Version
This article is for the PC version of Stellaris only.
The galaxy about to fight the Extradimensional Invaders
A crisis is an event that threatens the entire galaxy and all life within it. There are two types of crises: those caused by outside entities that make an appearance after the game reaches either the mid or endgame phase, and those caused by player and AI empires becoming the crisis themselves (except Fallen Empires).
Mechanics[]
General mechanics[]
Crises arrive into the galaxy at certain points of the game and tend to attack all empires indiscriminately in a manner similar to a Total War; systems conquered by a crisis faction will either be immediately absorbed into their territory or will have their starbases completely destroyed, depending on the crisis. Each time a crisis conquers a planet, it causes diplomatic Threat with all empires, making them more likely to cooperate against the crisis. Fallen Empires will send their fleets against a Crisis if it approaches their borders and may even awaken to help fight it.
In general, crisis factions are removed from diplomacy and cannot be negotiated with like common empires. Certain types of governments or traditions are able to communicate with some crisis factions and gain extra bits of loreful conversation. The arrival of a crisis faction will cause a Galactic Focus resolution to fight them to become available in the galactic community.
The Crisis Strength galaxy setting and the various difficulty bonuses increase the hull, shield, armor, and damage of crisis factions, but not the ship fire rate. These bonuses affect both midgame and endgame crises, with the former getting a fraction of the bonus. Having a crisis active in the galaxy will stop the game from ending, even if the Victory Year has been reached.
Midgame crises[]
Midgame crises occur during the midgame phase of the game and, while having a smaller impact than endgame events, are capable of notably reshaping the current state of the galaxy. Rather than following the same mechanics of the endgame crises noted below, midgame crises tend to be locked to specific DLC mechanics which can be individually disabled during game creation.
The list of midgame crises are:
Endgame crises[]
Endgame crises can only happen if they haven't been disabled in the galaxy settings. Normally only one crisis can happen per game, but if the Crisis Type setting was set to All, then all of them will eventually happen and each one will be twice more powerful than the previous one. Endgame crises cannot take place within 12 years of each other.
As the name implies, endgame crises normally can only happen after the end-game year set at game settings has passed, although in special cases, the Extradimensional Invaders can spawn early. After the end-game year has passed, one of the following must be true:
- At least 25 years have passed since the end-game start year
- One of the following must be true (default_endgame_early_start_triggers scripted trigger):
- No Fallen or Awakened empires exist
- There cannot be a War in Heaven, regardless of the galactic situation
- A War in Heaven has already occurred, and finished
- Any empire has
Jump Drives - Any empire has Psi Jump Drives technology
- The Extradimensional Experimentation resolution has been passed
- The Galactic Threats Committee resolution has been passed
- Finished the Ancient Robot World archaeological site (50% chance)
Once the above requirements are met, every 5 years there is a 20% (25% with 
The Machine Age) chance for a crisis to take place. The chance is increased by the following:
- x2 if there cannot be a War in Heaven or there are no Fallen or Awakened empires
- x2 if 35 years passed since the end-game start year
- x2 if 50 years passed since the end-game start year
- x3 if 70 years passed since the end-game start year
- x3 if 85 years passed since the end-game start year
- x4 if 100 years passed since the end-game start year
- x0 if less then 50 years have passed since the end-game start year and the default_endgame_early_start_triggers scripted trigger is NOT met (see above)
- If someone finished the Ancient Robot World archaeological site, there is a 50% chance that crises can happen every 5 years once the requirements are met rather than merely having a chance to appear.
Extradimensional Invaders are twice less likely to be picked as the crisis unless 20 years have passed since the end-game start year.
Endgame crises have a Situation Log entry that keeps count of the casualties on both sides and shows how close the crisis is to being defeated. During an endgame crisis, an audio cue will play in the background and grow more pronounced the more systems are controlled by the crisis.
Once an endgame crisis arrives, the following things will happen:
- If the Galactic Community or Galactic Imperium exists, a Galactic Focus resolution to fight the crisis will become available.
- If the Enigmatic Observers or Keepers of Knowledge fallen empires are present, they can awaken as Guardians of the Galaxy, and may also do so if they had already awakened beforehand. The Ancient Caretakers will also awaken, but only if the crisis is the Contingency.
- The Shroud-Touched Coven will disappear if present.
- Empires with the Fear of the Dark origin will receive a bonus to ship build speed and cost.
If an endgame crisis is defeated, every empire will receive +10% 
Happiness for 10 years and a large reward of 
Unity.
Endgame crisis factions[]
Prethoryn Scourge[]
The Prethoryn Scourge
The Prethoryn Scourge is a swarm of hive-minded alien locusts from beyond the galaxy, arriving for the purpose of devouring all life. The crisis begins with a notice about subspace echoes beyond the galaxy that are approaching. Immediately a Situation Log notice called "The Coming Storm" is added.
In roughly 50 years, they will be close enough to get the general direction of the swarm. A system at the edge of the galaxy will be marked as the center of the Invasion. The system cannot be within or near a Fallen or Awakened Empire. The closest 5 systems are marked for the vanguard fleets. 10 years later, a transmission will be received from the swarm.
30 months later, the Vanguard will arrive with 12 fleets and 5 construction ships. At this point the Prethoryn Scourge appears in the contact log but cannot be communicated with. If an empire's primary species has the 
Hive-Minded or 
Psionic traits, it will be able to communicate with the crisis but diplomacy remains impossible.
200–600 days after the vanguard, the main invasion fleet will arrive at the center system. In each vanguard system, 3 Star Brood, 3 Transport Fleets and one construction ship will spawn.
The Prethoryn Scourge uses the following mechanics:
- The Prethoryn species itself is immortal so their Commanders will never die of old age.
- Every year, the Prethoryn Scourge gains the following ships:
- If they have fewer than 4 Infestors, they get 5 Infestors
- If they have fewer than 4 Constructors, they get 3 Constructors
- If they have fewer than 140 armies, they get 20 armies
- (every 2 years) If they have fewer than 2000 ships and at least 1 Infested World, they get 2 Star Brood fleets. The number is increased to 3 if they control at least 20% of the galaxy and to 4 if they control at least 40% of the galaxy.
- The Prethoryn Scourge will attack planets that contain biological pops first.
- Each fleet will take systems in a way similar to Total Wars.
