Paradox's strategy games are known for their endless replayability and emergent narratives, but also for their complexity. Stellaris is no exception, and such a deep game can seem impenetrable the first time you hit New Game. The big space sandbox has a lot to offer, but it's completely understandable if you've tried the game or watched someone play and wondered just what was going on.
Related: How To Keep Your Empire Size Under Control In Stellaris
This guide runs down the absolute basics of Stellaris from which new players can build a foundation. The complex stuff can wait - for now, we'll get you exploring the galaxy and growing your first empire!
Which Empire Should I Pick?
Stellaris allows limitless customization in creating your space empire, but beginners are better off picking one of the pre-generated nations. We recommend the United Nations Of Earth, since playing as humans provides perspective and makes it easier to remember names. A planet called New Hope is going to be a lot more recognizable than one called Daff'Orbal. If you plan to aggressively explore and conquer, you can try the other human faction, the Commonwealth of Man. They're a bit tougher to play, but built for a militaristic play style.
Related: The Best Strategy Games Set In Space
The HUD
There are three main sections of the HUD in Stellaris. On the left are several tabs which will appear when you move your cursor there - these let you see detailed information on your empire's economy, laws, military, research, diplomacy, and anything else you could possibly need to know.
On the right is the Outliner, which lets you see at a glance the location and status of all your ships and planets, among other things. The Outliner is a great way to see what's happening all throughout your empire and to quickly zoom to any issues that need to be addressed.
The top of the screen shows your resources and income, along with the in-game date. The game can be paused and unpaused at any time by clicking on the date or pressing the spacebar. You can speed up or slow down the rate at which time advances in the game as needed by clicking the plus and minus signs near the date. Always pause while making decisions so that you don't miss any opportunities!
Related: The Best Tactical Strategy Games For Beginners
Ship Types
There are four basic ship types in Stellaris; Constructors, Science Vessels, Military Vessels, and Colony Ships. You'll start with one Constructor, one Science Vessel, and three small Corvettes for your military.
Constructors
Constructors are used to build space stations that can extract resources. WIth a Constructor selected, right-click on the planet or system in which you'd like to build and choose the appropriate construction. Constructors also expand your borders by building Starbases in unclaimed systems.
Science Vessels
Science Vessels explore the galaxy, revealing what's in each system they visit planet by planet. The best way to use a Science Vessel is to right-click on a system or its star and select "Survey System." The ship will then explore the entire system without having to manually check each planet.
Science Vessels will occasionally find Anomalies. You can assign a Science Vessel, usually the one that found the Anomaly, to analyze it for unknown results. The process takes time, so it may slow your exploration - that's why it's good to have several active Science Vessels. Anomalies are almost always beneficial, but in very rare cases they will result in a negative effect like the destruction of the Science Vessel.
Military Vessels
Military ships, as you might expect, are for fighting your enemies. Each ship can be equipped with a wide variety of weapons and equipment based on which Technologies you've researched, so it's important to have the latest tech. Ships will automatically engage any enemy vessels that come within weapons range.
Colony Ships
Colony Ships don't usually stay on the map very long, as their purpose is to go from the shipyard where they were built to an uninhabited world and settle it for your empire. The ship itself is converted into a shelter when the colonists make planetfall, so each Colony Ship can only settle one planet.
Systems with habitable worlds will show a planet icon next to their name on the Galaxy Map. The color of the icon indicates how suitable a candidate for settlement the planet is:
Color | Habitability |
|---|---|
Orange |
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Green |
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Yellow |
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Red |
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To colonize a planet, it must be within your borders - that is, a Constructor must build a Starbase in the planet's system. Once that's done, click on the planet and hit the Colonize button. Select the species you'd like to settle on the planet (at first it will just be your founding species) and a Colony Ship will begin construction, automatically traveling to the planet once it's finished.
Planets
The bulk of your resources will be produced on inhabited planets. The vast majority of planets in the galaxy are entirely uninhabitable, so finding a world that your people can colonize is an opportunity that should almost always be taken.
Every planet has three main components; Districts, Buildings, and Population.
