Version

This article is for the PC version of Stellaris only.
Planetary management

Designation represents the production focus on a world and provides a bonus favoring a certain production focus. It is by default determined by the most common type of Districts or Buildings constructed but can be chosen manually at any point. Capitals have their own unique designation which cannot be changed. If automation is turned on the world will build buildings favoring the designation's bonus unless the planet has low Amenities or high Crime or Deviancy, in which case it will first focus on tackling these issues. Each planetary ascension tier increases the effects of the planet designation by 25% and reduces size from the colony by 5%, which includes pops, districts and the colony itself. Ascension tiers are not lost if the designation is changed.
All designations gain +10% pop growth and assembly speed on ringworlds.
Planet designations[]
The following designations are available for all non-artificial planets except Ecumenopolis.
Designation | Effects | Bonuses | Requirements | Description |
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None | Nigh-endless complexes of generator plants hum and glow on this planet. |
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None | Strip mines, quarries, boreholes, and heavy machinery dominate this planet's surface. |
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Picturesque pastoral landscapes featuring flourishing crops are effaced only minutely by the ever-present scent of fertilizer. |
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None | Dominated by planetary defenses, bunkers and strongholds, foreign invasion and civil unrest will prove difficult on this world. | |
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None | This world is a seat of scientific research and technological advancement. |
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The nature of this planet's production dispenses with the need for major urban centers. |
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This planet is a sparsely populated world on the fringes of the collective. | |
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A densely populated world where one glowing metropolis leads almost directly into the next. |
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A teeming planet-wide network of bustling hives crisscross this world. |
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A mechanical network of thousands of unit service and repair facilities dominate this planet's surface. | ||
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The heat of alloy foundries can be felt almost everywhere on this planet. | |
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This planet specializes in manufactories, workshops, and civilian industries. | |
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Heavy industry with mixed production dominates this planet. | |
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None | Much of the planet surface is covered in a vast network of pipes, refineries, and distilleries. Try not to inhale too deeply. |
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An entire world dedicated to unifying our empire. |
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An entire world dedicated to unifying our empire. | |
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An world dedicated to the care and protection of organic life. | |
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A tranquil, weather-controlled resort world with beautiful nature that has not yet been scarred by large-scale development. |
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A bleak penal colony, filled with criminals paying off their debt to society in labor camps. | ||
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Allowed buildings are:
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This world is purpose-built to maximize the growth rate of its enslaved population. | |
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A world dedicated to the growth of cyborg drones, ensuring the progeny will quickly become productive components of the collective. |
Machine World designations[]
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Available only with the Synthetic Dawn DLC or the The Machine Age DLC enabled. |
The following designations are only available for Machine and Nanite worlds.
Designation | Effects | Bonuses | Requirements | Description |
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None | A Machine World that has not been specialized for any particular production type. | |
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None | An enormous planet-sized machine, designated to produce vast amounts of alloys. |
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An enormous planet-sized machine, designated to produce vast amounts of consumer goods. |
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A planet evaluated to be the pinnacle of existence through complete nanification. |
Hive World designations[]
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Available only with the Utopia DLC enabled. |
The following designations are only available for Hive Worlds.
Designation | Effects | Bonuses | Description |
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A planet-sized organism that has not been specialized for any particular production type. |
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A planet-sized organism designated to produce vast amounts of alloys. |
Ecumenopolis designations[]
The following designations are only available for Ecumenopolis planets.
Designation | Effects | Bonuses | Requirements | Description |
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None | This city planet has not been specialized for any particular industry. | |
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None | A vast city-planet that specializes in the latest cutting-edge research. | |
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None | A vast city-planet that specializes in the ceaseless production of alloys. |
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A vast city-planet that specializes in the ceaseless production of consumer goods. |
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A vast city-planet that splits its focus between that of alloys and consumer goods. |
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An entire world dedicated to unifying our empire. |
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An entire world dedicated to unifying our empire. | |
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An world dedicated to the care and protection of organic life. |
Ring World designations[]
The following designations are only available for Ring Worlds.
All Ring World designations have the following effects in addition to the ones in the table below:
Designation | Effects | Bonuses | Requirements | Description |
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None | An immense ringworld, its massive area spread between all matters of produce. | ||
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None | An immense ringworld section is dedicated to the advancement of knowledge. | |
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None | Endless fields are supported by the infrastructure of this ring world section to maximize growing potential. | |
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Linking generator segments together across this ring world section provides efficiencies of scale. |
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If you can't buy it here, it either doesn't exist or you didn't really want it anyway. | |
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None | The heat of alloy foundries can be felt almost everywhere on this planet. |
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Either: | This planet specializes in manufactories, workshops, and civilian industries. |
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Either: | Heavy industry with mixed production dominates this planet. |
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An entire world dedicated to unifying our empire. |
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An entire world dedicated to unifying our empire. | |
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An world dedicated to the care and protection of organic life. | |
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A world dedicated to the growth of cyborg drones, ensuring the progeny will quickly become productive components of the collective. |
Habitat designations[]
The following designations are only available for Habitats.
