Spaceborne aliens

Version

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

This article is for the PC version of Stellaris only.

Humanoid Empire encountering a Space Amoeba Mother

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.

Space creatures

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 or Genocidal empires.
• Pacify will unlock a special project that costs 5000 Physics research and allows an empire to turn the space creatures permanently non-hostile and unlock the ability to research all special components the creatures use. Only 2 of the 5 Space Creatures can be pacified. Pacified space creatures will not attack even in retaliation. This option is available to Pacifist or Xenophile Empires.

If killed, space creatures will keep respawning in their home system unless an empire's sensor range covers the system.

Space Creatures	Research option bonuses	Hunting	Pacifying	Home System	Tactics
Ancient Mining Drones	Cost: 1000 Engineering research +10% Mining Station Minerals			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 a massive reward of 12000 Minerals.	Defensively: Shields - their Cutting Lasers deal +25% damage against armor but -50% against shields. Against the Hub minimal point defense is advisable. Offensively: Energy weapons - their ships use only armor Unique salvage: Cutting Lasers, energy weapons which are about on par with T1 Plasma Weapons but deal more damage to hull and less to armor.
Crystalline Entities	Cost: 1000 Physics research +5% Energy from Jobs OR Crystal-Infused Plating tech			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.	Defensively: Armor or shields - their shard weapons deal +50% damage against hull but have no other bonus Offensively: Any weapon - Crystalline Entities have resilient and regenerating hulls but no shields or armor Unique salvage: Crystal-Infused Plating from ships, Crystal-Forged Plating from Crystal Nidus, both are the only hull increasing components in the game.
Space Amoeba	Cost: 1000 Society research +5% Evasion OR Regenerative Hull Tissue tech			Nomadic creatures, no home system	Defensively: Shields and point defense - their weapons deal +25% damage against armor and large amoeba launch strike craft Offensively: Energy weapons - Space Amoeba have natural armor and regenerate Unique salvage: Amoeba Flagella, strike craft as strong as tier 3 fighters
Void Clouds	Cost: 1000 Physics research +10% Physics Output			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.	Defensively: Crystal plated hulls if available - their weapons ignore both shields and armor. Their erratic damage can sometimes destroy Corvettes in one hit. Offensively: Missiles and Autocannons - Void Clouds have equal amounts of natural shields and hull Unique salvage: Cloud Lightning, L weapons that ignore both shields and armor
Tiyanki Space Whales	Frequency Tuning tech		Already passive	Nomadic creatures, no home system	Devensively: Armor - their Energy Siphons ignore shields but deal -75% damage to armor Offensively: Energy weapons - Tiyanki have a 2:1 Ratio of Hull points to armor Unique salvage: Regenerative Hull Tissue Aggressiveness: If a Tiyanki fleet is attacked the entire species will turn hostile towards the attacker

Nomads

The nomad fleet

Nomads do not appear if MegaCorp DLC is installed, being replaced by the Caravaneers.

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 + 100 days
• 25% chance to appear after 40 years + 200 days
• 25% chance to appear after 55 years + 275 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.
• 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.
• 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
1 Laser T4 2 Point-Defense T2 2 Armor T3 1 Shields T3 Hyperdrive T3 Thrusters T3 Sensors T3 Reactor T4 Combat Computer T3 (Picket)	Hyperdrive T3 Thrusters T3 Sensors T3 Reactor T4

Enclaves

Enclave station

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
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 [scales with population] energy credits. 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	Description	DLC
Curators	Research aid	Gain the Curator Insight modifier for 10 years (+10% Research Speed) +20 Opinion	scales with population	An ancient scholarly order dedicated towards the preservation of knowledge and technology.	OR
	Mysteries of the Universe - not known	Adds a Leviathan point of interest will be added to the situation log +10 Opinion	300
	Mysteries of the Universe - how to defeat	Adds a permanent +25% Damage modifier against the chosen Leviathan +20 Opinion	1000
	L-Gates	Gain an L-Gate Insight +20 Opinion	5000 Once per 10 years
	Establish Think Tank	Allow the construction of Curator Think Tanks buildings in enclave system starbases	50
	Recruit scientist	Gain an immortal level 5 Scientist with the Curator trait	50 5000
	Infinity mystery	Gain 500 Engineering research	Mirror of Knowledge modifier
Artisans	Become patron	Gain the Patron of the Arts modifier for 10 years (+10% Monthly Unity). Becoming a patron also allows Patron Events to trigger: Newsletter events give the option to convert 500 Energy into 50 Influence. It can only happen up to 4 times. Equipment malfunction events give the option to get 500 Minerals or 50 Influence. The more important one grants access to the Planet Unique Ministry of Culture for 500 Energy.	scales with population	An interstellar union of artists united in their wish to create art higher than any other.
	Commission art piece	Gain the Exhibit Art Monument Decision +10 Opinion	600 Does not own 5
	Found Art College	Allow the construction of Art College buildings in enclave system starbases	50
	Organize festival	+15 Opinion Gain the Festival of Worlds modifier for 10 years (+15% Happiness and +10% Pop Growth Speed). There is also a chance for one of the following to happen within the next year: 10% chance: A stampede kills a pop. You can either divert the media's attention for 100 Influence or suffer a negative modifier for two years. 10% chance: Some artisans wish to settle. Accepting will add 2 artisan pops to one of your worlds. The climate preference will always match. 5% chance: The artisans steal 500 , end the festival modifier and refuse to communicate for 10 years. (increased chance for Xenophobe empire)	50 1000
Traders	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: XuraCorp sells Exotic Gases Muutagan Merchant Guild sells Rare Crystals Riggan Commerce Exchange sells Volatile Motes	500 per unit 10 monthly per unit	An interstellar conglomerate of merchants dedicated towards the pursuit of profit.
	Seek expertise	Gain an immortal level 5 Governor with the Enclave Trader trait (once per enclave)	50 500

