Flesh is Weak (S) [Utopia]
  TIER 1
  Requires Integrated Cybernetics technology
  Cannot be Gestalt Consciousness
  Cannot have Teachers of the Shroud origin
  Unlocks Quantum Neuro-Links technology
  Unlocks Cybernetic tradition tree
  

  The new kid on the block in 3.6! In my eyes, it's the best of both worlds from Bio and Synthetic, and it's glorious..

  
  

  ---

  
  Mind over Matter (A) [Utopia]
  TIER 1
  Requires Psionic Theory technology
  Cannot be Gestalt Consciousness
  Cannot have Teachers of the Shroud origin
  Unlocks Telepathy research option
  Unlocks Psionic tradition tree
  

  First of all, if you roll the Zroni, you have to pick this. Without a doubt. Without that, it's still really good. Somewhat RNG based, but there are many bonuses and unique technologies locked behind psionics that it is almost a go-to for spiritualists in general.

  
  

  ---

  
  Synthetic Age (A) [Utopia]
  TIER 1
  Must be Machine Intelligence
  Requires Machine Template System technology
  Unlocks Binary Motivators technology
  Unlocks Synthetic tradition tree
  

  Same stuff, different perk. It's Synthetic Evolution but for machine intelligences, which removes its main downside and makes it loads better.

  
  

  ---

  
  Synthetic Evolution (C) [Utopia]
  TIER 1
  Requires Synthetics technology
  Cannot be Gestalt Consciousness
  Cannot have Teachers of the Shroud origin
  Unlocks Synthetic Personality Matrix technology
  Unlocks Synthetic tradition tree
  

  I have always felt like Synthetic Evo always fell somewhat behind the other ascension perks, for the sole reason that it resets your species to zero, requiring you to redo any and all genemodding you've done in the past. It's a huge resource sink, and you have more options now with Cybernetics.

  
  
  
  
  
  

(XVIII) Ascension Tradition Trees

Ah, stupid lousy 3.6 making add more pages to the guide...

Unlike normal tradition trees, these special tradition trees are tied to ascension paths, listed in the previous section. They operate the same, though the benefits they provide are much more playthrough-defining.

These traditions are all exclusive to Utopia.

---

Cybernetic (S)
Adoption:

• Unlocks special project to give all pops Cybernetic trait
  
• Driven Assimilator MI: Doubles Unity and Society research provided by assimilation, assimilation also provides Engineering research

Perks:

• T1: Unlocks Cybernetic assimilation (Driven Assimilator: +1 pops assimilated per year, can assimilate Hive-Minded pops instead) (Genocidal: +10% Pop growth speed on planets with ongoing purges instead)
  
• T2: -10% Cybernetic Pop upkeep, (Hive Minds: -10% Empire Size from Cybernetic Pops)
  
• T2: Cybernetic pops can have Cyborg traits, +1 Organic species trait picks
  
• T3: Unlocks Assembly Standards policy (Driven Assimilator: Allows creation of Crucible Worlds instead) (Hive Minds: -50% Empire Size from Districts instead)
  
• T3: -50% Modify Species special project cost, Robot modification points apply to biological pops as well if not Hive Minded (Hive Minds: +2 Augmentation Drone jobs from spawning pools)

Completion:

• +10% Resources from Cybernetic pops
  
• +1 Organic species trait picks

Personally, I see this as the best of both worlds of Genetic and Synthetic. So many choices that this tree can occupy almost any build or archetype.

Recommended for general use.

---

Genetic (S)
Adoption:

• Unlocks Clone Vats building
  
• +2 Genetic Modification points

Perks:

• T1: Genetic modification can remove positive and overtuned traits, and add negative traits
  
• T1: +1.5 Monthly Organic Pop Assembly from Clone Vats
  
• T2: +2 Genetic Modification points, unlocks biological ascension traits, allows assimilation into and out of Hive Minds
  
• T2: -50% Modify Species special project cost
  
• T3: +1 Organic species trait picks, Genetic modification can change species portrait within phenotype

Completion:

• +2 Genetic Modification points
  
• Unlocks Leviathan Transgenesis

Genetic is best for minmaxing, full stop. The breadth of choices allows you to very easily tweak every planet to your liking to maximize output Hands down the best 3.6 tradition tree.

Recommended for general use, especially if an organic leviathan is nearby.