Districts
Near the top of the planet interface you'll see the available slots for Districts. Each district provides housing and jobs for the planet's populace. There are five kinds of Districts:
District | Effects |
|---|---|
City |
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Industrial |
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Generator |
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Mining |
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Agricultural |
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Districts provide basic materials at a much more efficient rate than mining stations out in space, but each planet can only support a limited number of Districts. Furthermore, some District slots must be cleared on newly-settled worlds before they can be used. Click the Features button on the planet window to see which of these Blockers can be cleared away. You may need a specific Technology to get rid of Blockers.
Buildings
Buildings provide more advanced jobs for your people than Districts, allowing you to produce key resources like Research and Unity or enhance a planet's overall effectiveness. The first Building on a planet is always the Capital, and more slots are unlocked as you develop more Technologies and construct Cities. Buildings rarely provide housing, so Cities are also necessary to house the specialists working them.
Population
Population, colloquially known as Pops in the game, represent the demographics of each planet. Each Pop can represent thousands, millions, or even billions of people. Every Pop on a planet will produce resources based on their job, and the available jobs depend on which Districts and Buildings you've constructed on the planet.
Pops who can't find a job for their social class (Workers, Specialists, and Rulers) can automatically upgrade or downgrade their social class if there is a job available there. Alternately, they might just move to a different planet if your empire's laws allow free movement. Pops with no jobs and no options may eventually create their own Criminal job, negatively affecting the planet's income.
A planet's population will increase or decrease over time based on the available Food, as well as other factors like how good a place the planet is to live compared to the other worlds in your empire.
Related: Stellaris: How To Conquer A Planet
Resources
Stellaris has a lot of resources compared to other strategy games, and each has a specific function. From left to right on the HUD, these resources are:
Energy Credits
Energy Credits, or ECs, represent your empire's ability to power their ships and infrastructure and is also used as currency. ECs are rarely spent directly except as part of certain events, and are used to pay the monthly upkeep of just about everything in the game. Try to always have a positive Energy balance!
Minerals
Raw minerals are used to construct Buildings, Districts, and space stations. They're also spent as raw materials to create refined goods like Alloys. This process is carried out automatically by Pops in the right jobs.
Food
Every organic species needs to eat, and without Food your planets' populations will decline. It's rare to have every planet in your empire be self-sufficient for Food, so in most cases you'll have a few worlds producing a large surplus which is then distributed to the other planets. Again, Food is distributed automatically without any need for management from the player.
Consumer Goods
These luxuries give your people a higher standard of living. Many jobs, especially Specialists and Rulers, require an upkeep of Consumer Goods each month to maintain production.
Alloys
Refined from Minerals or mined in small quantities from space stations, Alloys are used to build and upgrade ships and Starbases. Once built, ships require a small amount of Alloys each month for upkeep.
Influence
Influence represents your political influence across the galaxy. Think of it as foreign political power, while Unity represents domestic political power. Influence is used to expand your territory, manage your relations with other empires, and conduct espionage.
Unity
Unity represents the overall support that your people have for the government. It's spent to apply Edicts, which are persistent bonuses that require Unity each month to enforce, but its primary use is unlocking Traditions.
Traditions are like talent trees for your empire. When you have enough Unity to unlock a tradition you'll get a notification marked with a comedy and tragedy masks icon. Each Tradition tree lets you specialize your empire, and completing one unlocks an Ascension Perk. Ascension Perks are among the most powerful upgrades in Stellaris, and you'll only get a handful over the course of a game.
Research
Research is used to unlock new Technologies for your empire, granting access to new options and upgrades. Every empire has three Research Departments active simultaneously; Physics, Society, and Engineering. Each department has its own Research resource, and the departments cannot trade or share resources.
Whenever you unlock a new Technology from a department, you'll be able to select a new tech to begin researching. The available techs are semi-randomized, so even if the Technology you want is available it may not show up right away.
Purple Technologies are rare, and it's usually recommended to prioritize them if they appear. Red Technologies are rare and dangerous, potentially causing unforseen complications for your empire in the future if you research them.
Strategic Resources
These rare, highly-sought materials are necessary for advanced ships and buildings. While it's possible to find some naturally-occuring samples out in space, to produce industrial quantities you'll need to research and construct the appropriate buildings. Each Strategic Resource has a different use, so even if you don't need one they make excellent trade goods to offer somebody who does.
Now that you've got the basics, try just playing Stellaris and seeing what happens! There's much more to the game than this basic information, and an entire galaxy's worth of possibilities!
Next: Things We Wish We Knew Before Starting Stellaris
