Planetary features

Version

This article may contain outdated information that is inaccurate for the current version of the game. It was last updated for 2.3.

This article is for the PC version of Stellaris only.

Celestial body

Planetary features represent notable areas on planets. They determine the number of Districts the planet can support and can provide various bonuses to planets. Megastructures, Ringworlds and Ecumenopolis, Hive and Machine worlds do not have planetary features, being able to support as many districts as the planet size but not able to mine Strategic Resources or receive bonuses from special features.

Deposit features[edit]

These planetary features determine the number of District and Districts and Strategic Resource buildings the planet can support. Gaia planets are more likely to have features that unlock Strategic Resource buildings or grant a higher number of Districts.

	Agriculture Districts	Generator Districts	Mining Districts	Crystal Mines	Gas Extraction Wells	Mote Harvesting Traps	Betharian Power Plant	Alien Zoo
+1	Boggy Fens Bountiful Plains Fair Tundra Green Hills Lichen Fields Nutritious Mudlands Rugged Woods	Arid Highlands Hot Springs	Mineral Fields Ore-Veined Cliffs	Crystalline Caverns	Bubbling Swamp	Dust Caverns	Betharian Fields	Isolated Valley
+2	Fertile Lands Fungal Caves Great River Lush Jungle	Frozen Gas Lake Rushing Waterfall Searing Desert	Prosperous Mesa Ore-Rich Caverns	Crystal Forest Crystal Reef	Fuming Bog	Dust Desert
+3	Black Soil Fungal Forest Marvelous Oasis Teeming Reef Tropical Island	Geothermal Vents Tempestuous Mountain Underwater Vents	Rich Mountain Submerged Ore Veins

Habitat features[edit]

These planetary features are added on habitats when built orbiting the appropriate resource deposits.

Feature	Effects	Description
Exotic Gas Deposit	+1 to +5 Max Gas Extraction Wells	This habitat is built near an exploitable exotic gas deposit.
Rare Crystal Deposit	+1 to +5 Max Crystal Mines	This habitat is built near an exploitable rare crystal deposit.
Volatile Mote Deposit	+1 to +5 Max Mote Harvesting Traps	This habitat is built near an exploitable volatile mote deposit.
Alloy Deposit	+1 to +5 Alloys	This habitat is built near an exploitable source of alloys.
Zro Deposit	+1 to +3 Zro	This habitat is built near an exploitable zro deposit.
Dark Matter Deposit	+1 to +3 Dark Matter	This habitat is built near an exploitable dark matter deposit.
Living Metal Deposit	+1 Living Metal	This habitat is built near an exploitable living metal deposit.

Anomaly features[edit]

These planetary features can be added by random anomalies on habitable planets.

Feature	Effects	Description
Abandoned Primitive Homesteads	+10% Society from Jobs +2 Max Agriculture Districts	These abandoned homesteads were once inhabited by a society of reptiles. They still populate the planet, but have since lost all capacity for sapient thought.
Ancient Mining Site	+5 Max Mining Districts	The site of an ancient mining operation. Despite its age, much of the equipment can still be operated.
Ancient One	+4 Society Research	An ancient being, living deep beneath the waves, is the dominating life force on this planet.
Flooded Mounds	+20% Society from Jobs +2 Researcher Jobs	The soil in this valley is extremely fertile, and it is covered in intense greenery.
Harvester Fields	+6 Max Agriculture Districts	Vast fields of dense, edible vegetation where ancient solar-powered harvesters assist in gathering crops.
Hyperfertile Valley	+5 Max Agriculture Districts	The soil in this valley is extremely fertile, and it is covered in intense greenery.
Savage Wildlands	+10% Society from Jobs +1 Researcher Jobs	These indigenous creatures who inhabit this region appear to operate as a single organism.
Toy Factory Complex	+10% Society from Jobs +20% Engineering from Jobs +2 Researcher Jobs	Complex machinery ceaselessly molds complex polymers into small items of varying shapes and inscrutable purposes.
Wetware Computer	+20% Engineering from Jobs +2 Researcher Jobs	The oceans on this world are almost completely covered in a fine network of algae that appear to be a primitive wetware computer.
Zone A	+3 Unity +10% Physics from Jobs +2 Researcher Jobs	A thirteen-by-thirteen kilometer stretch of land on this planet is a ruin of unknown origin, littered with many bizarre and unique alien artifacts. Bafflingly, it also produces sensations of deep contentment in its visitors.