Designation | Effects | Bonuses | Requirements | Description |
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An artificial deep-space arcology. | ||
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An artificial deep-space arcology dedicated to trade. | |
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None | An artificial deep-space arcology dedicated to the growing of crops. |
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An artificial deep-space arcology dedicated to the generation of energy. |
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An artificial deep-space arcology dedicated to the harvesting of minerals. |
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An artificial deep-space arcology dedicated to scientific research. | |
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None | An artificial deep-space arcology dedicated to defensive structures. | ||
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None | An artificial deep-space arcology dedicated to alloy production. |
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An artificial deep-space arcology dedicated to consumer good production. |
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An artificial deep-space arcology dedicated to balanced alloy and consumer good production. |
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None | An artificial deep-space arcology dedicated to the production of strategic resources. |
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An entire habitat dedicated to unifying our empire. |
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An entire habitat dedicated to unifying our empire. |
Capital designations[]
The following designations are only available on empire capitals. All capital designations have the following effects in addition to the ones in the table below:
Effects | Bonuses |
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Designation | Effects | Requirements | Description |
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The capital planet of an interstellar empire is a vast complex of government buildings, bureaus and agency headquarters. |
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The capital planet of a Hive Mind is the primary seat of the Mind, from where the collective's thoughts and actions spring. |
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The capital planet of a Machine Intelligence is the primary focus of its central networked consciousness. |
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Factories and manufacturing plants create a vast ocean that covers our Capital's surface. |
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The sound of our capital's forges is the beating heart of our Empire. | |
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Resource extraction dominates the planet's surface. | |
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Our capital is a metropolis of trade and prosperity. |
Synaptic Lathe[]
The Synaptic Lathe has only one designation, also called Synaptic Lathe. It has the following effects:
+15% Resources from Jobs
−5% Upkeep from Jobs
−10% Pop Housing Usage
−5% Pop Decline Speed
Unplayable designations[]
The following designations are unavailable for player empires.
Designation | Effects | Bonuses | Requirements | Description |
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Fallen empire capital world | Though its empire may be in decline, the level of technological advancement on this world is astounding. | |
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Fallen empire colony | Though its empire may be in decline, the level of technological advancement on this world is astounding. | |
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None | Contingency | This planet has been taken over by the Contingency. | |
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None | Prethoryn Scourge | This planet has been infested by the Prethoryn Scourge. |
Planetary ascension[]
All worlds can be ascended using unity, which increases the effects of the world's designation by +25% and reduces
empire size from that planet (from the colony, districts, and pops) by −5% each. If a planet is conquered its ascension level is reset.
The maximum planetary ascension tier depends on the number of unlocked ascension perk slots, with the first tier being unlocked by the third ascension perk slot. Each additional ascension perk unlocked allows an additional planetary ascension tier. Once all eight ascension perk slots have been unlocked, an additional four planetary ascension tiers are unlocked for a maximum of 10, a possible total +250% designation effect increase and −50% reduction in empire size from that planet.
For example, a Generator World with 2 ascension tiers would give a +37.5% bonus to technician output; i.e. the original +25% bonus, multiplied by a +50% increase.
The effect of planetary ascension can be enhanced by the following bonuses:
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Please help with verifying or updating this section. It was last verified for version 3.9. |
Source | Planetary ascension effects |
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+25% |
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+25% |
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+25% |
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+25% |
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+25% |
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+20% |
Secondary planet's designation modifiers (such as bonuses to resource gathering designations from the Greater Good line of resolutions) are increased [needs further verification, see Discussion]. The
+1 Priest job per 25 pops (if a member of a level 4
Holy Covenant federation) modifier with a level 10 planetary ascension gets upgraded to a
+1 Priest job per 7 pops modifier.
Planetary designation effects are affected by the following formula:
where X, Y, Z are the optional bonus source for the enhanced planetary ascension effect from the table above (values: 25 | 20 | 25). A few examples of typical effects values are listed in the table:
Planetary designation | Effect and its values | |||||
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Planetary ascension tiers: | 0 | 1 | 5 | 10 | 10† | |
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−10% | −12.5% | −22.5% | −35% | −52.5% |
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+20% | +25% | +45% | +70% | +105% | |
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+25% | +31.25% | +56.25% | +87.5% | +131.25% |
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−20% | −25% | −45% | −70% | −105% |
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−20% | −25% | −45% | −70% | −105% |
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+15% | +18.75% | +33.75% | +52.5% | +78.75% |
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+10% | +12.5% | +22.5% | +35% | +52.5% |
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−10% | −12.5% | −22.5% | −35% | −52.5% | |
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25 | 20 | 11.1 | 7.1 | 4.8 |
† with all three bonus sources to enhance the planetary ascension effect
Ascension cost[]
The cost of increasing a planet's ascension tier depends on the empire's size and total number of planetary ascension tiers already present in the empire, whether on the same planet or other planets. For example, an empire with 200 size and 3 total ascension tiers (whether from three planets at tier 1, one at tier 3, or one at tier 2 and one at tier 1) would need to spend
5600 unity to increase the ascension tier of a planet. The precise formula is shown below:
From there, a formula for the total cost of performing ascensions can be derived:
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 |