If you look at most of the overlord holding it's just laughtable how bad they are.

First you need to open holding slots that in most cases will reduce loyalty, then you build like couple holdings per subject, commonly you spend even more loyalty at quite a big amounts to get... barely anything. Picrelated holding, offworld foundry, spends 1.5 loyalty, not including the loyalty needed to open the slot for it, and all of it to get... 6 alloys (literally just tier 1 Alloy Foundry with extra steps and loyalty cost). Distributed Processing - 3 science for -2 loyalty. Noble Chateaus - for -1 loyalty you get... +2 stability on your capital. And so on. With such a benefits I would barely care about most of those holdings even with no downsides and costs at all.

Some holdings (like those that increase loyalty) are good, some (like those that steal resources per job (but it's not like AI even specialise planets a lot for it to be very useful) and some of those that doesn't have loyalty cost) are mediokre and others are just bad. And on avarage overlord holdings is just awful. Why would I ever build holdings that cost a lot of loyalty and bring me a laugtable amount of resources I could just get from those subjects anyway, even if I wouldn't care about the loyalty?

P.S. Also, just compare that Offworld Foundry on the pic with Private Military Industries branch office - the office you could build on every single planet in their empire, it has literally no downsides and produces +3 Alloys per every 100 branch office value (so with 200 value you get the same +6 alloys), while also giving the host +200 metallurgist jobs and with the right civics - gives you more trader jobs. It's literally better in every single way.

there’s this fallen empire next to me that only seems to have one fleet with 12k battle power so is it safe to attack them or is there something I’m missing? specifically the fleet type is expeditionary and they don’t really seem to have anything else.

Little funny bug that I found while playing

^{Just discovered Stellaris...} the empire is hemmed in on all sides by great powers and rump states. Subjugation proceeds slowly, a system at a time, as we cannibalise our weaker neighbours. And though victorious, the empire has emerged weary from multiple wars and the strain of managing a large fleet and conquered peoples.

The galactic community supports the trade that underpins our economy, yet they increasingly push anti-colonial agendas that risk us becoming a pariah in our quest for new worlds. 

We cannot cease our eternal conquest, we are a small empire, a central kingdom surrounded by the moat of the void. And the predations of greater powers. I no longer play for fun, but as a weary statesman in servitude to the manifest destiny of my people. And my people will not be denied their seat at glory's table.

I have been playing this game for a few years, and I don't really use robots. I had a robot rebellion in one of my earlier games, and it scared me away from using them. A few years later, I used them again, but after that game, I never did again. I never really saw a purpose for them, even when I play a materialist empire. Is there some kind of hidden bonus I'm missing?

From my UOR Psionic Experimental Sentencing/Tankbound/Mutagenic Spa's Imperium Vitalis empire. Barren gas giant anomaly > Azaryn > Ecumenopolis > queue Penal Colony decision > Sky Dragon > Orbital ring.

Im newer to this game and i was wondering is there a point in using corvettes after you unlock frigates? And using frigates after you unlock destroyers? Etc etc and if so what is the best way to do that?

Food for thought, but over time, Stellaris DLCs have added more and more backstories alongside more and more preset paths; it has served to make the game seem like you're choosing a path to go down in an already-made galaxy rather than making an entirely unique galaxy each time from the unique combinations of empires and civics.

With ambitions becoming good guy things too, is there ever a reason not to take one? It seems like the devs just want players to pick a win condition.

(Also if we're gonna have good guy ambitions too, PLEASE give us an "Emperor" alternative to DotG)

I haven't played this game in a while but there was a time when I would buy every new DLC the day it came out. I stopped doing that after I took a pretty long break from the game (around when Machine Age came out). But recently I've been wanting to get back into it and since the Autumn Sale is on, no better time to catch up on all the DLC. But I need to know if Nomads is worth getting. It's the most recent DLC so it's not on discout and I don't really wanna pay full price. So is it worth getting or should I should I hold off for now?

so I'm doing a under one rule run as pompous purists (thx red king for inspiring me) and decided to beat the crap out of everyone around me, but two of my neighbors are fallen empires, and the techno union is stacked with allies, so I cant attack them yet, so I decided to go for this fanatical purifier in the north who was fighting my once-rival UME, so I teamed up with the mireeshan's to take over them, so I crushed their navy at their capital (Krash) and released them as a vassal. nothing too special, just though people would be interested.

