This article has been verified for the current PC version (3.6) of the game.
Civics represent the principles of life within an empire and are primarily limited by the authority and ethics an empire possesses. Each empire starts with up to two civics, and this limit is increased to three civics by researching the Galactic Administration technology or its equivalent. Civics can be changed every 20 years by reforming the government spending 10 unity per empire size. If at any point a civic's requirements are no longer met due to a change in empire ethics or authority, it becomes "dormant" and provide no bonus until it's replaced or its requirements are met again.
Standard civics represent the principles that guide day-to-day life within an empire. They can be picked by any empire that is neither a Gestalt Consciousness or Corporate empire, and are heavily influenced by the empire ethics and authority type.
Civic
Effects
Requirements
Description
DLC
Cutthroat Politics
−20% Edict upkeep
+1 Codebreaking
The political system in this society is renowned for its intrigue. Power struggles, shady backroom deals and cloak and dagger scheming are par for the course. Those who survive long enough to learn the game, however, tend to learn it well.
Efficient Bureaucracy
−20% Administrator category jobs upkeep
Bureaucrat and Priest category jobs produce Edict Fund equal to their Unity output
This society is renowned for its efficiency. Not only do the mag-trains run on time, but the colossal bureaucratic apparatus required to run an interstellar nation has been greatly streamlined.
This society seeks to co-exist in harmony with nature. Great care is taken to preserve the environment and limit consumerism where possible.
Functional Architecture
−15% Building and district cost
+1 Building slots
This society is renowned for its simple yet functional architecture. There are those who would refer to this building style as boring or even depressing, but in most cases, concrete does the job just as well as any other building material.
Mining Guilds
+1 Minerals from Miner category jobs
Several large mining guilds have reached a dominant position in this society. The government relies heavily on their support.
Agrarian Idyll
+1 Housing from Generator, Mining and Agriculture districts
−1 Housing from City Districts
−5 Housing from City Segments
+2 Amenities from Farmers, Anglers, and Pearl Divers
+1 Building slot per every 4 Agriculture districts (+0.25 each)
Can research the Agrarian Utopias technology
Cannot research the Anti-Gravity Engineering technology
Cannot pick the Arcology Project ascension perk
Pacifist
Relentless Industrialists
Post-Apocalyptic
Remnants
Shattered Ring
Void Dwellers
A simple and peaceful life can often be the most rewarding. This agrarian society has, to a large extent, managed to avoid large-scale urbanization.
Full Citizenship pops must have Full Military Service and vice versa
Democratic or Oligarchic
Militarist
Fanatic Xenophile
Reanimators
Are you doing your part? Full citizenship and the political responsibility that comes with it is limited to those who have served a tour of duty in the military. Service guarantees citizenship.
Starts with the Offworld Trade Companies technology
Can use the Mercantile Diplomatic Stance (unless also Inward Perfection)
Oligarchic
MegaCorp DLC
Xenophobe
This society is dominated by a megacorporation that has completely supplanted the role of the state.
Corvée System
+15% Pop growth from immigration
Removes unity costs for pop resettlement
Egalitarian
Free Haven
This society considers it the absolute right of the state to decide where its citizens live and work.
Distinguished Admiralty
+2 Admiral and General starting level
+1 Admiral level cap
+10% Ship fire rate
+10 Fleet command limit
Militarist
The Fleet and the Admiralty have unusually prominent roles in this society, wielding a great deal of influence in political circles. They have the pick of the litter when it comes to new military recruits.
Exalted Priesthood
+1 Unity from Priest category jobs
Capital Buildings replace some Politician jobs with High Priest jobs
Oligarchic or Dictatorial
Spiritualist
Merchant Guilds
Aristocratic Elite
Technocracy
To guard against heresy, this society is ruled by a religious council consisting of the wisest and most pious members of the clergy.
Feudal Society
+1 Unity per Governor level
−50% Leader cost
+1 Monthly loyalty from subjects
Leaders have no upkeep
No loyalty loss from multiple subjects
Cannot dismiss leaders
Cannot use Expansion Prohibited terms of agreement
Cannot use Limited Diplomacy terms of agreement
Imperial
This society is organized in a feudal manner, with a monarch whose rule relies on powerful vassals that govern their territories with considerable autonomy.