Event features[edit]

These planetary features are added by certain events.

Feature	Event	Effects	Description
Migrating Forests	Migrating Forests	-1 Max Agriculture Districts -1 Max Generator Districts -1 Max Mining Districts	The mobile forests of this world frequently migrate en masse to new regions, disrupting efforts at building roads, power lines and other infrastructure.
Migrating Forests Reserve	Ending the Migrating Forests event peacefully	+20% Society from Jobs +2 Researcher Jobs	This entire region has been set aside for the migrating forests that are native to this world. Here they can roam in peace, without causing damage to urban centers.
Ancient Bombardment Craters	What Happened Here (20% chance)	+20% Physics from Jobs +2 Researcher Jobs	This world was subjected to intense orbital bombardment long ago. Parts of the surface are still pockmarked with impact craters.
Ancient Battlefield	What Happened Here (20% chance)	+20% Engineering from Jobs +2 Researcher Jobs	The civilization that once inhabited this world was destroyed by an invading force from somewhere beyond their solar system. This ancient battlefield is littered with ancient debris from their desperate last stand.
Irradiated Ruins	What Happened Here (20% chance)	+20% Society from Jobs +2 Researcher Jobs	Remnants of a massive nuclear war waged by the two global superpowers that once inhabited this world.
Subterranean Contact Zone	Seismic Disturbances (Establish Communications Special Project)	+2 Max Generator Districts +2 Max Districts +1 Subterranean Liaison Officer Job per 20 Pops	An area where Subterranean dwellers and Surfacers can work together towards peace and prosperity.
Subterranean Farming Caverns	Seismic Disturbances (Preemptive Strike Special Project)	+3 Max Agriculture Districts +2 Max Districts	A network of vast caverns which contain numerous fungal farms, hunting areas, and lakes teeming with edible flora and fauna.
Subterranean Generator Areas	Seismic Disturbances (Preemptive Strike Special Project)	+3 Max Generator Districts +2 Max Districts	Subterranean rivers and the geothermal energy from the molten core of the planet offer vast potential for energy generation.
Subterranean Mining Sites	Seismic Disturbances (Preemptive Strike Special Project)	+3 Max Mining Districts +2 Max Districts	Underground tunnels lead to a variety of mineral-rich ore veins inaccessible from the surface.
Mutant Landfill	Abandoned Terraforming Equipment	+20% Society from Jobs +2 Researcher Jobs	A putrid mass of dead horrors. Their volatile organic matter has twisted together to form a structure of sorts.
Impact Crater	Space Bounty	+3 Max Mining Districts	A crater from a large meteor impact. Minerals from the meteor itself can still be found at the site.
Odd Factory	An Odd Factor	+1 Odd Factory Worker Job	A well-crafted facility that produces high value resources, left on the planet by a different civilization.
Ancient Particle Accelerator	Ruined Particle Accelerator	+20% Physics from Jobs +2 Researcher Jobs	This old particle accelerator was built using a novel design, and the surviving terminals within the structure contain a massive amount of research data composed by what much have been a brilliant theoretical scientist.
Titanic Lifeforms	Titanic Life	-1 Max Districts +4 Society Research	Numerous Titanic aliens make this area their home, it would be wise to avoid it.
Underground Vault	Underground Vault	+20% Society from Jobs +2 Researcher Jobs	A massive underground vault, intended as a bomb shelter by this world's original inhabitants. The vault's occupants turned on each other when their food ran out.
Loop-Plowed Farm	The Waiting World	+4 Max Agriculture Districts	The food crops lean into the wind, somehow.
Spiral-Hewn Mine	The Waiting World	+4 Max Mining Districts	Narrow shafts twist around spiraling minerals veins.
Dragonslayer Monument	Dragonslayer	+15 Unity	A monument commemorating the defeat of the Ether Drake.
Stellar Devourer Trophy	Stellar Devourer	+6 Unity +10% Happiness	A trophy made out of the remains of the Stellar Devourer, reminding our great nation of its victory over the gargantuan entity.
Cryonic Clones Monument	Clones in Cryostasis	+6 Society Research	Hundreds on alien clones were left sealed in cryostasis chambers when this Ring World was still a ruin. Now fully restored, the clones have been preserved in this monument.
Portal Research Area	The Mysterious Moon	+1 Dimensional Portal Researcher Job +1 Dimensional Portal Researcher Job per 40 pops	A secure complex has been built around the Dimensional Portal to house research staff dedicated to probing its mysteries.
Processing Pens	Wild Eukaryotes	+14 Food	The fungoids native to this planet were genetically engineered to be docile...and delicious. In these vast processing pens, the fungoids are nourished and then harvested.
Numa's Breath	Numistic Order caravan deal	+3 Max Generator Districts +2 Max Districts	This stable bent reaching into the planet's crust was created by The Numistic Order.

