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When you establish an embassy with a foreign empire, you’re basically forming a pact with them.
But it doesn’t work like other diplomatic pacts, where you and the other empire gain monthly resources each month. Rather, Embassies make it easier to improve relations with a foreign empire, provided you already have Envoys assigned to them.
What Exactly Are Embassies?
Conducting diplomacy with a foreign empire
These are basically just mutually beneficial agreements that offer huge bonuses to you and the empire you establish your embassy with.
This makes improving relations with other empires much easier, but it also makes it easier to clean up after a diplomatic incident.
Here are the effects Embassies have:
x3 Improve Relations modifier
+20 Intel for every Diplomatic Pact established with the foreign empire
+0.75 Trust growth per month
Effect #1: Improved Relations Buff
Embassies make the “Improve Relations” action using your Envoys three times more effective, giving you +3 Opinion per month instead of the usual +1.
This lets you free up your other Envoys for doing other diplomatic tasks, such as building Spy Networks, and representing your Empire in the Galactic Community or a Galactic Federation.
This buff to Improve Relations also helps tremendously if a negative diplomatic event occurs, and the other empire becomes unhappy with you for some reason. The extra Opinion you gain monthly will offset the amount you might lose in a diplomatic incident.
So an embassy won’t prevent the Opinion loss, but you can recover from it quickly.
Effect #2: Alternative Source of Intel
Embassies also offer you an alternative source for Intel other than establishing Spy Networks to a specific empire.
If you have an Embassy established with a foreign empire, each new Diplomatic Pact you start with them will give you 20 Intel on top of that Pact’s base benefits.
It’s faster to gain Intel through your Embassies compared to establishing Spy Networks. This method also eliminates the negative risks to foreign relations associated with Spy Networks.
Effect #3: Source of Trust
If you’re playing a diplomatic playstyle, then Trust will play a key role in your playthrough.
Trust pretty much raises an empire’s Opinion of your empire, and is gained over time based on your actions. It also increases for every long-term treaty you don’t prematurely end.
Declaring surprise wars and ending treaties prematurely lowers Trust.
Embassies are a good source of Trust, especially if your relationship with a certain empire is still new.
And this is especially useful if you don’t have a high enough relationship with them to establish other diplomatic pacts.
How To Establish an Embassy
A foreign empire wishing to establish an embassy with the player
Establishing an Embassy in Stellaris is pretty easy. In fact, if you’ve raised the Opinion of an empire enough, they might do it for you instead.
But if you want to take initiative in establishing an Embassy, here’s how you do it:
Select “Contacts” on the left side of the screen, or press F1
Find the empire you wish to establish an Embassy with and select them. You may also just click on one of their star systems
In the Diplomacy Screen, scroll down until you find “Establish Embassy”
If they have high enough Opinion, they will agree
Note: You will have to wait a short while for the empire to review your request and accept it, or decline.
You can see which empires you have an Embassy with in the Contacts menu. There should be an Embassy icon next to their name.
