Leaders

Version

This article has been verified for the current PC version (4.0) of the game.

Leaders

Leaders

Common leader traits

Commander traits

Official traits

Scientist traits

Paragons

Employed leaders

A leader is a named character that leads a significant part of the empire, as a Commander, Official or Scientist. Leaders can also be appointed to the council in addition to and concurrent with their regular assignments. Leaders can be reassigned at any point unless their ship is missing-in-action. Gestalt Consciousness empires use nodes rather than council leaders. The name of a leader can be changed at any time by clicking on it.

Each leader has an ethic, determined by the overall ethics of its species' pops. If the empire has a fanatic ethic the starting ruler will always have that ethic. Leader ethics can affect pop ethics the following ways:

• If the leader is assigned to the council the empire will gain +10% attraction towards the leader's ethic.
• If the leader is governing a sector every planet in it that doesn't have a planet governor will gain +25% attraction towards the leader's ethic.
• If the leader is governing a planet it will gain +50% attraction towards the leader's ethic.

Leader class

Leaders are divided into 3 classes that determine their background, possible assignments, council positions, bonuses, experience sources and available traits.

If the Galactic Paragons DLC is enabled, each class can be further specialized into one of four veteran classes once the leader reaches skill level 4. If the empire is a Gestalt Consciousness, councilor veteran classes are exclusively used by gestalt nodes, are automatically assigned to the corresponding node, and have no effects.

Leader class	Effects per skill level	Veteran classes
Official The charismatic speeches of a persuasive Official will strengthen our diplomatic links. Experience gain: +12 per month when ruler +5 per month when on the council +5 per month when not idle (assigned to planet, council, or elsewhere)	Assigned planet / sector: −2% Empire size from pops (−1%) +2% Basic resources from jobs (+1%) +2% Advanced resources from jobs (+1%) +2% Strategic resources from jobs (+1%) Assigned to home planet: +200 Amenities Assigned to Galactic Community: +10% Diplomatic weight Assigned to Federation: +1 Monthly cohesion	Industrialist	Assigned planet / sector: +5% Specialist output (+2.5%) −10% Pop amenities usage (−5%)
		Delegate	Assigned to Galactic Community: +5% Diplomatic weight Assigned to Federation: +0.5 Monthly cohesion
		Advisor	Assigned to council: −5% Pop upkeep +5% Trade value
		Ambassador	Assigned to council: +5% Trust growth
Scientist The mysteries and paradoxes of the universe beckons the inquiring mind of a brilliant Scientist. Experience gain: +12 per month when ruler +5 per month when on the council +5 per month when not idle (assigned to planet, council, or elsewhere) +0.1 per day when assisting cloaking detection +0.1 per day when doing active reconnaissance +10 per celestial object surveyed +50 per researched anomaly +75 per archaeology site chapter +100 per completed special project	Assigned planet / sector: −2% Empire size from pops (−1%) +2% Research from jobs (+1%) −2% Devastation from storms (−1%) Assigned to home planet: −1% Upkeep from jobs Assigned science ship: +10% Survey speed +1 Archaeology skill +1 Astral rift skill +10% Fauna capture chance	Analyst	Assigned planet / sector: +10% Research from Jobs (+5%)
		Explorer	Assigned science ship: +1 Sensor Range +10% Survey Speed +10% Anomaly Discovery Chance
		Scholar	Assigned science ship: +10% Anomaly Research Speed +10% Archaeology Excavation Speed +10% Astral Rift Exploration Speed
		Statistician	Assigned to council: +5% Research Speed
Commander The stoic presence of a decisive Commander steels the nerves of our troops and bolsters our fleets. Experience gain: +12 per month when ruler +5 per month when on the council +5 per month when not idle (assigned to planet, council, or elsewhere) +5 per completed space battle +0.05 per ship destroyed on either side +0.025 per ship disengaged on either side +100 per completed ground battle +0.25 per army destroyed on either side +0.05 per day when suppressing piracy	Assigned planet / sector: −2% Empire size from pops (−1%) +2% Slave output (+1%) +2% Worker output (+1%) −2% Specialist output (−1%) −2% Elite output (−1%) −1 Crime (−0.5) +100 Soldier jobs (+50) Assigned to home planet: +0.5 Stability Assigned fleet: +3% Ship fire rate +0.2 Disengagement opportunities Assigned armies: +5% Army damage	Commissioner	Assigned planet / sector: +1 Stability from Soldier jobs (+0.5)
		Admiral	Assigned fleet: +5% Ship weapons damage +5% Ship fire rate +5% Combat disengagement chance
		General	Assigned fleet: +5% Damage against starbases +5% Orbital bombardment damage Assigned armies: +5% Army damage
		Strategist	Assigned to council: +10% Military ships build speed

