Played hundreds of hours? Run out of ideas? Check out the 10 most fun and unique empire builds compilation before you start a new playthrough. These builds will end repetitiveness of Stellaris, that I guarantee.
Stellaris is an 8 years old 4x grand strategy game. It has too much content. To explore the game even deeper, one must try unique empire builds. Empire builds in Stellaris can offer completely different playthroughs.
Empire builds consist of civics, ethics, species, species traits, and origins. These are the options you need to focus. Every other empire build parameter is either cosmetic or not really impactful.
Most fun and unique civ builds:
1. Aquatic Anglers
Aquatic Anglers is a unique build you can explore and have some fun.
Anglers civic uncaps agriculture districts on ocean worlds and replaces farmers with anglers. Anglers produce more food. This will also add pearl divers jobs for producing consumer goods. Catalytic processing civic is complimentary to this because it replaces mineral upkeeps with food. It’s very OP because aquatic anglers with agrarian trait will never be short on food production.
Ocean paradise origin is quite fitting as well since they’re aquatic species.
You can also pick aquatic ascendancy ascension perk with this build, which is a unique perk only available to aquatic species. I think this adds more flavor and fun to this build.
Overall, I think aquatic anglers build is very fun to play thus I recommend it to everyone.
Aquatic anglers build:
- Civics: Anglers, Catalytic Processing.
- Ethics: Authoritarian, Fanatic Spiritualist.
- Traits: Aquatic, Agrarian, and Psychological Infertility.
- Origin: Ocean Paradise.
2. Budding Hive
Plant based species with budding trait is always interesting to play. Especially with the tree of life origin. They’ll be the most harmonious creatures in the galaxy.
One mind civic is for unity and experience. It’s very basic. The fun civic is the cordyceptic drones.
Cordyceptic drones: Start the game with 3 reanimated amoebas, defeated amoebas reanimated automatically, and some defeated leviathans can be resurrected. It’ll also boost the reanimated amoebas weapon damage and fire rates by +50%.
Budding is a botanical trait which is only available to fungal or plant species. It gives 0.02 pop assembly for each pop you have on the planet. Pop growth will be very fast in crowded planets once it’s combined with clone vats. Yes, this build requires you to follow engineered evolution genetic ascension path.
Traditional and intelligent are the two best species traits in Stellaris you can take in the empire build screen. That’s why I added the two in the end.
Pruning build:
- Civics: One mind, cordyceptic drones.
- Ethics: Gestalt consciousness.
- Traits: Hive minded, budding, traditional, intelligent, and psychological infertility.
- Origin: Tree of life.
3. Shroud Teachers
Dimensional worship and dark consortium civics fit perfectly to the teachers of the shroud psionic playthrough. Well, both civics came with the Astral Planes DLC after all. Anyways, they’re most fitting for psionic playthrough, pretty OP too.
Obviously, these guys are going to be fanatic spiritualists. Authoritarian is optional though. You can pick pacifist if you like to mind your own business.
It’s a fun strong Stellaris build I like to take. Especially if I have psionic ascension in my mind.
Teachers of the shroud is one of the most op origins in Stellaris. The reason is, you start with latent psionic trait and can take psionic tradition tree without unlocking the mind over matter ascension perk. It’s basically bypassing mind over matter requirement, allowing you to choose one extra useful ascension perk.
Psionic build:
- Civics: Dark consortium, dimensional worship.
- Ethics: Authoritarian, Fanatic Spiritualist.
- Traits: Latent psionic, intelligent, natural engineers, traditional, and psychological infertility.
- Origin: Teachers of the shroud.
4. Broken Shackles + Shared Burdens
Shared burdens and free haven civics are perfect for communist style empire builds. Later you can introduce parliamentary system as the third civic. Beacon of liberty civic would be fine too.
This empire obviously will be fanatic egalitarian and xenophile. Everyone is equal after all.
What makes this build truly unique is the broken shackles origin. It’s featuring a story about a munity aboard a slaver vessel and founding a new community.
In this origin, starting pops are pre-ftl civilizations from all over galaxy. It’s 5 to 10 different starting species on a small (400) sized galaxy. This can be called the Stellaris guardians of galaxy build, I think. Can name your leaders Lylla, Teefs, Floor and Rocket…
Advisor voice The Worker is amazing for this build.
Workers of galaxy, unite!
Can get crusader spirit civic later for converting neighboring AI empires ethics.
Space commune build:
- Civics: Free haven, shared burdens.
- Ethics: Fanatic egalitarian, xenophile.
- Traits: Incubators, traditional, intelligent, deviants, and psychological infertility.
- Origin: Broken shackles.
5. Criminal Heritage Pirate Empire
Want to be the scum of galaxy? I believe this is the evilest empire build Stellaris. What about determined exterminators or devouring swarm? Well, at least these guys kill you and be done with it. Pirate haven corporate is much worse. It literally sucks the soul of other empires both physically and spiritually. Much like real life am I right?