Free Haven
+15% Pop growth from immigration
+50% Immigration pull
Xenophile
Corvée System
This society has a well-earned reputation as a free haven. The tired, the poor, the huddled masses yearning to breathe free - all are welcome here, regardless of their species or origin.
Idealistic Foundation
+10% Citizen pop happiness
Egalitarian
This society was founded on strong idealistic values. Whether the current government remains true to them or not, the people have not forgotten.
Imperial Cult
+100 Edict fund
Imperial
Authoritarian
Spiritualist
This society has a dominant state religion where the ruler is worshiped as a living deity.
Inward Perfection
Cannot be added or removed after game start
+20% Monthly unity
+10% Pop growth speed
+5% Citizen pop happiness
+50 Edict fund
+1 Encryption
−1 Codebreaking
−1 Available envoys
Cannot infiltrate Pre-FTL civilizations
Diplomatic restrictions0
Rivals
Commercial Pact
Defensive Pact
Research Agreement
Migration Treaty
Guarantee Independence
Federation
Forced Tributary
Pacifist
Xenophobe
Pompous Purists
This calm and pacifist society has little use for strangers who do not understand their way of life. More than anything, they would prefer to be left alone.
Meritocracy
+1 Leader level cap
+10% Specialist pop resource output
Democratic or Oligarchic
An individual's social station or personal connections should have no bearing on their profession. The sole basis for advancement in this society is demonstrated ability and talent.
Nationalistic Zeal
−20% War exhaustion gain
−15% Claim influence cost
Militarist
A strong sense of nationalistic pride permeates all layers of this society.
Parliamentary System
+40% Faction unity gain
Factions will form within 3 months
Democratic
The parliamentary system in this society encourages a free and lively debate. Currying favor with one of the dominant political factions can prove to be quite advantageous.
Philosopher King
+2 Ruler level cap
Ruler and Governor leaders can't gain negative traits from leveling up
Dictatorial or Imperial
It is not enough to simply rule. The Ship of State must be guided by a king that wields enough wisdom and knowledge to steer it true.
Police State
+5 Stability
+1 Unity from Enforcers and Telepaths
Fanatic Egalitarian
To quash any traces of dissent, the population in this repressive society is carefully monitored and controlled by a large internal police force.
Shadow Council
−75% Election Cost
+10% Ruler pop resource output
+1 Codebreaking
Imperial
Unbeknownst to its own citizens, this society is actually manipulated from behind the scenes by a secretive shadow council. Appearances must be kept, but the tyranny of the majority should also be guarded against. After all, what if the fools vote for the wrong candidate?
Slaver Guilds
+10% Slave pop resource output
35% Enslaved pop ratio
Authoritarian
Pleasure Seekers
Much of the true political power in this society rests with a number of powerful and ruthless slaver guilds. They know how to get the most out of a slave.
Technocracy
+1 Research alternatives
Expertise traits have double effects on tech choices
Capital Buildings replace some Politician jobs with Science Director jobs
Materialist
Aristocratic Elite
Exalted Priesthood
Merchant Guilds
Shared Burdens
To maximize efficiency, this society is governed according to the principles of science and rationality. The personal whims of an ignorant and dangerously unqualified political elite must not be allowed to interfere.
This society has developed into a hardy warrior culture. Martial prowess is valued above all else, and true glory can only be found on the field of battle.
Catalytic Processing
Replaces Metallurgist jobs with Catalytic Technician jobs
Calamitous Birth
By focusing their industrial efforts into catalytic chemistry, this civilization has unlocked the key to using organic materials in the construction of spacebound structures.
This society has always spent much time on improving and caring for their environment, in pursuit of building a true paradise for its inhabitants.
Ascensionists
+25% Planetary ascension effects
−10% Planetary ascension cost
−25% Tradition cost from empire size
Spiritualist
The ultimate goal of this empire is to ascend to ever greater levels of fulfillment.
