Top Ten Tips for New Players – A Stellaris Survival Guide

Image credit to Paradox Interactive

Stellaris is a hit. Originally released for PC in 2016, the grand strategy game quickly earned a cult following of fans. With the game’s release to PlayStation 4 and Xbox One earlier this year, the cult following behind Stellaris has only grown. For all the new Stellaris players out there, here is a quick list of tips and tricks.

1. Keep an Eye on Your Resources When Upgrading Buildings

When you upgrade a building, you will often increase the number of jobs available within that building by over double. This may seem like a bonus, but it really depends on your resources.

The more jobs you can provide, the more production you can instill within your citizenship. That being said, creating more jobs also means creating a larger demand for certain resources. If you run out of those resources, then production will come to a halt.

Always keep an eye on your resources when you are upgrading buildings for more manpower.

2. Get Ready for War

While playing passively was certainly an option during the old days of Stellaris, the recent update to the game has changed all of that. Everyone is out to get you.

If you want to stay in control, then you are going to have to learn how to handle yourself in times of war. Check out the video above for a detailed breakdown of what defending your civilization will entail.

3. Fully Militarize Your Shipyards

Shipyards will produce ships for your war front. Consequently, you will likely lose the war once your shipyards have been captured and destroyed. Fully militarize your shipyards to reduce the chances of them falling into an enemy’s hands.

4. Take Advantage of System Restriction

There will be times when you are in the middle of a war and a third-party empire will begin picking off your warships as they travel between worlds. Not only is this a frustrating experience, but also a detrimental nuisance to your war effort.

When you find yourself repeatedly dealing with one of these systems, check the bottom of your system screen for a ship icon. Toggle the ship icon to order your warships to avoid that particular system.

Now your warships will find a new trajectory to reach their destinations and will avoid being picked off by the third-party empire.

5. The Machine Empire Can Make the Early-Game Much Easier

Colonizing a planet with machines only requires 300 alloy. Consequently, you will want to construct an allow processor early on in the game to stock up this precious resource. After doing so, colonizing your planets will be a breeze.

6. Go Exploring

One of the first things you are going to want to do after establishing your first colony is to gather up three science ships and go exploring.

Use these ships to map out your surrounding area. Learn what planets exist within your neighboring star systems. Check out your neighboring civilizations.

If you ever want to use construction ships to build an outpost, for instance, you will first have to get a science ship to completely survey the entire system in which the outpost will reside.

7. Take Advantage of the Galactic Market

Keeping a tidy sum of surplus resources around becomes seemingly impossible by mid-game. That being said, there is a solution.

As your empire’s demands continue to grow, your stockpile of resources will continue to dwindle. This is not a sign that you are failing, but rather that you have created a growing, ravenous civilization.

To remedy your shortage issue, visit the galactic market. You can purchase alloy, food and consumer goods. All of these things will help keep your civilization in balance.

8. Never Ignore the Military

Hostile empires will always be looking to undermine you. Consequently, you are going to want to adopt former Pres. Teddy Roosevelt’s “big stick” policy. Always keep your military trained, upgraded and equipped.

The more ferocious your military, the less likely you will find yourself being intimidated by neighboring civilizations.

9. Never Colonize When Your Energy Balance is Negative

Keeping a positive energy generation curve is important to keeping your civilization running smoothly. If you are at a negative energy balance when you colonize a new planet, you will quickly find yourself unable to properly care for your population’s many needs.

10. If You Have a Surplus of Infrastructure, Take Advantage of Migration Treaties

Whenever your neighboring civilization is having issues with overpopulation, they will likely wish to sue for a migration treaty. If you have a surplus of infrastructure, then this can be quite beneficial for you.

Agreeing to a migration treaty will allow your neighboring civilization’s displaced people to flock to your empty buildings and open jobs. This can be a big win-win for both yourself and your neighbor.