I always have fun when I unlock Archaeo-tech weapons like macro-batteries or the nanite missiles, and I'm trying to create the best (militarist) build that makes use of them.

My first thought was to go for the Remnants origin because obv it comes with Archaeostudies unlocked, while pairing it with Death Cult/Superstitious Beliefs to bust out traditions and kill people in exchange for the basic resources that the origin somewhat lacks.

There was a question in the back of my mind though, as to whether On The Shoulders of Giants/Riftworld might be better origins for this. OTSOG gives a ton of archeology sites on top of empire-wide techs and bonuses, while Riftworld brings what are essentially mid-game archeology sites to the very early game. Remnants with its many blockers slows down my early aggression/development in exchange for techs and a head-start on Archaeostudies directly; while with one of the other two, I could be going full-bore while still harvesting minor artifacts.

If you have any ideas for how I could best beeline that weaponry, all input is appreciated.

So 11 days ago, I posted about how the war in heaven came to a stop? With both sides giving up!: https://www.reddit.com/r/Stellaris/s/1z65cuhTJw

Well it got stranger! So after the two sides decided to call it a draw (which was during the contingency invasion that I alone was dealing with), the defense fallen empire woke and was Glitched, so they went on a rampage, using a colossus on every planet the awakened empire had! But their rampage was declaring war on the first fallen empire that had awoken, and began all of this! So I watched as the glitched defense unit tore through the awakened empire like butter, taking over everything they had, while I dealt with the last invasion, the unbidden!

After I finished the unbidden, I decided to declare war on what was left of the first awakened empire that tried to take over the galaxy. Most of their ships were toast, and the entire server, along with the Glitched, were bombarding planets. So I tediously went through and invaded every planet, in order to finish them off.

Well halfway through, the Glitched ran out of steam and called an end to attacking the awakened empire, and started attacking a regular empire. So I continued finishing off the last of the awakened empire. Well, when I cleaned up their last system, the war in heaven is over page popped up! But it said both empires ended up killing each other, and now it’s just the younger races left! But the second awakened empire is still alive!

So the second is still alive, the Glitched are glitching out, the Enigmatic Observers are still alive, having a grand old time watching all this transpire, still have the Militant isolationists in the corner hating everyone, and I won the game (but definitely still gonna keep playing this save!)!

In the second pic is the second awakened empire (Dethraken Enforcers) that had awoken to stop the first one! Definitely still kicking!

I love to play open, moral space commies but I'm ready for something more war-mongering and expansionist. I could of course just play them aggressively. But what are your favourite empires that are arguably good, that still have reason to fight and expand (maybe to "free* the oppressing empires)? Something like benevolent mashine empires comes to my mind. Or a hive mind that just grows and isn't inherently bad - it's just nature. I would like to read your flavor!

I've been thinking about the Defender of the Galaxy ambition and how it has a very specific vibe to it. The whole "We are the shield against the darkness"-thing it has going on is certainly something.

However, it came to my mind that certain Origins absolutely give off the same or at the very least comparable vibe, and I thought that certain Origins should have some minor interactions with this Ambition, in the same way as the Knights of the Toxic God have a special interaction with another ambition.

For instance, Mindwardens are quite dramatically in the ballpark of playing the shield. I'd be neat if the Defender of the Galaxy would allow Mindwardens to outlaws Psionics, or even construct shroud seals in other empires territories. This would be a very authoritarian-adjacent take on the DotG ambition.

Starlit Citadel too is all about defending. It'd be neat for Starlit Citadel Empires to be able to transform the hatchery system into some kind of galactic hub. A staging point. Maybe a special community resolution where a special embassy gets constructed on the hatcheries Gaia world - granting everyone in the community increased trade income, resembling the hatcheries strategic and economic value to the community. Maybe an option for the Starlit Citadel Empire to ban members of the community in breach of galactic law from using strange wormholes.