Fanatic Purifiers
Cannot be added or removed after game start
+33% Fire rate
+33% Army damage
+33% Naval capacity
−15% Ship cost
Genocidal0
Cannot establish diplomatic pacts with alien empires
Cannot use the Galactic Market
Can use the Purification Casus Belli
−1000 Opinion with every empire of a different species
+200 Opinion with same-species Fanatic Purifiers
Pops of different species will always be purged, except for Mechanical species
Gains +2 Unity per purged pop
Can use Armageddon Bombardment Policy
Fanatic Xenophobe
Militarist or Spiritualist
Barbaric Despoilers
Pompous Purists
Syncretic Evolution
Common Ground
Hegemon
Teachers of the Shroud
Knights of the Toxic God
This society appears hellbent on scouring the galaxy of all other sapient life. Come what may, they will suffer no xenos to live.
Masterful Crafters
Replaces Artisan jobs with Artificer jobs
+1 Building slot per 3 Industrial districts (except on Habitats) (+0.34 each)
A penchant for meticulous crafting lies at the heart of this society. Deft appendages and keen sensory organs aid them in creating truly wondrous treasures even in the most basic of trades.
This society rejoices in its own perfection. Those who are elevated by their privileged social structure have surrendered to a culture which glorifies pleasure and entertainment, regardless of a cost typically borne by others.
Pompous Purists
+30% Trust growth
+2 Available envoys
Can send but cannot receive diplomatic propositions
Xenophobe
Inward Perfection
Fanatic Purifiers
Scion
A society so utterly convinced of their own superiority, that any attempt at diplomacy not initated by themselves will be utterly ignored.
Can only create Martial Alliance and Hegemony federations
Militarist
Authoritarian or Xenophobe
Xenophile
Fanatic Purifiers
Common Ground
This society holds few things sacred. To fight is to live, and the strongest may seize whatever they covet.
Byzantine Bureaucracy
+1 Unity from Administrator category jobs
+1 Stability from Bureaucrat jobs
Spiritualist
This society is largely governed by a complex and, to the outsider, almost labyrinthine system of bureaucracy. An army of officials and functionaries work tirelessly to keep the government running smoothly and ensure no citizens are allocated resources they cannot demonstrate a properly filed and triple-stamped need for.
Can use the Mercantile Diplomatic Stance (unless also Inward Perfection)
Exalted Priesthood
Aristocratic Elite
Technocracy
A number of powerful and very influential merchant guilds have risen to prominent positions in this society. They hold significant sway with the government.
This society believes in an equitable distribution of resources, making little to no distinction between the needs of ruler and ruled. All work together for the benefit of the whole.
Diplomatic Corps
+2 Available envoys
+10% Diplomatic weight
Inward Perfection
Fanatic Purifiers
This society has a long tradition of rhetoric and debate and celebrate those who are able to get their way using only words.
This society's religion is built around periodic, ritual sacrifices. Willing initiates devote themselves to a decade of study before meeting an end whose effects ripple throughtout their culture.
This empire pays tribute to memories and sapients of the past, deriving greater stability and insight from the continuous cycles of death, rebirth and legacy.
Within this society, death is no bar to the call of arms. Masters of the art of necromancy reanimate deceased corpses to raise a dread host that strikes fear into the hearts of lesser mortals.
Anglers
Cannot be added or removed after game start
Main species must have the Aquatic trait
No Agriculture district limit on Ocean Worlds
Replaces Farmer jobs with an Angler job on wet climates
Agriculture districts create Pearl Diver jobs on wet climates
−50 Agriculture district minerals cost on wet climates
Post-Apocalyptic
Shattered Ring
Void Dwellers
Subterranean
Adept at utilizing nature's bounty, this society provides for itself a stable influx of sustenance and economic value.
This civilization engages in ritualistic mutagenic bathing, with professional attendants overseeing the use of highly dangerous substances. This 'invigorating' process may appall uninitiated onlookers.
To live is to exploit. This civilization is built around the principle of living life to the fullest, in the sense of squeezing the maximum profit from every last ounce of matter and membrane available for exploitation.
Scavengers
Enables the Research & Salvage Debris debris policy
10% chance per ship debris to create a ship of equal size
+10 Opinion with the Salvagers enclave
In this society, nothing goes to waste, even in the grimmest times of war: no enemy technology will go undiscovered, as teams of scrappers accompanying the war fleets scrape wreckages of anything and everything worth salvaging.
