Spaceborne aliens
Spaceborne aliens are spacefaring forms of life which will likely be the first aliens that new spacefarers will encounter. Every difficulty level above Ensign increases the power of Leviathans and Marauder Empires, with the exact raised stats varying for each. Other Spaceborne Aliens are not affected by the difficulty level.
Contents
Space creatures[edit]
Space creatures are entities which may not even classify as ships or life in the common meaning of the words. They generally inhabit a certain area of space and are seldom seen away from it. Upon discovery a special project will be added to the situation log, which when completed will allow an empire to deal with them in three ways:
- Researching unlocks a special project for detailed research that will grant a choice between an empire modifier and possibly a creature technology.
- Hunting will grant a +33% damage bonus empire modifier towards that type of Space Creature, and resources rewards upon killing them. If the creatures cannot be pacified the option is available to all empires, otherwise it is only available to
Militarist, 
Xenophobe and 
Genocidal empires. - Pacify will unlock a special project that costs 5000
Physics research and allows an empire to turn the space creatures non-hostile and unlock the ability to research all special components the creatures use. Only 2 of the 5 Space Creatures can be pacified. This option is available to 
Pacifist or 
Xenophile Empires. If the Galactic Community is formed the Space Amoeba pacification modifier can be offered to all members by passing the Space Amoeba Protection Act Resolution.
If killed, space creatures will slowly respawn in their home system.
| Space Creatures | Research option bonuses | Hunting | Pacifying | Type | Home System | Tactics | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ancient Mining Drones | Cost: 2000  Engineering research +10% Mining Station Minerals
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Can expand | Contains 2 normal mining stations and the Home Base Ore Grinder. Each station is guarded by two fleets, one purely destroyers and one made of drones. Destroying Home Base Ore Grinder grants 4000 Minerals and 500  Alloys. If the  Ancient Relics DLC is installed it also grants the  Surveyor Relic.
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Ancient Mining Drones use regular components. The Cutting Lasers can be salvaged.
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| Crystalline Entities | Cost: 2000 Physics research +5% Energy from JobsOR  Crystal-Infused Plating tech
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Can expand | Contains Crystal Nidus, a large crystalline structure guarded by 4 elite fleets. The system can be safely explored and claimed if the crystalline entities have been pacified. As their home system has a pulsar, shields will be useless when attacking it. |
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| Space Amoeba | Cost: 2000  Society research +5% EvasionOR  Regenerative Hull Tissue tech
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Migratory | Always called Amor Alveo, its various celestial body deposits produce in total 8 Energy, 12 Minerals, 6 Society, 3  Exotic Gases, 3  Volatile Motes and 2  Rare Crystals.
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| Void Clouds | Cost: 2000 Physics research +10% Physics from Jobs
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Stationary | Always called Great Wound, it is a black hole cluster guarded by 3 Void Cloud fleets. Most black holes have deposits of 4 Physics and the central one contains the largest  Dark Matter deposit in the galaxy. The system should be attacked with a highly superior force due to the effects of black holes on space battles.
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| Tiyanki Space Whales |  Frequency Tuning tech
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Passive unless attacked | Migratory | Always called Tiyana Vek, it contains 4 Gas Giants. Each one has a deposit of 6 Society.
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Tiyanki fleets can consist of Cows, Bulls, Calves and Hatchlings. Regenerative Hull Tissue can be salvaged.
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VLUUR[edit]
VLUUR is a powerful migrating Void Cloud that has around 32K Fleet Power and is armed with 8 
Cloud Lighting weapons. For as long as VLUUR is in a system it will cause a storm that causes -50% 
Sublight Speed and -15% 
Fire Rate on ships.
VLUUR is not hostile but can be attacked. It has powerful shields and high Evasion but low hull, and can be defeated deceptively easy with missile weapons. Defeating VLUUR grants 100 Dark Matter and will create various deposits of 1-3 Dark Matter on up to 4 planets in the system it's defeated in.
Bemat Thalassocracy[edit]
The Bemat Thalassocracy is a hostile fleet that can appear after the end-game year is reached. It will appear in a system owned by an empire that produces at least 80 
Trade Value. The fleet is made up of the following ships:
| 40 corvettes | 35 destroyers | 34 cruisers |
|---|---|---|
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Nomads[edit]
- Nomads are replaced by Caravaneers if
MegaCorp DLC is enabled.
The Nomads, or Namarians as they call themselves, are a passive millennia old intergalactic race with no homeworld, forever traveling the void in their starships. Once they establish communications the nomads will act as a sort of "bridge" between the player and unknown alien empires, and the player is likely to soon be barraged by a large number of "Communications Established" events as more and more alien empires are discovered by the nomads, and, by extension, the player. They travel from system to system and their stay in the galaxy is temporary and will eventually set sail for another one. Events related to them can take place during their stay.