Unique features[edit]

A number of unique planets in the galaxy contain special planetary features that cannot be found elsewhere.

Feature	Planets	Effects	Description
Abandoned Mining Tunnels	Relic Worlds	+6 Max Mining Districts	Many of the ruins on the planet's surface were built by minerals extracted from these tunnels. Although most have been mined to depletion, there are still several with rich yields.
Ancient Reactor Pits	Relic Worlds	+6 Max Generator Districts	These deep pits near the planet's equator once housed its primary energy generators. Much of the surprisingly sturdy infrastructure has survived, and new reactors can be slotted into it.
Central Spire	Relic Worlds	+15% Research from Jobs +8 Researcher Jobs	This towering structure appears to have served as the administrative center of the planet. Its central location and mostly intact interior provides an unmatched opportunity to research this world.
Dense Ruins	Relic Worlds	+15% Research from Jobs -6 Max Districts	The study of the dense ruins that cover this Relic World are a boon to science, but their presence also limits the amount of livable space.
Immense Solar Array	Relic Worlds	+3 Max Generator Districts	This solar array is nearly the size of a small continent. Most of it has been smashed beyond repair, but the underlying power infrastructure has survived, making it a good side for energy production.
Industrial Sector	Relic Worlds	+2 Max Crystal Mines +2 Max Gas Extraction Wells +2 Max Mote Harvesting Traps	This entire region once served as as the industrial heartland of the planet. The factories and refineries that are operated here have long stopped working, but hast amounts of scattered resources ca still be found in the area.
Former Relic World	Terraformed Relic Worlds	+10% Research from Jobs	This ecumenopolis was once an abandoned Relic World. Most of the old ruins were repurposed or cleared away when the planet-wide city was rebuilt, but there are still many sites that are of scientific value.
Valley of Zanaam	Zanaam	+30% Research from Jobs	This Valley is home to a mysterious obelisk that is covered in letters from a dead alien language. It hums with power and those in its proximity suffer headaches.
Junk Canals	Junk Rattlings planets	+3 Max Agriculture Districts	These narrow canals shake around the junk piles, and some adjacent soil is surprisingly fertile.
Junk Hollows	Junk Rattlings planets	+3 Max Generator Districts	These hollows deep beneath the surface junk would serve well as isolated reactor chambers.
Junk Wastes	Junk Rattlings planets	+3 Max Mining Districts	The wastes stretch as far as one can see, with occasional pieces of larger junk jutting up out of the ground.
Metal Boneyards	Driven Assimilator homeworlds Determined Exterminator homeworlds Relic Worlds	+4 Max Mining Districts +10% Society Research from Jobs	The hollowed-out metal skeletons of fallen infrastructure seem almost to groan as the wind whistles through them.
Organic Landfills	Determined Exterminator homeworlds	+4 Max Generator Districts +10% Society Research from Jobs	Toxic biohazard waste rots and fumes in vast heaps under the sun.
Irradiated Valley	Superflares system tomb world	+3 Max Generator Districts	The solarflare has washed this isolated valley with heavy radiation.

Earth features[edit]

Earth will always feature 9 unique planetary features instead of randomized ones. Their description also reveals part of humanity's history before the events of Stellaris.

