Spaceborne aliens

Version

This article is considered accurate for the current version (2.5) of the game.

Spaceborne aliens

Guardians (Leviathans)

Marauders

Caravaneers

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[edit]

Humanoid science ships encountering a pacified Space Amoeba Mother

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 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 the

Surveyor Relic.

Ancient Mining Drones use regular components. The Cutting Lasers can be salvaged.

Mining Drone	Combat Drone	Destroyer	Base
2 Cutting Laser 1 Armor T1 1 Armor T1 Reactor T2 Thrusters T2 Sensor T1	1 Cutting Laser 2 Cutting Laser 1 Armor T1 2 Armor T1 Reactor T2 Thrusters T2 Sensor T1	2 Cutting Laser 2 Cutting Laser 1 Armor T1 3 Armor T1 Reactor T2 Thrusters T2 Sensor T1	2 Laser T5 3 Strike Craft 5 Armor T1 Reactor T2 Sensor T1

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.

Defensibly: Armor or shields - their shard weapons deal +50% damage against hull but have no other bonus
Offensibly: 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

Defensibly: Shields and point defense - their weapons deal +25% damage against armor and large amoeba launch strike craft
Offensibly: 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.

Defensibly: Crystal plated hulls if available - their weapons ignore both shields and armor. Their erratic damage can sometimes destroy Corvettes in one hit.
Offensibly: 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

Defensibly: Armor - their Energy Siphons ignore shields but deal -75% damage to armor
Offensibly: 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[edit]

The nomad fleet

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 + 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[edit]

The Curator enclave is enabled for owners of Distant Stars as well.

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 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	Gain the Curator Insight modifier for 10 years (+10% Research Speed) +20 Opinion	scales with population
	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 Guardian +20 Opinion	2000 for Hives 600 for Infinity Machine 1000 for other Guardians
	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 a level 5 Scientist with the Curator trait	50 1000
	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
	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
Traders	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 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	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 Tachyon Sensors	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 Tachyon Sensors	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 Tachyon Sensors
Reward	1000 Engineering Research 1000 Physics Research 1000 Society Research	2000 Energy Credits 2000 Minerals	2000 Energy Credits 2000 Minerals
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]

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 exactly 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.