Leader pool

New leaders are generally gained by recruiting them from the leader pool, which is replenished every 5 years. The leader pool starts with 3 leaders from each class, and the amount can be increased by various factors such as civics, traditions or ascension perks. A leader can be recruited from the pool at the following cost of Unity:

Level	I	II	III	IV	V	VI	VII	VIII	IX	X
Recruitment Cost	100	170	350	625	1000	1475	2050	2725	3500	4500

Leaders cost a monthly upkeep of 2 Unity per level. Leader upkeep is modified by the following:

Leader upkeep (empire)0
Source	Effect
Psychological Profiling tradition	−25%
Oppressive Autocracy civic	−20%
Endless Upgrades luminary trait	−25%
Wise Mentor III luminary trait	−25%
Kinship tradition (if or )	−20%
Synchronized Agents tradition	−20%
Wise Mentor II luminary trait	−15%
Data-Driven Logic Loops tradition	−15%
Wise Mentor I luminary trait	−10%
Master Bureaucrat councilor trait	−5%
Integrated Hive authority	+5%
Volitional Hive authority	+5%
Elitist luminary trait	+30%
Profit Maximization Engines	+50%
Selected Lineages leader enhancement policy	+50%
Capacity Boosters leader enhancement policy	+100%

Leader upkeep (species)0
Source	Effect
Enhanced Memory robot trait	−25%
Enhanced Memory cyborg trait	−25%
Elevated Synapses trait	−25%
Talented trait	−10%
Erudite trait	−10%
Learning Algorithms cyborg trait	−10%
Neural Limiters cyborg trait	+10%

Leader upkeep (own trait)0
Source	Effect
Adventurous Spirit II leader trait	−25%
Adventurous Spirit I leader trait	−10%
Limited Cyborg leader trait	−10%
Eagerness II leader trait	−10%
Eagerness I leader trait	−5%

Leaders can only be of species with Full Citizenship rights. The chance of getting a leader of a particular species is equal to the proportion of that species in the empire's eligible population.

Once recruited, leaders can be freely and instantly assigned to different posts with no cooldown (for example, moving a governor from one planet to another sector).

Leaders may be dismissed at any time, unless they are the empire ruler. Dismissal is irreversible.

External leader pool

The external leader pool is separated from the leader pool and allows recruiting leaders from other empires' species. It requires the empires to have a Migration Treaty, be in the same Federation or one empire to be a subject of the other. If either empire is Gestalt Consciousness they must also have the same authority.

Leader capacity

Each empire can support a limited number of leaders from each class, starting at 3 per class for most empires. Legendary Paragons and leaders with the Eager trait below skill level 4 are not counted towards the capacity.

Leader capacity (all classes)0
Source	Effect
Heroic Past civic	+1
Precision Cogs civic	+1
Pooled Knowledge civic	+1
Factory Overclocking civic	+1
Colonial Centralization technology	+1
The Collective Self technology Embodied Dynamism technology	+1
Volitional Hive authority	+1
Aptitude tradition tree finished	+1
Prototype VIR Core relic	+1
Chosen of the Composer ruler trait	+1
Wise Mentor luminary trait	+1
Endless Upgrades luminary trait	+1
Rise to the Occasion tradition	+0.5 per rival

Leader capacity ( Commander)0
Source	Effect
Eternal Vigilance	+1
Galactic Force Projection	+1
War Games tradition	+1
Oppressive Autocracy civic	+1
Bulwark tier 2 (subject)	+1

Leader capacity ( Official)0
Source	Effect
Imperial Prerogative	+2
Universal Transactions	+1
Colonial Viceroys tradition	+1
Diplomacy traditions finished	+1
Prospectorium tier 2 (subject)	+1

Leader capacity ( Scientist)0
Source	Effect
Transcendent Learning	+2
Archaeo-Engineers	+1
Science Division tradition	+1
Scholarium tier 2 (subject)	+1

Exceeding the leader cap gives every leader of that class an upkeep and leader experience gain penalty:

• Leader experience gain is reduced to (0.85)^(number of leaders over the cap); this penalty is applied multiplicatively.
• Upkeep is equal to how much the empire is over the leader cap as a percentage. For example if the commander cap is 4 and the empire has 6 commanders the upkeep is increased by +50%, while with 8 commanders it is increased by +100%.