- The Prethoryn Scourge use Infestors as colony ships. They will land on uncolonized habitable planets and when the colony development process is complete, the planet is turned into an Infested World. As with regular colony development, any orbital bombardment will instantly interrupt the process.
- Prethoryn transports will invade inhabited worlds. If they occupy the world, they will begin to purge the pops. If the world it not reclaimed until all pops are killed, it will turn into an Infested World.
- Infested Planets cannot be invaded. In order to get rid of the infestation, infested planets must be bombarded until Devastation reaches 100%, at which point they will turn into a Barren World with the Terraforming Candidate modifier.
- If the Scourge overruns a habitable megastructure, it will destroy it and it cannot be rebuilt.
Audio Cue: As the Prethoryn Scourge infests more of the galaxy, soft chewing sounds will start to be heard in the background.
Prethoryn fleets[]
Vanguard fleets consist of 31 Swarmlings led by a commander with the 
Void Hunter trait. Star Brood fleets consist of 1 Queen, 8 Brood Mothers, 10 Warriors, and 35 Swarmlings led by a commander that has a 25% chance to have the 
Hive Affinity trait.
Prethoryn Ships have natural armor despite not using armor components. The stats of their weapons are determined by the Crisis Strength setting. Scourge Missiles and Swarm Strikers can be reverse-engineered. Their bio-drives and thrusters are identical to tier 1 drives and thrusters while their bio sensors are identical to tier 2 sensors.
| Swarmling | Warrior | Brood Mother | Queen | Starbase |
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Sentinel Fleet
Sentinel Order[]
If the Prethoryn Scourge controls either 15% of the galaxy or 90 systems, the Sentinel Order will spawn. If a Fallen or Awakened Empire is present, it will spawn next to its borders, otherwise it will spawn next to the borders of a random empire. A new black hole system will be spawned for them and they have Fallen Empire level tech, although their fleets will lack strength from repeatable technologies. Every few years, the Sentinels will create a fleet as long as they have below 200 ships. Sentinel fleets use the ship appearance of all species archetypes except DLC ones and use top-tier components. Their initial fleet also includes a Fallen Empire titan. Sentinel commanders have the 
Sentinel Training trait.
If the Prethoryn Scourge controls at least 50% of the galaxy, the Sentinels will make a breakthrough in swarm anatomy, giving every empire the Sentinel Data permanent empire modifier.
Every few years, as long as the Sentinels have more than 30 ships, they will offer a one time donation of ships to an empire that destroyed at least 7 Prethoryn fleets and did not attack the Sentinels. Those fleets do not use 
Naval Capacity and cannot be upgraded. Each fleets consist of the following:
| 1 battlecruiser | 1 battleship | 1 cruiser | 4 escorts | 4 destroyers | 8 corvettes | |
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The sentinels do not expand. A few weeks after the Prethoryn Scourge has been defeated they will disband.
Captured Queens[]
There are two queens who can be captured. The first is the 
Prethoryn Brood-Queen Relic, which can be obtained by one of the empires in the galaxy after winning a random space battle against Prethoryn fleets.
The second is an incapacitated queen that can appear in a random system inside Prethoryn space, if the Prethoryn Scourge is not defeated within a number of decades. A special project will become available there to every empire to tame the queen, and the first empire that completes it will gain the domesticated queen as a fleet led by an unchangeable level 8 Fleet Consciousness Commander. Roughly every two months, the queen has a 33% chance to add a Warrior to the fleet and a 66% chance to add a Swarmling to the fleet, until the fleet has 30 ships. In addition, roughly 100 years later, if the queen is still alive and the main species is Psionic, the queen will reveal that the galaxy the Prethoryn species came from has been extinguished or eclipsed by something and the empire will gain 1000-5000 monthly 
Physics research.
Feral Prethoryn[]
For 15 years after the Prethoryn Scourge has been defeated, every year there is a 10% chance that, on a system with a previously infested planet, a Feral Prethoryn starbase and 3 Feral Prethoryn fleets will appear. They will not expand but may roam the surrounding systems and fight other Feral Prethoryn swarms. Roaming fleets are made up of 56 Swarmlings.
Successfully repelling the Prethoryn Swarm[]
Prethoryn Swarm entities are heavily armored, attack enemies with missiles and strike craft, along with some acid bursts. Swarmlings possess Corvette-level evasion.
Since all their weapons either ignore or cause major damage to shields, and work equally well against armor and hull, combat fleets should protect themselves with point defense, strikecraft, and armor. Use energy weapons that deal bonus damage against both armor and hull to attack. Arc Emitters work well too; if you build Arc Emitter battleships, hangars will naturally be a good support weapon for them.
Empires which lack the means to directly counter the Scourge’s fleets should immediately focus on containing its expansion instead. Keeping multiple small fleets of corvettes or destroyers to hunt down their civilian ships and stopping infestations is a viable strategy to limit the spread of the Scourge, as they will send otherwise engage fleets to try and stop your efforts. Do note that smaller ships will be highly vulnerable to Swarm Strikers if caught in a direct fight.
If an important planet falls to a Prethoryn invasion, it will take much longer for them to infest it compared to uninhabited planets, as purging takes much longer than infestation. Infested planets are immediately turned into barren planets once they take enough planet damage. Since the Swarm only can infest habitable worlds, it is possible to starve them by cornering them and launching surgical strikes toward their planets to render them uninhabitable, thus widening the gap between them and any infestable territory. The Prethoryn will pull any fleets from surrounding systems to defend their planets, so fleets targeting Prethoryn planets must be prepared to face multiple swarm fleets if those have not been dealt with already. AI Empires in particular will use such hit-and-run tactics against infested planets.
Another feasible strategy is to get a Colossus into the area where the Crisis will spawn and breaking all of the planets to starve them. Putting your best fleets near the edge of the invasion zone is also helpful, stationing them at the ending for any wormholes leading out of the invasion zone is a must.
Prethoryn "Star Brood" fleets are composed of at least one Queen, escorted by Warrior and Brood Mother battleship equivalents, with Spawnling corvettes making up the bulk of the fleet combat strength. A fleet equipped with long-range weapons can expect to destroy a number of Spawnlings before the Prethoryn units are able to return fire, at which point emergency FTL can be used to avoid casualties altogether. By repairing and repeating, this guerrilla tactic can wear down Prethoryn fleets until they are small enough to defeat in a full confrontation.