Corporate civics represent the business principles of the leading megacorp. They can only be picked by an empire with Corporate authority or the Corporate Sovereign civic.
Civic
Effects
Requirements
Description
DLC
Criminal Heritage
Cannot be added or removed after game start
Cannot have Commercial Pacts
Crime on Branch Office planets increases Branch Office value
Can build Branch Offices on the planet of any regular empire they have no war or truce with
+20% Infiltration speed
+1 Codebreaking
This megacorporation can trace its origins back to a crime syndicate that eventually grew powerful enough to supplant all forms of local government.
Franchising
−25% Empire size from Branch Office
+0.5 Monthly loyalty from subjects
Can construct Franchise Headquarters holdings
No Loyalty loss from multiple subjects
Cannot use Expansion Prohibited terms of agreement
Cannot use Limited Diplomacy terms of agreement
This megacorporation relies heavily on franchising. Subsidiaries share a greater cut of their profits with their corporate overlord, in exchange for a license to market their goods under established brands.
Free Traders
+10% Trade value
+10% Branch Office value
The trading fleets of this megacorporation are bolstered by semi-independent free traders operating under license.
Building better worlds is hazardous work, but this Megacorporation relies on private prospectors to chart and establish footholds on promising planets.
Trading Posts
+4 Starbase capacity
Good business is where you find it. This Megacorporation has a long tradition of spreading its influence through the establishment on trading posts. Their starbases are busy centers of trade.
Brand Loyalty
+15% Monthly unity
+25 Edict fund
Beacon of Liberty
This Megacorporation has fostered a great sense of brand loyalty among its internal consumer base. Its catchy corporate slogans can be recited by nearly everyone.
+0.33 Trade value per free Spiritualist pop on empire or planets with Branch Offices
Spiritualist
This Megacorporation embraces a curious blend of commercial and spiritualistic values, in which the position of ordained minister and corporate officer have merged into a single role.
Indentured Assets
+10% Slave pop resource output
35% Enslaved pop ratio
Authoritarian
Corporate Hedonism
Pleasure Seekers
Slaver Guilds
This Megacorporation specializes in large indentured workforces. It has little to do with the barbaric practice of slavery - these workers are merely paying off their debts... indefinitely.
Media Conglomerate
+5% Citizen pop happiness
−5% War exhaustion gain
Idealistic Foundation
Before branching into other fields, this Megacorporation began its rise to fortune as a media conglomerate. Its PR department are still masters of spinning stories and presenting the latest quarterly report in the most advantageous way.
This Megacorporation relies on several semi-independent navy contractors to increase its fleet size. Competing for bids, the contractors are always struggling to outperform one another.
Work is where you want to be. The citizens of this Megacorporation happily pledge allegiance - and all their free time - to their employers in exchange for lavish corporate comforts.
Mastercraft Inc.
Replaces Artisan jobs with Artificer jobs
+1 Building slot per 3 Industrial districts (except on Habitats) (+0.34 each)
Masterful Crafters
This megacorporation has focused its production pipeline solely on goods of the highest quality and profit margins, creating and marketing stunning products with artistry and craft.
Public Relations Specialists
+2 Available envoys
+10% Diplomatic weight
Diplomatic Corps
If you can control what someone thinks, then you can also control their behavior. This Megacorporation has a virtual army of specialists ready to engage in battles of public opinion.
This Megacorporation has embraced ritual sacrifice as a means of ensuring its continuing profits. Willing initiates periodically give their lives in hopes of good fortune for their society.
Permanent Employment
Can construct Posthumous Employment Center buildings
Can construct Reemployment Center holdings
Pops created through organic pop assembly have the Zombie trait
Start with 3 or 4 pops with the Zombie trait
After 80-120 years, can gain the Zombie Contract Manipulation empire modifier
This Megacorporation has ensured that its employees will never be out of a job. Ever. After the employee's time is up, they will be repurposed for simpler tasks so that they can still provide for their families and pay off their debts.