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 are inaccurate on the highest difficulties and you require an even stronger fleet.

Attacking Enclaves

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. Each enclave station is equipped with the following:

	Curator station	Artisan station	Trader enclave
Loadout	1 Lance T2 4 Torpedo T3 6 Energy Torpedo T2 6 Disruptor T3 6 Disruptor T3 4 Point-Defense T3 10 Armor T5 10 Shield T5 2 Shield Capacitor Sensor T4	1 Arc Emitter T2 4 Missile T5 6 Laser T5 6 Plasma Cannon T3 6 Autocannon T3 4 Point-Defense T3 10 Armor T5 10 Shield T5 2 Shield Capacitor Sensor T4	1 Cannon T2 4 Multi-Missiles T2 6 Artillery T2 6 Kinetic T5 6 Autocannon T3 4 Flak T2 10 Armor T5 10 Shield T5 2 Shield Capacitor Sensor T4
Reward	1000 Engineering Research 1000 Physics Research 1000 Society Research	2000 Energy Credits 2000 Minerals	2000 Energy Credits 2000 Minerals

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.

Destroying a curator or trader enclave station brings a small and temporary opinion reduction towards most other empires. Destroying an artisan enclave will not due to their duplicitous reputation.

Leviathans

Leviathans are extremely powerful Spaceborne aliens found in specific, predetermined systems and rivalling moons in size and mass. They are marked with a skull icon both in the fleet power box and on the galactic map. Each leviathan has a unique event chain. While one can just stumble over one during exploration, they can also be found with the help of the curator enclave. Leviathans have an immense amount of health and should only be engaged mid-late game.

Leviathans get various bonuses to make them stronger based on the game difficulty. AI empires will only attack leviathans if their fleet power is at least 40k.