---

Psionic (A)
Adoption:

• All pops gain the Latent Psionic trait, or unlocks Telepathy technology as a research option if pops are already Latent Psionic

Perks:

• T1: Unlocks Psi Corps building, unlocks Thought Enforcement technology as research option
  
• T1: +10 Base Intel Level, unlocks Sight Beyond Sight edict
  
• T2: Main species loses Latent Psionic trait and gains Psionic trait, unlocks Psionic assimilation
  
• T3: Unlocks special project to Enter the Shroud, +5% Resources from Psionic pops from each Telepath job
  
• T3: +2 Codebreaking, +2 Encryption

Completion:

• -10% Edict Upkeep
  
• -20% Shroud Delve cooldown
  
• Can confirm an established covenant

Psionic was definitely made much better in 3.6, as covenants are no longer strictly RNG-based. Otherwise, you of course get the psionic technologies from the Shroud, and all the other fun magic stuff. Can never go wrong here.

Recommended for spiritualists.

---

Synthetic (B)
Adoption:

• +25% Leader Experience Gain
  
• +1 Leader Level Cap
  
• Machine Intelligences can assimilate robotic pops

Perks:

• T1: -10% Robotic Pop Amenities usage
  
• T1: Unlocks a special project to turn all organic non-Livestock pops mechanical, unlocks Synthetic assimilation (Fanatic Purifiers: +10% Pop assembly speed) (Machine Intelligences: +1 Machine species trait picks)
  
• T2: +10% Robot Output
  
• T2: -50% Modify Species special project cost
  
• T2: +2 Robot Modification points

Completion:

• +1 Roboticist/Replicator from capital buildings
  
• Non-MI: +1 Mechanical species trait pick
  
• Machine Intelligences: Leaders gain Synthetic trait

Of course, it's a must-pick for Machine Intelligences, but otherwise it feels like you're taking a big roundabout route for bonuses you could get faster through other paths. Personally pass, but still cool.

Recommended as Machine Intelligences.

(XIX) Examples

These empires are example combinations of choices from the guide you just read or scrolled through, ready for you to build or adapt to your liking. They are sorted by how difficult they may be for newer players to use.

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EASY Examples

Simple enough builds with useful perks and no major downsides; perfect for starting players who want to break free from Paradox's premades.

Warrior Clans of Hel

• Traits: Strong, Enduring, Slow Learners
  
• Authority: Democratic
  
• Ethics: Militarist, Fanatic Egalitarian
  
• Civics: Warrior Culture, Citizen Service
  
• Origin: Prosperous Unification
  
• Useful Traditions: Supremacy, Unyielding

A group of warrior clans that value honor above all else. Foreign empires see them with respect, but meeting them on the battlefield would be a challenge like none other.

An empire like this represents a well-rounded approach to militarism, without condemning themselves to it like Fanatical Purifiers.

[Required DLC: None]

Radiant Union

• Traits: Thrifty, Talented, Deviants
  
• Authority: Corporate
  
• Ethics: Militarist, Egalitarian, Xenophile
  
• Civics: Free Traders, Ruthless Competition
  
• Origin: Void Dwellers
  
• Useful Traditions: Mercantile, Prosperity

After fierce competition destroyed their homeworld, this species fled to the stars in order to eke out an existence among the higher powers of the galaxy.

With a Megacorp, you would want to focus on producing large amounts of trade value. Choices like these would help you do so.

[Required DLC: MegaCorp, Federations] [Suggested DLC: Utopia]

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MODERATE Examples

This build's choices exchange great boons in some places for restrictions in others. Could also represent an alternative playstyle that may be difficult for newer players to grasp.

Unity of the Void

• Traits: Intelligent, Communal, Weak
  
• Authority: Imperial
  
• Ethics: Fanatic Pacifist, Xenophobe
  
• Civics: Inwards Perfection, Idyllic Bloom
  
• Origin: Lost Colony
  
• Useful Traditions: Prosperity, Discovery

A reclusive remnant empire that simply wants to be left alone. While individuals loathe being separated from their collective, it hasn't stopped them from expanding across space to their whims.

For those who don't really like diplomacy, Inward Perfection has become a civic focused on internal development and farming points, pretty much. These choices help compliment this playstyle.

[Required DLC: Plantoids Species Pack]

Mind Above All

• Traits: Venerable, Repugnant
  
• Authority: Hive Mind
  
• Ethics: Gestalt Conciousness
  
• Civics: One Mind, Aesetic
  
• Origin: Tree of Life
  
• Useful Traditions: Expansion, Adaptability

The Blorg were, from the beginning, one mind. This mind, over time, grew bored of playing with its pawns on the surface of Blorg, and reached for the stars in order to find more things to party with.

