3.0 Guide to Traits, Ethics, Origins, Civics, and APs [ALL DLC]

Overview

Based on the Beginner’s Guide to Ethics, Traits, and Governments[forum.paradoxplaza.com] made by “GAGA Extrem” on the Paradox Forum.This guide will extensively go over all ethics, traits, origins, civics and ascension perks to muse over when creating a new empire. Based on the accounts of friends and various YouTubers.Updated for 3.0 and all expansions.

(I) Introduction

Welcome to the Guide to Traits, Ethics, Origins, Civics, and APs. This guide will go over the effects and aftereffects of every ethic, trait, origin, civic and ascension perk choice when creating your empire in Stellaris. This guide is based heavily on 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 ♥♥♥♥ 3.0 and the Distant Stars, Apocalypse, Utopia, Synthetic Dawn, Lithoids, MegaCorp, Federations, Necroids, and Nemesis expansions. I plan to update it as the game updates.

~ ~ ~

Each Ethic, Civic, Origin, and Trait will be rated with a grading system, from S to F, located next to the listing’s name:

(S) Overpowered/Extremely Useful
(A) Very Powerful
(B) Powerful
(C) Average/Uninteresting
(D) Underwhelming
(E) Situational
(F) Not Worth It
(X) Objectively Horrible

~ ~ ~

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.

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

(II) TL;DR Tier Lists

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

(S): Adaptive, Efficient Processors, Superconductive, Enhanced Memory, Robust, Erudite
(A): Agrarian, Ingenious, Thrifty, Industrious, Intelligent, Natural Engineers, Talented, Rapid Breeders, Conservationist, Power Drills, Logic Engines, Bulky, Mass Produced, Luxurious, High Bandwidth
(B): Natural Sociologists, Quick Learners, Traditional, Sedentary, Enduring, Docile, Unruly, Durable, Learning Algorithms, Recycled, Gaseous Byproducts, Volatile Excretions, Extremely Adaptive, Emotion Emulators
(C): Quarrelsome, Natural Physicists, Strong, Weak, Nomadic, Communal, Solitary, Venerable, Fleeting, Decadent, Wasteful, Repurposed Hardware, Scintillating Skin
(D): Slow Breeders, Nonadaptive, Very Strong, Charismatic, Resilient, High Maintenance, Streamlined Protocols, Deviants, Uncanny
(E): Slow Learners, Repugnant
(F): Conformists, Custom Made, Fertile
(X): Double Jointed

(S): Void Dwellers, Scion, Tree of Life, Resource Consolidation, Necrophage
(A): Syncretic Evolution, Remnants, Calamitous Birth, Hegemon
(B): Shattered Ring, Mechanist, Prosperous Unification, Post-Apocalyptic, On the Shoulders of Giants
(C): Common Ground, Galactic Doorstep
(D): Lost Colony
(E): Life Seeded
(F)
(X): Doomsday

(S): Meritocracy, Distinguished Admiralty, Subspace Ephapse, One Mind, Empath, Factory Overclocking, Rapid Replicator, Free Traders, Diplomatic Corps
(A): Imperial Cult, Merchant Guilds, Police State, Mining Guilds, Parliamentary System, Efficient Bureaucracy, Beacon of Liberty, Exalted Priesthood, Philosopher King, Citizen Service, Idealistic Foundation, Aristocratic Elite, Shared Burdens, Natural Neural Network, Ascetic, Divided Attention, Rockbreakers, Unitary Cohesion, Brand Loyalty, Franchising, Ruthless Competition, Gospel of the Masses, Indentured Assets, Corporate Death Cult, Public Relations Specialists
(B): Functional Architecture, Slaver Guilds, Warrior Culture, Free Haven, Introspective, OTA Updates, Naval Contractors, Memorialists (Normal)
(C): Cutthroat Politics, Environmentalist, Technocracy, Nationalist Zeal, Subsumed Will, Maintenance Protocols, Private Prospectors, Trading Posts, Memorialist (Gestalt)
(D): Shadow Council, Agrarian Idyll, Delegated Functions, Static Research Analysis, Zero Waste Protocols, Byzantine Bureaucracy, Corvée System, Feudal Society
(E): Constructobot
(F): Reanimated Armies
(X): Strength of Legions, Warbots, Media Conglomerate, Private Military Companies

(S): Technological Ascendancy, Universal Transactions, Hive Worlds, The Flesh is Weak, Evolutionary Mastery, Become the Crisis
(A): Transcendent Learning, Voidborne, Arcology Project, Synthetic Age, Galactic Wonders, Mind over Matter, Transcendence
(B): Interstellar Dominion, Nihilistic Acquisition, Machine Worlds, Colossus Project, Engineered Evolution
(C): Executive Vigor, One Vision, World Shaper, Defender of the Galaxy
(D): Consecrated Worlds, Imperial Prerogative, Galactic Force Projection, Synthetic Evolution
(E): Mastery of Nature, Shared Destiny, Enigmatic Engineering, Galactic Contender
(F): Eternal Vigilance, Xeno-Compatability
(X): Grasp the Void

(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.

Agrarian (2 Point Cost) (A)
+15% Food from Jobs
Food takes a more dynamic role in 2.2, as it’s easily able to be traded for other resources. That, along with the new pop system that allows quite a few more pops per planet letting the growth boost decision stretch out a bit, and suddenly Agrarian becomes a lot better. Could still become less useful late in the game, but it’s not as big of an issue as it was.

Ingenious (2 Point Cost) (A)
+15% Energy Credits from Jobs
Energy Credits are needed to keep everything running, so naturally one would think that a trait allowing for more would be common sense. However, as long as you are smart with expansion, and the construction of generators, Energy Credits should never be a problem, and the only time you should really be struggling for energy is in the early game before first contact with other empires, or if you have a massive navy that you usually keep docked. Like Agrarian, however, it does potentially free up district slots.

Thrifty (2 Point Cost) (A)
+25% Trade Value from Jobs
Trade value is pretty mainly acquired through jobs such as clerks and ruler-class positions, so it’s nice to have more of it, especially if you plan a run based around Marketplace of Ideas.

Industrious (2 Point Cost) (A+)
+15% Minerals from Jobs
In 2.2, Minerals are a lot more abundant a bit out the gate. The more minerals you have, however, the more alloys you can get, and the faster you can do pretty much everything. Minerals and Alloys in 2.2 share what just Minerals could accomplish before, but since you need one to produce the other, more never hurts.

Intelligent (2 Point Cost) (A+)
+10% Physics Research from Jobs
+10% Society Research from Jobs
+10% Engineering Research from Jobs
Higher research will allow you to stay on the bleeding edge of technology in the galaxy. It will also help to soften the blow of hightened research costs from expansion and pop growth. It combines the effects of the next three traits, for 2/3 of the point cost.

Natural Engineers (1 Point Cost) (A)
+15% Engineering Research from Jobs
Engineering contains many important technologies, including but not limited to spaceports and robotics. Getting the higher ends of these technologies earlier could be the difference between winning and losing a war, or being the first person in the galaxy to fire off a megastructure, since near the end of the Engineering research line are the megastructures themselves.

Natural Physicists (1 Point Cost) (C)
+15% Physics Research from Jobs
While the extra research doesn’t hurt, especially if you plan to go down the energy weapon line, the Physics path does not have as many vital technologies. Sure, you can get higher levels of FTL travel, but it doesn’t really become important until Jump Drives come into play. For someone who wants to min/max a species, I would just go for Intelligent instead.

Natural Sociologists (1 Point Cost) (B)
+15% Society Research from Jobs
The Society research path contains extremely helpful technologies, such as upgrades to Unity producing buildings, technologies that improve habitability and therefore productivity on alien worlds, and for spiritualist empires, the Psionic technologies, required for their specific ascension path. Society also includes most ‘unique’ buildings. It also wouldn’t hurt to have the extra research, as many Situations in the game require society research, such as the discovery of new species/empires.

