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Due to the limited number of ascension slots, and the amount of time and effort it takes to unlock them, it’s prudent for players to think over their choices carefully before making their decision. Depending on the player’s priorities and the direction they want to take their empire in, certain perks may prove indispensable in the long run, while others may give them a head start on their goals in Stellaris’ early game.
Updated October 21, 2022 by Rowan Heffernan:As players’ empires grow and expand with every passing year, so too does Stellaris with every new DLC release. While some DLCs focus on purely cosmetic content, such as new species profiles, others have added far more paths for players to go down and an ever-growing arsenal of tools they can use to get there.
As the possibilities in Stellaris grow, so do the number of ways players can strengthen their empire with different ascension perks, and new entries have been added accordingly to reflect both old and new strategies players can benefit from in the game’s current state.
14 Interstellar Dominion
In the early game, one of the most useful perks a player can choose is likely the Interstellar Dominion ascension perk. Empires with this perk will have a 20% reduction to the influence cost of both star bases and claims, which for empires just starting out (or are low on influence) will prove to be highly advantageous.
This is especially true for the very early game when expanding quickly is a necessity to make sure an empire gains its footing before it can be out-competed by its neighbors, or closed in after they failed to claim a choke point in time.
13 Galactic Force Projection
No matter how much they try to avoid it, every empire eventually finds themselves in a position where they’re forced to go to war (or are forcing others, depending on the role players take). As a result, making sure there’s enough fleet power to defend themselves is something every empire should prioritize as they develop and expand through the galaxy.
For anyone looking for a way to get a leg up over other empires, Galactic Force Projection is definitely worth looking into, as it adds +20 to the fleet command limit and +80 to naval fleet capacity.
12 Transcendent Learning
Leaders are the backbone of any great empire and can make or break anything from research to military encounters and even how colonies manage themselves. For an empire to be successful, every player will need to pay attention to their leaders’ qualities and help them grow as much as possible and do what they can to keep them from dying unexpectedly.
One way to do this is to take the Transcendent Learning ascension perk, which will add +2 to the level cap of all leaders, as well as increase the experience gained by leaders by 50%.
11 Xeno-Compatibility
Another indispensable resource in Stellaris is the population of each empire. As the keystone of productivity in every empire, having enough pops to contribute resources is essential. However, more than that is the importance of populations living on planets that are habitable to them, which is where species with other traits become indispensable.
By taking Xeno-Compatibility as a perk, the player’s starting species becomes capable of reproducing with other species to create hybrid races. This creates a 20% increase in population growth on planets with at least two species, in addition to a 33% bonus to immigration pull, making Xeno-Compatibility one of the most powerful choices for an empire looking to increase its growth rate.
10 One Vision
For any unity-focused empire, the One Vision ascension perk is an incredibly good choice as it gives not only a 10% bonus to unity but a 50% bonus to governing ethics attraction as well, making the populations far more likely to gravitate toward the empire’s ethics as opposed to unrelated or incompatible ones.
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Additionally, the One Vision perk reduces the population’s amenities usage by 10% across the empire, making this perk incredibly useful for empires that don’t have access to things like robotic populations that would’ve reduced the amenity usage otherwise.
9 Imperial Prerogative
One issue that every expanding empire will eventually run into and have to strategize around is that of empire sprawl. At a certain point, if the empire’s size exceeds the administrative capacity of that nation, things like researching new technology, adopting new traditions, and issuing edicts will become far more difficult and costly.
For that reason, Imperial Prerogative can be an incredibly useful ascension perk to take, as it reduces the empire size from colonies by a whopping 50%. For players frequently hindered by empire sprawl penalties, that 50% reduction will prove useful throughout the game.
8 Mind Over Matter
For empires that have unlocked or pursued psionic theory technology, taking the Mind Over Matter ascension perk is essential for any who wishes to pursue psionics as the path of their empire, and will find advantages to doing so. Taking the Mind Over Matter perk most notably gives the primary species the latent psionic trait, in some of its population, which will grant various bonuses depending on their jobs.