Salvage should not be forgotten as it unlocks their missiles. Their starbases are equally good sources of technology while being much easier targets.
Extradimensional Invaders[]
The Unbidden
The Extradimensional Invaders are energy beings from another dimension who invade the galaxy with the intent of devouring the lifeforce of every species in it. The crisis begins with a note about a massive power surge somewhere in the galaxy.
Immediately, in a non-pulsar system outside the borders of a Fallen Empire, a Dimensional Portal, a portal starbase and the main Unbidden fleet will emerge. If the system lies within the borders of an empire, the starbase is instantly destroyed. 15 days later, a second fleet will emerge. Another 15 days, later a third fleet will emerge, contact with the Unbidden will open and the location of the Dimensional Portal will be added to the Situation Log. Fleets will take systems from empires in a way similar to Total Wars, while constructors will build starbases in unclaimed systems.
Extradimensional Invaders will focus their attacks on a single empire. If an empire’s ruler has the 
Chosen One trait, that will be the target. Otherwise, empires with a Psionic main species will be targeted first.
If an Extradimensional fleet reaches an undefended planet, it will drain life from orbit. When 
Devastation reaches 100%, the planet is turned into a 
Barren World with the 
Terraforming Candidate modifier. Habitable megastructures will be destroyed and cannot be rebuilt. Extradimensional fleets ignore FTL Inhibitors.
The Dimensional Portal cannot be destroyed until all Dimensional Anchors are destroyed. These are located in systems highlighted in the Galaxy Map, improve shields hardening for Extradimensional fleets in the system by 50% and have perfect cloaking detection. The portal will remain guarded by the main Extradimensional fleet. If the portal system is attacked, then the invaders will recall all of their ships to aid in its defense. If the starbase in the portal system is destroyed, all fleets will remain to guard the system until it is rebuilt, halting their expansion. The empire that destroys the last Dimensional Portal will gain the 
Extradimensional Warlock Relic as well as a temporary 
Opinion bonus from everyone.
The Extradimensional Invaders get additional fleets 55, 90, 180, 265, 340, 425 and 550 days after the portal spawns. Afterwards, unless they have more than 2000 ships, they will receive smaller reinforcement fleets through the portal at regular intervals, with the interval being lower if they have more starbases:
- 0 Starbases: 1500 days, ±200
- 1 Starbases: 1300 days, ±200
- 2 Starbases: 1100 days, 200
- 3 Starbases: 900 days, ±200
- 4 Starbases: 600 days, ±200
- 5 Starbases: 400 days, ±200
- 6 Starbases: 400 days, ±200
- 7 Starbases: 300 days, ±100
- 8 Starbases: 250 days, ±50
- 9 Starbases: 200 days, ±50
- 10+ Starbases: 150 days, ±50
It should be noted that unlike the other crises, which provide warning several years in advance, the Extradimensional Invaders will arrive instantly and with no indication of where the portal will open.
Audio Cue: As the Extradimensional Invaders consume more of the galaxy a faint wind will start to be heard in the background.
The Aberrant and the Vehement[]
The Aberrant
The Vehement
When the Unbidden borders cover either 15% of the galaxy or 90 systems, a second extradimensional portal will open, bringing up another faction called the Aberrant. A few years later, a third portal bringing a third faction called the Vehement will open. While all three factions will be hostile towards everything, they are also hostile towards each other.
The new factions have a far shorter delay for the Initial Fleet spawns (1, 5, 15, 30, 45, 60, 150, 350) in order to bring them on even ground with the Unbidden.
Extradimensional fleets[]
Unbidden, Aberrant and Vehement ships use different names but are identical save for color. All components can be reverse-engineered, including their unique weapons.
Initial fleets consist of 8 battleships, 12 cruisers and 20 escorts led by a commander that has a 50% chance to have the 
Dimensional Stutter or 
Ethereal trait.
Reinforcement fleets consist of 5 battleships, 8 cruisers and 15 escorts led by a commander that has a 50% chance to have the Dimensional Stutter or Ethereal trait.
Portal fleets consist of 20 battleships, 30 cruisers and 45 escorts led by a commander with the Ethereal trait.
| Destroyer | Cruiser | Battleship | Starbase | Portal Starbase |
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Successfully repelling the Extradimensional Invaders[]
Extradimensional ship health is about one third hull, two thirds shield with no armor, so using fleets with only kinetic weapons is very effective. Explosive weapons can also be very effective as the Invaders have lackluster point defense and no shield hardening except in systems with a Dimensional Anchor (which provides +50% hardening.) In terms of fleet composition, focus on Battleships with Giga Cannons and Kinetic Batteries, combined with Titans using the shield dampening aura. Alternative fleet compositions are Whirlwind Missile cruisers, Focused Arc Emitter battleships, or carriers (either cruisers or battleships). In terms of defense, the Invaders solely use energy weapons, so a focus on shield modules is ideal. Their weapons also have poor range, so increasing sublight speed can allow artillery ships to kite them from a safe distance.
Since Extradimensional Invader ships do not use any armor, luring fleets to fight in systems with Pulsar stars can be advantageous as it nullifies their shields while the player’s fleet can use armor. Space Storms also disable all shields, providing a similar advantage to an armor using fleet and the Zroni Storm Caster can be used to create a storm in a system. Because these systems will also disable the player's shields however, and because Extradimensional Invader weapons still deal bonus damage to armor, the best case scenario is to fight the Unbidden after they have just left any system which nullifies shields. This allows the player to use shielded ships while the Invaders are still recharging their shields.
The player has multiple strategic choices when faced with these Extradimensional Invaders:
- A quick rush after the portal opening might be possible. However, one must be able to quickly dispatch the portal guards and initial fleets as they spawn, which requires very powerful fleets.
- Unlike other crises, their initial invasion fleets are much stronger than reinforcements. If the player can effectively clear their initial fleets, reinforcements shouldn't be a problem since they're much weaker than initial ones.
- Salvage should not be forgotten as it unlocks their unique weapons. The starbases are equally good sources of technology as the fleets while being much easier targets. However, the Matter Disintegrator weapons are anti-armor and hull, and the Extradimensionals use no armor on their ships, so replacing your weaponry with these is a bad idea to fight the invaders.