Leviathans creatures

Leviathan	Rewards	Tactics
Asteroid Hives	Defeating the leviathan gives the following rewards: 500 Energy 2000 Society research The 5 unique crystal asteroids bring a total of 40 Minerals when mined	Defensively: Point defense - these leviathans use only strike craft weapons Offensively: Strike craft - they can both attack the leviathans and engage their strike craft Preparation: Entering the system will describe it in an event window but the Hives will only awaken after the system is claimed with the following MMTH: Mining Stations 0 1 2 3 4 5 MTTH 100 years 33.3 years 11.1 years 3.7 years 1.2 years 0.4 years
Automated Dreadnought	Defeating the leviathan gives the following two choices: Salvage the dreadnought for 5000 Energy and Minerals and 1000-5000 Engineering research. Issue a special project to repair and use it. The project costs 10000 Engineering research and the ship will use either a jump drive or a psi jump drive, if the Empire has it. The system also contains two habitable planets of size 16 and 20	Unlike other leviathans the Automated Dreadnought (and the repaired one) use regular components Weapons Utility Core 2 Launcher T2 5 Plasma Cannon T3 3 Plasma Cannon T3 2 Disruptor T3 3 Point-Defense T3 6 Armor T5 6 Shields T5 3 Shield Capacitor 2 Regenerative Hull Tissue Tachyon Sensors (Psi) Jump Drive Sapient CPU (Line tactics) Impulse Thrusters
Dimensional Horror	Defeating the leviathan will leave behind a dimensional rift, with a project that takes 140 days to be researched. Once examined, it will grant 4000-6000 Physics and Society research points. It will also unlock and add +50% progress to the Jump Drive technology if not already researched.	Defensively: Shields and Evasion - this leviathan's weapons ignore armor but deal -75% damage to shields and have low tracking Offensively: Kinetic Artillery - this leviathan has equal amounts of hull, shield and armor but no evasion at all. Size X weapons are also effective for the same reason. Engagement: The Dimensional Horror can strike across the entire system so the fleet should move fast or jump from a close hyperlane
Enigmatic Fortress	Defeating and successfully investigating the leviathan gives the following rewards: Gain 24x Engineering output (potential yield gain of 1000-5000) Gain 24x Physics output (potential yield gain of 1000-5000) Gain 24x Society output (potential yield gain of 1000-5000) Unlock the Enigmatic Encoder and Enigmatic Decoder technologies If the Enigmatic fortress is not researched after being defeated, it will repower and become hostile again.	Defensively: Armor - this leviathan uses only Kinetic Artillery and Stormfire Autocannon weapons Offensively: Kinetic Artillery - this leviathan has high hull but few shields and even less armor and at artillery range ships cannot be engaged by the autocannons Repower: The Ancient Vault can be repowered following poor event decisions. Clues can be bought from the Curators. The following table reveals all choices (SPOILERS): No Choice Outcome 1 Demolitions Team Expedition proceeds but Transport ship is destroyed 1 Local Power Surge - Go with the higher estimate (-500 energy) Vault repowers 1 Local Power Surge - Go with the lower estimate (-50 energy) Expedition proceeds 2 Place metal rings around the remaining two poles Vault repowers 2 Search for torus-shaped indentations on the bulkhead Vault repowers 2 Rearrange the metal tori on the poles Expedition proceeds 2 Remove center and rightmost poles from the pedestal Vault repowers 3 Home System Research - The beginning Vault repowers 3 Home System Research - The middle Event success 3 Home System Research - The end Vault repowers 3 Supply Dark Matter (-10 Dark Matter) Event success 3 Use Force (1 military ship) Event failed - the vault and all ships in the system are destroyed, every habitable planet is turned into a Tomb world and every uninhabitable one into a Molten world 3 Black Hole Research (special project) Event success
Ether Drake	Defeating the leviathan gives the following rewards: 300 Influence The Admiral leading the fleet defeating the leviathan gains the Dragonslayer trait The Empire Capital gains the Dragonslayer Monument planetary feature The planet it guarded, Dragon's Hoard, has a deposit of 30 Energy and Minerals. Building a mining station will reveal one of the following within 50 years: Dragon's Tomb: The remains can be studied to unlock the Artificial Dragonscales tech or grinded for 100-4000 Minerals and 1000-5000 Society research Dragon's Brood: The egg can be smashed for 300 Influence or used in a special project that takes 50000 Society research to hatch a controllable Dragonspawn with 6K Fleet Power.	Defensively: Shields - this leviathan uses only energy weapons that do -20% damage to shields Offensively: Energy weapons - this leviathan has high hull and armor but no shields Aggressiveness: If the Ether Drake loses 20% HP it will attack two of the attacker's systems until the starbases are disabled or the leviathan loses 85% of its HP
Infinity Machine	A year or two after discovering it the Infinity Machine will send out a transmission and start a special project (360 days with a scientist who is more than level 3) to contact it. Depending on government ethics some empires can try saying the liar paradox but it has no effect. The player can offer to help it and start a very lengthy special project (1800 days) at the black hole that can only be done by a level 5 scientist. Finishing the project will have one of the following outcomes. 50% chance the project fails but the leviathan will reward you the Positronic AI technology. If the Positronic AI was researched it will reward you the Zero Point Power technology. If both were researched it will grant the empire +5% Research Output. 25% chance the project succeeds and the leviathan enters the black hole. It will grant the Positronic AI technology. If the Positronic AI was researched it will reward you the Zero Point Power technology. If both were researched it will grant 150 Influence. In addition the black hole will get a 4 Research deposit. 25% chance he project succeeds and the leviathan enters the black hole and shrinks it to a smaller size renamed Pantagruel. The empire will get 200 Influence (which is not shown) and permanently gain +10% Research Speed. In addition the black hole will get a 10 Research deposit. Depending on empire ethics, another option can be available after the investigation project is completed. Spiritualist empires can declare the leviathan a divine object, granting a +5% Happiness empire modifier. Militarist empires can destroy the leviathan with an army without fighting it to gain the same bonuses as when defeating it. Materialist empires can attempt to hack the leviathan. Chance is 50% and if successful it permanently grants a +5% research bonus as well as either the Positronic AI or the Zero Point Power technology. If both were researched it will grant 1000-5000 Society research. For empires this is the only option. This approach destroys the Infinity Machine. Alternatively the leviathan can be attacked, forcing it to open and become aggressive. Destroying it will allow the Infinity Machine to be broken down for a large bonus of minerals and influence, or study its nature for advances in robotics. This removes any bonus awarded thus far.	Defensively: Shields and point defense - this leviathan uses laser weapons and strike craft Offensively: Kinetic weapons - this leviathan has strong shields and point defenses and good evasion Preparation: As this leviathan is not initially hostile its system can be claimed and the starbase can be upgraded in to a bastion.
Spectral Wraith	Defeating the leviathan gives a permanent empire modifier with the following effects: +5% Physics Research Speed +5% Energy Weapons Damage +10% Energy from Jobs	Defensively: Shields - this leviathan uses only energy weapons Offensively: Small energy weapons - this leviathan uses only armor and hull but has high evasion Frequency: The Spectral Wraith will have one of three colors: red, yellow or blue. In systems with stars of the same color it gets -50% Armor and Evasion. Preparation: This leviathan will only spawn after the mid-game year. If the pulsar is scanned before that happens it will bring an event window and the star will gain the Pulse Germination modifier, letting the empire know that is the system where it will spawn.
Stellarite Devourer	Defeating the leviathan will add a project to investigate its remains that takes 60 days to be researched. Once examined it will give the following options: Harvest the remains for a large bonus of Energy, Minerals and Influence Try to reignite the Sun in the leviathan's home System. The Project has a 30% chance to kill the scientist and its ship but is guaranteed to turn the whole System more habitable: All Frozen Planets will become Arctic planets, with one guaranteed Gaia World. All other planets undergo a temperature increase as well, rerolling them completely.	Defensively: Any - some of the leviathan's weapons are effective against armor while others against shields Offensively: Plasma weapons - this leviathan has exceptionally high hull and point defenses Aggressiveness: If the Stellarite was engaged and did not lose at least 67% HP it will attack one of the attacker's systems until the starbase is disabled and then stay for 90 days until retreating. If the system is colonized all planets will get -25% Happiness and Habitability until the leviathan leaves.