A Hive Mind can play however it wants, not restricted by ethics or the wants of its citizens. It is, however, limited in the fact that it cannot meaningfully interact with xeno pops, and its ascension path is limited to Biological.

[Required DLC: Utopia]

Purification Directive

• Traits: Learning Algorithms, Mass Produced, Uncanny
  
• Authority: Machine Intelligence
  
• Ethics: Gestalt Conciousness
  
• Civics: Determined Exterminators, Rapid Replicators
  
• Origin: Remnants
  
• Useful Traditions: Supremacy, Synchronicity

Older than recorded history, the Purification Directive recently awoke on its homeworld. Driven by nothing but its lust for a perfect universe, it sets out to purge that which would cause its destruction.

Exterminators. An empire like this will want to conquer as many empires as it can for the lack of competition and the unity bonus. Can be rendered irrelevant if not allowed to spread, while you wait for the perfect time to wipe them out.

MODERATE: Exchanges great boons in some places for restrictions in others, or represents an alternative playstyle.
[Required DLC: Utopia, Distant Stars, Synthetic Dawn]

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DIFFICULT Examples

These builds may pose a challenge to more experienced players, or are very high risk/high reward.

Aereus Aeternum

• Traits: Cave Dweller, Talented
  
• Authority: Oligarchy
  
• Ethics: Egalitarian, Materialist, Xenophobe
  
• Civics: Relentless Industrialists, Master Crafters
  
• Origin: Subterranean
  
• Useful Traditions: Prosperity, Adaptability, Domination

After industrialization threatened to collapse their biosphere, this species fled underground where their exploits would no longer pose a risk to their own longevity. The longevity of the planet itself, however, is another matter.

An amalgamation of options from more recent DLC, this is, in my eyes, the ultimate resource grind build. You'll be drowning in resources if you can manage your empire's decaying living conditions.

[Required DLC: Overlord, Toxoids Species Pack, Humanoids Species Pack] [Suggested DLC: Utopia, Federations, Megacorp]

World Soul

• Traits: Lithoid, Industrious, Talented, Sedentary
  
• Authority: Hive Minded
  
• Ethics: Gestalt Consciousness
  
• Civics: Terravore, Natural Neural Network
  
• Origin: Progenitor Hive
  
• Useful Traditions: Supremacy, Synchronicity

A world, through freak chance, gained a sapience that allowed it to form a rudimentary hivemind by fracturing its own self. With sapience comes hunger, however... a hunger that would need to be fulfilled.

Both Progenitor Hive and Lithoid are known for being two perks with a lot of potential but very powerful downsides that steer quite a few people away from them. Together, however, I feel they have a lot of potential to synergize.

[Required DLC: Lithoids Species Pack, Utopia, Overlord] [Suggested DLC: Apocalypse]

(XX) Conclusion & Meta

Thank you for checking out my guide! I hope it helped. If it did, be sure to share it or give 5 stars. If not, leave a comment with some feedback; I try to respond to everybody I can.

I will continue to update this guide as the game updates... just as I have since the very beginning.

Also thank you for all the Steam Awards! Never would have imagined this little passion project would get so much attention or love.

Safe flying and happy conquering!

---

Special Thanks:

• Waddlen and Turd Furgeson for constantly forcing me to get good.
  
• peterebbesen for an extensive critique and overview of my guide.
  
• fenr1r for helping to update the guide for 2.6!
  
• Try Tounge But Hole for suggesting the Ascendance Perk addition.
  
• Hexidecimark for suggesting myriad changes!
  
• Everyone who suggested an edit or fix!
  
• Whoever made the army modifiers, because I actually laugh at them whenever I see them
  
• You :^)

Entire guide is written by myself. Sources of mechanical information include the Stellaris Wiki[stellaris.paradoxwikis.com] and the game itself, while sources and inspiration for viability rankings, recommendations, and other opinions mainly come from the experiences of myself and my friends, but also include the Stellaris Forum[forum.paradoxplaza.com] and several YouTubers including ASpec, Sentiant, Montu Plays, Ep3o, and TheYamiks. Copyright to the images in this guide is held by Paradox Interactive AB and/or its subsidiary Paradox Development Studio.

