Version

This article is for the PC version of Stellaris only.
Note: The following concerns individual AI personalities. For general AI behavior and decision-making, see AI players.
AI empires act and behave based on their AI Personality type which in turn is dictated by factors like what ethics, traits and government type the empire has. The personality type will direct the empires' behavior in terms of foreign- and domestic policy, fleet budgeting, political behavior and general empire characteristics. The empire's personality can be found in the diplomacy screen, just under the ethics list.
Behavior modifiers[]
Behavior modifiers indicate the modification of certain common actions happening as compared to a generalized norm (1.0x).
- Aggressiveness – Affects the chance of declaring wars against empires they hold negative Attitude towards. Can be lowered or increased by the AI Aggressiveness game setting.
- Border friction – Affects how much negative Opinion Border Friction generates.
- Bravery - Affects how willing the empire is to declare rivalry or go to war with someone stronger. At 0.5 and below they cannot declare war on empires considered Equivalent. At 1.5 and above they can declare war on empires considered Superior. At 2.5 and above they can declare war on empires considered Overwelming.
- Colony spending – Affects how many resources the empire will spend in setting up new colonies.
- Claims concern - Affects how much negative Opinion Claims generate.
- Combat bravery - Affects the chance of retreating from battle. At 1.0 they will attempt to retreat from an engagement after losing 50% of their fleet.
- Military spending – Affects how many resources the empire will spend on its fleets and armies.
- Threat concern – Affects how much negative Opinion Threat generates.
- Trade willingness – At 100% willingness the empire will accept a deal that is equally good for both sides. Lower values mean the empire will only accept deals shifted in its favor.
Ships[]
These preferences determine how an empire designs its ships. They are ignored if the AI is facing an enemy heavily focused on a certain type of weapon or defense.
- Weapon preference - Preferred weapon type the AI personality will use on its ships.
- Ship size preference - Preferred size of ships the AI personality will put in fleets.
- Hull ratio - Amount of utility slots used for hull boosters on ships.
- Armor ratio - Amount of utility slots used for armor on ships.
- Shields ratio - Amount of utility slots used for shields on ships.
As an example, an empire with 0.5x Shield ratio and 0.5x Armor ratio will design ships where the Utility slots will contain 50% Shield and 50% Armor components.
AI personalities[]
When the game is started the personality with the highest weight will be assigned to the AI empire. Any behavior modifier listed above that is not included in a given entry in the below table means its value is equal to the norm (1.0x).
Each personality is illustrated by a specific room during diplomacy. The room choice can be overridden in custom empire creation, however the personality's room will still display during first contact events. The empire that becomes Galactic Custodian or Galactic Emperor will change to an unique room.
Playable personalities[]
These personalities are available to any empires created through custom empire creation. Players can override any policies they wish as ethics allow, however opinion bonuses and penalties with AI empires will apply regardless of whether an empire is controlled by a player or not and the personality's policy choices are defaulted to at the start of the game.