The date when and if the Nomads arrive is rolled at game start, with the following chances:
- 20% chance to appear after 20 years ± 500 days
- 25% chance to appear after 40 years ± 500 days
- 25% chance to appear after 55 years ± 500 days
- 30% chance to never appear
When their time is due they will spawn in a random Rim System that has no ship in it and that no empire has a intel level better than low. Upon appearing, they will decide the mid point and endpoint of their journey. On their journey Nomads will perform an action when entering a system. Those actions depends on if the system has an owner and what the relationship with the owner is.
If the system is owned by an empire that has neither contact nor is hostile to them, they will start orbiting a random planet in the system until contact is established. The player is not capable of deciphering their communications but contact will always be established by them after 100 days. After contact is established they will send the owner a request. If they enter another system owned by the same empire they will roll for a request again. Each interaction has the following chances:
- 30% - Ask to leave some pops on an owned planet within your borders
- x0 If the system owner does not have a colonized Dry planet within borders or is a
Hive Mind - x0.75 if they already left pops before
- x1.5 if any form of Xenophile, Egalitarian or Spiritualist Empire and not already left pops before
- x0.3 if Slavery policy is set to Allowed
- Nomads traits are
Desert Preference, 
Nomadic, 
Venerable and 
Natural Engineers.
- Nomads traits are
- x0 If the system owner does not have a colonized Dry planet within borders or is a
- 30% - Ask for a planet to settle on, forming a new empire
- x0 if there is no habitable and uncolonized planet or if the system owner is a Hive Mind
- x0.5 if they already settled one planet
- x1.75 if any form of Xenophile, Egalitarian or Spiritualist Empire and did not already settle a planet
- Nomads ethics are
Egalitarian, 
Spiritualist and Xenophile.
- Nomads ethics are
- x0 if there is no habitable and uncolonized planet or if the system owner is a
- 30% - Sell 5 or 15 Cruisers
- x0 if the system owner already was offered ships
- x0.25 if system owner is Fanatic Militarist or Fanatic Xenophobe
- x0.5 if already sold ships to an empire
- x1.75 if any form of Xenophile, Egalitarian or Spiritualist Empire and not already sold ships to anyone
- 10% - Move on with no request
If the system has no owner, and neither hostile, mid- or endpoint of their journey, they will perform a peaceful action with the following chances:
- 10% - Build new Ships
- x10 if under 3k Fleet Power
- x5 if under 5k Fleet Power
- x0 if over 10k or has the have the ship building lockout
- 80% - Pick a random planet and wait in orbit for 30–50 days. Afterwards, they have a 25% chance to move on and 75% chance to pick another planet in the system to repeat it
- x0 if less than 1.5k Fleet Power
- 10% - Move on without doing anything
While the Nomads are inherently peaceful, a fight can be picked in order to get access to their technology. Nomads are easy prey but their technology is just average by midgame, making this rarely useful. The nomad fleet consists of the following:
| 20 Protectors | 3 Ark Ships |
|---|---|
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Enclaves[edit]
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Available only with the Leviathans DLC enabled. |
- The Curator enclave is enabled for owners of
Distant Stars as well.
Enclaves are neutral NPC spawned factions. They do not own any planets but consist of large enclave stations. They primarily exist to be interacted with via Diplomacy Menu using the "Others" filter. There are 3 types of enclaves: Artisans, Curators and Traders. Each of them has between 2 or 3 basic interactions and one or two restricted interactions that can only be used after an Opinion of at least 50 is reached. Their maximum Opinion is 100 and an empire builds opinion with them by using their services or having starbases in their systems. The enclave Opinion is tracked wholly via the trust mechanic and no other Diplomacy bonuses or penalties apply.
The primary resource for interacting with enclaves is energy. All actions are repeatable but some of the actions also have an increasing cost. The price increases as an empire's population goes past certain thresholds:
| Pops | Energy cost
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|---|---|
| 0-60 | 1000 |
| 61-120 | 2000 |
| 121-180 | 3000 |
| 181-240 | 4000 |
| 241+ | 5000 |
During the renewal request after a modifier runs out, the player will be able to renew the deal for a sum of energy credits which scales with the number of the empire's population. With Trader enclaves you will be asked how many monthly units (of the respective rare resource sold by the enclave) you want to buy.