Extremely Adaptive (4 Point Cost) (B)
+20% Habitability on All Biomes
The huge boost to habitability will give you many choices when expanding your empire, along slashing pop upkeep requirements across the board. It can allow you to easily build a very large empire very early on in the game, especially as a hive mind, where upkeep is even less of a factor. However, at a hefty cost of 4 trait points, it isn’t really worth it when going for anything specific, when there are traits that exist that compliment all other playstyles more.

Adaptive (2 Point Cost) (S)
+10% Habitability on All Biomes
With the burden that low habitability places upon pop growth, having better habitability will natually mean that your pops will grow faster. While Extremely Adaptive will eat all your trait points, Adaptive is a good compromise to get that better growth along with the other benefits that having happy pops brings.

Nonadaptive (-2 Point Cost) (D)
-10% Habitability on All Biomes
This can be worth it for extra points. The loss of habitability means that you will need to worry more about your pop upkeep, but Nonadaptive can be viable, especially if you only colonize your home planet and terraform, or uplift / incorporate other species. Could be free points towards better research or minerals.

Rapid Breeders (2 Point Cost) (A+)
+10% Pop Growth Speed
With the advent of the Job system, pop growth has become king. And while having too many pops can sometimes be a hinderance, a lot of people tend to agree that more is better almost all of the time.

Slow Breeders (-2 Point Cost) (D)
-10% Pop Growth Speed
With the advent of the Job system, slow pop growth directly slows the development of your empire, as it becomes harder to fill vital jobs. May be offset by adapting robots or other species into your empire.

Talented (1 Point Cost) (A)
+1 Leader Level Cap
This trait raises the skill ceiling for all leaders of this species. Combined with faster EXP gain, or heightened lifespan, the bonuses can add up. Combined with other traits/ethos that raise level cap, productivity can be massively booned.

Quick Learners (1 Point Cost) (B)
+25% Leader EXP gain
The higher a leaders level is, the more they increase production, research, and other perks. Combined with traits/ethos that increase level cap, faster EXP can be very powerful, especially for species that don’t have long lifespans.

Slow Learners (-1 Point Cost) (E)
-25% Leader EXP gain
Higher leader levels increase production, research, and other perks. Falling behind in this regard can mean falling behind in many other regards. It can work as a free trait point if you absolutely need something else, but it isn’t the best idea considering the potential punishments.

(IV) Species Traits (2)

Traditional (1 Point Cost) (B?)
+10% Unity from Jobs
More unity means you can get through the trees faster, but as the game progresses and unity costs begin to skyrocket, one may begin to question the true usefulness of this trait…

Quarrelsome (-1 Point Cost) (C)
-10% Unity from Jobs
Has the potential to hurt in the earlygame, but later when you already have all the traditions you need, what’s the harm?

Very Strong (3 Point Cost) (D)
+40% Army Damage
+5% Worker Output
The extra damage is negligible with sheer force of numbers, but can mean the difference when time is on the line. The base worker output is small, but can add up to quite a bit late in the game. The heavy point cost keeps this from being recommended.

Strong (1 Point Cost) (C)
+20% Army Damage
+2.5% Worker Output
This one just screams ‘eh.’ You’ll feel like its helping, but its effects are so minimal, you’ll forget that you chose it a few years into a game.

Weak (-1 Point Cost) (C)
-20% Army Damage
-2.5% Worker Output
The worker production loss is barely noticable, but the loss in army damage would be very detrimental in a multiplayer game, especially if the enemy knew and acted upon it. After the early game, and you have better armies, it isn’t that bad. In a singleplayer game, you can get by mostly, because the AI doesn’t tend to act mostly on traits.

Nomadic (1 Point Cost) (C)
+15% Pop Growth from Immigration
-25% Resettlement Cost
Unless you plan to act heavily on resettling, it’s a waste of a point. Pop migration is large to begin with, and with the various food-related bonuses you can get, it gets a big no from me.
Keep in mind, you cannot use this trait as a Hive Mind.

Sedentary (-1 Point Cost) (B)
-15% Pop Growth from Immigration
+25% Resettlement Cost
It’s a free trait point. Only a few times per game will the immigration bonus make any difference, and resettlement is not used often enough to matter. Is free migration or resettlement not allowed? Even more reason to pick this.
Keep in mind, you cannot use this trait as a Hive Mind.

Communal (1 Point Cost) (C)
-10% Pop Housing Usage
Less need for City Districts means you have a greater potential for resource production. It’s minimal, but not too bad.

Solitary (-1 Point Cost) (C)
+10% Pop Housing Usage
With enough pops, it can be a big issue. The extra City Districts needed might put a wrench in your resource production, but the extra clerk jobs made available aren’t too bad.

Charismatic (2 Point Cost) (D??)
+20% Amenities from Jobs
(Hidden) Pop biased toward taking amenity-producing jobs
Amenities are nice, but they aren’t that difficult to produce and come by. Perhaps someone who has trouble with pop happiness could use this, but otherwise it isn’t really worth the point.

Repugnant (-2 Point Cost) (E)
-20% Amenities from Jobs
(Hidden) Pop biased against taking amenity-producing jobs
It’s just more resources that will need to be devoted into Amenities. While they are abundant by default, removing a fifth of them has the potential to completely stint the growth of an empire.

Conformists (2 Point Cost) (F)
+30% Governing Ethics Attraction
If it were only one point, I would consider it. However, considering that species will not tend to deviate if they are happy, it isn’t even worth it if you have an authoritarian empire. There are much better traits.
Keep in mind, you cannot use this trait as a Hive Mind.

Deviants (-1 Point Cost) (D)
-15% Governign Ethics Attraction
Pops can create factions that allign with their factions, that have goals that usually go hand-in-hand with an empire with that ethic. However, if a faction is ignored, it will become unhappy. This will make pops unhappy, which will lower production. This isn’t too bad on it’s own, but unhappy factions will also contribute less to influence, meaning less expansion and megastructures. It’s up to you.
Keep in mind, you cannot use this trait as a Hive Mind.

Venerable (4 Point Cost) (C)
+80 Year Leader Lifespan
More years alive means that leaders will be able to reap the benefits of max level longer. Plus, less energy spent on hiring more leaders, with the exception of unfortunate death due to combat or anomaly failure. If you can afford leader level cap increases, it can be extremely powerful. However, the needed maluses might not make it worth it depending on your playstyle.

Enduring (1 Point Cost) (B)
+20 Year Leader Lifespan
Fifteen years isn’t much, but it allows for more time to get to and maintain maximum leader level. It synergizes well with a lot of other perks.

Fleeting (-1 Point Cost) (C)
-10 Year Leader Lifespan
I haven’t heard a lot or seen a lot of this trait, but from what I have seen, it just means that you’ll have to pay more energy, which means you’re kind of restricted when it comes to upkeep and other pursuits such as blocker clearing, and you’ll reap less benefits of maximum level leaders.

Decadent (-1 Point Cost) (C)
-10% Worker Happiness
-10% Slave Happiness
Low happiness is always bad, and this just makes a bad issue even worse. While it can be managed with enough enforcers, those are jobs that are taken away from production workers. Honestly, depends on the scenario.

Resilient (1 Point Cost) (D)
+50% Defense Army Damage
Can allow that sweet extra time you need to intercept an invading force. Just don’t let the bombardiers linger too long, or your armies (and pops) will be killed regardless.

Conservationist (1 Point Cost) (A?)
-10% Pop Consumer Goods Cost
More resources are always nice, but it mostly depends on how vast you plan to grow you empire. Along with this, it will allow for you to use better forms of welfare for species, with less of a hit to your various incomes.

Wasteful (-1 Point Cost) (C)
+10% Pop Consumer Goods Cost
It’s a hit to production. For empires that may already have decent happiness, it might be worth it in order to take the welfare down a notch, and take advantage of the extra trait point. Otherwise, it isn’t very exciting.

