Stellaris is one of my favorite games ever. But I also hate it for bad optimization… Late game lag of Stellaris is absolutely terrible. I wish I could enjoy the end-game phase of Stellaris without the lag… It’s not about system rig either. Even the best PC rigs experience late/end game lag in Stellaris simply because of the horrible optimization.
No matter what you do, you can’t simply stop the end game performance issues of this game. However, there are couple of tricks that you can employ to minimize end-game lag.
Stellaris developers introduce new optimizations every patch, I thank them for that. However, every patch and DLC also introduce new content. More content means more lag unfortunately. It’s a never-ending cycle.
Again, we can’t completely remove end-game lag and performance issues. Yet, there are ways to reduce the negative effects.
Here are the steps on how to deal with end-game lag in Stellaris:
Optimize Graphics Settings
First, we need to determine what is causing performance issues. Is it your graphics cards? Only one way to find out, reduce graphic settings. Lift the weight off of your GPU.
There are only a handful of graphics settings in Stellaris anyways.
Most optimal Stellaris graphics settings:
- Resolution: Going below your desktop resolution is really bad for quality.
- Refresh rate: 60
- Multisample level: 0-2
- Graphics quality: Medium
- Bloom quality: Low – off
- Lens flare: Low – off
Of course you can always go lower. But playing a sci-fi game on pixel graphics just feels bad.
There is also a mod on Stellaris steam workshop reducing graphics to an even lower state. With that said mod, you can turn Stellaris graphics almost into a child’s drawing. Sounds terrible I know but it certainly reduces the performance issues.
Optimize Galaxy Settings
If it’s your CPU causing end game lag, then you better reduce the workload of your processor by modifying galaxy settings. It’s the best way to deal with this issue.
Reduce galaxy size to 400. It’s a good size to fully experience Stellaris and help the performance.
Turn off xeno-compatibility. Alien crossbreeding creates new species. More species means more lag. It’s just a no-brainer at this point, I always turn it off.
Let mid-game and end-game crisis faction appear earlier. That way you can fully experience the game without hitting later dates. End the game quickly before performance issues get out of your hand.
Reduce the number of guaranteed habitable worlds which is 2 by default. So, if one wants more worlds, one should terraform or conquer from other empires. Less worlds mean less burden on your CPU.
Just fiddle with settings to find the best optimization for yourself. Check out the Stellaris galaxy settings for best performance guide for more details.
Crush AI Empires
Play devouring swarm or determined exterminators and eat everything. Or simply start as a regular empire and then become the crisis. That’ll do it.
Destroying other empires will reduce the number of pops, resources, and planets, thus reducing the calculation workload.
Can also build planet cracker colossus. Basically, use colossus on planets whenever you can. Destroying populated planets in a single swipe will literally boost the game-performance.
Sorry guys and gals, playing peacefully populates galaxy too much. Gotta go Thanos on those AI empires.
Play Tall
Playing tall means not expanding your empires borders. If you play tall, your computer does less calculations, meaning less lag.
Now you may say where the fun is in playing tall. Well, there are few builds work better on tall play throughs. For example, you can play a mega-corp, or a mercenary enclave build.
Pacifist with inward perfection also works very well in tall builds. Find the right tall build and roll with it.
Besides, you can have much more fun in this game by playing tall. Because the micro-managing you have to do will be reduced immensely.
Relax Stellaris playthrough is very underrated and satisfying.
Use Mods
Most mods introduce new content to the game. They actually contribute to the performance issues. So, what you do? Use mods that are actually increasing game performance instead of reducing.
Stellaris workshop performance mods:
- Better Performance & Utilities
- Stellaris Performance Mod
- Stellar Performance
- IBS Performance PATCH
As you can see, there are multiple performance mods available on Stellaris Steam workshop. You gotta check them out and find the best one suits you.
Some mods reduce graphics, some reduce number of ships, and some reduce resources. But my favorites are the ones banning habitats. AI loves building countless habitats and that’s one of the biggest reasons behind the end-game lag.
Upgrade Your System
Hate to say this but upgrading your system will most definitely speed up the Stellaris. You already know that I know. Just wanted to mention it anyway.
If your SSD, Ram, GPU, etc. is outdated, Stellaris will slow down a lot in the late game. But make no mistake, Stellaris late game lag occurs to a degree even in the most high-end computers. That’s the fault of game optimization.
Stellaris is a game with bazillions of calculations. Aspects of Stellaris such as resources, pops, navies, systems, empires all require high-end calculation power. Thus, CPU is the most important PC part for running Stellaris, especially in the late game.
Graphic card is about, you know, game graphics. You can always lower resolution and graphics of Stellaris to compensate older GPUs.
But there is no way to reduce CPU usage other than maybe lowering Stellaris galaxy size.