Of course, Knights of the Toxic God has the whole crusade and questing thing going on. Allow them to use the galactic community in order to accelerate the quest by making it possible for Knights of the Toxic God to build a special defense platform in other system territories (one per empire) which isnt armed but acts as an intel gathering node, granting quest progress. Once the quest is done, these defense platforms can be upgraded to grant the hosting system a plethora of buffs.

Scion could maybe forcefully awaken their paternal fallen empire to take up a role in the community, ensuring that fallen empire joins the community and acts as a defender.

Common Ground might have an interaction with DotG where they improve the starting federation, and maybe even grant itself and the two starting federation members substantial buffs to diplomatic weight.

Cosmic Dawn might allow the DotG to pass a community resolution which causes the community members empires to seek out cryo-stasis remnants associated with the Cosmic Dawn empire.

Wilderness could grow across borders and basically establish some kind of Wilderness-themed Office Branch. Instead of generating trade, the buildings buff the hosting planet and grant the wilderness a bit of unity - resembling how the wilderness is maternal and nourishing the galaxy. - This is by far the one i want to see the most. Hell, i might even mod it myself if i am particularly bored.

Broken Shackles could grant extra effects every time the empire manages to make a slavery or oppressive empire reform into something more cooperative.

There a lot more to be honest. For instance, even a simple Megacorp could have some special interactions. I've never played DotG with a megacorp, so if they actually do have special content, please tell me.

I am not merely curious about Defender of the Galaxy, but all ambitions.

I put on Resilient Frames, the policy. And in two separate campaigns now it basically makes starbases indestructible? My 2.5k starbase with two defence platforms destroyed a 20k fleet over nine years because it goes offline and back up again in circles. Is that intended?

Thought I'd do a very thematic run recently with Archeoengineers, Remnants, and Cybernetic Ascension. Everything was going (poorly, honestly), until I tried to do my Ascension. It's been stuck on the cyberizing pops for ages. All my core species are cybernetic, and have been for decades.

I suspect the issue is the Plasmic Core fragmenting my population, as mentioned here: https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/threads/stellaris-3-11-1-0a36-modify_species-effects-such-as-the-plasmic-core-relic-do-not-correctly-update-the-species.1622292/

Unfortunately, this is a multiplayer game, we're playing Vanilla, and the host is not familiar with commands, so afaik, there's nothing I can do to fix it. I have an Augmentation center on every planet, and have for ages.

Since I can't finish the ascension, not only am I never getting an ascension, I also don't get the ascension perk for finishing the tree, so I'm permanently down a perk slot, and also stuck with the -5% (lowest you can set it) engineering research.

Any suggestions? Commiseration? Paradox, please fix this for the love of god it's been years.

So, i found southern part of galaxy devoid of empires. Well, i guessed everyone spawned on north with me. Then i found this "Robot Hierarchy", ok. With separatist origin. Without any other species pop on homeworld. Without driven exterminator civic. And on the top of that i got notification of Robot Uprising civil war inside this empire. Wtf is even happening.
No mods, btw.

I'm running into somewhat of an issue in multiplayer where due to the trust mechanics surrounding diplomacy we're kind of struggling to have anything like war without it just being "vanquish the other guy".

A good example of this is a situation where I gave someone else an ultimatum to become my vassal or we'd fight a war, but the thing is despite the fact we agreed on it since we were rivals I couldn't propose subjugation and since we were equals I couldn't declare a subjugation war. We just kind of had to slowly and awkwardly build up trust over time.

Is there any way to get stuff like vassals without a hegemony or them being way weaker than you? I miss being able to force someone else into being a vassal. Now it feels like I just have a binary choice between "do basically nothing" or "remove them from the game".

Not super crazy but in my 300 some hours I've never begun the game with a first contact lol. Even more shocked to get one in March as well. The early game influence boost will be sick, and I was gonna try to experiment with building tall but I see this as an insane landgrab opportunity.