Update 1: Adjusted for Update 1.6.0
Update 2: Minor changes and spelling fixes
Update 3: Adjusted for Update 1.8.1 and Synthetic Dawn
Update 4: Adjusted for Update 1.9
Update 5: Fixed semantic problems
Update 6: Rewritten for Update 2.0 and Apocalypse
Update 7: Fully updated for Update 2.1 and Distant Stars
Update 8: Fixed spelling and numbers
Update 9: Rewritten for Update 2.2 and MegaCorp
Update 10: Adjusted descriptions for some civics
Update 11: Minor number and semantic fixes
Update 12: Updated for 2.2.5, lots of text changes for Gestalts
Update 13: Added "Relevance" system
Update 14: Updated for 2.3, changed around rating systems
Update 15: Added Lithoids pack, and its Lithoid-specific traits.
Update 16: Added ratings to individual ethic perks
Update 17: Updated for 2.6 Civic changes.
Update 18: Added 2.6 traits.
Update 19: Fixed missed updates, added Origins and TL;DR
Update 20: Updated for 2.7, rewrote examples
Update 21: Updated for 3.0
Update 22: Added Ascension Perks
Update 23: Added recommendations under each entry, along with a little polish and updating
Update 24: Added new Lem traits and civics
Update 25: Rewrote civics and origins rebalanced in Lem
Update 26: Added Tradition Trees
Update 27: Made a new icon :^)
Update 28: Added Master Builders (which I apparently forgot) and updated Clone Army
Update 29: Added all the junk for Aquatics, and fixed a funny error in Examples (Thanks, OffsideVinko!)
Update 30: Added notes to each entry, so you know what DLC something came from at a glance
Update 31: Updated Here Be Dragons and Budding
Update 32: Made it look pretty :^)
Update 33: Updated for 3.3
Update 34: A lot of minor changes to things overlooked during last update
Update 35: Updated for 3.4.2 and Overlord
Update 36: Changed some antiquated definitions and rankings
Update 37: Updated for 3.5 and Toxoids, added new section for Overtuned traits and edited the Conclusion
Update 38: Added images, because I wanted things to stand out more
Update 39: Fixed up the Examples section
Update 40: Added notes about Culture Workers to the Gov't Ethics section
Update 41: Updated for 3.6
Update 42: Updated for 3.7. Rewrote, reranked, and reordered all civics, origins, and traits. Removed recommendations as they seemed redundant.
Update 43: Updated for 3.8. Updated for Galactic Paragons. Added sections and tier lists for leader traits.

[DBMD]

This is one of my favourited guides and helps keep me sane when I try to make new races

[Terrabolista]

I second the possibility of a paypal, patreon or similars with which we can help you get the more mixed DLCs

This guide is basically the bread and butter of my gameplay and i'm willing to help updating it somehow

[Izamu]

Will always check back on this guide, have it favourited. Amazing work.

[Nuts1e]

Thank you so much for writing and updating this so much over the years. If you have a paypal email or a ko-fi link (cant do cashapp in aus) I'd love to chip in or pay for the season 08 pass for you. you can dm me here or just reply to the thread if you put it in your steam bio. Glad to hear your health has improved. Love from Australia <3

[Grailm]

Whenever you update I'll be here.

[Oblivion]

Everyone who has it favorited often comes back to check and see if there's been any update <3

Also I would be down to help you in some way if you wanted, even if thats just getting stuff sorted, descriptions updated new civics on the board without an actual ranking.

[Boyscout]

Update.

I'm no longer dying of brain death disease, and have something of a drive to write again. However, finances are still tight, and I'm finding it hard to justify throwing money at the new DLCs after all the mixed feedback they (or at least one of them) have gotten.

Promising job opportunity on the horizon, though, so if there's still people waiting for this job to be updated, then maybe...?

In the meantime I'll start work on updating what content I can actually get my hands on.

[Mr.Nibehrkryaker]

@Locklave i played as megacorp recently and when i established commercial pacts with the AIs i was surprised their planets are already occupied with criminal syndicate. They were thriving there and it really pissed me off and kinda ruined my game

[Locklave]

Why is Criminal Heritage S tier? Criminal Heritage is a strict downgrade on a normal Corporation.

The AI hard counters crime you create, 2 police precincts will get build costing you the profit advantage and in time the branches themselves. Anyone that's played this for any real length of time knows this is a massive problem.

Everyone hates you more with diplomatic penalties, it also gives the AI the ability to declare war just to remove your branches. It's also hard countered in multiplayer. A player can more easily counter it then the AI resulting in no profit from branches.

I should also point out the trade deals a normal mega corp has further improve and maintain long term positive relations.

What's a mega corp without trade deals/branches and penalties to diplomacy? A strict downgrade. I get that this isn't being updated but Criminal Heritage has never been good.

[NPC]

so over