Criminal heritage civic will allow you to build branch offices on other empires. Branch offices cause crime on their planets and will give you trade value in return.
Letters of marque civic will give you pirate raid casus belli on other empires. Can raid and plunder anyone empire you like!
Can take different origins but I prefer scion. It makes you the spoiled child-race of a fallen empire. You can build holdings, raid everyone, and nobody can attack you in fear of retaliation from your fallen empire overlord.
Thrifty trait is very cool for that sweet +25% trade value from jobs bonus.
Ruthless conglomerate voice adds perfect flavor.
Criminal corporation build:
- Civics: Criminal heritage, letters of Marque.
- Ethics: Militarist, fanatic materialist.
- Traits: Thrifty, intelligent, traditional, decadent, and psychological infertility.
- Origin: Scion.
6. Subterranean Lithoid
It’s the one and only lithoid build on this page. So, if you have interest on lithoid species, give this one a shot.
Lithoid species does not consume food, instead, they consume minerals. Thus, I made a build highly focused on mineral production. Subterranean origin removes mining district limit and increase mineral production from jobs by +15%.
Masterful crafters civic boosts consumer goods production and technocracy is for research.
Went with fanatic xenophobe and materialist so that you can build some robot pops because lithoid pop growth speed is kinda slow.
Noxious cave dweller lithoid will always have 80% habitability on all types of planets. That’s why this build is very OP.
Industrious trait gives another +15% mineral production bonus. I also topped it with strong trait which is giving another +2.50% worker pop resource output.
Lithoid build:
- Civics: Masterful crafters, technocracy.
- Ethics: Fanatic xenophobe, materialist.
- Traits: Lithoid, cave dweller, industrious, sedentary, deviants, noxious, and strong.
- Origin: Subterranean.
7. Ring Dwellers
Let’s continue with a build with shattered ring origin. Ring world is the number one in Stellaris megastructure tier list. So, this build can be very powerful if you can repair shattered ring quickly.
Only downside of the shattered ring origin is making your species planet preference a ring world. But you can always edit your species preferred planet type as a machine empire. Ring worlds will always have +100% habitability anyway.
Besides, machine species will always have +50% minimum habitability on all types of planets.
Civics and traits chosen for the unity and pop assembly speed bonuses.
Ring world origin build:
- Civics: Rapid replicator, unitary cohesion.
- Ethics: Gestalt consciousness.
- Traits: Machine, adaptive frames, art generator, luxurious, high maintenance, and mass-produced.
- Origin: Shattered ring.
8. Fanatic Materialist Mechanists
Become the true materialist in Stellaris, just like the humanity of 2024…
Technocracy civic is for science and materialism whereas hyperspace specialty is only for physics research and sublight speed.
Authoritarian ethic first perfectly with fanatic materialist.
I took the natural engineers and intelligent traits to boost engineering research so that we can quickly research robot pop technologies.
Giga materialist should choose mechanist origin to take advantage of mecha pops. Make materials work for you and produce more materials!
Materialist build:
- Civics: Technocracy, hyperspace specialty.
- Ethics: Authoritarian, Fanatic Spiritualist.
- Traits: Intelligent, natural engineers, traditional, and psychological infertility.
- Origin: Mechanist.
9. Cyberpunk
Cybernetic creed origin is literally created for cyberpunk scenario. It adds a unique questline, unique buildings, and locks the cybernetic ascension path.
This origin requires spiritualist ethic and I combined with fanatic xenophile. Because cyberpunk universes usually filled with different unique species. Genesis guides civic will also help with species diversity. Meritocracy also felt natural for a cyberpunk themed empire build.
Intelligent and natural engineers for researching cybernetics. Traditional is for rushing traditions, especially the cybernetic ascension.
Cybernetics build:
- Civics: Genesis guides, meritocracy.
- Ethics: Fanatic xenophile, Spiritualist.
- Traits: Intelligent, natural engineers, traditional, and psychological infertility.
- Origin: Cybernetic creed.
10. Humans With No AI Empires
Bet you’ve already did a human earth planet run. But have you tried one with no AI empires with 2-3x pre FTL civilizations setting?
It’s to explore fermi paradox (What if we’re alone in the universe, rare life hypothesis.) scenario. Or simply to role-play as human fallen empire.
You can become a fallen empire since there is no competition in the galaxy, guide pre-FTL civilizations, and prepare the galaxy for 10x / 25x (depends on your skill level) crisis faction.
Human build:
- Civics: Beacon of liberty, idealistic foundation.
- Ethics: Fanatic egalitarian, xenophile.
- Traits: Docile, traditional, conservationist, and psychological infertility.
- Origin: Ocean paradise.