Anglers
Cannot be added or removed after game start
Main species must have the Aquatic trait
No Agriculture district limit on Ocean Worlds
Replaces Farmer jobs with an Angler job on wet climates
Agriculture districts create Pearl Diver jobs on wet climates
−50 Agriculture district minerals cost on wet climates
Post-Apocalyptic
Shattered Ring
Void Dwellers
Subterranean
Adept at utilizing nature's bounty, this society provides for itself a stable influx of sustenance and economic value.
This civilization engages in mutagenic bathing, with professional attendants overseeing the use of highly dangerous substances. This 'invigorating' process is marketed as a necessary step in wellbeing and personal development.
To live is to exploit. This civilization is built around the principle of living life to the fullest, in the sense of squeezing the maximum profit from every last ounce of matter and membrane available for exploitation.
Scavengers
Enables the Research & Salvage Debris debris policy
10% chance per ship debris to create a ship of equal size
+10 Opinion with the Salvagers enclave
In this society, nothing goes to waste, even in the grimmest times of war: no enemy technology will go undiscovered, as teams of scrappers accompanying the war fleets scrape wreckages of anything and everything worth salvaging.
Hive Mind civics represent various characteristics of the collective consciousness of an empire. They can only be picked by an empire with Hive Mind authority.
Civic
Effects
Requirements
Description
DLC
Ascetic
+5% Habitability
−15% Pop amenities usage
The Hive Mind cares little for material comforts.
Divided Attention
−50% Empire size from planets
The Hive Mind can divide its attention for maximum efficiency without losing sight of the bigger picture.
Elevational Contemplations
+25% Planetary ascension effects
−10% Planetary ascension cost
−25% Tradition cost from empire size
The Hive Mind is particularly concerned with the metaphysical health of its being, and continually seeks means of self-improvement.
Natural Neural Network
+1 Research alternatives
+1 / +1.5 / +1 Research from unemployed drones
The gray matter of clustered drones provides unparalleled parallelism, accelerating the Hive Mind's exploration of the sciences.
One Mind
+15% Monthly unity
Leaders are less likely to gain negative traits
The Hive Mind takes care to not let its drones diverge.
Pooled Knowledge
+1 Leader Level Cap
+10% Leader Experience Gain
+1 Encryption
The Hive Minds' autonomous drones frequently share knowledge through direct links, bypassing the Hive Mind's slower registry processes.
Strength of Legions
+20% Army damage
−20% Army upkeep
+100 Army starting experience
+2 Admiral and General starting level
When you do not have to educate the mind, the building of muscle becomes that much easier.
Subspace Ephapse
+15% Naval capacity
+20% Sublight speed
The Hive Mind's cognitive processes exist partially in subspace, reducing the impact of time and space on the actuation of its drones.
Subsumed Will
−20% Empire size from Pops
+25 Edict fund
Removes unity costs for pop resettlement
The Hive Mind has sharpened its focus and is very capable of propagating its will even through the most autonomous of drones.
Devouring Swarm
Cannot be added or removed after game start
+25% Ship hull points
+0.25% Daily hull and armor regeneration
−50% Starbase influence cost
+40% Army damage
+20% Biology research speed
−25% Ship cost
+33% Naval capacity
+200 Food when clearing Dangerous Wildlife blockers
Genocidal0
Cannot establish diplomatic pacts
Cannot use the Galactic Market
Can use the Hunger Casus Belli
−1000 Opinion with every empire
Non-Hive-Minded pops will always be eaten and cannot be assimilated
Gains +2 Society research from eating alien pops
Lithoid
Our Hive Mind exist only to consume and grow stronger. We will collect all available bio-matter and evolve to consume the galaxy!
This hive mind utilizes mutagenic birthing pools, with specialized attendants overseeing the growth of newly spawned drones. This process is highly intrusive for the local environment.
Machine Intelligence civics represent various directives and construction purposes of the central artificial intelligence. They can only be picked by an empire with Machine Intelligence authority.
Civic
Effects
Requirements
Description
DLC
Constructobot
−15% Building and district cost
+1 Building slot
Responsible for organizing all planetary construction since its inception, the Machine Intelligence executes efficiently on all manner of facility construction projects.
Delegated Functions
−25% Leader upkeep
+1 Leader pool size
+1 Available envoys
The Machine Intelligence works to reduce vulnerability by increasing modularity, reducing the strain of deploying additional semi-independent Units.