Feature	Effects	Description
Delhi Sprawl	+2 Max Generator Districts	Lakshmi Commerce Tower was the tallest building on Earth for the better part of the 22nd century, and its unique shape remains an iconic feature of the Delhi skyline.
BosWash Metropolitan Axis	+3 Max Generator Districts	The BosWash Riots traumatized an entire generation and led to sweeping legal reforms. Never Forget!
Pearl River Agglomerate	+3 Max Generator Districts	The first region on Earth to be officially designated a megacity. Several other developing urban regions would eventually adopt their own versions of the Golden Delta's successful anti-pollution policies.
Mauritanian Security Zone	+1 Max Mining Districts	Unexploded munitions are still occasionally found near the compound where Colonel Tetchu and the remnants of his brigade made their famous last stand.
Mesopotamian Urban Corridor	+3 Max Mining Districts	The megalopolis that stretches along most of the Fertile Crescent is in itself a monument to this ancient birthplace of civilization.
Great Albertan Crater	+3 Max Mining Districts	When 711494 Satis approached Earth and triggered the Great Panic of '72, everyone thought this was it - the Big One had finally arrived. Fortunately, it wasn't big enough to cause an extinction event. Unfortunately, it wiped out much of Alberta.
Scandinavian Reclamation Sector	+1 Max Agriculture Districts	Reclamation efforts in the late 22nd century eliminated all but the most stubborn pockets of radiation, and mutation levels are now at an all-time low since the Containment Breach.
Saharan Irrigation Project	+4 Max Agriculture Districts	Few today remember the vicious ridicule that Operation Green Sahara faced when it was first proposed by Professor Izquierdo.
Pacific Algae Tracts	+3 Max Agriculture Districts	Invisible until you plunge beneath the waves, the algae tracts seem to stretch into infinity.

Blockers[edit]

Blockers are obstacles that block planetary features. Until a Blocker is cleared the obstructed Planetary Feature cannot be exploited. Each Blocker also reduces the maximum number of Districts on the planet by 1 or more, so they are worth clearing even if the extra possible districts are never built. Blockers can be cleared for a modest cost in minerals, energy, and time, if the player has researched the required technology. There are 9 such technologies, one for every normal blocker type, and they are all relatively easy to research. All normal blockers cost the same amount of resources to remove.

Taking the Mastery of Nature ascension perk reduces the cost of clearing blocks by 33%.

Blocker	Spawn chance	Removal cost	Required removal tech	Description
Active Volcano	x0.5 if Alpine x0.5 if Planet Size < 15 x0 if world is a moon	1000 270	Deep Crust Engineering	There is an active volcano in this region, spewing forth lava and volcanic gases.
Bomb Crater	x0 if not Tomb World	800 270		This massive crater was created by the detonation of a particularly devastating hydrogen bomb.
City Ruins	x0 if not Tomb World	1200 360		Once a great city, now just a metal boneyard stretching as far as the eye can see.
Dangerous Wildlife	x2 if Hostile Fauna modifier x10 if Titanic Life modifier x0.5 if Planet Size < 15 x0 if world is a moon	500 270	Dangerous Wildlife Removal	The wildlife in this region is particularly lethal, with many dangerous predators and poisonous plants.
Deep Sinkhole	x2 if Arid x2 if Savannah	500 180	Subterranean Colonization	A colossal sinkhole covers most of this region.
Dense Jungle	x2 if Tropical x2 if Continental	500 180	Selective Defoliants	This entire region is completely overgrown with thick, impassable jungle.
Massive Glacier	x2 if Alpine x2 if Arctic	500 180	Climate Control Network	An immense body of dense ice covers this region.
Mountain Range	x2 if Alpine x0.5 if Planet Size < 15 x0 if world is a moon	1000 270	Planetary Resurfacing	A vast range of tall and impassable mountains stretches across this region.
Noxious Swamp	x2 if Tundra	500 180	Xeno-Hydraulic Mastery	Treacherous swamplands and bogs surrounded by putrid gases.
Quicksand Basin	x2 if Desert	500 180	Soil Remediation	A vast body of quicksand covers this region, making construction impossible.
Radioactive Wasteland	x0 if not Tomb World	800 270		Few organisms can survive in this desolate, irradiated wasteland.
Toxic Kelp	x2 if Ocean	500 180	Ocean Ecology Management	A thick forest of kelp that is toxic to most forms of life covers the ocean in this region.
Collapsed Spire	Relic	2000 480		An immense residential spire has collapsed under its own weight in this region, blocking access. While it was still standing, this towering structure must have been among the tallest on the planet.
Crumbling Mining Tunnels	Relic	1000 270		A network of deep tunnels beneath the planet's surface seem to have been its primary source of minerals. Millennia of cave-ins and rockfalls have left only a fraction of the tunnels traversable.
Flooded Reactor Pits	Relic	1000 270		These deep pits appear to have once housed the planet's main energy production facilities. Over the eons, rain and flooding have filled the pits with murky water.
Massive Crevice	Relic	1000 270		This region is divided by a vast crevice that cuts through what was once a dense urban zone. The ground here is extremely unstable, with frequent earthquakes and landslides.
Shattered Solar Array	Relic	1000 270		The shattered remains of some kind of colossal solar array. When it was still functional, it must have provided power to a significant portion of this planet.
Rifts	Cracking	500 120		Seismological phenomena are causing the planet crust to crack, spewing out sulfuric gases and toxic slime.