Distant Stars creatures

Leviathan	Rewards	Tactics
Scavenger Bot	Defeating the leviathan gives the following rewards: Unlock the Nanite Repair System technology Gain two random Tier V component techs or a large amount of Engineering research if all techs were already researched The two broken planets in the system bring a total of 20 Minerals when mined	Defensively: Armor and point defense - this leviathan uses only guided weapons Offensively: Torpedoes and strike craft - this leviathan uses equal amounts of shields and armor but has no point defense and barely any evasion
Tiyanki Matriarch	Defeating the leviathan gives the following rewards: AH4B, a battleship equipped with the highest tier weapon and defense components. It can be used or scrapped for 1500 Minerals. Reth Unddol, a level 5 admiral with the unique Hell's Heart trait. Genocidal empires will kill him for 120-350 Unity instead.	Defensively: Shields - this leviathan and two weapons, one that ignores armor and does -75% damage against shields and one that deals double damage against both shields and armor Offensively: Energy weapons - this leviathan has exceptional hull and light armor but no shields
Voidspawn	Defeating the leviathan gives the following rewards: 600-6000 Unity Option to start a special project that takes 140 days to research and unlocks the Gargantuan Evolution technology The planet it hatched from also gains a 20 Society deposit	Defensively: Armor and point defense - this leviathan uses only guided weapons Offensively: Energy weapons - this leviathan has high hull and armor but no shields Preparation: The Voidspawn is an unborn leviathan. Its egg is indistinguishable from a Dry planet, and if colonized an event will slowly start changing the world. One year later there is a 60% chance that the Voidspawn will hatch and destroy the colony.

Enigmatic Cache

Enigmatic Cache

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 from the system.

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. 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 250 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 head to the capital of an empire whose Technology Level is not rated as Superior to that of any other empire and that is not a Machine Intelligence. After entering 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.
• 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.

Marauder empires

Marauder Home System

Marauders are nomadic FTL societies that have eschewed planetary dwelling in favor of living on ships and stations, subsisting largely on raiding each other and extorting tribute from settled empires. Marauders are always hostile but will generally not attack empires unless they enter their systems or they are in the process of raiding them. A Marauder empire can be eradicated by destroying all stations and void dwellings in their home systems, but these are well defended and will take a powerful mid to late-game navy to deal with them. Each Marauder empire holds 3 systems, with the home system having very large deposits of Energy or Minerals.

Marauders will occasionally set out to raid settled empires they have established contact with. Before raiding, they will offer said empire a chance to pay them off with a hefty tribute (the targeted empires can choose to tribute minerals, energy or food). If they are not paid, the pillaging will begin. While in the process of raiding, they can still be bought off with tribute, but the price is doubled.

