We all know the AI in Stellaris could use a little work.
It’s not terrible, but it can be quite incompetent when it comes to the finer points of planning ahead.
StarTech AI improves the situation by making significant behavioral changes. It makes your AI foes more aggressive with their fleets and – more importantly – improves their research capabilities.
This mod motivates the AI to pursue technologies that make future research more productive. It turns your game into a true race for territorial, military, and technological superiority.
There’s nothing as frustrating for an experienced Stellaris player as hoping for a rare technology to become available for research and never getting it.
All Techs Researchable takes RNG out of the equation by ensuring the appearance of most rare technologies is guaranteed – without waiting for any specific event or reverse-engineering them from Fallen Empires.
It’s a bit overpowered, but it can streamline your empire’s development if you already know what you want to do.
Now we’re getting to the good stuff: mods that add all-new technologies to our game.
Krogan’s Sci-Fi Tech Pack promises to expand your scientific horizons with exciting new technologies based on famous sci-fi franchises like Star Wars and Mass Effect.
With this mod, you’ll get new research projects that unlock amazing stuff like HK Assassin droids, N7 Agents, and more!
It also adds a bunch of thematic blockers on habitable planets that require you to research custom techs to clear.
It’s mainly for the flavor, but it’s worth it if you want some non-vanilla spice.
Guilliman is among the most prolific Stellaris modders, and his Guilli’s Technologies mod is a must-try if you like variety.
This mod introduces 125 new technologies that touch every aspect of the game, including some exclusive to Gestalt Consciousnesses like hiveminds and machine empires.
For example, you can save on megastructure upkeep, protect your ground troops with better armor, or enhance your navy’s weapon systems to deal more damage.
Remember to act fast though! Some of these technologies are only available in certain stages of the game.
Some of the most exciting technological milestones your civilization can reach are megastructures – colossal, sometimes planet-scale constructions able to achieve incredible feats.
Gigastructural Engineering brings 45 new megastructures to Stellaris, ranging from system-sized computers to deadly weaponized planets like Starkiller Base in Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens.
In addition, this mod features 107 custom Achievements to play around with, new origins, new events, and even end-game crises.
Despite standing at the cusp of scientific and technological advancements with ships able to sail the stars and orbital facilities rivaling the size of the moon, Stellaris societies still struggle with some pretty basic stuff.
Colonies take a long time to become productive, and planets are constantly tasked to capacity.
Not only that, but low-income jobs in mines and farms are still a thing, causing a very noticeable class divide.
VF’s Techs & Buildings attempts to create more realistic economic development with a collection of technologies and buildings ideal for 2200.
Admittedly, it’s a little overpowered. But it’s a lot of fun if you make your tech and tradition costs higher and play at the hardest difficulty.
Throughout history, many technological breakthroughs have changed the world, and given those who obtained the technology earlier an edge against the competition.
To put it bluntly:
Gunpowder and steam engines were OP in their respective periods.
This mod mimics these historical events by introducing twelve “breakthrough” techs that’ll give you a powerful boost. These include Predictive Quantum Mechanics, Grand Strategy Simulations, and Living Starships.
Most interesting about these breakthroughs is that they spread naturally to your allies, giving diplomacy a whole new purpose.
Depending on a nation’s ethics, traditions, and government ideology, they’ll have different issues they need to solve and objectives to strive toward.
This should be reflected in their technological development in some way. For example, a Militarist society needs more weaponry than a Pacifist one, and so on.
Ethos Unique Techs & Buildings makes 120 new technologies available to Stellaris empires, divided into different “packs” locked behind specific ethics and ascension perks.
If your ethics change, so does your tech – which will often require you to rebuild some buildings to match your new ideals. It’s pretty realistic, and it adds even more replayability to Stellaris.
Fallen Empires have been around for far longer than your puny upstart state – but with vigorous research and development, you should be able to overcome them.
Ancient Cache of Technologies explores how that may look by introducing four new tiers of technology that’ll get you one step closer to Fallen Empire power.
Two of them have to do with Dark Matter and the newly-discovered Dark Energy, while the others must be acquired through exploration and warfare against a new faction.
The mod features 460 new technologies, so you better give those scientists a lot of coffee – or whatever you guys drink on your planet.
Nelson Chitty is a Venezuelan expat living in Argentina. He’s a writer and translator passionate about history and foreign cultures. His ideal weekend is spent between leisurely playing games of Civilization VI and looking for the next seinen anime to marathon.