Docile (2 Point Cost) (B)
-10% Empire Sprawl from Pops
While it may be useful, the bureaucrat system will already allow you to shoulder the empire sprawl from having a lot of pops. Maybe good for slaves?

Unruly (-2 Point Cost) (B)
+10% Empire Sprawl from Pops
Average for the same reason as Docile, except for maybe needing more bureaucrats to keep up with them. Having 2 points is nice without sacrificing something huge.

(V) Species-Specific Traits

These traits are only usable by specific types of species. Machine traits and Lithoid traits respectively can only be accessed by choosing a Machine or Lithoid portrait in the empire creator.

Machine (Required w/ Machine Portrait) (A)
+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.

Power Drills (2 Point Cost) (A)
+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.

Efficient Processors (3 Point Cost) (S)
+5% Resources from Jobs
5%, while small in the early game, can be a big chunk of resources in the late game. It adds up.

Logic Engines (2 Point Cost) (A)
+10% Society Research from Jobs
+10% Physics Research from Jobs
+10% Engineering Research from Jobs
Your basic “Intelligent” perk. Always welcome.

Superconductive (2 Point Cost) (S)
+15% Energy Credits from Jobs
Energy means everything to a Machine Intelligence, and having a lot of it just means there are more things that you won’t have to worry about.

Double Jointed (1 Point Cost) (X)
-10% Pop Housing Usage
Not worth it. Robot housing is low as hell as it is.

Bulky (-1 Point Cost) (A)
+10% Pop Housing Usage
Literally not even noticable in the long run. Free point.

Enhanced Memory (2 Point Cost) (S)
+2 Leader Level Cap
The best trait for robots. With the immortal nature of machine pops, there is literally no reason not to take this for the potential bonuses.

Emotion Emulators (1 Point Cost) (B)
+20% Amenities from Jobs
(Hidden) Pop biased toward taking amenity-producing jobs
In my personal opinion, making amenities for machine intelligences is a bit more difficult than it is for other empire types, especially if you’re trying to minmax. A little more breathing room is welcome.

Uncanny (-1 Point Cost) (D)
-20% Amenities from Jobs
(Hidden) Pop biased against taking amenity-producing jobs
Same as above, but the other way. It will just make life difficult, but if you can work around it then good for you.

Durable (1 Point Cost) (B)
-10% Robot Upkeep
More Energy and and Amenities. Not too shabby.

High Maintenance (-1 Point Cost) (D)
+10% Robot Upkeep
One of the big perks of a Machine empire is the reduced needs. Not that great, but maybe if you really need those credits.

Learning Algorithms (1 Point Cost) (B+)
+25% Leader EXP Gain
Combined with Enhanced Memory, can be powerful. However, the immortal leaders means there may be wasted potential.

Repurposed Hardware (-1 Point Cost) (C)
-25% Leader EXP Gain
Like above, there is so much time for leaders to get experience that it doesn’t matter in the long run.

Mass Produced (1 Point Cost) (A)
+15% Robot Assembly Speed
Robots are pretty slow to build in 2.2, so maybe not a bad pick if you’re trying to develop quickly, especially in the early days of a colony where you’re fighting to get your population up to standard.

Custom Made (-1 Point Cost) (F)
-15% Robot Assembly Speed
Robot pop growth is already a bit constricted compared to organic, so cutting it down may prove to be one’s downfall.

Recycled (2 Point Cost) (B)
-20% Robot Build Cost
Early game, very powerful. Late game, doesn’t really matter, as you’ll have enough minerals either way.

Luxurious (-2 Point Cost) (A+)
+20% Robot Build Cost
Painful in the early game, but worth it later for the 2 trait points.

Streamlined Protocols (2 Point Cost) (D)
-10% Empire Sprawl from Pops
Empire Sprawl from pops is not a huge issue, due to the fact that you can just build jobs that give you admin cap.

High Bandwidth (-2 Point Cost) (A)
+10% Empire sprawl from Pops
On the flipside, Empire Sprawl from pops not being a huge issue means that you now have a nifty little trait that gives you 2 practically-free trait points.

Lithoid (Required w/ Lithoid Portrait) (S)
-25% Pop Growth 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.

Scintillating Skin (2 Point Cost) (C)
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.

Gaseous Byproducts (2 Point Cost) (B)
Pop generates 0.01 Exotic Gasses monthly if not Undesirable
Extra useful materials, but its up to you if you want to replace other potentially more useful traits with it.

Gaseous Byproducts (2 Point Cost) (B)
Pop generates 0.01 Volatile Motes monthly if not Undesirable
Extra useful materials, but its up to you if you want to replace other potentially more useful traits with it.

(VI) Ascendance Species Traits

These traits are only available for empires on the Biological Ascension path. These are only available through genetic modification late in the game, once you have finished the ascension path.
(Verdict Note: These are all obviously overpowered in the right circumstances. That’s the point; they’re endgame.)

Robust (4 Point Cost) (S)
+30% Habitability in All Biomes
+50 Leader Lifespan
+5% Pop Resource Production
If you have perks that increase leader level cap, then this is a must-have. Along with the potential boons to productivity, it can make a powerful leader level build even greater.

Erudite (4 Point Cost) (S)
+20% Research from Jobs
+1 Leader Level Cap
Enhances leaders with additional traits
Amazing research speed, and a coveted leader level cap point. All for 4 points. To be honest, this should be the first one you go for when you achieve Biological Ascension.

Fertile (4 Point Cost) (F)
+30% Growth Speed
-10% Pop Housing Usage
The happiness buff is not worth it. This late in the game, your empire would have likely assumed the form that it will mostly stay in for the rest of the game, so the growth time penalty won’t help much. However, the Unity is nice. It might be useful for slaves…

Nerve Stapled (3 Point Cost) (???)
+10% Minerals from Jobs
+10% Food from Jobs
-50% Unity from Jobs
-50% Energy Credits from Jobs
-75% Research from Jobs
Species not affected by happiness, cannot join Factions
This trait is only useful for slaves. Applying it to anything else is pretty much suicide.

Delicious (2 Point Cost) (???)
+2 Pop Processing Output
This trait is only useful for livestock pops. Applying it to anything else is a waste of trait points.

(VII) 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.

Prosperous Unification (B)
Start with additional 4 Pops
Start with additional 2 Districts
Meant to be kind of a ‘default’ origin, this one isn’t terribly strong, but serves well for people who just want to play a regular game of Stellaris. This one is the closest to pre-2.6 gameplay.

Mechanist (B)
Must be Materialist
Cannot be Gestalt Consciousness
Start with 8 Pops being robots
Start with the Robotic Workers and Powered Exoskeletons technologies
Start with a Robot Assembly Plants building
-5% Robot Upkeep
For those planning on rushing Synthetic ascension, it can be very powerful as it skips a fundamental step in such a playthrough, and reduces the load of such robots for the rest of the game. However, for all other builds, it falls subpar as it replaces pops that could be Specialists or Rulers, and drains resources you could be using to expand.

Syncretic Evolution (A)
Cannot be Gestalt Consciousness
Cannot have Fanatic Purifiers civic
Start the game with 12 Pops being a different species with the Serviles trait, making it so they are happier and produce more, but cannot be Leaders, Specialists, or Rulers
I stick with my opinion that this would be great for a slaver empire, as you start with a race pre-built to be perfect for slavery. The only thing putting this at A instead of S are the fact that the ones above this one are leagues better.

Life Seeded (E)
Cannot be Machine Intelligence
Homeworld is a size 25 Gaia World with several Rare Planetary Features
Habitability is set to Gaia World Preference
Unless you plan to run super-tall or run a one-planet challenge, this one isn’t that good. It cripples your ability to expand in the early game and as such is inevitably going to weaken pretty much every aspect of your empire. The Planetary Features are just for the three main strategic resources.

