Economy

Version

This article is considered accurate for the current version (2.2) of the game.

A gas giant with four units of research resources and one unit of the very rare Zro aerosol.

In Stellaris, the economy is based on the production and consumption of resources and services either from a specific planet or throughout the empire. It relies on heavily on Pops working on different Jobs, or mining stations built over various celestial bodies.

Resources can vary from fairly common food crops to very rare substances such as dark matter and from physical minerals to "produced" knowledge, such as engineering research.

In that way, resources are very important and ought to be quickly scouted, exploited, and developed.

There are three kinds of resources: Material, Abstract and Strategic.

All material resources and strategic resources (except Trade Value) must be stocked. All empires have a 15000 basic stock capacity for each kind of them, and can build Resource Silos building on planet and starbase to expand it. Any produced resources cannot be stocked will be wasted.

In terms of relative value, for organic Empires without any modifiers, 1 Energy = 2/3 Food = 1 Minerals = 0.5 Consumer Goods = 0.25 Alloys = 0.4 Physics + 0.4 Society + 0.4 Engineering, while Exotic Gases = Rare Crystals = Volatile Motes = 8.5 Energy when refined from Minerals.

Material Resources

Material resources are the most important type as they provide the means to expand both geographically, developmentally and technologically. They are gathered and stockpiled on a monthly basis, but not necessarily on the same day. While they all have a stockpile, how that stockpile and the excess is used varies fundamentally between each resource.

Basic

Energy credits

Energy credits is an energy backed currency accepted by all space-faring races, and acts as the market's currency and "food" for robotic pops.

All empires can use Energy Credits to purchase other material and strategic resources from Internal Market or Galactical Market. If Slave Market is available, it can also be used to purchase slaves.( Megacorp DLC required)

Other than trade, they are mainly used for recurring expenses such as maintenance of buildings, ships, spaceport modules, stations and food replacement for Robots. Energy credits are also expended as lump-sum payments for other various tasks, such as recruiting leaders, clearing tile blockers, initiating terraforming (a significant investment, with the cheapest process costing 2000 energy), and building robots.

Finally, they can also act as a bargaining chip in trade deals with other empires.

They can be acquired by building mining stations around celestial bodies with energy deposits, sell other resources or slaves in internal or galactic market, building solar panel modules in a starbase and by constructing generator districts on colonized worlds. Non-Gestalt Consciousness empires can utilize Trade Value to produce extra energy credits.

Unlike other resources, an empire can stockpile up to 50000 energy credits by default.

Minerals

Minerals is a collective term for the basic resources an empire needs to construct stations and planetary buildings. They're also consumed by various jobs as materials.

They, like energy credits, can be obtained by building mining stations around celestial bodies with mineral deposits, or building Mining districts and Mineral Purification buildings on habitable planets. It is also possible to obtain Minerals by building Nebula Refineries on Starbases, as long as the Starbase is located within a Nebula. Nebula Refineries produce +6 Minerals and there can only be one such building on each Starbase.

Each Mining District produces 2 Miner Jobs while each Mineral Purification building produces 1 Miner Job. Every Miner job produces +4 Minerals by default but the yield can be increased by building Mineral Purification buildings on the planet. A Mineral Purification building will increased the Resource Output of Miner jobs on the planet by +15% or +25%, depending on level. The Mineral yield can also be increased via the Mining Guilds Civic, which will increase the amount of Minerals produced by Miner Jobs by +1 Minerals.

The primary purpose of Minerals is to function as the raw material for Space and Planetary Construction. Significant lump sum expenses are applied to these projects upon queuing them up, which will then take some time to complete. Here it acts as the primary limiter on expansion and planet development.

Minerals are arguably one of the most vital resources in the game as they used to manufacture many advanced resources, such like Consumer Goods and Alloys. Consumer Goods are needed for things such like upholding Living Standards and producing Amenities (which are both vital for ensuring internal stability and economic output) as well as for Research. Alloys on the other hand are needed for all Space-based construction, including but not limited to; Ships, Starbases Mining Stations and the like.

Minerals can also act as a bargaining chip in trade deals with other empires and can be bought from other empires if needed.