- If the Extradimensional Invaders have claimed many systems before normal empires can strike back, the player should focus on destroying their starbases and construction ships, since starbases will reduce reinforcement interval.
The arrival of the other Extradimensionals are a mixed blessing. On one hand, they might appear in the rear of a large empire or alliance, threatening important worlds and thus the defense against the existing Factions. On the other, all Extradimensional factions will begin to fight each other, potentially causing major damage to one another. Once engaged in combat there, the enemy fleets will have difficulty defending any of their starbases and even the portal itself, making this a crucial opening to strike at such critical targets.
Spawning before the end-game[]
The Extradimensional Invaders are the only crisis that can occur prior to the endgame start date, which can pose a massive challenge for the galaxy if it is unprepared. There are two methods of allowing the Unbidden to spawn earlier than the endgame start date:
- By completing the Ancient Robot World archaeological site. This site spawns in a neutron star system on the outskirts of the galaxy, easily identified by the lack of any connecting hyperlanes. Exploring the system presents a range of decisions, each of which has 50% chance to spawn the Unbidden early, except the decision to build a Sentry Array. Choosing to do so does not affect Unbidden spawn time.
- By passing both the Extradimensional Experimentation and Galactic Threats Committee resolutions. Passing only one will allow the crisis to spawn 25 years earlier than usual, but still in the endgame.
The Unbidden have an 80% chance to spawn every 5 years immediately after one of these triggers are met (that is: every year divisible by 5), and the total chance for any crisis to spawn increases to nearly 100% after 20 endgame years and/or the finishing/prevention of the War in Heaven. Theoretically, it is possible for the Unbidden to spawn in the early game prior to the midgame crises.
It is thus recommended that the player holds off excavating the Ancient Robot World site and passing both of the aforementioned resolutions in order to better prepare for the crisis.
Contingency[]
The Contingency
The Contingency is an ancient, frenzied artificial intelligence whose purpose is to sterilize all life in the galaxy once it reaches a certain level of technological advancement, wiping out all organics and also all synthetics who fail to fall under its control. The crisis begins with a signal dubbed the Ghost Signal bouncing across the galaxy. Every year, each empire will be affected by an event, in the following order:
- Every biological empire that has the Artificial Administration and Mechanical pops and every machine empire will lose a robot pop.
- Every biological empire that has the Artificial Administration and Mechanical pops will lose a robot pop.
- Every empire will get a notification about galaxy-wide synthetic disappearances.
- Every empire will get a notification about the Ghost Signal growing stronger.
A year after the final event, the Contingency will activate. Every 50 days, one of 4 random uninhabitable planets will transform into a Sterilization Hub 
AI World and spawn a defense station, 3 attack fleets, and 3 construction ships and an army fleet. The planets are determined at galaxy generation, so reloading a save will not alter the result. The hubs cannot be invaded and must instead be bombed until they reach 50% Devastation, at which point they turn into broken planets with a deposit of 
Energy, 
Minerals and 
Living Metal and may unlock the technology to harvest it. Colossus owners can also use a World Cracker, Global Pacifier or Divine Enforcer on sterilization hubs, though the worlds will not gain a Living Metal deposit unless this is done with a Divine Enforcer. The Contingency will initially try to occupy the systems between the various AI Worlds in order to become a continuous empire.
When a planet is captured by the Contingency, it immediately starts the process by purging all pops. If the planet is recaptured, the purges will stop and the planet returns to the original owner. If the purge is completed, the planet changes control over to the Contingency. 3 
Mechanical pops called Custodian Bots are spawned but the planets will not reinforce the Contingency. Unlike Sterilization Hubs, purged planets can be captured in ground combat. Unlike other crises, the Contingency does not ruin ring world segments or habitats.
After all Sterilization Hubs are destroyed, a new system will appear at the ends of the galaxy. The system contains a 5th and final AI world, Nexus Zero-One, guarded by 1 Final Core and 4 AI Core Stations. When Nexus Zero-One is destroyed, the Contingency deactivates, all its ships self-destruct, infiltration events and special projects end and the Ghost Signal is removed. The empire that destroys Nexus Zero-One will gain the 
Isolated Contingency Core Relic. The planet does not create any deposit when destroyed.
Contingency fleets ignore FTL Inhibitors.
Audio Cue: As the Contingency sterilizes more of the galaxy a mainframe will start to be heard in the background.
The Ghost Signal[]
After the Contingency activates, the Ghost Signal will start to affect every synthetic pop and even ships with the Sapient Combat Computer. It is measured in 5 levels and starts at 5. The Ghost Signal will lose strength each time a Sterilization Hub is destroyed, lessening its effects.
Machine empires are affected less, but given that most if not all their pops are robots, the effect is greater on them. They will get a special project to remove its effects that costs 2000+70*Pop 
Engineering. If the 
Quasi-Dimensional Reflection technology has been researched, the cost is reduced to 2000+50*Pop Engineering.
Autonomous Ship Intellects used by 
Gestalt Consciousness empires are immune to the Ghost Signal.
Synthetically Ascended species are also immune to the Ghost Signal, however any mechanical pops built by these empires that aren't considered part of their main species of synths will be affected.
 Ghost Signal strength
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Mechanical pop penalty
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 Sapient Combat Computer penalty
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Machine pop penalty
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 Contingency fleet reinforcements (per hub)
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Contingency army reinforcements (per hub)
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| 5 |
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one fleet every 1600 days +/- 200 | one army every 700 days +/- 200 |
| 4 |
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one fleet every 1500 days +/- 200 | one army every 1000 days +/- 200 |
| 3 |
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no effect | one fleet every 1400 days +/- 200 | one army every 1300 days +/- 200 |
| 2 |
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no effect | one fleet every 1300 days +/- 200 | one army every 1600 days +/- 200 |
| 1 |
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no effect | no reinforcements | no reinforcements |
Contingency espionage[]
Unlike other crises, the Contingency also uses espionage. The first infiltration attempt will invariably fail. The second infiltration will happen 120 days afterwards and will make every empire targetable for infiltration events. Every year each empire has a 30% chance to get an infiltration event.
Biological empires can get the following events:
- 10% chance a Commander is killed.
- 10% chance a scientist is killed.