Post-Apocalyptic (B)
Cannot be Machine Intelligence
Cannot have Agrarian Idyll civic
Homeworld is a Tomb World
Gain Survivor trait, granting higher leader lifespan and high Tomb World habitability
The inverse of Life Seeded, Post-Apocalyptic greatly enhances your ability to expand, allowing you to claim Tomb Worlds for yourself if no better options are available. Still not amazing, though, as once you begin to expand the origin does not really impact you late into the game, unless you’re a Purifier glassing worlds.

Remnants (A)
Cannot have Agrarian Idyll civic
Homeworld is an altered Relic World
Ruined Arcology blockers on homeworld give random techs
Guaranteed Habitable Worlds have the Colonial Remains modifier
Good for runs that want a bit of a head start, Remnants is good for those seeking to rush the tech tree or colonization. The easier access of an Ecumenopolis in the later game without having to expend an ascension perk is great as well.

Shattered Ring (B)
Cannot have Agrarian Idyll civic
Homeworld is a Ringworld with two broken segments and one irreparable segment
Homeworld has Arcane Generator feature that provides upkeep for first segments built
Habitability is set to Ring World Preference
Ringworlds are overpowered. This origin gives you a ringworld from day one. Nothing more really needs to be said, for this is the ultimate origin for tech rushing, and potentially the best origin in the game period. Or at least, it was, until it gimped your expansion with a habitability modifier. Meaning, unless you can find another species to expand for you, you’re not gonna have a good time. Still god-tier for robots, though.

Void Dwellers (S)
Cannot be Gestalt Consciousness
Cannot have Agrarian Idyll civic
Homeworld is a set of three Orbital Habitats. Your empire capital is a Tier 2 Habitat with an Arcane Replicator planetary feature
Start with the Tier 2 Habitat tech option
Start with Void Dweller trait, granting increased productivity on Habitats but decreased growth speed
Main Species has huge penalties on non-Habitat celestial bodies
Start with Orbital Habitats technology
Hydroponic Farms have +1 Farmer jobs
With the changes to habitats in 2.7, this start ties with the old Shattered Ring as the most powerful Origin in the game. The extent that you can poop out specialized habitats is unreal, provided you can find the right nodes to build them on.

Scion (S)
Cannot be Gestalt Consciousness
Cannot be Fanatic Xenophobe
Start as the vassal of a Fallen Empire that holds you in high regard
Start with contacts to all Fallen Empires
Overlord Fallen Empire grants gifts and fleet reinforcements
Gain Casus Belli to make other empires scions of the Fallen Empire (hidden)
As long as you have your sugar daddy empire watching over you, it will be very hard to lose. The gifts from your Overlord are massive in comparison to the time periods they are given to you, and the unique Casus Belli gives you a way to systematically cull competition.

Galactic Doorstep (C)
Start with a dormant Gateway in your home system that can be studied to get the Gateway Construction technology
Gateways are amazing for large empires, and the ability to have them before 2300 is huge, provided the other facets of your empire are up to snuff.

Tree of Life (S)
Must be Hive Mind
Cannot have Devouring Swarm civic
Homeworld starts with Tree of Life planetary feature
Colonies start with Tree of Life Sapling planetary feature
Enables Transplant Tree of Life Decision
Colony Ships cost less alloys but more food
Hive suffers huge penalties when on a planet without Tree of Life or Tree of Life Sapling
This origin basically gives your hive free bonuses just by existing. Big bonuses like more districts-per-planet and a huge growth speed buff. just make sure you protect your Homeworld with your life, or else it will all come crashing down.

On the Shoulders of Giants (B)
Cannot be Gestalt Conciousness
Unique Archaology site spawns in your home system
If all sites were investigated, unique event chain appears in Mid-Game
A lot of early-game boons makes your ride through that part of the game a lot easier, with even more effects being unlocked into the mid-game.

Calamitous Birth (A)
Must be Lithoid
Homeworld has Lithoid Crater modifier
Homeworld has Massive Crater planetary feature
Can build Meteorite Colony Ships that grants the Lithoid Crater modifier
Basically, allows Lithoids to spread extremely quickly while at the same time modifying planets to be more compatiable with them. I see no real downside.

Resource Consolidation (S)
Must be Machine Intelligence
Cannot have Rogue Servitor civic
Homeworld is a Machine World
Homeworld has Consolidated Resources planetary feature
Overpowered for the same reasons that Void Dwellers and Shattered Ring are overpowered; you start the game with a very-much late game resource at your disposal, this time being the Machine World.

(VIII) Origins (2)

Common Ground (C)
Cannot be Gestalt Consciousness
Cannot be Xenophobe
Cannot have Barbaric Despoilers civic
Cannot have Fanatic Purifiers civic
Cannot have Inward Perfection civic
Start as the president of a Galactic Union federation
Guaranteed Habitable Worlds are occupied by federation members
Start with The Federation tradition
If it werent for the fact that Galactic Unions can be a bit restrictive, this would definitely be higher. The fact that your federation members spawn so close can severely inhibit your ability to spread early game, depending on where they spawn.

Hegemon (A)
Cannot be Gestalt Consciousnes
Cannot be Xenophobe
Cannot have Fanatic Purifiers civic
Cannot have Inward Perfection civic
Start as the president of a Hegemony federation
Guaranteed Habitable Worlds are occupied by federation members
Start with The Federaiton tradition
A bit better than Common Ground solely because you are restricted quite a lot less as the leader of a Hegemony. That, and you can much more easily eat your friends and grow out of control with Hegemon.

Doomsday (X)
Homeworld will explode between 2235 and 2245
No Guaranteed Habitable Worlds
As time goes on, there will be increasingly higher output from Metallurgist, Miner, and Technician jobs, but less Habitability and Stability
First planet colonized will gain +30% Happiness for a few years
Unlocks Evacuation Protocols edict
This is meant to be a challenge. Obviously it would make your game more challenging.

Lost Colony (D)
Advanced empire of same species spawns in galaxy
Homeworld does not get +30 Habitability bonus
Homeworld starts with Colonial Spirit modifier
An alternate normal start, similar to Prosperous Unification, if perhaps a little more challenging.

Necrophage (S)
Cannot be Gestalt Consciousness
Cannot be Xenophile
Cannot be Fanatic Egalitarian
Cannot have Death Cult civic
Cannot have Corporate Death Cult civic
Can convert Pops of other species to the primary species
Only Necrophage Pops may be leaders or take ruler jobs
Start with 12 pops of a secondary, prepatent species
Guaranteed habitable planets are instead primitive civilizations
Guarantees an amazing head start in terms of pops, if you can get over the culture shock hump. Make sure you balance your normal pop growth with your primary species, and you can craft the perfect empire without having to spend a single point in species modification. Goes stupid with Lithoid.

(IX) 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 faction embracing. They define your playstyle, and how AI empires will react to you. While none of them are truly better than any of the others, it is helpful to at least know what they do.

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

Militarist

• +10% / +20% Fire Rate (S)
• -10% / -20% Claim Influence Cost (B)
• Can use the No Retreat war doctrine

The Militarist branch is designed for species who know that they will go to war, and want to go to war. 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.

Pacifist

• +5 / +10 Stability (A)
• -15% / -30% Empire Sprawl from Pops (A)
• Cannot engage in Indescriminate orbital bombardment (C)
• Cannot use Unrestricted Wars policy (D)
• Must use Defensive Wars Only policy (E)

Pacifists aren’t necessarily enforcers of peace; they are more focused on internal development. A pacifist empire will still need to maintain a fleet in order to deter hostile empires, but they will not be able to project this force in any meaningful way.
Fortunately, the large bonuses means they will be able to maintain themselves easier without outside influence.