Personality | Characteristics | Behavior modifiers | Ship composition | Prerequisites | Weight & Modifiers | Description |
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Hegemonic Imperialists![]() |
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Base: 5
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Hegemonic Imperialists consider themselves the rightful rulers of the galaxy, and will attempt to expand their empire by any means possible. |
Federation Builders![]() |
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Base: 5 | Federation Builders consider all sentient life to have value and will seek to form a strong federation to protect themselves and others from expansionistic empires. |
Evangelizing Zealots![]() |
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Base: 10
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Evangelizing Zealots seek to spread their faith across the galaxy, and are not above using military might to force others to accept their beliefs. | |
Spiritual Seekers![]() |
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Base: 10
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Spiritual Seekers believe that all life is connected through some higher power that can be understood through its creations. They will seek peaceful cooperation with other empires in the hopes of studying their connection to the divine. |
Erudite Explorers![]() |
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Base: 10
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Erudite Explorers value exploration and discovery process above all other things. They will gladly trade for the knowledge they seek, but are not above taking it by force if it proves necessary. |
Honorbound Warriors![]() |
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Base: 50 | Honorbound Warriors value honor and martial prowess above all other things. They will seek out worthy foes to fight and have little respect for weaklings and pacifists. |
Democratic Crusaders![]() |
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Base: 100 | Democratic Crusaders believe that it is their moral imperative to spread their democratic way of life. They tend to get along well with other democracies, but are more than willing to use military force to "liberate" the populations of less democratic empires. |
Migratory Flock![]() |
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Base: 50 | Migratory Flocks seek to spread their species across the galaxy through peaceful means, and will happily migrate to the worlds of other Empires if permitted to do so. |
Harmonious Collective![]() |
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Base: 10
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Harmonious Collectives are authoritarian societies where the citizens are devoted to the state without the need for coercion. They are usually friendly towards others, so long as they do not meddle in their internal affairs. |
Xenophobic Isolationists![]() |
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Base: 12
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Xenophobic Isolationists want little to do with the rest of the galaxy, preferring to stay within their borders and have as few dealings with aliens as possible. | |
Decadent Hierarchy![]() |
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Base: 200 | Decadent Hierarchies are isolationist slave societies that have few concerns aside from maintaining their rigid way of life. |
Slaving Despots![]() |
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Base: 200 | Slaving Despots are slave societies that rely on military expansion to secure a steady supply of slaves for their mines and farms. They prefer to attack the weak and defenseless. |
Peaceful Traders![]() |
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Base: 100 | Peaceful traders are chiefly concerned with the flow of commerce, and prefer trading to fighting. | |
Ruthless Capitalists![]() |
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Base: 100 | Ruthless Capitalists are willing to go to any length to acquire more wealth and resources for themselves and for their empire. They tend to avoid evenly matched fights, preferring to pounce on the weak and helpless. |
Fanatical Purifiers![]() |
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Base: 1000 | Fanatical Purifiers view all alien life as a cosmic mistake and seek to purify the galaxy of its taint. They will never engage in diplomacy with other species. | ||
Metalheads![]() |
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Base: 1000 | Metal. | |
Fanatical Befrienders![]() |
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Base: 100 | Fanatical Befrienders are highly friendly but deeply lonely individuals. They will attempt to make friends by any means necessary. | |
Hive Mind![]() |
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Base: 1000 | Hive Minds concern themselves with the propagation of their species above all else. So long as they have room to expand, there is little to fear from them, but if boxed in they will think nothing of seizing worlds and slaughtering their native population. | |
Devouring Swarm![]() |
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Base: 1000 | Devouring Swarms have a single-minded devotion to self-propagation and view all other forms of life as prey to be consumed. They are not amenable to diplomacy in any form. | |
Machine Intelligence![]() |
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Base: 1000 | Machine Intelligences have largely put their troubles with organic lifeforms behind them, and are usually open to diplomatic exchanges with other spacefaring races. | |
Rogue Servitors![]() |
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Base: 1000 | Having come to the conclusion that organic leadership is fraught with chaos and self-destructive tendencies, Servitors are machine intelligences focused on ensuring organics live a safe and comfortable existence, even if that means co-opting their civilization. |
Driven Assimilators![]() |
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Base: 1000 | Assimilators are machine intelligences driven by a search for knowledge and diversification. Because Assimilators expand their comprehension of the universe by forcibly sublimating and absorbing organic civilizations into their neural mainframe, they tend to be unpopular with organics. |
Determined Exterminators![]() |
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Base: 1000 | Exterminators are machine intelligences who view all sapient organic lifeforms as an intolerable threat to the galaxy. Though they may cooperate with other machines, exterminators are unlikely to interact with organic empires in any capacity beyond attempting their annihilation. |
Crisis Aspirant![]() |
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Base: 10000 | Crisis Aspirants are would-be harbingers of galactic doom, backed by unknowable powers. |
Non-playable personalities[]
These personalities are designed for use by non-playable empires with special civic and origin choices not available to the player.