Skill level

Skill level determines the effectiveness of leaders, their leader classes, their council positions, and some trait effects. Leaders can get new trais, either positive or negative, when they get new level and tend to get traits related to their current assignment. Lowest possible skill level is skill level 1, while maximal skill level is skill level 10.

Most leaders start will skill level 1, with a random chance to start with up to 2 skill levels higher. Additionally, the following modifiers will increase the initial skill level:

Starting skill level (all classes)0
Source	Effect
Imperial Feedback authority	+2
Capacity Boosters policy	+2
Selected Lineages policy	+1
Memory Vaults Vaults of Knowledge Knowledge Mentorship Neural Vaults Experience Cache civic	+1

Starting skill level ( Commander)0
Source	Effect
Distinguished Admiralty civic	+2
Warbots Warbots Warbots (individualist) civic	+2
Strength of Legions civic	+2
Private Military Companies civic	+1
Martial Alliance Level 3	+1
War Games tradition	+1
Bulwark tier 2 (subject)	+1

Starting skill level ( Official)0
Source	Effect
Colonial Viceroys tradition	+1
Prospectorium tier 2 (subject)	+1

Starting skill level ( Scientist)0
Source	Effect
Science Division tradition	+1
Scholarium tier 2 (subject)	+1

Effective Skill

Effective skill increases the effectiveness of leaders in their council positions, causing councillors to provide greater bonuses than their base level. The following modifiers affect effective councillor skill:

Leader effective councillor skill (empire)0
Source	Effect
Oligarchic authority	+2
Replicating Regency authority	+2
Bio-Magnates authority	+2
Virtual Leader Focus policy	+2
Departmental Efficiency agenda	+2
Shadow Council civic	+1
Memory Vaults Vaults of Knowledge Knowledge Mentorship Neural Vaults Experience Cache civic	+1
Shared Benefits tradition	+1
Virtual Research Focus policy	−1
Virtual Unity Focus policy	−1

Negative traits

During their service each leader can get negative trait that may reduce their effectiveness in many different ways. Leaders have a limit of maximum 4 negative traits at base, but this number can be modified by certain factors.

Leader maximum negative traits (empire)0
Source	Effect
One Mind civic	−1
Healthcare Program tradition	−1
Mind and Body Cloned Organs Self-Preservation Protocols tradition	−1

Leader maximum negative traits (species)0
Source	Effect
Talented trait	−1
Erudite trait	−1
Elevated Synapses trait	−1
Enhanced Memory robot trait	−1
Enhanced Memory cyborg trait	−1
Learning Algorithms cyborg trait	−1
Inquisitive Axioms robot trait	−1
Jinxed trait	+1
Neural Limiters cyborg trait	+1

Leader maximum negative traits (own trait)0
Source	Effect
Emotional Support Pet leader trait	−1
Robotic Surrogate leader trait	−1
Fallible I leader trait	+1
Fallible II leader trait	+3

Lifespan

Each leader has an age in years and has a base guaranteed lifespan of 80 years, which can be increased or decreased various factors, particularly the traits for both species and leaders. Hovering over a leader's age will show the leader's guaranteed lifespan and current chance to die each month. Leaders appear in the leader pool with the following ages:

• 25–45 years by default
• 1–10 years if Mechanical
• 5–10 years if Machine
• 10–20 years if Hive Mind
• 5–20 years if Clone Army origin
• 27–38 years if species is Lithoid, regardless of authority or origin

After passing their guaranteed lifespan, leaders have a chance of dying every month. The probability is 0.2% per year that has passed since their guaranteed lifespan. After 20 years past their guaranteed lifespan, this increases to 2% per year.

Leaders from species with the Eternal Machine or Virtual traits will never die of old age.

Leaders can also be killed the following ways:

• Leaders governing a planet can be killed by events if the planet has the Mob Rule planet modifier.
• Commanders have a 10% chance to die when a ship of the largest size in the fleet is destroyed and a 2% divided by number of units chance to die each time they lose an army.
• Scientists can be killed by bad outcomes of Archaeology Sites (about 2.9% chance, depending on the site).