Xenophobe

• -20% / -40% Starbase Influence Cost (C)
• +10% / +20% Pop Growth Speed (A)
• Can Purge aliens(B)
• Can Enslave aliens (B)
• Decreased opinion for other species (C)
• Cannot give aliens full citizenship (C)
• Cannot give aliens full military service (C)
• Cannot use Refugees Welcome species policy (C)

Xenophobia goes well with Militarism in the fact that it has to do a lot with the control of other species, and most of its effects have to do with negative relations, which a war tends to bring with it.
With the advent of Cherryh, Xenophobia synergizes a lot more with militarism, allowing quick and easy subjugation.

Xenophile

• +10% / +20% Trade Value (A)
• +1 / +2 Available Envoys (S)
• Increased Opinion for other species (B)
• Cannot use No Refugees species policy (C)
• Cannot Enslave entire species (D)
• Cannot Displace Aliens (D)

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 in order to get the buffs from that in tandem (An empire trying to avoid war may not be as powerful.)
Good for Megacorporations or empires centered around espionage. Their respective bonuses will help quite a bit.

Egalitarian

• +25% / +50% Faction Influence Gain (S)
• +5% / +10% Specialist Output (S)
• Cannot use Autocratic government forms (C)
• Must have Democratic government form (C)
• Allows for Utopian living standards (B)
• Cannot have Impovershed living standards for Full Citizens (C)

Egalitarianism goes well with Xenophilia. Aliens would already be equal citizens, so going the extra mile and getting some bonus production would be helpful. Also a good ethic for federation builders and the Federation Victory.
The happiness of your empire is something that should be taken into consideration majorly when playing as an Egalitarian, due to the influence you get from factions.
As a side note, the Egalitatian ethic will help to pacify Democratic Crusaders, an AI type that is hostile to all non-democratic empires.

Authoritarian

• +0.5 / +1 Monthly Influence (A)
• +5% / +10% Worker Production (S)
• Allows Stratified Economy citizenship type (A)
• Can enslave aliens (B)
• Cannot use Democratic government form (C)
• Must have Autocratic government form (C)

Authoritarians are destined for maximum efficiency, by utilizing pops as objects. By moving pops around without much cost, and more macaroons from workers, an Authoritarian empire is able to craft their empire to their design.
Authoritarianism goes well with Xenophobia, allowing total control over all species.

Materialist

• -10% / –20% Robot Maintenance Cost (C)
• +5% / +10% Research Speed (S)
• Can use Academic Privilege living standard (A)
• Cannot use AI Outlawed policy (A)
• Cannot use Robotic Workers Outlawed policy (A)

Materialist empires, while enjoying a very much welcome research bonus, 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.

Spiritualist

• +10% / +20% Monthly Unity (S)
• -5% / -10% Edict Cost (C)
• Can build Temple building (A)
• Can create Hallowed Worlds (Hidden)(A)
• Cannot use Full AI Rights policy (D)

Spiritualist empires tend to be very close knit, 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.

Gestalt Conciousness

• +1 Monthly Influence
• -20% War Exhaustion
• (Disables Tutorial)
• Must use Hive Mind or Machine Conciousness 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 Conciousness 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.
A normal empire can become a hivemind by following the Biological Ascension path.
Hive Minds can only follow the Biological Ascension path, while Machine Conciousness empires cannot follow any path.

(X) 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.’

Ethics can be changed mid-game by the Reform Government button.

Only two ethics can be chosen initially, but a technology can allow the use of a third mid-game, and a fourth is acquired should one become the Galactic Emperor.

Byzantine Bureaucracy (D)
+1 Unity from Bureaucrat jobs
+1 Stability from Bureaucrat jobs
Kinda nerfed now, but at least it can be used in junction with other civics. Its bonuses are useful, but there aren’t enough Bureaucrats in an empire/colony for it to matter too-too much.

Merchant Guilds (A)
Cannot have other Administrative-altering civics
Capital Buildings provide Merchant Jobs, which produce 2 Unity in addition to normal production
Can create a Trade League Federation
Not too bad at all. More Unity is always welcome, and the Merchant jobs just mean you’re going to be swimming in more resources than you’re going to know what to do with. Be careful when managing your jobs, however.

Corvée System (D)
Cannot be Egalitarian
Cannot have Free Haven
Waives Influence costs for resettlement, bar colony abandonment
+15% Immigration Growth
Resettlement is not a major factor in empire building, unless slaves are being heavily used. That plus a meh addition of immigration growth makes this a waste of a Civic in most scenarios.

Meritocracy (S)
Requires Democratic or Oligarchic Authority
+1 Leader Level Cap
+10% Specialist Output
One of the few leader level cap increases. Can work well synergized with other leader modifiers, and specialist output is just a cherry on top.

Police State (A)
Not Fanatic Egalitarian
Enforcers produce 1 Unity and 5 Stability
The added bonus to stability means that your pops, unless already living in an idealistic 100% stability society, will have better production. That combined with extra Unity makes this one not bad after a second look at it.

Environmentalist (C)
-10% Consumer Goods Cost
Extra resources can always be useful.

Cutthroat Politics (C)
-20% Edict Cost
+1 Codebreaking
With a large portion of edicts becoming permanent until turned off in 2.7, this becomes pretty useless unless you see yourself swapping edicts a lot, which always has a chance to happen but is pretty unlikely to until you have stopped needing influence for expansion.

Shadow Council (D)
Requires Democratic, Oligarchic, or Dictatorial Authority
-75% Election Influence Cost
+10% Resources from Ruler jobs
+10 Maximum Infiltration Level
Elections are so few and far between that it doesn’t really matter, and there aren’t too many rulers in an empire for their effect to matter much either. May be good in conjunction with other civics.

Mining Guilds (A)
+1 Minerals from Miners
Lots and lots of construction.

Parliamentary System (A)
Requires Democratic Authority
+25% Faction Influence
As long as you keep your factions happy, it can be very good. Edicts and expansion, oh my.

Efficient Bureaucracy (A)
+5% Administrative Cap
Allows you to spread your borders more without incurring intense penalties. Good for wide play.

Functional Architecture (B)
-10% Build Cost and Upkeep for Buildings and Districts
+1 Building Slots
This also cuts the rare material upkeep needed for Buildings. This could make it useful, but it depends on whether or not you’re going to be relying on them. The Building Slot in my eyes isn’t as useful as it could be.

Feudal Society (D)
Requires Imperial Authority
-50% Subject Power relation malus
Subjects can expand into unclaimed space
Feudal playstyles mean that a lot more can be left up to the AI, which can be a good or a bad thing depending on who you are. This civic very much makes the Feudal playstyle easier.

Imperial Cult (A)
Requires Authoritarian, Spiritualist
Requires Imperial Authority
+25% Edict Cost
+1 Edict Capacity
The flexibility with edicts is appreciated, and the larger cost reduction compared to Cutthroat Politics makes this the one you would want to pick between the two.

Beacon of Liberty (A)
Requires Egalitarian
Requires Democratic Authority
Cannot be Xenophobe
+15% Unity
The more unity you have, the quicker you can reach Ascendance.

Exalted Priesthood (A)
Requires Spiritualist
Requires Oligarchic Authority
Cannot have other Administrative-altering civics
Capital Buildings replace some Administrator Jobs with High Priests
Priests produce 1 additional Unity
Like Merchant Guilds, except for those goody-two-shoes priests. Lots of Unity. You like Unity, don’t you? Yeah you do.

Philosopher King (A)
Requires Dictatorial or Imperial Authority
+2 Ruler Level Cap
Rulers and Governors less likely to gain negative traits
As a Dictatorial or Imperial society, your ruler is going to be one of the longest standing leaders you have. More cap means more production across the board, and less negative traits means they work more effectively.

Citizen Service (A)
Requires Militarist
Cannot be Fanatic Xenophile
Requires Democratic or Oligarchic Authority
Soldiers produce 2 Unity
+15% Naval Capacity
Having the largest fleet means your power can be unmatched. Combined with the unity, makes a strong militarist setup even stronger.