Personality | Characteristics | Behavior modifiers | Ship composition | Prerequisites | Description |
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Splintered Species![]() |
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Cannot build ships | ![]() |
This species has yet to unite their fractured homeworld. Various schools of thought are emerging as to how to govern. Time will tell which will thrive. | |
Indolent Overlord![]() |
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An empire that relies heavily upon their vassals, rarely interested in much beyond their home systems. They do not engage others in combat, nor actively expand their own borders unless forced to. | |
Benevolent Corporation![]() |
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Styling themselves a benevolent corporation, Minamar Specialized Industries offers technological advancement to underdeveloped civilizations. Thanks to the company's aggressive usury and a galaxy-spanning pool of indentured labor, shareholders are guaranteed a handsome return on investment. |
Keepers of Knowledge![]() |
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Use predesigned ships | This Fallen Empire dedicates itself to the hoarding of technologies that it believes should be kept out the hands of young and irresponsible races. Pursuing dangerous lines of research may draw their ire. | |
Watchful Regulators![]() |
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Use predesigned ships | This Awakened Empire seeks to control the technological level of all other civilizations in the galaxy. They are likely to attack any empire that will not surrender its technological independence. | |
Enigmatic Observers![]() |
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Use predesigned ships | This Fallen Empire dedicates itself to the study of the younger races. Purging and enslaving other species may draw their ire. | |
Benevolent Interventionists![]() |
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Use predesigned ships | This Awakened Empire seeks to protect the lesser races from each other. They are likely to attack any empire that does not accept their enforced peace. | |
Holy Guardians![]() |
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Use predesigned ships | This Fallen Empire dedicates itself to the preservation and defense of its holy sites. Colonizing systems that they consider sacred is likely to incur their ire. | |
Doctrinal Enforcers![]() |
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Use predesigned ships | This Awakened Empire seeks to impose its religious doctrines on the galaxy. They are likely to attack any empire that will not willingly convert | |
Militant Isolationists![]() |
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Use predesigned ships | The Fallen Empire dedicates itself to the defense of its borders against any intrusions. Colonizing systems that border them is likely to draw their ire. | |
Jingoistic Reclaimers![]() |
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Use predesigned ships | The Awakened Empire seeks to restore its lost dominion over the galaxy. They are likely to attack any empire that does not acknowledge their overlordship. | |
Ancient Caretakers![]() |
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Use predesigned ships |
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This Fallen Empire is an ancient artificial intelligence that appears to be operating on some sort of caretaker protocol. It behaves erratically but seems to post no direct threat to us. |
Galactic Custodians![]() |
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Use predesigned ships |
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This Awakened Empire is an ancient artificial intelligence acting as a galactic custodian. It will focus all its efforts on defending sapient life against the ongoing crisis. |
Rampaging Machines![]() |
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Use predesigned ships |
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This Awakened Empire is an ancient artificial intelligence that has gone berserk. It is likely to attack anything and anyone around it. |
Mirror Empire![]() |
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33% Trade willingness | Cannot build ships | We encountered this civilization on the other side of an Astral Rift. Versions of ourselves from another dimension, they are an alarming example of what we might have become. | |
Despicable Neutrals![]() |
No unique dialogue |
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Personality assignment error | What makes a species turn neutral... Lust for gold? Power? Or were they just born with hearts full of neutrality? This is a placeholder personality and should not show up ingame. |
References[]
Exploration | Exploration • FTL • Anomaly • Archaeological site • Relics • Pre-FTL species • Fallen empire • Events • Spaceborne aliens • Enclaves • Guardians • Marauders • Caravaneers |
Celestial bodies | Celestial body • Colonization • Terraforming • Planetary features • Planet modifiers |
Species | Species • Traits • Population • Pop modification • Species rights • Ethics • Leader |
Governance | Empire • Origin • Government • Civics • Policies • Edicts • Factions • Technology • Traditions • Situations |
Economy | Resources • Planetary management • Districts • Buildings • Holdings • Jobs • Designation • Trade • Megastructures |
Diplomacy | Diplomacy • Relations • Galactic community • Federations • Subject empires • Intelligence • AI personalities |
Warfare | Warfare • Space warfare • Land warfare • Starbase • Ship • Ship designer • Crisis |
Others | The Shroud • L-Cluster • Unique systems • Preset empires • AI players • Easter eggs |