Console:Traits

Version

This article is considered accurate for the current console version (1.7) of the game.

Traits represents a species' innate biological functions, abilities and personality. A species's traits are selected at the start of a new game, but a species or certain pops of a species can adapt new traits through genetic engineering or occasionally anomalies and events. Traits affect a wide variety of areas, from population growth rate to resource output to lifespan or even how pops are viewed by other aliens. Most traits come in mutually exclusive groups that affect the same aspect of the species, such as Nomadic and Sedentary, and each pop can only have one such trait from the group at any given time. These groups include traits with opposite effects, as well as stronger variants of a trait. Players start the game with 2 trait points and are limited to 5 traits with varying costs; positive traits decrease trait points and negative traits increase trait points.

Traits can affect the a population's production capabilities, leader longevity, happiness, scientific cognitive skills, migration tendencies, physical prowess combat, and many other important factors. Though traits are initially decided at a species level, individual pops of the same species can end up with different traits with genetic modification, producing new subspecies or variants. This rarely happens without player intervention.

Traits are mostly fixed at the start of the game. Altering traits during the game is generally possible only later in the game through some select events or by using genetic engineering. Certain technologies add additional trait points that can be used to alter a part of your species' pops; modifications can range from altering their planet habitability to adding an additional positive trait or removing a negative one. This creates a special project that will cost a certain amount of Society Research points to complete; the cost/time required for the project to complete scales according to the number of alterations made and pops affected. The resulting pops are listed as a new species with the same name as the old one, but are still considered the same species for the purposes of xenophobia or citizen rights.

Standard Traits

Like Ethics, standard traits are purchased from a points pool. 2 points are available at the start of the game. Some traits are negative and have negative cost, refunding points into the pool. Each species is limited to a maximum of 5 standard traits; non-standard traits do not count against this limit.

Modifying species

The Gene Tailoring technology allows species to be modified, subject to the points limit. The points limit can be increased as follows:

• 1 point from Gene Tailoring technology.

• Unlocks the ability to add positive traits and/or remove negative traits.

• 1 point from Targeted Gene Expressions technology.

The maximum possible limit is 9 trait points.

Once the desired modifications are selected, the genetic modification can be effected by completing a special project with Society cost equal to:

$50\cdot {\text{number of pops modified}}\cdot \left(1+{\text{resulting number of standard traits}}\right)$

Positive

Type	Effects	Excludes	Cost	Description
Adaptive	+10% Habitability	Extremely Adaptive Nonadaptive Robust	2	This species is highly adaptive when it comes to foreign environments.
Extremely Adaptive	+20% Habitability	Adaptive Nonadaptive Robust	4	This species is remarkably adept at adopting to any foreign environments.
Agrarian	+15% Food		2	This species has a deep connection to the land and make expert farmers and gardeners.
Charismatic	+25 Opinion if your ruler is Charismatic	Repugnant	1	Members of this species have a special charisma and are generally considered pleasant to be around.
Communal	+5% Happiness	Solitary	1	Members of this species are highly communal and quite used to living in close proximity to others.
Conformists	+25% Governing Ethics Attraction	Deviants	2	These people always seek consensus and are more likely to conform to the governing ethics.
Enduring	+15 Years Leader Lifespan	Venerable Fleeting	1	Lifespans in this species are unusually long.
Venerable	+75 Years Leader Lifespan	Enduring Fleeting	4	This species can grow to an age that commands dignity and respect.
Conservationist	-20% Consumer Goods Cost	Wasteful	1	Members of this species believes that resources must be conserved and recycled.
Industrious	+15% Minerals		2	Members of this species are known for their diligence and hard-working nature, always going above and beyond.
Intelligent	+10% Research output	Erudite Nerve Stapled	2	This species is highly intelligent and enjoys faster technological progress.
Natural Engineers	+15% Engineering Output	Natural Physicists Natural Sociologists Nerve Stapled	1	Members of this species have a natural inclination towards engineering and the material sciences.
Natural Physicists	+15% Physics Output	Natural Engineers Natural Sociologists Nerve Stapled	1	Members of this species have a natural inclination towards theoretical physics and astral phenomena.
Natural Sociologists	+15% Society Output	Natural Engineers Natural Physicists Nerve Stapled	1	Members of this species have a natural inclination towards sociology and biological studies.
Nomadic	+50% Migration Speed -25% Resettlement Cost	Sedentary	1	This species has a nomadic past, and its members often think nothing when relocation to another world.
Quick Learners	+25% Leader Experience Gain	Slow Learners	1	Members of this species are quick to learn from experiences.
Rapid Breeders	+15% Growth Speed	Fertile Slow Breeders	1	This species reproduces at a very rapid rate, increasing population growth.
Resilient	+100% Garrison Health +50% Fortification Defensive Bonus		1	Members of this species are physiologically resilient and will fight like enraged brood mothers to defend their worlds.
Strong	+20% Army Damage +5% Minerals	Very Strong Weak	1	Members of this species possess great physical strength, making them formidable fighters on the ground.
Very Strong	+40% Army Damage +10% Minerals	Strong Weak	3	Members of this species possess a strength that almost defies the laws of physics.
Talented	+1 Leader Skill Levels		1	Members of this species are born with a natural aptitude.
Thrifty	+15% Energy Credits		2	Members of this species are instinctively economical and are always looking to make a good profit, whatever corners need cutting.