Settled empires can also pay the Marauders to conduct a raid on one of their Rivals for 3000 energy credits, both diverting their attention and potentially weakening that rival's military and economy. While raiding on behalf of an empire, Marauders are treated as allied and their systems can be traveled through. This form of raid cannot be bought off and while they will always reveal they were paid to raid, they will never tell by which empire. Marauders can only raid one empire at a time but multiple Marauder empires can raid the same target. Marauders will never raid Fallen Empires and will always refuse to do so if asked.

Both forms of raiding involve the Marauders sending a fleet to that empire's territory. The Fleet will attack the nearest colonised Planet, destroying all outposts and mining stations along their path. It can and will path through wormholes, but not activated gates. A fleet on Marauding will go into the orbit of the target planet and stay there for a while, then stealing some resources. They will still be hostile on their way back. Fleet strength depends on the number of years passed and can thus facing them can result in a considerable challenge.

Empires can also permanently hire a Marauder Admiral or General for 2000 energy credits. Their Leaders start at level 3 and have the Mercenary Warrior trait, granting the following:

• Admiral: +10% Evasion and Fire Rate
• General: +10% Army Damage

Once the mid-game year has been reached, the option to hire mercenary fleets of varying sizes will be unlocked. All players will be informed of this change. The chance for one Marauder empire to have mercenaries is rolled yearly and 30 for each Empire/80 for nothing. Mercenary fleets cost a large energy up-front payment, and consist of a fixed-size fleet that cannot be split, merged or disbanded, with a leader that cannot be reassigned. The fleet does not count towards naval capacity and will not cost any maintenance, but will only serve for a period of 5 years, after which the empire will have to renew their contract by paying the full cost again.

Years passed	Raiding fleets composition
0-40	6 corvettes 4 destroyers 1 cruisers
40-60	12 corvettes 6 destroyers 2 cruisers
60-80	18 corvettes 10 destroyers 3 cruisers
80+	24 corvettes 14 destroyers 4 cruisers

Mercenary Fleet	Ships	Hire Cost
234th Dwamak-Bashers Armada of the Voidborn Her Chosen Champions	6 cruisers 8 Destroyers 16 corvettes	9000
Unhinged Screamer Flotilla Star Rider Flotilla Order of Eternal Night	4 cruisers 6 Destroyers 12 corvettes	6500
Frenzied Volunteer Squadron First Storm Wing Twilight Congregation	2 cruisers 4 Destroyers 8 corvettes	4000

If a Marauder Empire is destroyed while an empire is hiring their fleet, all mercenary fleets will cancel their contracts and join together to attack the vanquisher empire within 5 months. Marauder Refugees will also settle on the planets of the closest empire that has the Refugees Welcome policy.

Marauder Empires are unable to interact with genocidal empires, meaning they cannot make use of their mercenary or raiding services.

Events

While bordering the Marauder Empires is dangerous, some beneficial events might trigger at regular intervals:

• An abandoned habitat is discovered (+400 Minerals)
• Border guards secure a Marauder Shuttle (+400 Energy)
• Patrols discover a resource cache (+300 Energy and Minerals)
• Border skirmishes give the empire the Marauder Whetstone modifier (+10% Fire Rate for 10 years)
• Border patrols save a Marauder admiral (permanent level 4 admiral with the Mercenary Warrior trait or +50 Influence if genocidal)
• A derelict fleet is discovered. It can either be crewed (1 cruiser, 2 destroyer, 4 corvettes) or scrapped (+200 Minerals)
• Some Marauder pops are expelled from the void dwellings (generates 1 Pop of refugees, if current empire policy allows to accept them). Marauder pops have the Extremely Adaptive, Rapid Breeders, Nomadic, Quarrelsome, and Deviants traits and the Militarist ethic.

The Horde

The Great Khan

After the Mid-Game year starts, one of the Marauder empires might unify under a Great Khan, an expansionist but ultimately benevolent leader. It can happen on its own at any point but there's also a 5% chance for the event to be triggered each time a Void Dwelling is destroyed. Once this happens, the Marauder empire becomes a Horde and will begin expanding in all directions, invading the systems of any empire that will not submit to the Khan, including other Marauder empires. At any time, it possible for an empire to submit to the Khan and become a Satrapy, a type of subject that has to pay part of its income and naval capacity in tribute to the Horde and house a Void Dwelling for both protection and submission, but is otherwise left to do as they please.

AI empires that lost more than two planets to the Horde have a chance to submit every year, the chance increasing the more planets are lost.

When the Horde forms, all mercenaries hired from that Marauder empire will cancel their contracts and return back home to join it (including hired leaders). The Horde will also create a new fleet every few years, the size of the fleet depending on the Naval Capacity provided by Satrapies.