- 10% chance a random starbase is destroyed.
- 10% chance random planet gets −20 Stability for 20 years.
- 10% chance there is an assassination attempt of the ruler. There is a 70% chance the ruler escapes and gains 80-175 Influence and a 30% chance the ruler is killed.
- (repeatable) 40% chance a random planet gets +20% Devastation and 3 pops are killed. The empire will then get −10% Unity for 6 years.
Machine empires can get the following events, all with equal chances:
- A Commander is killed.
- A scientist is killed.
- A random starbase is destroyed.
- A world with 3 Generator Districts gains −20% Energy from jobs for 5 years.
- (repeatable) Errors are detected in some pops, which may be caused by the Ghost Signal. You are given the option to either terminate the units (no pop is actually killed) or wait. If you choose the latter after 120 it will turn out to be either:
- 65% chance nothing happens
- 35% chance a world gets +10% Devastation and loses 4 pops.
There are ways to stop Contingency espionage:
- Biological empires will receive the Synth Detection special project within a few years. The special project 2000+100*Pop Engineering. If the Quasi-Dimensional Reflection technology has been researched the cost is reduced to 2000+75*Pop Engineering.
- Machine empires can stop infiltration by completing the Blocking the Ghost Signal special project or once the Ghost Signal strength falls below 4.
- Hive Mind and Psionic empires cannot be infiltrated and already infiltrated empires will become immune if their main species gains the Psionic trait.
Contingency fleets[]
Roaming fleets consist of 10 euthanizers and 20 sterilizers led by a commander with random skill.
Hub fleets consist of 25 euthanizers and 50 sterilizers led by a commander with random skill.
Contingency starbases have a 
Detection Strength of 8, making them extremely difficult to ambush.
| Sterilizer | Euthanizer | AI Core | Master Core | Starbase |
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The Contingency uses Android Assault Armies to invade worlds. Each transport fleet consist of 20 Android Assault Armies and do not have a commander.
The Cybrex[]
Originally one of the precursor empires, the Cybrex will resurface to help fight the Contingency if it sterilizes either 15% of the Galaxy or 90 systems. At the edge of the galaxy, the Cybrex Beta ringworld system will spawn. All empires will be contacted immediately. The Cybrex will construct a new fleet every few years as long as they have below 300 ships.
Every few years, as long as the Cybrex have more than 30 ships, they will offer a one time donation of ships to an empire that destroyed at least 100 Contingency ships and did not attack them. Those fleets do not use Naval Capacity and cannot be upgraded. A month after the crisis ends they will take the ships back.
Cybrex ships are identical to the Contingency’s save for the color. Each fleet is led by a commander with the 
Cybrex Databases trait.
The Cybrex do not expand. A few weeks after the Contingency is defeated, they will depart from the galaxy, leaving Cybrex Beta free for the taking.
Ancient Caretakers[]
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Available only with the Synthetic Dawn DLC enabled. |
A few days after the first sterilization hub is revealed, if the Ancient Caretakers are present in the galaxy, they will awaken and the Contingency will attempt to corrupt their civic. The Ancient Caretakers have a 66% chance of gaining the 
Final Defense Directives civic (Guardians of the Galaxy awakening) and a 33% chance of gaining the 
Corrupted Defense Directives civic and start attacking every other empire regardless of relative power. The chance is rolled at the start of the game so reloading a previous save will not alter the result.
5 years later, other Fallen Empires may awaken as a Guardians of the Galaxy as usual, allowing up to 3 Guardian empires against the Crisis.
Once the Contingency is defeated, if the Ancient Caretakers awakened as Guardians, they will shut down, leaving their ringworlds free for the taking.
Successfully repelling the Contingency[]
The initial Fleet spawned with the Hub systems is considerable and planets in the Hub systems will often have fallen before the first fleet has mobilised. Colonies in the Hub systems are generally a writeoff until the roaming fleets have been dealt with.
Even if identified beforehand, Hubs normally cannot be prevented from awakening. If the planet is destroyed through the World Cracker Colossus, the shattered world will simply reform into the Sterilization Hub. Military starbases on the star will be abandoned if there are no colonies there, rendering any resources spent moot. If fleets are parked in the system, the Contingency will spawn an armada of much greater power than standard.
The first order is generally to destroy any roaming fleets, with priority for the ones closest to the player. While the four Hubs will open separate fronts, the great distance means their respective fleets will be unable to easily link up. This allows the player to more easily pick off fleets and focus on one Hub at a time. Contingency fleets already spawned are generally unlikely to rush to the aid of a planet or Hub. They are more likely to attack another target than defend, but may refuse to leave the Hub station if nearby fleets are too strong.
Destroying all four Hubs is the ultimate goal. Their Hub fleets will always stay with the Hub, making it a hard target together with the AI Core and the starbase. While destroying one of the Hubs does reduce the reinforcement intervals, the reduction in spawn cycles running in parallel should be a net advantage.
The Synthetic Queen[]
 |
Available only with the The Machine Age DLC enabled. |
Synthetic Queen Cetana
The Synthetic Queen is an extremely powerful synth whose goal is to bring an end to all suffering by ending sapience itself. She is the only crisis that is not immediately hostile, and unlike other factions, her crisis follows a situation that must be completed before she can be engaged. Unlike other crises, her spawn location can be predicted, and will be picked in the following order:
- The homeworld of the Militant Isolationists
- The homeworld of a Fallen Empire unless it is the overlord of a Scion empire
- Any Relic World
- Any Tomb World
- Any habitable planet
The system where the Synthetic Queen spawns will be protected by 7 starbases.
6 months later, every empire will be notified about a power surge in the system where the Synthetic Queen spawns. Another 6 months later, she will expand into all adjacent systems. A year later, she will expand into all adjacent systems again, destroying the fallen empire if she spawned in the homeworld of one. Next year, the Synthetic Queen will contact all empires. She will call herself Cetana and appear as such in the Contacts menu, but she cannot be contacted.
Immediately after, Cetana will declare Total War on all Fallen Empires if any exist in the galaxy. Empires with the 
Scion origin who are still a subject of the Fallen Empire will not be dragged into the war and will receive a message from their overlord instead. While at war with Fallen Empires, the Synthetic Queen will receive a new fleet every 6 months as long as she has fewer than 13, her ships will receive bonuses specific to counter their fleets, and the Fallen Empiress will receive debuffs against her attacks.