Technocracy (C)
Requires Fanatic Materialist
Cannot have other Administrative-altering civics
Capital Buildings replace some Administrator jobs with Science Directors
Researchers produce 1 Unity
Big research bonuses make this civic very good. That, plus the unity bonus. Arguably the best administrative swap civic, but restricts your potential ethics.

(XI) Civics (2)

Idealistic Foundation (A)
Requires Egalitarian
+5% Citizen Happiness
Just a little boost to productivity. It can go a long way.

Slaver Guilds (B)
Requires Authoritarian
+10% Slave Output
40% Enslavement
Slaves already have a boost in production. Even more would always be welcome. However, the perk comes with a downside that 40% of your pops will be enslaved. Do you want that? Only useful if you plan on using slaves, which as an Authoritarian, you likely are.

Warrior Culture (B)
Requires Militarist
+20% Army Damage
Entertainer Jobs become Duelist Jobs that turn Alloys into Unity, Amenities and Naval Cap
While Alloys can be a precious resource as it is, if you’re rolling militarist you’re probably going to be stacking alloy production anyway. Not bad after the change.

Distinguished Admirality (S)
Requires Militarist
+10% Fire Rate
+1 Admiral Level Cap
+10 Fleet Command Limit
Quite good. The 10% fire rate on top of the existing Militarist bonus can create a dangerous snowball.

Free Haven (B)
Requires Xenophile
+15% Pop Growth from Immigration
+50% Immigration Pull
Unless another empire has a vastly superior species, it isn’t much. More pops though.

Agrarian Idyll (D???)
Requires Pacifist
Cannot be Authoritarian
Cannot have Post Apocalyptic Civic
Cannot have Shattered Ring Civic
Cannot have Void Dwellers Civic
Cannot have Remnants Civic
Generator, Mining, and Agriculture Districts provide +1 Housing
City Districts provide -1 Housing
Farmers produce 2 Amenities
Synergizes well with Inward Perfection. More Amenities is nice, but the Pacifist requirement really shunts how useful this can be.

Nationalistic Zeal (C)
Requires Militarist
-10% Claim Influence Cost
-10% War Exhaustion Gain
The War Exhaustion is nice, but the claim influence cost isn’t really going to be a big deal unless you intend to mass-declare war.

Aristocratic Elite (A)
Requires Oligarchic or Imperial Authority
Cannot be Egalitarian
Cannot have other Administrative-altering civics
+1 Governor Level Cap
Capital Buildings replace some Administrator jobs with Nobles
Can construct buildings that add Noble jobs
More stability means more resource production, which is something Nobles give you in spades (especially as you advance through the game.) Up there with Technocracy as an amazing adminstrative swap.

Shared Burdens (A)
Requires Fanatic Egalitarian
Cannot be Xenophobe
Cannot have Technocracy
Allows special Living Standard that evens out Consumer Goods among Strata
Disables use of most other Living Standards
+5 Stability
This civic requires that you balance out your jobs more, but if you do, then it can be very useful. A big downside is that it turns you into a space communist. Haha.

Diplomatic Corps (S)
+2 Envoys
+10% Diplomatic Weight
I get the feeling I’m going to be seeing this one a lot in minmaxed “I am the senate” or “Spymaster” builds. Was tailor made for literally half of Nemesis’ content.

Memorialists (B)
Can build Sanctuary of Repose
Galactic Memorials increase Stability and Governing Ethics Attraction on Tomb and Relic Worlds
Death Chronicler jobs turn Consumer Goods into Unity and Society Research
It’s a decent civic if you don’t want to run Spiritualist, and even better for Remnants or Post-Apocalyptic starts.

Death Cult (A)
Requires Spiritualist
Cannot have Fanatic Purifiers Civic
Cannot have Inward Perfection Civic
Cannot be Necrophage
Can build Sacrificial Temple
Death Priests turn Consumer Goods into Unity, Society Research, and Amenities
Mortal Initiates turn Consumer Goods into Society Research
Unlocks Sacrifice Edicts, sacrificing Mortal Initiates for Pop Growth Speed and either Happiness, Unity, or Energy and Minerals
If you have the pops and influence to spare, this civic can be quite powerful.

Reanimated Armies (F)
Cannot be Gestalt Consciousness
Cannot be Pacifist
Cannot have Citizen Service
Blocks Synthetic Ascension
Military Academy is replaced by Dread Encampment, allowing the recruitment of Undead Armies
It’s not as bad as the other army civics, but do you really want to burn a civic slot and your funny robots for THIS?

(XII) Hive Mind Civics

A Hive Mind has their own set of civics. Why craft a government if you’re the only one in it?

Subspace Ephapse (S)
+15% Naval Capacity
More ships means more ability to project force.

Natural Neural Network (A)
+1 Research Alternatives
Unemployed Drones produce a bit of Research.
Science is king in this galaxy. Giving your unemployed pops something to do means you don’t have to feel as bad about cranking up that pop growth speed.

Ascetic (A)
-15% Pop Amenities Usage
+5% Habitability
The extra boosts that we all know and love.

One Mind (S)
+15% Unity
Leaders no longer gain negative traits upon leveling up.
With 2.6 this civic has become amazing. No negative traits means less spent on leaders, more potential from the leaders you to buy. Unity is now just icing on the cake.

Divided Attention (A)
+10% Administrative Cap
More efficiency? Yes please.

Strength of Legions (X)
+20% Army Damage
-20% Army Upkeep
+100 Starting Army XP
Army upkeep is so small, it never bothered me, and the damage is negligible if you build enough armies. The added XP still won’t make any army civic worth it.

Subsumed Will (C)
-20% Empire Sprawl from pops
It’s just okay.

Pooled Knowledge (D)
+1 Leader Level Cap
+10% Leader XP
Underwhelming, even with the Leader Level Cap increase. There are better civics for Hive Minds.

Empath (S)
+2 Envoys
+10% Diplomatic Weight
Less diplomatic penalty with normal empires
This civic will likely be required for those who try to play Hive Minds more diplomatically. I’ll give them one thing: The idea of being lorded over by a massive collective consiousness is kinda cool.

Memorialist (C)
Can build Sanctuary of Repose
Galactic Memorials increase Stability and decrease Deviancy on Tomb and Relic Worlds
Chronicle Drone jobs turn Energy Credits and Minerals into Unity and Society Research
For Hive Minds and Machine Intelligences, Memorialist is more for RP than anything. Still good for Unity farming, though.

(XIII) Machine Intelligence Civics

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

Constructobot (E)
Reduces Build Cost and Upkeep for all Buildings and Districts by 10%
Eh. One time costs and a little bit of upkeep. Less important late game.

Delegated ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ (D)
-25% Leader Upkeep
+1 Leader Pool Size
It’s okay, but there are civics that cover broader appeal that are better.

Factory Overclocking (S)
+1 Leader Level Cap
+10% Leader EXP Gain
Doubly whammy! Both of them at once! Not too shabby.

Introspective (B)
+20% Engineering Research Speed
Engineering is definitely valuable for Machine Intelligences, but there are better civics.

OTA Updates (B)
-20% Empire Sprawl from pops
Sheesh, anything is better than the edict cost reduction that this used to be.

Rapid Replicator (S)
+20% Robot Build Speed
Robots build slowly already, so more isn’t something to sniff at.

Rockbreakers (A)
+1 Minerals from Miners
Woo! More building, more robots, etc. Minerals are always valuable.

Static Research Analysis (D)
+1 Research Alternatives
Reliant on RNG, but allows you to get to the good techs faster.

Unitary Cohesion (A)
+15% Unity
While there are no ascension paths for Machine Intelligences, the other perks are still very powerful, especially the two perks especially made for Machines.

Warbots (X)
+20% Army Damage
-20% Army Upkeep
Bluh. You get improved robot armies very early in the game.

Zero Waste Protocols (D)
-10% Robot Upkeep
Resources, but the further you get into a machine intelligence run, the lower your upkeep costs tend to affect you anyways.