The main Horde fleet, called "Chosen of the Great Khan", is led by the Great Khan personally. It starts at level 10 and has the unique The Great Khan trait, which gives large bonuses to every fleet stat. When the Khan's fleet is destroyed for the first time, they will escape the battle. Within a year the Khan will return with a second fleet. If the fleet is defeated again the Khan will make no attempt to escape and will therefore die in battle. After 20 years have passed since the rise of the Horde, The Khan may also die by disease or assassination. Alternatively, the Khan will die a natural death between 15 and 45 years after the Horde was created.

Once the Great Khan dies the Horde will become unreachable, leaving an automatic message if diplomatic contact is attempted. Within a year the Horde will change into the following:

• If the Horde owns no planets it will turn back into a Marauder Empire.
• If the Horde owns between 1 and 5 planets it will turn into a strong regular empire and keep its Sartapies.
• If the Horde owns between 6 and 9 planets it will split into two regular empires that will constantly war with each other.
• If the Horde owns at least 10 planets it will fracture into four regular empires that will constantly war with each other.
  • Regular empires created from the Horde are Fanatic Militarist and Xenophobe Hegemonic Imperialists that have the Voidborne Ascension Perk.
• If the Horde had at least two Satrapies there is a 10% chance it will instead turn into a Federation Builders regular empire. Every former Satrapy will be offered the chance to join a Federation with the former Horde, which will also be its first president.

The number of ships the Horde will have depends on the game difficulty setting.

As with Marauder Empires, the Great Khan has no intention of coexisting with genocidal empires and will not offer them to become a Satrapy.

Tactical

Marauder designs may look similar to Pirate ships but they have much better technology around T3.

Corvette	Destroyer	Cruiser	Galleon	Asteroid Outpost	Void Dwelling
3 Autocannon T2 1 Shield T2 2 Armor T3 Afterburners T1 Regenerative Hull Tissue Hyperdrive T2 Sensor T2 Thrusters T3 Reactor T3 Combat Computer T2 (Swarm)	1 Kinetic T3 2 Laser T3 1 Shield T3 2 Armor T3 Afterburners T1 Regenerative Hull Tissue Hyperdrive T2 Sensor T2 Thrusters T3 Reactor T3 Combat Computer T2 (Picket)	1 Laser T3 2 Kinetic T3 2 Autocannon T2 3 Shield T3 3 Armor T3 Afterburners T1 Regenerative Hull Tissue Hyperdrive T2 Sensor T2 Thrusters T3 Reactor T3 Combat Computer T2 (Line)	1 Missile T3 4 Laser T3 4 Kinetic T3 1 Autocannon T2 3 Flak T1 4 Shield T3 6 Armor T3 Regenerative Hull Tissue Hyperdrive T2 Sensor T2 Thrusters T3 Reactor T3 Combat Computer T2 (Artillery)	3 Kinetic T2 2 Shield T2 1 Armor T3 Regenerative Hull Tissue Sensor T2	4 Missile T3 3 Plasma Cannon T2 3 Artillery T1 3 Kinetic T3 3 Plasma Cannon T2 6 Autocannon T2 4 Flak T1 4 Shield T3 6 Armor T3 Regenerative Hull Tissue Sensor T2

Stations have around 4k Fleet Power, the primary Fleets around 11k with 8k Galleons. Raiding fleet vary in size based on gameyear, with 4 Tiers (<40, <60, <80, >80) being available.

Defensively: Excluding a few odd Energy weapons, Marauders focus almost entirely on kinetic and missile weaponry. Accordingly, shields are practically useless.

Offensively: They rely primarily on their Hull points, then their Armor. A few models have shields on par with their armor, but mostly these can be ignored. There is very limited Point Defense, with a focus to countering strikecraft. Due to their low values, it might be best to just punch through shields and armor even with unfavorable weapons to maximize hull damage.

If the Horde formed nearby and an empire has resources and naval capacity to spare but not enough to fight the Horde then becoming a Satrapy is recommended, as it's only temporary until the Great Khan dies 15 to 45 years later.

Caravaneers

Reliquary Chambers on Caravaneer Citadel

The Caravaneers are space-based coalition of traders who send out fleets across the galaxy to offer every empire great deals. They start in a unique system called Chor’s Compass which contains their Caravaneer Citadel and two out of three caravan fleets: Racket Industrial Enterprise, the Numistic Order, and the Vengralian Trium. These fleets roam the galaxy, traveling towards every empire to offer deals.

Chor's Compass

The Caravaneer Citadel in this System acts as the return point for the caravan fleets and an intergalactic Casino. Should the station be destroyed but at least one caravan fleet still be alive, they will ask to re-establish it in a random uncolonized system claimed by an empire, as close to their original one was possible. If the empire accepts it will lose control of the system but gain +5% Trade Value.