Homeworld blockers[edit]

Two or three of each of these blockers are automatically generated on every empire's homeworld. They don't require technology to be removed and all cost 300 Energy and take 120 days to remove.

Blocker	Clear rewards	Source	Description
Sprawling Slums	1 Pop	Organic homeworlds Can also appear from the Lost to Bureaucracy event	This region is covered by vast shanty towns and slums filled with the poor and the outcast. It contributes nothing to society.
Industrial Wasteland	Random +2 Planetary Feature	Organic and homeworlds Can also appear from the Lost to Bureaucracy event	This region is covered by ruined industrial complexes and toxic soil; detritus from a past age of progress.
Collapsed Burrows	1 Pop	Hive Mind homeworlds	This site once housed extensive underground tunnel systems inhabited by the Hive, but was abandoned due to overexploitation of local resources and wildlife.
Abandoned Strip Mine	Random +2 Planetary Feature	Machine Intelligence homeworlds	This area was heavily strip mined in the past, by older and more primitive machine models that unfortunately were not programmed to take future development of the region into account.
Long-Abandoned City	Metal Boneyards Planetary Feature	Machine Intelligence homeworlds	The crumbling remains of what must once have been a major population center on the planet. No traces of its past inhabitants remain.
Unsupervised Settlement	1 Pop	Rogue Servitor homeworlds	A pocket of organic society on this world still exists outside of machine supervision. Violence, disease and starvation runs rampant inside the settlement's walls, whose inhabitants have regressed technologically by several centuries.
Silent Ruins	Organic Landfills Planetary Feature	Driven Assimilator homeworlds	This once major settlement is now a crumbling ruin, occupied only by the decaying bodies of those organics that chose self-termination rather than be assimilated.
Former Organic City	Metal Boneyards Planetary Feature	Determined Exterminator homeworlds	The charred and irradiated ruins of what was once a major organic population center. Those buildings that still remain standing contain nothing but ashes now.
Battlefield Remains	Organic Landfills Planetary Feature	Determined Exterminator homeworlds	Tens of thousands of burnt warmachines and the twisted skeletal remains of organic soldiers litter the ground at this former battlefield. Residual pockets of radiation interfere with most electronics.
Settled Ruins	1 Pop	Post-Apocalyptic homeworlds	A scattered population of scavengers are eking out a desperate existence in the ruins of this once major city.
Radiation Zone	Random +3 Planetary Feature	Post-Apocalyptic homeworlds	A region that was the target of numerous nuclear warheads. Though the radiation in this area has gone down since the initial impact, it is still unfit for habitation barring a major clean-up effort.
Great Pacific Garbage Patch	Pacific Algae Tracts Planetary Feature	Earth	A swirling miasma of plastic refuse covers a good portion of Earth's largest ocean.