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  • How Is Empire Size Calculated?
  • What Does Empire Size Do?
  • How To Reduce Empire Size
  • Anticipating Empire Size Gains

Whether your empire in Stellaris consists of a few heavily-developed planets or hundreds of star systems, it will become more difficult to manage as it grows. Empire Size, otherwise known every bit Sprawl, represents the challenges of managing a galactic civilization by imposing penalties the larger an empire becomes.

Nobody is immune to Sprawl penalties, only with careful planning and management y'all tin can anticipate its effects. Knowing how your Empire Size volition bear upon your income - and how it won't - will help yous make better choices throughout whatever Stellaris campaign.

How Is Empire Size Calculated?

empire size at the beginning of a campaign

To make up one's mind your Empire Size, the game simply adds up all the contributing factors. Colonies are the largest private sources of Sprawl, but factors such as population and the number of systems within your borders add upwardly rapidly to increase Empire Size as well.

Empire Size Factors

Factor Size Increase Per
Population 1
Arrangement 1
Colony 10
District i
Corporate Branch Office 2

What Does Empire Size Practise?

Stellaris, loading screen

Early on in the game you won't need to worry nearly Empire Size at all. As long as it's ane hundred or less, information technology has no effect. For every point of Sprawl above a hundred, nonetheless, the toll of Technologies increases by one 10th of a per centum and the cost of Traditions increases by ane fifth of a percent.

These numbers are pretty pocket-size, but don't be fooled - they add up. Allow's say you're at exactly one hundred Empire Size and you lot addendum a system with a habitable world to colonize. Later on several years you've built 3 districts and at that place are vi pops on your fledgling colony. This relatively minor expansion but increased your tech costs by two percent for the rest of the game, in addition to any other increases from population growth on other planets or farther expansion you did in the meantime.

How To Reduce Empire Size

stellaris expansion traditions

There are several ways to reduce the corporeality of Sprawl your empire generates. Adopting the right ideals, government types, and traits volition cause specific Empire Size factors to count less. For case, if your empire has the Fanatic Pacifist ethos, pops will generate thirty percent less Sprawl, finer increasing your Empire Size by merely 0.seven points each. Be on the lookout for Traditions, Civics, and even Technologies that will assist go on Sprawl under control.

Having skilled Governors in all your Sectors is a great way to reduce your Empire Size rating. Pops in a Governor's Sector generate 2 percent less Sprawl per Governor level. In a highly-populated Sector, that'southward a big reduction.

Empire Size modifiers are applied immediately to all present and time to come factors that they affect. This means that unlocking a new modifier volition have an immediate affect on your Technology and Tradition costs.

Anticipating Empire Size Gains

A graph of all of the Stellaris Origin options.

Since you can calculate how much your planned growth will touch your Empire Size, and by extension your costs, you lot can soften the blow past increasing your Research and Unity production. Staying ahead of the rise costs will allow you to maintain or even speed upwards your progress in these areas.

Pacifists might not exist the well-nigh heady ethos to play, merely combined with Materialism or Spiritualism they tin go a major advantage in Technologies or Traditions. The Pacifist ethos reduces the impact of Sprawl on your costs, while Materialism and Spiritualism increase your empire'south Research and Unity production, respectively.

Next: Stellaris: How Do Planetary Invasions Work?