There are many paths to galactic dominion inStellaris, the hit sci-fi grand strategy from Paradox Interactive. While planet-cracking superweapons and unstoppable cyborg hordes are an option, it’s also possible to dominate the galaxy inStellariswithout firing a shot through the careful use of diplomacy.
There are two worlds ofdiplomacy inStellaris, the surface world of trade deals, rivalries, and alliances, and the underworld of espionage, sabotage, and backstabbing. While no-one can ignore conventional diplomacy, espionage is a powerful tool that can be used to undermine enemies, or keep a close eye on “friends”.
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Hw to Use Espionage in Stellaris
Just like conventional diplomacy, espionage relies on the Envoy Leader type, of which players get access to a limited amountbased on their Civics, Technologies, and Traditions. Using the diplomacy or espionage window for another Empire, players can assign an Envoy from their limited pool to start building a Spy Network. This will begin raising the Network’s Infiltration level, which represents how deeply they’ve infiltrated the target Empire and how much information they’ve discovered. Infiltration also passively boosts Intel, the score that determines how much info players get while looking at that Empire’s territory.
The max Infiltration that a Spy Network can achieve depends most heavily on the respective Encryption and Codebreaking scores of the two Empires. An Empire with low Codebreaking creating a Network in one with high Encryption will reach their Infiltration cap almost immediately, limiting their Intel and the Operations they can embark on. On the other hand, an Empire with very good Codebreaking can boost their Infiltration and Intel to the point that they can see their target’ssecret diplomatic pacts, or even track Fleet movements in real time.
How to Use Operations in Stellaris
As a Spy Network increases its Infiltration, it will unlock progressively more powerful Operations for the player to perform. These Operations cost bothStellaris' Influence resourceand an upkeep of Energy Credits for however long they run. Operations range from simply raising the Infiltration cap and Intel for a few years, to extorting Favors to be used in conventional diplomacy, to spawning a pirate Fleet in the target Empire’s territory.
Operations function in the same way asStellaris' archeology mechanic, in that a die is rolled each month to determine whether the Operation progresses to the next stage or remains stagnant. This die is modified by the Empire’s skill at Codebreaking, as well as the difficulty of the Operation. An Operation also has a chance of spawning random Events and decisions that can change the odds of success or rewards of the Operation.
Each Operation has a base difficulty, which is then further modified by the Empires' respective Codebreaking and Encryption scores. To increase their chances of a successful Operation in the future, players can use the Acquire Asset Operation to gain an agent within a specific department of the target Empire. These Assets can then be used to reduce the difficulty of Operations in their subcategory, and gain bonus Intel when used to Gather Information in their profession. For example, a Junior Officer is a Subterfuge Asset embedded in the target’s Military, granting a boost to both Subterfuge Operations andFleet and Ship Intelfrom Gather Information.
Stellarisis currently available on PC, macOS, PS4, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