When the Synthetic Queen expands into a system, all planets aside from gas giants are terraformed into 
Nanite Worlds. Those that were previously colonizable will get the Terraforming Candidate modifier while those that were not will get a deposit of 3 
Nanites. Habitable megastructures will be destroyed and cannot be rebuilt. In addition, all ships in the system will get +5 
Chance to Evade and −10% 
Sublight Speed. Unlike other crises, the Synthetic Queen is highly visible on the galaxy map, her systems having a unique visual effect.
After all Fallen Empires are destroyed, or roughly a year after she makes contact if she did not have Fallen Empires to fight, Cetana will contact all empires again and build an outposts in one of the systems bordering each empire, or one of their systems if there are no unowned systems in the galaxy. Those systems will appear differently on the galaxy map. How each empire reacts to Cetana's actions will affect her Opinion. Cetana will also become available for contact. In addition, every empire will get the Cetana: The Synthetic Queen situation and Cetana will give them one of the following technologies:
- Ascension Theory
- Adaptive Armor Hardening
- Advanced Shield Hardening
- Mega-Engineering
- Jump Drives
- Dark Matter Deflectors
- Dark Matter Power
- Living Metal
- Artificial Dragonscales
- Enigmatic Encoder
- Enigmatic Decoder
- If all technologies were researched, she will instead give the Cetana's Thought technology and any further rewards after that will be random repeatable technologies (Virtual Individualist Machines may receive the technology Identity Copies after returning the Data Cache) (May be available as other forms of Machine Empire as well)[1].
If a fleet attempts to enter one of the Synthetic Queen's systems before she makes contact, the fleet it will go MIA and the empire will receive a Special Project that costs 10000 Physics Research. Otherwise the project will be offered after the Synthetic Queen makes contact. Completing the project adds 10% progress to the Cetana: The Synthetic Queen situation and the empire will receive a second Special Project that costs 50000 Physics Research. Completing the second project will allow entering the Synthetic Queen's outpost systems, adds another 10% progress to the Cetana: The Synthetic Queen situation and gives 500 Nanites. Empires that adopted the 
Nanotech tradition tree will receive an additional 500 Nanites and unlock new dialogue options to gain the Cetana's Apprentice permanent empire modifier.
Within a year after Cetana constructs her outposts, every empire will receive 6-10 Special Projects depending on galaxy size. 5 projects will be useful and 1-5 will be empty. One Special Project will be located within the empire's borders and will always be useful, while the rest will be located in random systems that are not controlled by Cetana. Each project requires a science ship and 500 days to complete. Completing a useful project will add 10% progress to the Cetana: The Synthetic Queen situation and has a 50% chance to create the Cetana: Unlikely Survivor archaeological site. Completing an empty project will grant a small amount of Engineering, Physics or 
Society. A few months after all useful Special Projects have been completed, a Special Project will be issued on an uninhabitable planet within borders. Completing it reveals the Cetana: Veiled Temple archaeological site.
If one of the Synthetic Queen's fleets bombard a planet until Devastation reaches 100% the planet is turned into a Barren World with the Terraforming Candidate modifier. Habitable megastructures will be destroyed and cannot be rebuilt.
Reaching the second stage on the Cetana: The Synthetic Queen situation removes the Opinion penalty for raiding convoys and outposts. Finishing the situation gives the Bane of the Synthetic Queen permanent empire modifier and allows declaring war on Cetana.
Until the Cetana: The Synthetic Queen situation is completed, her fleets other than convoys and outpost guards cannot be attacked and the option to declare war on her will be greyed out. Once any empire declares war, Cetana will dismantle her outposts and leave in place a fleet of 12 Heralds.
The crisis will end when Cetana's colossus is destroyed, at which point all her starbases and ships will self-destruct. The empire that destroys the colossus will gain the 
Cetana's Heart relic.
The Synthetic Queen's opinion[]
Cetana has an Opinion value. It starts at 50 and can only be affected through events and dialogue choices. If her Opinion rises above 75, she will reward the empire every 30 months with another one of her technologies and lose 10 Opinion. If her Opinion falls below 25, she will retaliate every 30 months until her Opinion is increased above 25. Cetana will punish empires in the following order:
- Every system gets −15% Sublight Speed and −10 Tracking for 12 months
- −75% Research Speed for 30-40 months
- Every system gets −30% Sublight Speed and −20 Tracking for 30-40 months
- Ruler is killed if the empire is not Gestalt Consciousness and Legion Node is killed if the empire is Gestalt Consciousness
Cetana's Work[]
Cetana's Work represents how close Cetana is to completing her plan. Once complete, the game will end for every empire. Cetana's Work progress is invisible until it reaches 50%.
Around one year after Cetana constructed her outposts, every empire will receive a request from her to retrieve a data cache located in the empire's capital system. Whether they accept or not, they will receive a Special Project. If Cetana's request is accepted, the Special Project will be available for 900 days. Otherwise, it will only be available for 540 days. Once the Special Project is completed, the empire will have the option to open the cache or send it to Cetana.
- Opening the cache makes Cetana's Work visible early and increases the progress of the Cetana: The Synthetic Queen situation.
- Not opening the cache after agreeing to help Cetana lets you choose a huge reward of basic resources, advanced resources, strategic resources, or another one of the technologies Cetana usually gives. If you refused to help Cetana, you will not receive any reward.
- Materialist and Fanatic Materialist empires have the option to hack into the cache and gain both rewards.
Once Cetana's Work reaches 80%, all empires will be at war with her and will become able to enter all her systems.
Requests[]
Once the data cache Special Project is completed one way or another, Cetana will begin to make a demand to all empires every 5 years. Giving her what she wants will increase progress towards Cetana's Work. Cetana may request the following:
- 1 Pop. Can also offer 2 Pops, 25 Influence and 2000 Unity to gain 10% progress for the Cetana: The Synthetic Queen situation.
- 25% Alloys for a year. Can also offer 250% Alloys for a year, 25 Influence and 1000 Unity to gain 10% progress for the Cetana: The Synthetic Queen situation and +5% Naval Capacity and +25% Ship Build Speed for 2 years.