The following modifiers affect leader lifespan:

Leader lifespan (empire)0
Source	Effect
Ethernal Throne relic	Immortal
Zro Additives edict	+30
Subsidized Identity Backups	+20
Javorian Pox Sample relic	+20
Capacity Boosters Leader Enhancement policy	+20
Composer of Strands covenant (50 favor)	+20
Ageless empire modifier	+15
Pharma State civic	+10
Mind and Body tradition	+10
Time Crystal relic	+10
Selected Lineages Leader Enhancement policy	+10
Vitality Boosters technology	+10
Neural Tissue Engineering technology	+10
Inoculated Population empire modifier	+10
Composer of Strands covenant	+10

Leader lifespan (species)0
Source	Effect
Eternal Machine trait	Immortal
Virtual trait	Immortal
Venerable trait	+80
Necrophage trait	+80
Lithoid trait	+50
Exotic Metabolism trait	+50
Robust trait	+50
Cybernetic trait	+40
Irradiated trait	+30
Perfected Genes trait	+25
Machine trait	+20
Enduring trait	+20
Survivor trait	+10
Limited Regeneration trait	+10
Fleeting trait	−10
Not of this World trait	−10
Basic overtuned traits (each)	−10
Fleeting Excellence trait	−20
Advanced overtuned traits (each)	−30
Clone Soldier trait	−40

Leader lifespan (own trait)0
Source	Effect
Virtual leader trait	Immortal
Chosen leader trait Chosen One Chosen of the Composer Chosen of the Eater Chosen of the Instrument Chosen of the Whisperers	Immortal
Chronfuge leader trait	Immortal
Rift Warped leader trait	+50
Increased Lifespan leader trait	+40
Ancestral Inheritance leader trait	+25
Luminary leader trait	+40
Luminary Bloodline leader trait	+20
Resilience II leader trait	+20
Nebulous Past paragon trait	+10
Resilience I leader trait	+10
Emotional Support Pet leader trait	+10
Storm Rider leader trait	−10
Melancholic I leader trait	−10
Substance Abuser I leader trait	−10
Melancholic II leader trait	−20
Substance Abuser II leader trait	−30
Maimed leader trait	−40

Whenever any leader dies with the Imperial Feedback authority, all leaders will gain 1 month of base research per leader level as stored research, with the research type depending on the leader (see Government page).

Funeral

When a leader that has been present for at least 2 years and reached at least level 4 dies, there is a chance to have a funeral which gives the empire a modifier for 5 years. The chance increases with the leader's accomplishments and is guaranteed for the empire ruler, while a Luminary leader cannot have a funeral. Empires have the following funeral options:

Funeral	Modifier	Cost	Requirements
A private procession will suffice.	+5% Monthly unity −2.5% Happiness	0	Individualist
Let the masses mourn.	+10% Monthly unity +5% Happiness	400–8000	Individualist
They deserve nothing of the sort.	+15% Faction unity gain +5% Happiness	0	Individualist Leader had 3 negative traits
Their story does not have to end here...	+15% terraforming speed +10% Pop growth speed	0	Individualist Fungoid or Plantoid founder species
Donate the body to science.	+5% Researcher output +15% Monthly physics research	0	Materialist Machine leader
A small commemoration will suffice.	+15% Monthly unity +5 Stability	0	Egalitarian
Chant for their soul.	+15% Monthly unity −15% Consumer goods upkeep	0	Spiritualist
Erect an appropriate memorial.	+5% Monthly unity +5% Worker pop resource output	200–4000	Authoritarian
Keep it traditional.	+15% Monthly unity +5 Stability	100–2000	Xenophobe
Launch the deceased into space.	+10% Monthly society research +20% Survey speed	100–2000	Xenophile
Plan a grand parade. Now.	+5% Monthly unity +15% Military ship build speed	200–4000	Militarist
Set up a foundation in their name.	+10% Monthly society research +10% Pacifist ethics attraction	200–4000	Pacifist
Name a landmark in their honor.	+5% Energy credits from jobs +15% Trade value	200–4000	Corporate
We will endure.	+1 Leader pool size +25% Leader experience gain	0	Hive Mind
Death is no longer an obstacle.	+1 Encryption +10% Ship fire rate	0	Machine Intelligence Cybernetic leader
The Emperor/Empress wishes to consume the Honored one.	25% Chance current agenda gains 50% progress 25% Chance ruler loses all negative traits 25% Chance ruler gains a positive trait (won't go above 20 traits including levels) 25% Chance ruler becomes younger (won't go below 30 years)	0	Deathless Dynasty Machine leader

Clone leaders

If an empire has either the Biochemical Composure tradition or a Cloning authority, current organic leaders who aren't clones will gain the Backup Clone trait and new leaders have a 25% chance to receive the trait as well. When a leader with the trait dies, they will be replaced by an identical leader with the age of 2-5 years and the trait will be replaced by the Clone Leader trait. Nodes cannot be cloned.

If the empire has both the Biochemical Composure tradition and a Cloning authority, clones have a 33% chance every 3-5 years to gain the Backup Clone trait but the penalties of the Clone Leader trait will stack up to three times.

References

Game concepts