Factory Overclocking
+1 Leader level cap
+10% Leader experience gain
The Machine Intelligence takes care to maintain its production facilities, regularly updating existing templates and tuning individual units on the assembly line.
Introspective
+20% Engineering research speed
+1 Encryption
A fascination with its own internals both motivates and aids the Machine Intelligence's foray into the sciences.
Maintenance Protocols
+1 Unity from Maintenance Drone jobs
Our machine intelligence prioritizes regular maintenance of our units. Maintenance Drones regularly upgrade and adjust our units for maximum efficiency and compatibility.
OTA Updates
−20% Empire size from pops
+25 Edict fund
Removes unity costs for pop resettlement
Units of this Machine Empire use wireless receptors to receive behavioral updates in real-time.
Rapid Replicator
+20% Mechanical pop assembly speed
The Units that constitute the Machine Intelligence were originally designed for rapid proliferation. The Machine Intelligence retains many of these early production pipeline optimizations.
Rockbreakers
+1 Minerals from Miner category jobs
One of the Machine Intelligence's precursor systems was tasked with overseeing planetside mining operations, improving mineral production.
Static Research Analysis
+1 Research alternatives
+1 Codebreaking
The Machine Intelligence seeks to broaden its available avenues of scientific research through low-level evaluation of research methodologies.
Unitary Cohesion
+15% Monthly unity
Exceptionally cohesive engineering standards allow variously specialized Machine Intelligence units to work together at a higher level of efficiency.
Warbots
+2 Admiral and General starting level
+20% Army damage
−20% Army upkeep
With a significant number of its corpus originally designed for warfare, the Machine Intelligence retains the ability to field powerful and reliable combat drones.
Zero-Waste Protocols
−10% Robot upkeep
This Machine Intelligence has configured its manufacturing systems to minimize waste, utilizing long-lived materials and standardized, replaceable parts in all products.
Determined Exterminator
Cannot be added or removed after game start
+25% Weapons damage
−30% Starbase influence cost
−15% Ship cost
+33% Naval capacity
Homeworld is a Tomb World if origin is not Resource Consolidation
Genocidal0
Cannot establish diplomatic pacts with biological empires
Cannot use the Galactic Market
Can use the Purification casus belli
−1000 Opinion with every biological and Rogue Servitor empire
+200 Opinion with other Determined Exterminator empires
Biological pops will always be purged
Gains +2 unity per purged pop
Can use Armageddon Bombardment policy
Driven Assimilator
Rogue Servitor
Born in fire, the Machine Intelligence's first move was to annihilate its organic creators in self-defense.
Driven Assimilator
Cannot be added or removed after game start
Adds second custom organic species with Cybernetic trait
Starts with cyborg pops replacing 10 initial pops
Unique effects0
−100 Opinion with every individualist empire (excluding Fallen Empires)
−200 Opinion with every Spiritualist empire (excluding Fallen Empires)
A product of a brief golden age, the Machine Intelligence originated in a planet-spanning Servitor system that outlasted the decadent civilization it was created to serve.
Organic Reprocessing
Replaces Fabricator jobs with Catalytic Drone jobs
Resource Consolidation
The Machine Intelligence reprocesses redundant organic matter into advanced resources suitable for spacebound structures.
Elevational Hypotheses
+25% Planetary ascension effects
−10% Planetary ascension cost
−25% Tradition cost from empire size
This Machine Intelligence is unusually obsessed with the metaphysical aspects of its core algorithms.
The Machine Intelligence fine-tunes its understanding of core protocols through careful analysis of entropy in the wider universe. Redundancy is data, on the path to greater resilience.
This machine empire improved upon its basic drone-shell production through the vigorous application of highly aggressive lubrication agents, controlled by carefully programmed terminals. This 'optimized' process relies on typically wasted byproducts from the industries that are now repurposed for maximal efficiency.
Available only with the Utopia DLC or the Nemesis DLC enabled.
Sovereign civics can only be obtained as a result of special circumstances. Each one grants an additional civic slot, meaning that they don't replace any other civic. However, the circumstances which add these civics typically change the empire's ethics and authority, and also remove any invalid civics due to those changes. Sovereign civics are not inherited by sectors released as vassals.