It is often important to have a sizable storage and output, in order to better deal with urgent situations and be able to survive production sites being lost or cut off. Minerals production should be pretty much maximized at all times, unless there is an energy shortage or the empire has passed the point of saturation and cannot put minerals to use faster.

Food

Food represents the various nutrients requires to sustain and grow organic pops. Empire food rationing and distribution can be managed via the empire policies, evaluating food spending against pop growth and happiness.

Each planet grows its own food which is then added to an empire-wide stockpile that feeds the whole empire, with every planet exporting and importing food according to production and consumption. Surplus food does not increase population growth directly, but 1000 food can be spent on a planetary decision to boost local population growth by 25%. An empire-wide food shortage leads to starvation, which decreases happiness by 25% and pop growth by 75%, although existing pops will not die. Food is only used by organic pops; machine pops use Energy Credits as a replacement.

Food can be produced by constructing orbital hydroponic farms on starbases or by creating farming jobs via building Agricultural districts, Hydroponic Farms and Food processors on the surface of a planet. Each Hydroponics Bay building on a starbase produces 3 food while each farmer job in an agricultural district, hydroponic farm or food processing building produces 6 food. The yield can be increased by building food processors; these buildings provide farmer jobs and will also increase the food output of all farmer jobs on the planet by either 15% or 25%, depending on level. Food output is also affected by productivity modifiers such like stability, technology (both regular and repeatable).

Every Agricultural district generates 2farmer jobs (3 for Hive Mind) while every Food processor building generates 1-2farmer jobs, depending on level. Each starbase can only support one Hydroponics Bay building. Every planet can support a certain amount of agricultural districts, with the amount varying depending on the size of the planet and any planetary features. If one wants to increase a planet's food production beyond that, the empire can do so by building Hydroponics farms, with each one taking up a building slot and provide 2farmer jobs, making the amount limited by building slots. As for Food Processor buildings; every planet can only support one such building.

An empire can also obtain food by extracting it from pops, which is done by either enslaving the species and setting the slavery policy to "Livestock" or by purging the species and setting the purge policy to "Forced Labor" or "Processing". Livestock yields 4 food per pop every month, although the pops in question will still consume 1 food per month. While Forced Labor and Processing purges yield 3 and 6 food per pop every month without any upkeep until the pops are killed. In the case of Livestock and Processing, the yield can be increased by Gene-modding the targeted species to have the Delicious trait as it increases the food obtained from each pop by +2.

Food is one of the cheapest market resources, rated at 1 Energy per unit without fees.

Advanced

Consumer goods

Consumer goods is an advanced resources that represents the various gadgets, luxuries and goods necessary to give your pops a good life and to perform intellectual jobs such as research. Only non- Gestalt consciousness (except Rogue Servitor) empires have access to Consumer Goods.

The base amount of goods a pop requires per month depends on the living standards set for that particular species, and their current strata. Robot's consumer goods consumption depends on AI Rights Policy, Species right and Technology Level.

Some modifiers changes the need of consumer goods, such as ethics, traits, planet modifiers and whether the empire is engaged in a defensive war. Regardless of what sum present modifiers give, the lowest possible consumer goods cost that an empire can have is capped at –90% Consumer Goods Cost.

Consumer goods are also used as the upkeep of several advanced jobs such as Researcher and Culture Worker. Gestalt Consciousness empires do not use Consumer goods, and their equivalent job uses basic resources (mostly Minerals) instead.

Consumer Goods can be manufactured at Civilian Industries buildings and Industrial Arcology districts. They can also be earned from Trade Value.

Alloys

Alloys are advanced resources with a military application, which an empire need to construct Ships and Starbases.

Alloys is used for constructing Starbases, Spacefaring Ships and various Megastrustures, and constantly drained as maintenance cost of ships. Since they're essential for an empire to survive and expand, keep a large stockage and steady production is strongly advised.

Alloys can be manufactured from Alloy Foundry buildings. It can also be found on celestial bodies but it's quite rare.

Ecumenopolis is the best place to manufacture Alloys since its Foundry Arcology districts provides lots of metallurgist/Fabricator/Foundry Drone Jobs.

Trade Value

Main article: Trade

Trade Value represents Civilian day-to-day economic activity. Only non- Gestalt consciousness empires have access to Trade Value.