Maintenance Protocols (C)
Maintenance Drones produce 1 Unity
Having more unity is okay, but there are a lot easier ways to get it, especially as a Machine Intelligence.

Memorialist (C)
Can build Sanctuary of Repose
Galactic Memorials increase Stability and decrease Deviancy on Tomb and Relic Worlds
Chronicle Drone jobs turn Energy Credits and Minerals into Unity and Society Research
For Hive Minds and Machine Intelligences, Memorialist is more for RP than anything. Still good for Unity farming, though.

(XIV) Megacorporation Civics

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

Brand Loyalty (A)
+15% Unity
Not bad. The extra unity will allow you to climb the trees easier.

Franchising (A?)
The effects of Subsidiary Subject Power on relations is reduced by 33%
Impact of Branch Offices on Empire Size reduced by 25%
Good if you plan on running a very aggressive corporation, but otherwise not too great.

Free Traders (S)
+10% Trade Value
+10% Branch Office Value
Makes doing what a Megacorporation does even easier than it was before.

Media Conglomerate (X)
-5% War Exhaustion Gain
+5% Citizen Pop Happiness
Bonuses are negligible. War exhaustion especially useless if you know what you’re doing.

Private Prospectors (C)
Unlocks Private Colony Ship
-33% Empire Sprawl from systems
Good for the bonus Admin Cap, and the Colony ship is nice. Has staying power into the lategame for wider Megacorps.

Ruthless Competition (A)
+1 Leader Level Cap
+10% Leader Experience Gain
Your always-loved leader bonus perk. Not bad.

Trading Posts (C)
+4 Starbase Capacity
Your empires tend to grow at a similar pace to your starbase capacity. Can be skipped safely.

Gospel of the Masses (A)
Requires Spiritualist
Spiritualist Pops give additional Trade Value on all Planets and Branch Offices
Can build Temple of Prosperit Corporate Building
+50% Spiritualist Attraction
Of course it’s a Spirituality ethic. Good for gaining allies via subtle conversion of the masses.

Indentured Assets (A)
Requires Authoritarian
+10% Slave Output
40% Enslaved Pop Ratio
I mean, if you’re running slaves, then obviously.

Naval Contractors (B)
Requires Militarist
+15% Naval Capacity
It’s okay. It’s hard enough to reach base Naval Cap as it is.

Private Military Companies (X)
Requires Militarist
+20% Army Damage
-20% Army Upkeep
+100 Army Starting XP
*raspberry noise*

Public Relations Specialists (A)
+2 Envoys
+10% Diplomatic Weight
I get the feeling this ‘happy relations’ civic that all the types have now isn’t going to be as extremely useful for megacorporations. Time will tell, and time has told that envoys now have a million and one uses.

Corporate Death Cult (A)
Requires Spiritualist
Cannot be Necrophage
Can build Sacrificial Temple
Death Priests turn Consumer Goods into Unity, Society Research, and Amenities
Mortal Initiates turn Consumer Goods into Society Research
Unlocks Sacrifice Edicts, sacrificing Mortal Initiates for Pop Growth Speed and either Happiness, Unity, or Energy and Minerals
If you have the pops and influence to spare, this civic can be quite powerful, if you can get over the fact that you could be picking Free Traders instead.

(XV) Special Civics

These civics provide substantial changes to gameplay, either through restriction, or by unlocking different ways of approaching advancement or conquest.

Base Empire Civics

Barbaric Despoilers
Has “Despoilation” casus belli on all neighboring empires
Requires some degree of Militarism
Requires either Authoritarian or Xenophobe
Cannot be Xenophile
Cannot be Fanatic Purifiers
Cannot form Migration Treaties
Unlocks Raiding bombardment stance
Decreased opinion for most other empires
Build-A-Horde! Have you ever wanted to tear up those filthy xenoes without having to worry about the -1000 modifier from being a purifier? Look no further! Very fun provided you know how to play it, although beware runaway Threat generation, as unlike purifiers, you don’t have the big combat boons.

Inward Perfection
(Civic cannot be removed after game begins)
Requires Pacifist, Xenophobe
Cannot have Rivals
Cannot form Defensive Pacts
Cannot form Migration Treaties
Cannot Guarantee Independence
Cannot join Federations
Can only have Tributary subjects
Cannot Infiltrate primitives
+20% Unity
+10% Pop Growth Speed
+5% Citizen Pop Happiness
+1 Edict Cap
-1 Available Envoys
Inward Perfection has always been a dicey civic in my eyes. The Pacifism combined with the inability to join federations means you’re restricted in the victory department, but the buffs to pops and Unity are very powerful. Should you find a way to make this work, you can easily become unstoppable. Be wary though, because with 2.2, it can no longer be removed after the start of the game using conventional means.

Fanatic Purifiers
(!) No Diplomacy (!)
Total War Casus Belli enabled (Purification, Containment)
Must be Fanatic Xenophobe and Militarist OR Spiritualist
Cannot have Syncretic Evolution Civic
Xeno pops will always be purged, no effect on tradition cost
Unity gain from purging Xenos
May use Armageddon bombardment stance
Can use “no retreat” war doctrine
+33% Fire Rate
+33% Army Damage
-25% Ship Cost
+33% Naval Capacity
(Hidden: Increases Xenophobe ethics attraction)
If you don’t care about the other empires in the game, and just want to dominate, this civic is for you. It’s a very extreme one, and is a very blatant red flag for other empires about your intentions. It causes a -1000 relatons modifier with all other empires.

Hive Mind Civics

Devouring Swarm
(!) No Diplomacy (!)
Total War Casus Belli enabled (Hunger, Containment)
Can only use Cede Planet war demand
Xeno pops will always be eaten, no effect on tradition cost
Society Research from eaing Xeno pops
+25% Ship Hull points
+0.5% Daily Hull and Armor Regeneration
-50% Starbase Cost
+40% Army Damage
-25% Ship Cost
+33% Naval Capacity
+20% Research Speed (Biology)
-100% Tradition Cost from Xeno Slaves
The Hive Mind version of Fanatic Purifiers. This is heavily based toward modifying your pops to be able to bend the galaxy to your will, through Biological Ascension. It can be fun, like you’re your own little Prethoryn Swarm.

If your species is a Lithoid, some of these aspects are a bit changed. You also gain the ability to Consume foreign worlds.

Machine Intelligence Civics

Determined Exterminator
(!) No Diplomacy with Organics (!)
Total War Casus Belli enabled (Purification, Containment)
Will always Purge organics
Gains Unity from purging organics
May use Armageddon bombardment stance
Capital starts as Tomb World
+25% Weapons Damage
-15% Ship Cost
+33% Naval Capacity
-30% Starbase Influence Cost
Machine Intelligence version of Fanatic Purifiers. Can be very powerful, especially since you can still be diplomatic with Machine intelligences. Be aware, though, that those who already hated Machines will double down on you, especially since your bonuses aren’t as powerful as normal FPs.

Driven Assimilator
Total War Casus Belli enabled (Assimilation, Containment)
10 starting pops are cyborg
Can assimilate organic pops
Assimilating organics grants Unity and Society Research
Always purges organics not being assimilated
Not that powerful. Organic empires tend to hate you, although you have no combat bonuses like Determined Exterminators. However, the assimilation bonuses can be powerful, provided you can actually get some pops to assimilate.

Rouge Servitor
5 starting pops are Bio-Trophy organics with Mandatory Pampering living standard.
The more organic pops you have, the more stability your empire has (and as a result, the more resource production you have), up to a certain cap.
Can construct special Sanctuary buildings that allow organic pops to generate unity
Cannot construct regular Unity buildings
Very powerful, provided you play it right. The resource production is massive, allowing for easy consumption of smaller organic empires. However, you are in the same predicament as Assimilators, being hated by many organic empires.