| Enclave | Option | Effect | Requirements |
|---|---|---|---|
Curators
|
Research aid |
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scales with population
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| Mysteries of the Universe - not known |
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300
| |
| Mysteries of the Universe - how to defeat |
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2000 for Hives 600 for Infinity Machine 1000 for other Guardians
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| L-Gates |
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5000 Once per 10 years | |
| Establish Think Tank | Allow the construction of  Curator Think Tanks buildings in enclave system starbases
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 50
| |
| Recruit scientist | Gain a level 5 Scientist with the  Curator trait
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50 1000
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| Infinity mystery | Gain 500 Engineering research
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Mirror of Knowledge modifier | |
Artisans
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Become patron | Gain the Patron of the Arts modifier for 10 years (+10%  Monthly Unity). Becoming a patron also allows Patron Events to trigger:
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scales with population
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| Commission art piece |
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600 Does not own 5
| |
| Found Art College | Allow the construction of  Art College buildings in enclave system starbases
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50
| |
| Organize festival |
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50 1000
| |
Traders
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Strategic Resource deal | Provides a unit of a rare resource for 10 years. The resource amount and can be scaled up to 5 times. The higher the volume, the faster Opinion increases. Resources vary based on which specific trader Enclave is encountered:
|
500 per unit 10 monthly per unit
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| Seek expertise | Gain an immortal level 5 Governor with the  Enclave Trader trait (once per enclave)
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50 500
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Damage modifier against the chosen Guardian
- Curator strength opinion
Curator enclaves can always be asked how would the player's fleets fare against the leviathans. Depending on the total fleet power they will give the following replies:
- Below 5k: Poorly. Very poorly. Wait a second, you're not actually thinking of...? My goodness, with the ships you have? It... it would be a slaughter!
- Between 5k and 15k: I would strongly advise against it. Your attacks would likely be more of an annoyance than a threat.
- Between 15k and 30k: Hmmm... yes... yes, I suppose you might actually stand a chance. If you combined your entire fleet... it would not be an easy victory, mind you, but one that is at least within the realm of possibility.
- Over 30k: Yours is a mighty fleet, comparable to some of the greatest armadas recorded in the annals of the Curator Order. Victory is certainly within your reach.
Note that their advice is inaccurate on the highest difficulties and you require an even stronger fleet.
Attacking enclaves[edit]
While enclaves will never become hostile to any empire except in retaliation, they can be attacked like any neutral entity. With around 7k fleet power and highest level weapons they are no easy prey but various rewards can be salvaged from their remnants, depending on the type of enclave destroyed.
| Curator station
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Artisan station
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Trader enclave
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|---|---|---|---|
| Loadout |
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| Reward |
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| AI Opinion change | -15 | 0 | -15 |
Enclave stations do not drop debris for salvage. Attacking a curator or artisan enclave will make every enclave station of the same type unavailable for trade.
Enigmatic Cache[edit]
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Available only with the Distant Stars DLC enabled. |
The Enigmatic Cache, or BALDOR as it calls itself, is a tubular entity that will emerge from any Gateway or L-Gate once the mid-game year is reached and set course for the nearest empire that is not at war. If the Enigmatic Cache is attacked it will instantly teleport away to a system with a Gateway or L-Gate.
Once the Enigmatic Cache enters an empire's borders it will start orbiting each one of the empire's colonies for a month. As long as it orbits a colony it gives it a +30% 
Research Output modifier but also -10% 
Happiness to any pops with the Xenophobe ethic. The first time it happens the empire will get the option of issuing a special project to study it or leave it alone for 50 
Influence. The special project costs 2500 Engineering research and finishing it refunds 90-250 Engineering research and grants an L-Gate insight. Once all colonies have been scanned the Enigmatic Cache will set course for the nearest empire and repeat the process.
After all colonies in the galaxy have been scanned, the Enigmatic Cache will go to the capital of an empire whose Technology Level is Inferior or Pathetic to that of any other empire. If no such empire exists it will pick a random empire. 
Machine Intelligence empires cannot be chosen. After entering capital orbit the Enigmatic Cache will attempt to communicate. Accepting will have the Enigmatic Cache request to uplift the main species via a special project that takes 2 years.
Around 4 months into the project is started the empire will be notified that the Enigmatic Cache is deteriorating and bring the following options:
- Abort the uplift, causing the Enigmatic Cache to teleport away and never return.
- Ignore it. Once the project is complete there is a 75% chance the main species gains the
Somewhat Uplifted trait and -20% Happiness for 10 years and a 25% chance the main species gains the Uplifted trait and -10% Happiness for 10 years. The Enigmatic Cache will also remain in orbit above the capital and permanently give its Research Output modifier. - Issue a special project to repair the Enigmatic Cache with a construction ship. Once the uplift is complete the main species will gain the Uplifted trait. The Enigmatic Cache will also remain in orbit above the capital and permanently give its Research Output modifier.
Note: The traits do not give unique bonuses to leaders despite the tooltips saying they do.
| Governance | Empire • Ethics • Government • Civics • Policies • Edicts • Leader • Factions • Population • Species rights • Economy • Technology • Traditions • Crime |
| Exploration | Exploration • Map • Species • Anomaly • Events • FTL • Fallen empire • Pre-FTL species • Precursors • Spaceborne aliens |
| Colonization | Colonization • Celestial body • Planetary features • Planetary management • Districts • Buildings • Ship • Starbase • Megastructures |
| Diplomacy | Diplomacy • Trade • Subject empire • Federations • Galactic community • AI personalities |
| Warfare | Warfare • Space warfare • Land warfare • Ship designer |
| Others | Traits • Terraforming • Pop modification • Slavery • Crisis • Preset empires • AI players • Easter eggs |