Starbase collect Trade Value and convert it into other resources such as Energy credits if connected to your capital planet through a Trade Route. Trade value that is collected by your capital Starbase does not need a Trade Route to generate Resources. Trade value and Amenities are not technically Resources, and thus are not increased by traits or living standards which give bonuses to Resources from jobs.

Abstract Resources

Influence

Influence represents the political and diplomatic clout of the empire's leaders (or the processing power of Gestalt Consciousness's nexus or core AI), and acts as a limiter of an empire's internal and external affairs. It is used for constructing starbases to claim ownership of new systems, claim other empire's systems, enacting many edicts, incorporate vassals, changing and reforming government types and maintaining diplomatic pacts. Depending on a players' governing ethics and government type, it is also possible to use it to influence elections.

It's much harder to earn extra influence than other basic resources. More influence can be obtained by keeping factions happy, finishing events or anomalies or winning wars using the "Humiliate" and "Stop Atrocity" war goals. Some modifiers also allows empire to use influence more efficiently by reducing the influence cost of some actions.

A normal empire produces a base of 3 influence a month, can store only 1000 and the storage amount cannot be increased. The amount can be increased by the following:

• Protectorates add +0.25 each
• Rivals add +0.5 each
• Authoritarian ethic adds +0.5
• Fanatic Authoritarian ethic adds +1
• Gestalt Consciousness ethic adds +1
• Autonomous Agents technology adds +1
• Finishing the Domination tradition tree adds +1
• Deep Connections Ruler trait adds +1
• Psionic Ruler trait adds +0.5
• Chosen One Ruler trait adds +1
• Will to Power ambition adds +5
• Covenant: End of the Cycle adds +5
• Faction suppression adds -1
• Faction promotion adds -2

Unity

Unity is a resource used to acquire traditions and activate Ambition edicts. Every empire has a base gain of +1 Unity. Additional unity is generated by buildings, in particular the Planetary Capital building. Research and traditions can add a number of unity generation buildings. Civics, ethics and certain Traits can also affect unity gain rather drastically. Democratic governments can get extra unity by fulfilling their ruler's mandate.

Unity can be stockpiled, although it will stop accumulating at 2 million.

Research

Research is used to acquire new technologies in the Physics, Society, and Engineering departments. It is also spent on some special projects.

It can be acquired by building research stations and by constructing and upgrading science labs on the surface of planets and moons. It, like influence, is produced on an empire basis.

Stored research works totally differently from other stored resources. Storage can only be acquired from any time spent not working on either an active research topic or by finishing special projects, including salvage operations. The moment active research does take place, stored research is used to speed up the progress. For every point of research income, an additional point from the storage is used to effectively double the speed. As such research tends towards 0 storage eventually, while still allowing lump sums to be gained and stored.

Research points gained from anomaly investigation and from salvaging debris are added to the stored research pool; research points are not added to the stored research pool when conducting special projects such as debris salvage or genetic modification.

	Population	Governance	Planet	Technology
+25%	"Pleased" modifier	"Precursor Data Cache" modifier	—	—
+20%	Erudite Synthetic	—	Research Assistance (improved) Magnetic Miracle Spirit of Science	—
+15%	—	"Curator Insight" modifier	—	—
+10%	Intelligent Logic engines Psionic Living standards – Academic privilege	Analytical Intellectual	Research Assistance Uncertain History Observatory	—
+5%	Latent psionic	—	—	—
–10%	Labor Camps Ghost Signal	"AIs Patched" modifier	—	—
–20%	AI – Servitude "Stellar Culture Shock (early space age)" modifier "War Protester" modifier "Withdrawal Symptoms" modifier	—	—	—
–25%	Serviles "Enraged" modifier Ghost Signal (2) Ghost Signal (machine 4)	—	—	—
–40%	Droid AI – Outlawed Ghost Signal (3) Ghost Signal (machine 5) "Stellar Culture Shock (atomic age)" modifier	—	—	—
–50%	Battle Thralls	—	—	—
–55%	Ghost Signal (4)	—	—	—
–60%	Living standards – Chemical Bliss "Stellar Culture Shock (machine age)" modifier	—	—	—
–70%	Ghost Signal (5)	—	—	—
–75%	Nerve Stapled Chattel Slavery Domestic Servitude	—	—	—
–80%	Robot "Stellar Culture Shock (industrial age)" modifier	—	—	—
–100%	"Stellar Culture Shock" modifier	—	—	—

Strategic Resources

Strategic resources are rare resources required to both build and maintain advanced buildings and ship components. They are valued far more than the common basic resources. Natural strategic resource deposits are always visible but requires specific technology to exploit.