- 25% Research Speed for a year. Can also offer 50% Research Speed for a year, 25 Influence and 1500 Unity to gain 10% progress for the Cetana: The Synthetic Queen situation.
- 1 uninhabitable system without a megastructure. Can also offer 2 systems, 50 Influence and 2500 Unity to gain 10% progress for the Cetana: The Synthetic Queen situation.
- 1 habitable system without a megastructure. Can also offer 2 systems, 100 Influence and 3000 Unity to gain 10% progress for the Cetana: The Synthetic Queen situation and +10% Naval Capacity and +50% Ship Build Speed for 2 years.
If an empire has the 
Head of Zarqlan relic, Cetana will ask for it after establishing her outposts. Accepting gives +20 Opinion while refusing gives −20 Opinion.
Weak Links[]
After Cetana constructs her outposts, she will periodically send out convoys that travel between outposts and her capital. The frequency and limit of convoys scales with galaxy size. Every empire will receive a situation log entry called Weak Links that lets them track and ambush the convoys. To ambush a convoy, a fleet requires at least 50k fleet power. Empires that complete the Special Project to enter Cetana's storm will also receive a situation log objective that lets them raid the systems she claimed near the borders of empires. Each time a convoy or outpost is destroyed, the empire that raided it will receive one of the following rewards:
- 30% chance to gain 10% progress for the Cetana: The Synthetic Queen situation and Cetana's Work will be reduced.
- 12.72% chance to gain 4 Pops from random species that exist in the galaxy
- 12.72% chance to gain scaled Engineering research
- 12.72% chance to gain scaled Physics research
- 12.72% chance to gain scaled Society research
- 12.72% chance to gain 10000 Alloys
- 6.36% chance to gain 1000 Nanites
- Empires with the Barbaric Despoilers civic have a 5.8% chance to obtain 8000 Alloys, 700 Nanites and 3 pops from random species that exist in the galaxy
The Synthetic Queen's fleets[]
The Synthetic Queen spawns with 6 fleets and Cetana's colossus. Each fleet contains 3 Defenders and 18 Heralds. Convoys and the fleets she spawns to protect the system bordering each empires contain 1 Defender and 6 Heralds. Fleets that spawn to protect demanded systems contain 18 Heralds.
| Cetana | Defender | Herald | Starbase |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
|
The Shroud ending[]
Psionic empires that breached the Shroud and completed both crisis archaeological sites will unlock a new interaction to reach out to the Animator of Clay when entering the Shroud. The interaction costs 2000 Energy and 500 
Zro. Next, the empire must pay one of three prices: 27182 Zro, a planet, or the ruler. Paying the price will disable Cetana's colossus and start a Special Project the requires bringing a transport ship next to it for a month. Completing the Special Project will instantly defeat Cetana. Instead of the relic, the empire will get her colossus.
Player crises[]
Playable empires can become a crisis as well by taking either the 
Galactic Nemesis or 
Cosmogenesis ascension perks. Both ascension perks will unlock the Crisis tab, where the crisis progression comes in 5 levels and grants various perks. The last crisis level requires the empire to be independent.
It should be noted that an empire becoming a crisis does not stop endgame crises from occurring.
Galactic Nemesis[]
Galactic Nemesis crisis progression
 |
Available only with the Nemesis DLC enabled. |
Empires that pick the Galactic Nemesis ascension perk will be able to acquire 
Menace and complete expensive crisis Special Projects to progress through the crisis levels. It should be noted that only upon reaching the fifth crisis level is the empire treated as any other crisis (Total War with every other empire). This means that through levels 1–4, the "crisis" empire acts as normal, save for not being able to become the Custodian. Only level 5 crisis is the "point of no return", gated by the Special Project to level up, so to speak. This gives the ascension perk far more value for empires who don't want to take the final step, with its various bonuses.
Menace is gained by completing crisis objectives. The amount granted by each objective is reduced if the galaxy is larger or more populated with empires.
| Objective | Menace
|
Description |
|---|---|---|
| Destroy Enemy Ships | 15 / galaxy size | Destructive battle is a proven and efficient way to wreak havoc and upset balance. |
| Destroy Starbases | 15 / galaxy size | Starbases are the anchor points of empires. Unmoor them, and the empires are doomed to lose control. |
| Purge or Assimilate Pops | 15 / galaxy size | An enemy is only a threat as long as it is alive – or an enemy. |
| Perform Disruptive Operations | 50 - (2.5 x empires) | Hurting our enemies from the inside has proven to be an excellent complement to traditional force projection. |
| Destroy Empires | 500 - (25 x empires) | Few things disrupt the galactic balance as much as the annihilation of entire civilizations. |
| Vassalize Empires | 500 - (25 x empires) | As long as they contribute rather than thwart, there is room for subjects in our dominion. |
| Destroy Worlds | 500 / galaxy size / habitable worlds | Take Scorched Earth tactics to a whole other level. |
| Conquer Worlds | 750 / galaxy size / habitable worlds | Crushing the enemy’s morale can be more efficient than crushing them outright. |
| Retain Vassals (yearly) | 50 - (2.5 x empires) | Their obedience stands as testament to our flawless dominion. |
| Be In Breach of Galactic Community Law (yearly) | 250 - (18 x empires) | The audacity of that pathetic bunch of feeble bureaucrats – we will not submit! |
Once enough Menace and special projects are completed, the empire will gain a new crisis level. Opinion penalties only apply from empires that have at least Medium Intel on government.
| Crisis level | Required Menace
|
Effects | Opinion
|
Special project cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Concern
|
0 |
|
0 | No special project |
 Risk
|
1000 |
|
−60 | 3000 Society
|
 Danger
|
2000 |
|
−140 | 6000 Physics
|
 Calamity
|
5000 |
|
−240 | 12000 Society
|
 Existential Threat
|
10000 |
|
−400 | 20000 Engineering
|
Upon reaching Existential Threat level, the empire will gain control of the Aetherophasic Engine. Should it be fully upgraded, the entire galaxy will be destroyed (with all systems going supernova and turning into blackholes), and the Galactic Nemesis will be declared winner of the game.