Megacorporation Civics

Criminal Heritage
Cannot form Commercial Pacts
Can build Branch Offices on the planet of any regular empire not at war or in a truce with
Crime on Branch Office planets increases value
Can build Crime-increasine Corporate Buildings
An interesting civic, allows a Megacorporation to be more flexible with how they expand their influence. Care must be taken, as these types of corporations are not at all welcome.

(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.

Consecrated Worlds (D)
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)
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)
TIER 0
+2 Edict Capacity
This can definitely be useful if you have the influence to spare, 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)
TIER 0
Cannot have Corporate Authority
+20% Administrative Capacity
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, unless you’re out of slots for more Administrative Offices.

Interstellar Dominion (B)
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)
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)
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 (C)
TIER 0
Cannot be Machine Intelligence
-10% Pop Amenities Usage
+10% Monthly Unity
+50% Governing Ethics Attraction
Good for the unity or if you’re having trouble keeping up with amenities, 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.

Shared Destiny (E)
TIER 0
Cannot have Corporate authority
Cannot have Inward Perfection civic
Cannot be genocidal
-50% Subject Integration influence cost
+100 Subject Trust Cap
+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)
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 (A)
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.

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)
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 (F)
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. There’s a reason why there’s an option to disable this one.

Enigmatic Engineering (E)
TIER 1
+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.

Grasp the Void (X)
TIER 1
+5 Starbase Capacity
Really? Do I need to explain why this is just a waste of time?

World Shaper (C)
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)
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)
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)
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.

(XVII) Ascension Perks (2)

Machine Worlds (B)
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)
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.

Colossus Project (B)
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.

Defender of the Galaxy (C)
TIER 3
+50% Damage to endgame crisis factions (and the Grey Tempest)
+20 Opinion from all empires
By the time you might need this, you’ll likely already have all your ascension perk slots filled. If you feel like you might need it, save a slot, but it might be better just to build up raw strength so you don’t second guess yourself.

Galactic Contender (E)
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)
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.

(XVIII) 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.

Engineered Evolution (B)
TIER 1
Requires Gene Tailoring technology
Exclusive with The Flesh is Weak and Mind over Matter
Cannot be Machine Intelligence
+3 Genetic modification points
Unlocks Clone Vats building
-25% Modify Species special project cost
Unlocks Gene Seed Purification research option
By itself, the first tier of Bio-Ascension is kind of underwhelming. Its bonuses are neat, and the clone vat is amazing, but the real cool stuff shows up when you get to Evolutionary Mastery.

Mind over Matter (A)
TIER 1
Requires Psionic Theory technology
Exclusive with Engineered Evolution and The Flesh is Weak
Cannot have Mechanical main species
Cannot be Gestalt Consciousness
Unlocks Telepathy research option
Unlocks Psi Corps building
Unlocks Psionic Armies
Primary species gains Latent Psionic trait
New leaders have 20% chance to get Psychic trait
Existing leaders can get the Psychic trait through events
Increased Spiritualist ethics attraction
First of all, if you roll the Zroni, you have to pick this. Without a doubt. Without that, it’s still pretty good, but again, the fun stuff shows up once you grab Transcendence.

The Flesh is Weak (S)
TIER 1
Requires Droids technology
Exclusive with Engineered Evolution and Mind over Matter
Cannot have Mechanical main species
Cannot be Gestalt Consciousness
-10% Robot Upkeep
+10% Pop Assembly Speed
Unlocks Special Project to turn all pops into cyborgs
This is a must have if you are running robots in any reasonable capacity, and is arguably even better by itself than with its second tier.

Evolutionary Mastery (S)
TIER 2
Requires Engineered Evolution
Requires Glandular Acclimation technology
+3 Genetic modification points
-35% Modify Species special project cost
Unlocks Genetic Resequencing research option
Can add or remove the Hive-Minded trait by assimilation
Some of the special Evolutionary Mastery species traits are amazing. All of them are, if you have uses for them. Might not be the best for RP, but it is certainly top-tier when it comes to usefulness.

Synthetic Evolution (D)
TIER 2
Requires The Flesh is Weak
Requires Synthetic Personality Matrix technology
+1 Robot Modification Points
-50% Modify Species special project cost
+10% Robot output
Unlocks Special Project to turn empire synthetic

• A new robotic species will be created and can be named.
  All organic pops and leaders become that species
  All organic pops have their traits replaced with Mechanical
  Every organic army is turned into an Android Assault Army.
  Machine Intelligences regard you as a machine empire
  −40 opinion from Spiritualist empires
  −60 opinion from Fanatic Spiritualist empires
  −20 opinion from every empire that is not Materialist, Fanatic Materialist, Machine Intelligence or Synthetic

In my honest opinion, this perk is a downgrade. You’re locking yourself out from biological traits, rendering your pop growth upgrades moot, and getting a big fat opinion malus from most empires. Not only that, but the cyborg trait is really good on its own. If you really want to go super into robots, maybe only pick up The Flesh is Weak.

Transcendence (A)
TIER 2
Requires Mind over Matter
Cannot have Cybernetic main species
Cannot have Mechanical main species
Cannot be Gestalt Consciousness
+2 Codebreaking
+2 Encryption
+10 Base Intel Level
Primary species gains Psionic trait
Assimilation Citizenship option available
All primary species leaders gain Psychic trait
Special Project to breach the Shroud available
This one is probably the most interesting of the ascendancies, being more event-based than solely numbers and pops. It’s fun, powerful, and opens the door to another crisis should you wish to go down that route, but is heavily RNG based. Again, if you roll the Zroni, this is where you should end up.

Become the Crisis (S)
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.

(XIX) Examples

These empires are example combinations of traits, ethics, and civics.

Great Clans of Helcaman

• Traits: Strong, Enduring, Slow Learners
• Authority: Democratic
• Ethics: Militarist, Fanatic Egalitarian
• Civics: Warrior Culture, Citizen Service
• Origin: Prosperous Unification

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.

Unity of Void

• Traits: Intelligent, Communal, Weak
• Authority: Imperial
• Ethics: Fanatic Pacifist, Xenophobe
• Civics: Inwards Perfection, Agarian Idyll
• Origin: Life Seeded

A reclusive 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.

Mind Above All

• Traits: Venerable, Repugnant
• Authority: Hive Mind
• Ethics: Gestalt Conciousness
• Civics: One Mind, Aesetic
• Origin: Tree of Life

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.

Ix’thamal Mechanists

• Traits: Intelligent
• Authority: Democratic
• Ethics: Fanatic Materialist, Militarist
• Civics: Technocracy, Efficient Bureaucracy
• Origin: Mechanists

A dream of the Ix’thamal was always to sit back and relax as their will expanded their influence for them. Eventually, this ‘will’ manifested itself into automatons, which easily dominated their homeplanet.
An empire like this has the potential to be a force to be reckoned with, right from the start. Mechanist gives them an early tech and production advantage, but tends to gets nullified as the game goes on.

Purification Directive

• Traits: Learning Algorithms, Mass Produced, Uncanny
• Authority: Machine Intelligence
• Ethics: Gestalt Conciousness
• Civics: Determined Exterminators, Rapid Replicators
• Origin: Remnants

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.

Radiant Union

• Traits: Thrifty, Talented, Deviants
• Authority: Corporate
• Ethics: Militarist, Egalitarian, Xenophile
• Civics: Free Traders, Ruthless Competition
• Origin: Void Dwellers
  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.

(XX) Conclusion

Thank you for checking out my guide. I hope it helped. If it did, be sure to share it, or give 5 stars, or do whatever you do with guides. I’m not really sure. This is the first guide i’ve ever made.

I will update this guide as the game updates.

Thank you again!

Safe flying and happy conquering/pacifying/trading/subjugating/researching!

Special Thanks:

• Xicronic 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.
• Everyone who suggested an edit or fix!
• Whoever made the army modifiers, because I actually laugh at them whenever I see them
• You :^)

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