Resource	Uses	Required tech	Source	Description
Exotic Gases	Advanced Plasma weapon components Advanced Shield components Exotic Gases as Fuel edict Exotic Gases for Shield Boost edict Terraforming Gasses edict Building Cost and Maintenance Cyto-Revitalization Center Hall of Judgement Energy Nexus Advanced research buildings Hyper-Entertainment Forums Executive Retreat Organic Paradise	Exotic Gas Extraction	Gas Giant deposits Toxic World deposits Wet planet features XuraCorp Trader Enclave deal	Rare and exotic gases with a variety of uses, particularly in the operation of advanced energy-based weaponry and force fields. Some of the gases can also be used as starship fuel or even as recreational drugs. (exotic_gases)
Rare Crystals	Advanced Laser weapon components Advanced Hull components Crystalline Sensors edict Focusing Crystals edict Building Cost and Maintenance Advanced consumer goods buildings Commerce Megaplexes Advanced housing buildings Advanced unity buildings Xeno-Outreach Agency	Rare Crystal Mining	Ice Asteroid deposits Frozen World deposits Cold planet features Muutagan Merchant Guild Trader Enclave deal	These crystals have properties that make them extremely effective at focusing laser beams, and they are also a critical component in most advanced electronics. In addition, many cultures treasure them as decorations and adornments.
Volatile Motes	Advanced Kinetic weapon components Advanced Missile weapon components Volatile Ammunition edict Volatile Explosives edict Volatile Reactive Armor edict Volatile Land Clearance edict Building Cost and Maintenance Food Processing Centers Mineral Purification Hubs Advanced alloys buildings Fortress	Mote Stabilization	Asteroid deposits Molten World deposits Dry planet features Riggan Commerce Exchange Trader Enclave deal	These preternatural particles contain a tremendous amount of energy which could be exploited in energy production, as fuel or even as explosives. (volatile_motes)
Zro	Psionic Shields component	Zro Distillation	Gas Giant anomalies Toxic World deposits	An extremely rare aerosol of exotic particles. It has been deposited on a number of worlds through meteor impacts, but its true origin is a mystery. If ingested by psionically-gifted individuals, zro acts as a very potent (and addictive) drug that enhances PSI abilities. (sr_zro)
Dark Matter	Dark Matter Deflectors component Dark Matter Reactor component Dark Matter Thrusters component	Dark Matter Drawing	Black Hole deposits	This exotic substance has many properties that seemingly defy several natural laws. Harvestable concentrations can only be found near Black Holes or in certain nebulas.
Living Metal	Living Metal Mega-Construction edict	Living Metal	Anomaly deposits Destroyed Contingency Sterilization Hubs Sold rarely by the Racket Industrial Enterprise caravan	This inorganic metal shows characteristics usually seen only in biological life forms. It will always attempt to regenerate back into the shape it was stabilized into. (sr_living_metal)
Nanites	Nanite Actuators edict Nanite Repair System component Nanite Transmuter building upkeep		L-Cluster celestial bodies	Simple but powerful nanoacutators, allowing for complex manipulations and experiments of macroscopic scales.

Shortages

A resource shortage occurs when an empire's storage for a certain resource is 0. Resource shortages should be avoided at all costs as the negative effects they bring are massive:

Energy shortage	Minerals shortage	Food shortage	Alloys shortage	Consumer Goods shortage	Influence shortage	Exotic Gases shortage	Rare Crystals shortage	Volatile Motes shortage
-50% Minerals Output -75% Army Damage -75% Shield Hit Points -75% Weapons Damage	-50% Alloys Output -50% Consumer Goods Output -75% Robot Build Speed	-25% Organic Pop Happiness -75% Pop Growth Speed	-75% Ship Armor -75% Fire Rate	-25% Pop Happiness -50% Research Output -50% Unity Output	-20% Pop Happiness	-25% Resource Output	-25% Resource Output	-25% Resource Output

References

Game concepts