Cosmogenesis[]
Cosmogenesis crisis progression
|
|
Available only with the The Machine Age DLC enabled. |
Empires that pick the 
Cosmogenesis ascension perk will be able to acquire 
Advanced Logic and research expensive technologies to progress through the crisis levels. Compared to a Galactic Nemesis empire, the character of a Cosmogenesis empire is more dangerously reckless than malicious, and the end goal is not the destruction of the galaxy, though the empire's experiments in tampering with the fabric of reality have far-reaching and often destructive consequences. Unlike Galactic Nemesis, reaching Existential Threat level does not lead to automatic Total War with the galaxy and it has smaller Opinion penalties in comparison, meaning a Cosmogenesis faction can potentially remain at peace with the rest of the galaxy provided it uses diplomacy efficiently.
Advanced Logic is gained by completing crisis objectives. The amount granted by each objective scales down with each empire present in the galaxy. Most of the hostility of this crisis is caused by Purging pops via the Synaptic Lathe; while this can be avoided, it will lead to much slower progression. Because of how Purging mechanics work, it is also possible to bypass the diplomatic penalties entirely by only using Gestalt Consciousness pops in the Lathe.
| Objective | Advanced Logic
|
Description |
|---|---|---|
| Employ Neural Chips (yearly) | Neural chip jobs | The scale of our research is such that sacrifices must be made to accommodate it. |
| Research New Technologies | 200 − (10 × empires) | With every new technology, no matter how small, we gain insights in the inner workings of reality. |
| Research Applied Infinity Theses | 10000 − (200 × empires) | Large-scape experiments to alter the rules that govern the behavior of reality will yield precious data. |
| Secure Galactic Community Support (yearly) | 100 − (2.5 × empires) | Convincing the members of the Galactic Community that our research is essential would go a long way toward fulfilling our plans. |
 Control Science Nexuses (yearly) |
800 − (50 × empires) | Located far from any gravitational anomaly, this state-of-the-art research facility is used to ascertain unspoiled spacetime data. |
 Retain Scholarium Vassals (yearly) |
250 − (10 × empires) | Research-focused subjects can help us in our quest for absolute knowledge. |
Once enough Advanced Logic and special projects are completed, the empire will gain a new crisis level. Advanced Logic can also be gained by completing the Vultaum precursor chain.
| Crisis level | Required Advanced Logic
|
Effects | Opinion
|
Required technology |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| File:Cosmogenesis Lvl1 btn.png Concern | 0 |
|
0 | No technology |
| File:Cosmogenesis Lvl2 btn.png Risk | 2000 |
|
−30 | File:Tech cosmogenesis crisis 1.png Exponential Learning Theory |
| File:Cosmogenesis Lvl3 btn.png Danger | 6000 |
|
−70 | File:Tech cosmogenesis crisis 2.png Gravitic Brush |
| File:Cosmogenesis Lvl4 btn.png Calamity | 18000 |
|
−120 | File:Tech cosmogenesis crisis 3.png Theoretical Infinity Thesis |
| File:Cosmogenesis Lvl5 btn.png Existential Threat | 45000 |
|
−200 |
|
After reaching the final crisis level, the crisis empire must research the extremely expensive File:Tech cosmogenesis crisis 5.png Nascent Universes technology and then construct the equally expensive Horizon Needle. The Horizon Needle is a ship but it is constructed like a megastructure. The ship is very resilient and has a Jump Drive regardless of whether the empire researched it or not, but has no weapons. Once completed, it needs to be ordered to embark the population of every colony, which will decolonize the former colony. Once every colony has been embarked, the Horizon Needle must embark the population of the empire capital. Unlike colonies, the capital will not be decolonized once the population is embarked and will retain 20 
Pops. Finally, the Horizon Needle must either be ordered to dive into a black hole or complete a special project to dive into the supermassive black hole at the center of the galaxy, the latter requiring the Horizon Needle to remain at the capital for a year. Regardless of what option is taken, the game is won upon completion.
There are multiple endings for Cosmogenesis depending on whether the special project was used or which black hole was plunged into.
- Picking the supermassive black hole at the galactic core leads to the default ending.
- The following black holes have unique endings: Great Wound, Gargantua, Pantagruel, Terminal Egress, the black holes where the Dimensional Horror or The Elder One emerge, the black hole where the Horizon Signal event chain started and the black hole created by The Worm.
- The Special Project has different endings depending on whether the empire formed a Covenant with a Shroud entity or has the Knights of the Toxic God origin.
- Empires with Obsessional Directive Obsessional Directive have a different ending regardless of the chosen black hole as long as they never missed their quota and have not gone for the galactic core black hole.
Post-Cosmogenesis galaxy[]
The Cosmogenesis ending will make the empire unplayable and bring the option to switch to another empire if any exists.
The Cosmogenesis empire will become a Fallen Empire. Its personality will depend on empire ethics. It will retain all subjects and if it is part of a federation, it will remain as a member. If it had a Synaptic Lathe, the megastructure is destroyed. If the empire was a 
Hive Mind, it will possess unique civics not found in conventional Fallen Empires.
The following effect will occur upon a Cosmogenesis victory across the entire galaxy:
- 9% of all systems will be destroyed.
- 50% of all starbases will be destroyed.
- 30% of all fleets will be destroyed.
- 80% of the systems will gain random deposits.
Every surviving non-capital planet will be radically changed in the following way:
- 5% chance the planet becomes a Shattered World.
- 5% chance the planet becomes a Black Hole.
- 20% chance the colony is destroyed and the planet gains +200% Colony Development Speed, Pop Growth Speed and Mechanical Pop Assembly Speed and +75% Planetary Build Speed for 10 years.
- 21% chance the colony gains 85 Devastation, −100% Pop Growth Speed and Mechanical Pop Assembly Speed and −200% Planetary Build Speed for 10 years.
- 21% chance the colony loses 13 Pops and gains 8 blockers.
- 21% chance the colony loses 20 Pops and gains 6 blockers.
- 7% chance the colony gains +200% Colony Development Speed, Pop Growth Speed and Mechanical Pop Assembly Speed and +75% Planetary Build Speed for 10 years.
Every empire will gain +20% 
Pop Amenities Usage, −20% Happiness and −20 
Stability for 5 years.
For 30 days, the date will not display properly.
References[]
- ↑ Proof of receiving the Identity Copies tech option as a reward from Cetana as a Gestalt Machine empire using Nanite Ascension. https://imgur.com/a/JESLPfW
| 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 |