Admirals with the psychic ability gain a 10% bonus to weapons damage and a 15% bonus to evasion, which can be a major advantage in mid-game and remain useful into late-game. Whether the empire uses these abilities for mental enlightenment, or in advancing their tech, the psionics unlocked by Mind Over Matter will prove both flexible and powerful.
7 Synthetic Evolution
Psionics isn’t the only way for an empire to ascend to a higher state than the way their dominant species started. Empires that have already pursued The Flesh is Weak as a special project will already have an empire that prioritizes synthetic life and converting species into cybernetic bodies.
While this is already a big step, taking the Synthetic Evolution perk is a must-have ascension perk for empires that want to take their vision for a robotic future all the way, as it provides a 10% bonus to robotics output, a 50% cut to the cost for species modification, and a special project to turn the empire as a whole synthetic.
6 Colossus Project
In terms of raw military power, no vessel will be stronger than the Colossus. Unlike other vessels, the Colossus cannot fight enemy fleets but comes with the unique ability to destroy planets entirely.
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While it’s usually more advantageous to conquer an enemy planet rather than destroy them, in cases of emergency when your empire is fighting for its life, having the capability to destroy a key planet in an empire can send a once-overwhelming foe into economic collapse. As another, far more morbid benefit, the number of populations wiped out by doing so may also improve the game performance on some players’ computers.
5 Galactic Wonders
For players with the Utopia or MegaCorp DLCs installed, Galactic Wonders is a game-changer for empires that have the resources to pursue any of the research options it unlocks, especially as players approach later stages of the game that demand much more from them.
Matter decompressors are structures from Megacorp that can extract huge amounts of minerals from black holes. In addition, ring worlds are Utopia megastructures that can hold four habitable world segments all with 100% habitability. Lastly, dyson spheres can be built around a star and generate up to four thousand energy credits are all major game-changers to the resources of whatever empire controls it.
4 Galactic Contender
Offering a 20% bonus to diplomatic weight as well as a 33% increase in damage inflicted on fallen empires, awakened empires, and gate builders, taking the Galactic Contender ascension perk will elevate the standing of an empire to an extent most others cannot.
Empires with the Galactic Contender perk are far more likely to be able to defeat a fallen empire earlier than they otherwise could have, and the massive bonus to diplomatic weight goes a long way to keeping control and influence in the galactic community — something that can’t be neglected.
3 Executive Vigor
Edicts are a powerful, less permanent, tool for players who need or want to apply certain modifiers to their society that help them manage or expand their empire as they see fit. The Executive Vigor ascension perk gives players even more access to this feature by adding a +100 bonus to edict funds, enabling players to enact even more edits at a lower cost.
For early to mid-game, those extra funds can go a long way into running and perfecting an efficient empire, although higher edict costs in late-game may make this bonus less useful over time.
2 Become The Crisis
In terms of endgame ascension perks and pursuing as much raw power as possible, nothing will surpass Become The Crisis in sheer power and content. For any empires that take it, the Crisis tab will be unlocked where certain actions and research projects can upgrade the level of threat the empire represents.
With every tier unlocked, the player will reap massive benefits affecting everything from purging and subjugation to military vessels and war exhaustion speed, making the Become The Crisis perk a game-changer for anyone who takes it.
1 Defender Of The Galaxy
On the opposite side of things, for players who have less bloody ambitions or are looking to survive the eventual crisis in their galaxy, Defender of the Galaxy should be an automatic pick. Players who choose the Defender of the Galaxy perk will see a 50% increase in damage against the endgame crisis faction, as well as all other factions’ opinion of the player’s empire increasing by 10%. For such a powerful enemy, the massive damage boost to their faction could be the difference between life and death.
Stellaris is currently available on PC, macOS, PS4, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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