The Caravaneers use a unique resource called CaravanCoinz, which can be bought in bulks of 8k, 12k and 26k with Energy Credits. Those can be used to either play Slots or open a Reliquary.

	Slots	Reliquary
Price	2783.92 CaravanCoinz	6194.21 CaravanCoinz 5 per game per empire
Outcomes	75% - Nothing 15% - 500 CaravanCoinz 4% - 1000 Energy 4% - 1000 Minerals 4% - 3000 CaravanCoinz 1% - 10k-100k Minerals (monthly production x 120) 1% - 10k-100k Energy (monthly production x 120) 1% - Great Extended Payout empire modifier for 600 months, giving the following: +40 Monthly Energy +40 Monthly Minerals	29.5% - Empty 70% - Any of the following: Ancient Trade Route capital planet modifier (+10% Trade Value) 6 months' output of Consumer Goods (min 100) 8 months' output of Consumer Goods (min 2000) 24 months' output of Food (min 2000) 24 months' output of Alloys (min 2000) 24 months' output of Physics (min 2000) 24 months' output of Society Research (min 2000) 4000 Energy and Minerals 2000 Engineering Research 1000 Society Research Ruler gets the Psionic trait (won't trigger if already Psionic) 0.5% - Galatron (one per game)

Neighbor Events

If a Empire has a colony within 3 hyperlane jumps of the Caravaneer Citadel, there is a yearly chance for an event to happen with the following weights:

• 500 - nothing
• 10 - The Collector sells a mystery box for 3000 Energy (only Option available for Gestalt Consciousness). If bought, it will grant:
  • 35% - Nothing
  • 10% - 4000 Minerals
  • 10% - 1000 Engineering
  • 10% - 1000 Society
  • 10% - 1000 Physics
  • 10% - 1000 Alloys
  • 5% - Alloy Hyperfabricator capital world modifier (+10% Alloys from Jobs)
  • 5% - Energy Accelerator capital world modifier (+10% Energy from Jobs)
  • 5% - Incredibly Boring Relic capital world modifier (+10% Minerals from Jobs)
• 10 - A planet gets the Problematic Gambling modifier (+15 Crime for 1825 days)
• 10 - A planet gets the Festival Aftermath modifier (-5% Stability) for 1825 days. Same chance to spawn Hybrid Species as "Xenophiles like Caravan"
• 10 - A planet gets the Hot Slots! modifier (+15% Trade Value) for 1825 days)
• 5 - Up to 50 biological pops on a planet gain the Resilient trait
• 5 - A planet loses 2 Pops and is given 20 Planet Devastation. A Special Project is added, adding a light amount of Society research and unlocking the Psionic Theory technology or adding a large amount of progress if already unlocked.
  • If the planet has a moon the moon is shattered and given a 8 Minerals deposit
  • If the planet has no moon it it gets a removable Blocker and the Heavy Metal modifier (+10% Alloys from Jobs)

Caravans

Caravan leaving Chor's Compass

Every time a Caravan fleet enters an empire's borders it will offer a rare trade deal. The offer can be accepted immediately, delayed to when the fleet is leaving the space or rejected outright. The fleets can not be contacted any other way and all attempts will redirect to Chor's Compass instead. Delaying has a very low chance of the deal changing.

Numistic Order

The Numistic Order is a religious Caravan that offers only deals with fixed costs. It features the largest amount of offers but many of them are one time only. They offer the following deals:

Offer	Price	Requirements	Repeatable
200 Exotic Gases	1700 Energy
3000 Energy Credits	500 Alloys
200 Rare Crystals	2 Pops	Not Gestalt Consciousness
2 Pops with the Numistic Administration trait	3500 Energy	Not Gestalt Consciousness
Numa's Breath planetary feature	200 Minerals
Numistic Magnetistrips planet modifier	100 Influence	Machine Intelligence
Numistic Cruiser	500 Energy
Caravaneer Cruiser	2500 Energy
Numistic Shrine building	2000 Energy	Not Gestalt Consciousness
Numistic Visualisation edict	2500 Energy	Not Gestalt Consciousness except Rogue Servitor
Numistic Data Modeling technology (+5% from Jobs)	3500 Energy
Governor leader with the Merchant of Numa trait	1500 Energy	Not Gestalt Consciousness
Divine Algorithm decision	2000 Minerals	Machine Intelligence

Vengralian Trium

The Vengralian Trium is unique in that both their products and their prices are randomly generated, as opposed to each product having a specific price. Their deals may contain any of the following:

Offers	Prices
2000 Energy Credits ( Gestalt Consciousness) 1000 Consumer Goods (not Gestalt Consciousness unless Rogue Servitor) 1 Trium Atmospheric Deodorizer Deployment decision (not Gestalt Consciousness) 1 Trium Bunk Beds Deployment decision 1 Trium Food Container Deployment decision +15% Trade Value for 80 years (not Gestalt Consciousness) +10% Pop Growth Speed for 10 years ( Hive Mind)	1200 Alloys 500 Unity 4 Specialist Pops (not Gestalt Consciousness) 4 Pops, don't have to be drones ( Gestalt Consciousness) -100% Society Research for 6 months 1 Science Ship

Racket Industrial Enterprise

Rackets are the only predefined Caravaneer species, using the same portraits and traits as the Ketling Star Pack. The payment options for this Fleet are randomly generated based on the product offered although Gestalt Consciousness empires are never asked for Consumer Goods. They offer the following deals:

Offer	Price	Requirements
Caravaneer Cruiser	200 Minerals
200 Minerals	200 Food	Game year < 50 Not Machine Intelligence
500 Minerals	1000 Food	Game year < 150 Not Machine Intelligence
2000 Minerals	4000 Food	Game year > 150 Not Machine Intelligence
4 Racket Pops	500 Alloys	Not Gestalt Consciousness
4 Robots	500 Alloys	Machine Intelligence
Waste Reprocessing Center building	6 Pops	Not already unlocked
Orbital Trash Dispersal technology	Any of the following: 1000 Energy 300 Minerals 800 Consumer Goods	Not already unlocked
Governor with the Waste Management Specialist trait	Any of the following: 300 Energy 200 Food 150 Consumer Goods
Scientist with the Spark of Genius or Maniacal traits	Any of the following: 300 Energy 200 Food 150 Consumer Goods
+5 Energy to a celestial body with a mining station	Any of the following: 70 Influence 15 Exotic Gases 100 Consumer Goods	Mining station
Any of the following: 2000 Alloys 150 Exotic Gases 40 Living Metal	Any of the following: 55 Rare Crystals 15 Zro 5 Dark Matter

Events

In addition to the actual offers, simply having a Caravan pass through an empire's colonized systems has a chance to trigger events. Events in general have a shared 720 day lockout.

Ethics	Event
Gestalt Consciousness	3 free Pops leave their planet to join the Caravan. If the empire is Authoritarian it also loses 10 Influence.
Gestalt Consciousness	1 Caravaneer pop joins a planet. If the empire is Xenophobe it can refuse but it costs 30 Influence.
Xenophobe	Mass protests erupt in the system. The empire gains a moderate amount of Influence.
Xenophile or Materialist	An open-air trade and party takes place. The empire gains a moderate amount of Energy. There is a 33% chance that 3 hybrid species pops will spawn within a year.
Any	The Caravan steals 200 Energy Credits.
Any	The Caravan abandons a ship, bringing the following options: Let it drift into the sun. Start a Special Project to search it with a Construction Ship. The project takes 180 days and unlocks a random Engineering research option. Dispose of it and bill the Caravan, granting a moderate amount of Consumer Goods. This option is only available to empires with Corporate authority.

Attacking the Caravaneers

While the Caravaneers will never become hostile to any empire except in retaliation, they can be attacked like any neutral entity. If a Caravan is attacked it will become hostile but the rest of the Caravaneers will remain peaceful and available for trade. Caravans have 4k fleet power and come equipped with mid-game components. The Caravaneer Citadel on the other hand has 7k fleet power and comes equipped with end-game components. Both Caravans and the Caravaneer Citadel grant 2000 Energy and Minerals when destroyed.

Caravan			Caravaneer Citadel	Starbase
10 Destroyers	6 Cruisers	1 Cargo Ship
1 Plasma T2 2 Armor T3 1 Shields T3 1 Regenerative Hull Tissue Hyperdrive T3 Thrusters T3 Sensors T3 Reactor T4 Combat Computer T3 (Picket)	1 Plasma T2 2 Plasma T2 3 Plasma T2 4 Armor T3 2 Shields T3 1 Regenerative Hull Tissue Hyperdrive T3 Thrusters T3 Sensors T3 Reactor T4 Combat Computer T3 (Line)	1 Shields T3 1 Armor T3 1 Armor T3 1 Regenerative Hull Tissue Hyperdrive T3 Thrusters T3 Sensors T3 Reactor T4	1 Lance T2 1 Launcher T2 6 Disruptor T3 6 Disruptor T3 4 Torpedo T3 4 Point-Defense T3 10 Armor T5 10 Shields T5 2 Shield Capacitor Sensors T4	5 Plasma T2 2 Laser T3 5 Missiles T3 2 Flak T1 1 Regenerative Hull Tissue Sensors T4

Game concepts