Stellaris Guide

Explore the universe! The following, unofficial guide for the game Stellaris from Paradox Interactive contains every necessary information concerning management and growth of a galactic empire.

Last update: 14 March 2019

This unofficial guide for Stellaris - a game developed by Paradox Interactive, contains all of the information regarding management and growth of a galactic empire. Inside, you'll find starting tips, a description of basic rules and mechanisms that will help you attain supremacy in space. The guide will also explain all of the interface elements and show aspects that will help you maintain a steady pace of growth.

Stellaris is a real time strategy taking place in space, in which you can traverse gigantic, procedurally generated galaxies. The main factor discerning this title is immense freedom to do what you wish. You can play as various civilizations and/or take up different rules, e.g. strive towards elimination of all races or focus on peaceful growth that places more emphasis on diplomacy and new technologies. Stellaris' unique trait is the fact that the project is still supported by its developers, who constantly add new content or improve the game mechanisms.

Tips for novice players
I have a problem and I'm looking for answers
What large expansions does the game offer?
Achievements and trophies

Tips for novice players

Play the tutorial. Thanks to it, you'll be able to get acquainted with the interface, controls, and above others, learn how to play. Skipping the tutorial is not recommended, even if you had played similar titles. Some of the mechanics are unique and understanding them may save you from defeat.
Don't ignore the messages appearing on the screen. They may contain very important information, ignoring which can lead to an unpleasant situation (e.g. a military conflict with a neighboring civilization), or you can be left with an unexpected outcome of your actions.
Even if Stellaris is a real time strategy, it has a pause option. This is especially useful in initial stages of the game, as well as during dangerous moments where you receive a lot of messages or conduct military operations. Pause will enable you to read the messages or plan the next actions.
Remember all of the important keyboard shortcuts (if you're playing on a PC) or the control setup on a gamepad (if you're playing on a console). This will allow you to complete actions much faster, which is especially useful when dealing with a lot of micromanagement. PC controls are listed on a different page of this guide.
Avoid choosing too high difficulty level. On lower difficulty levels, AI is rather passive, but this may help you get acquainted with the basic mechanisms of the game, such as technology or military actions. You can increase the difficulty level as your knowledge of the game expands.
Don't engage in military actions during early game. At the beginning of the game, you should focus on steady growth. Declaring war with other civilizations can end up with serious repercussions. Such endeavors should be left for when you study the rules of the game and for civilizations that are focused towards aggressive expansion.
Don't be afraid to explore the space. This is a universal tip, but it is especially important during the period you get acquainted with the game. Thanks to exploring, you can study and understand a lot of events and mechanics that can appear during the game. Some of them, (e.g. researching anomalies) are risky, but you at least be able to draw some conclusions from your decisions.

More tips for Stellaris can be found in General Tips section of our guide.

I have a problem and I'm looking for answers

Our Stellaris guide broaches many subjects that may appear problematic when playing the campaign. Below, we listed the most important subjects and added links to the sections that may contain answers to your questions.

How to customize my campaign? - Visit the page Campaign Settings. During initial matches, it is recommended to start with a smaller galaxy, choosing a less amount of races which will appear in it, and setting one of the lower difficulty levels. We don't recommend activating Ironman, which blocks the ability to manual save and allow only automatic saves.
What are the most important steps to perform after beginning the game? - Visit the page How to set foundations for the empire. The recommended actions include completing the tutorial (if you are starting the game for the first time), a complete exploration of the mother system, building a mine to receive a supply of resources, performing research, and creating a starting fleet.
How to colonize the galaxy? Visit the page Seizing of systems and colonization of the planets. We recommend taking over one of the nearby galaxies. This is not a complicated process, and it will help in further growth.
How to behave when alien civilizations are encountered? Visit the chapter Diplomacy. We do not recommend declaring war to an alien civilization instantly after encountering it. This may cause unnecessary problems if you don't have the resources necessary for military action. It is recommended to establish diplomatic relations even if you are planning to attack the said civilization later.
What technologies are recommended? - Visit the page Breakthrough technologies. In Stellaris, technological growth gives a lot of freedom. Nevertheless, consider researching rare, breakthrough technologies that will allow you to perform a big technological step forward.

What large expansions does the game offer?

Up to February 2019, the game received six large expansions. If you have the possibility, we recommend to buy and install them all. This will allow you to experience a large amount of new features that had been added to the game from its release.

Leviathans - released October 2016. The add-on contains a new campaign in which you take part in the conflict between Fallen Empires. The game received a new race of Guardians, and you can visit Enclaves that allow trading of various goods.
Utopia - released April 2017. The expansion adds the ability to build Ringworlds that surround the stars and utilize their energy. Other novelties include creating space stations known as habitat and the introduction of traditions.
Synthetic Dawn - released September 2017. Introduces four new robotic factions. Aside from the above, the game introduces a new Fallen Empire - a centuries-old machine race.
Apocalypse - released February 2018. Introduces new superweapons, including gigantic Titans that can destroy whole planets. Moreover, the add-on introduces Marauders and more peaceful ways of growth.
Distant Stars - released May 2018. The expansion focuses on ancient gateways that allow the player to access the most remote areas of space. We've received new types of planets, new resources, and technologies.
MegaCorp - released December 2018. The expansion allows the player to lead the titular megacorporation which can systematically expand. The add-on also introduces slave trade, new traits, and previously unavailable trade options.

Achievements and trophies

Below we've listed all of the important data regarding achievements:

Achievements are inactive until you've activated Ironman mode. This requirement applies both to PC and console versions. Ironman mode can be chosen when beginning a new campaign (you cannot activate it in an already begun game). The setting blocks manual saving, leaving you with automatic saving only. This means that you cannot e.g. return to the previous save if you've made some mistakes and want to reload the game.
PC version offers 95 achievements, accessible through Steam client. Getting some of them may require having one of the expansions.
PS4 and XONE versions offer different sets of achievements. XONE version contains 28 achievements, while PS4 version offers 29 trophies (one of them is a Platinum trophy).
Console versions does not require Deluxe edition which contains two expansions - Leviathans and Utopia. You can get all trophies while playing a standard version of the game.