Negative

The trait Decadent can't be picked unless you are Fanatic Authoritarian, Authoritarian, Fanatic Xenophobe or Xenophobe.

Type	Effects	Excludes	Cost	Description
Decadent	-10% Happiness without Slaves		-1	This species requires slaves or servants to feel content.
Nonadaptive	-10% Habitability	Adaptive Extremely Adaptive Robust	-2	This species does not adapt well to foreign environments.
Repugnant	-25 Opinion if your Ruler is Repugnant and theirs is not -10 Opinion if both Rulers are Repugnant	Charismatic	-1	The physical appearance and customs of this species are considered offensive to most others and few appreciate them as neighbors.
Deviants	-15% Governing Ethics Attraction	Conformists	-1	These people are rebellious in nature and constantly try to challenge the status-quo.
Fleeting	-10 Years Leader Lifespan	Venerable Enduring	-1	Time is fleeting for this species. What they lack in longevity, they make up in other ways.
Sedentary	-50% Migration Speed +25% Resettlement Cost	Nomadic	-1	This species has a sedentary past, and its members are reluctant to migrate away from where they grew up.
Slow Breeders	-15% Growth Speed	Rapid Breeders Fertile	-1	This species reproduces at a slow rate, lowering population growth.
Slow Learners	-25% Leader Experience Gain	Quick Learners	-1	Members of this species are slow to learn from their experiences.
Solitary	-5% Happiness	Communal	-1	Members of this species tend to be solitary and territorial, often becoming agitated in crowded conditions.
Wasteful	+20% Consumer Goods Cost	Conservationist	-1	Members of this species seemingly have no concept of frugality and are prone to useless consumption.
Weak	-20% Army Damage -5% Minerals	Strong Very Strong	-1	Members of this species are physically weaker than average, making them poor fighters on the ground.

Uplifted

Non-sentient species have exclusive traits that cannot otherwise be chosen at race creation or when gene-modding a pop. They retain these traits after being uplifted into sentient species.

Except for Uplifted, all of these traits cost 1 trait point.

Type	Effects	Excludes	Description
Uplifted	+20% Happiness when living under the rule of the empire that uplifted them		This species was uplifted from a primitive origin, and its members are happier when living on planets belonging to their benefactor.
Conservative	+1 Leader Skill Levels -25% Leader Experience Gain:		Members of this species often prefer old wisdom over new experiences.
Earthbound	-25% Leader Experience Gain: +15% Energy Credits: +20% Army Damage: -5% Other Species Happiness	Starborn	Members of this species are very possessive of the planets they call home.
Irradiated	+100% Tomb World Habitability +30 Leader Lifespan		This species has evolved to thrive in environments subject to extremely high levels of background radiation.
Natural Intellectuals	+20% Society Output -10% Energy Credits -20% Minerals	Proles	Members of this species are more philosophically inclined than most.
Proles	+10% Minerals +5% Food -25% Physics Output -25% Engineering Output -25% Society Output +15% Governing ethics attraction	Natural Intellectuals	This species has traditionally shunned intellectual pursuits in favor of physical labor.
Starborn	-60% Migration Time -20% Minerals +25% Habitability -10% Happiness	Earthbound	This species has always, consciously or not, longed to traverse the void between the stars.

Habitability Traits

Each species also has a Habitability trait that determines their base habitability on the various types of worlds (usually that corresponding to the type of their homeworld); habitability traits can be changed through genetic modification, but a pop can never have more than one Habitability trait.

Preference	Climate	80% Habitability	60% Habitability	20% Habitability
Arid	Dry	Arid	Desert Savannah	Alpine Arctic Tundra Continental Ocean Tropical
Desert	Dry	Desert	Arid Savannah	Alpine Arctic Tundra Continental Ocean Tropical
Savannah	Dry	Savannah	Arid Desert	Alpine Arctic Tundra Continental Ocean Tropical
Alpine	Frozen	Alpine	Arctic Tundra	Arid Desert Savannah Continental Ocean Tropical
Arctic	Frozen	Arctic	Alpine Tundra	Arid Desert Savannah Continental Ocean Tropical
Tundra	Frozen	Tundra	Alpine Arctic	Arid Desert Savannah Continental Ocean Tropical
Continental	Wet	Continental	Ocean Tropical	Arid Desert Savannah Alpine Arctic Tundra
Ocean	Wet	Ocean	Continental Tropical	Arid Desert Savannah Alpine Arctic Tundra
Tropical	Wet	Tropical	Continental Ocean	Arid Desert Savannah Alpine Arctic Tundra

The following habitability traits are not available for starting races:

Preference	Main world habitability	Other worlds habitability
AI	100% AI	1% for: Arid Desert Savannah Alpine Arctic Tundra Continental Ocean Tropical
Gaia	100% Gaia
Ring World	100% Ring World
Habitat	100% Habitat
Tomb	80% Tomb	60% for: Arid Desert Savannah Alpine Arctic Tundra Continental Ocean Tropical

Robot Traits

Robot traits are unique to robot pops. Each robot pop has 2 traits: the Mechanical trait and the corresponding robot type trait.

The Mechanical trait gives robots +200% habitability on all habitable planets.

Trait	Output				Consumer goods consumption	Affected by Happiness	Affected by Radiation
	Minerals	Energy	Research	Unity
Robot	+10%	–40%	–80%	–80%
Droid	+15%	–20%	–40%	–40%
Synthetic	+20%	+20%	+20%	+0%	–25%

Game concepts