Without it, the whole thing would come falling down. There are many roads toward a robust economy, but it all starts when choosing your Species traits on the empire creation menu. Will your pops amaze the galaxy with their manufacturing? Maybe you’ll become the galaxy’s breadbasket? Or are all of your trait points going toward military strength so you can focus on raiding to sustain your economy? It’s your responsibility as a leader to acquire the knowledge needed to successfully lead your society – so let’s take a look at which traits have the potential to give your empire an economic edge.
10. Serviles
I know what you’re thinking. What good does being Servile do me in a bid for galaxy domination? It’s simple: the trait is not for your main species. You get Servile from the Syncretic Evolution origin, in which your main species has evolved in perfect symbiosis with a low-intelligence, conformist species that’s happy to serve. Being Servile means this species can produce 10% more resources from jobs and are 10% happier on average. They can’t produce Rulers, Specialists, or Scientists, but that’s fine because your other species can take care of that.
9. Proles
Proles is a little bit like Serviles in that species with this trait have abandoned intellectual pursuits to dedicate themselves to physical labor. In exchange for losing some brainpower – which gives them 15% less research production – Proles can obtain 10% more Minerals and Food from jobs, and their armies are 10% stronger. Getting this trait can prove more than a little bit tricky. After all, you first have to find a planet with a pre-sapient species with this trait, colonize the planet, and finally uplift them with the Epigenetic Triggers technology. Still, you get overpowered slaves along with 500 Influence on completion. It’s worth it!
8. Thrifty
Thrifty is one of the few traits explicitly meant to help your economy. Species with this trait are great for a trade-based game where you try to maximize your Trade Value and nothing else. It gives you +25% Trade Value from Jobs at the cost of one trait point. If you’re still learning the ropes of the game, you just need to know that Trade Value gets transformed into Energy Credits, Consumer Goods, or Unity, depending on your policies. Versatile! Get this if you’re thinking of playing a Corporate empire on your next playthrough. It’s also a fantastic match with Fanatic Xenophile ethics, which grants an extra 20% Trade Value production.
7. Lithoid-exclusive Traits
Lithoids are probably my favorite Species type in all of Stellaris. Unlike us squishy carbon-based lifeforms, these guys are silicon-based and, therefore, have much in common with rocks. Their base attributes – like eating Minerals instead of Food and living twice as long as regular organics – are already pretty good. Still, I’m putting them on the ranking because of the exclusive traits they get access to. Lithods can take the Gaseous Byproducts, Scintillating Skin, and Volatile Excretions species traits for two trait points. These traits make their bodies exude rare resources like Exotic Gases, Rare Crystals, and Volatile Motes. They don’t make much individually, but as your population grows, so do these byproducts. By the time you get technology that uses them, you’ll have a nice stockpile ready!
6. Intelligent
Intelligence is one of the most important traits for any objective. Do you want a strong navy? Research. Healthy population? Research. A strong economy? Start researching already! The Intelligent trait gives your population 10% extra Research production of every type. It has a relatively steep cost of two trait points, but it’s definitely worth it. Researching faster means you’ll get access to powerful resource-producing buildings and other benefits faster. This can kick-start your economy in the early game and help you snowball as the game draws on.
5. Ingenious & Superconductive
Energy is the common currency of the galaxy, so anything that’ll increase your Energy stockpile is a big win for your economy. The Ingenious trait makes your species naturally gifted for producing, storing, and distributing Energy more efficiently. It’s such a good trait that the two-point cost seems fair. Superconductive – the robotic version of the trait – is even better since Mechanical and Machine pops consume Energy instead of Food. This allows you to create several planets dedicated exclusively to producing Energy and benefit from Generator or Machine Worlds. It’s two birds with one stone.
4. Industrious & Power Drills
Unlike Energy, Minerals can’t be immediately traded for goods and services. But you probably wouldn’t want to even if they could. Minerals are arguably the most important resource in Stellaris. You need them to construct districts, mining stations, and buildings. In addition, they’re the main ingredient for Alloys, which are necessary to create a powerful fleet, starbases, and megastructures. Thanks to the immense importance of Minerals, the Industrious and Power Drills traits become crucial due to their 15% boost to Mineral production from jobs. That’s two trait points spent wisely – especially if you’re playing Lithoids, who prefer to eat Minerals instead of Food.
3. Natural Engineers
Another fantastic way to increase your Mineral output is the Natural Engineers trait. Natural Engineers are masters of the art of creating efficient machines. This manifests as 15% faster Engineering Research, which puts you on the fast track to Mineral production upgrades. It’ll also make your Kinetic and Explosive weapons more powerful, which is paramount for protecting your trade routes and territory from pirates or enemy empires.
2. Psionic
As we’ve already discussed, higher Research production is always good for your economy – but what if you could also get some extra Energy on the side? The Psionic trait is acquired through the Transcendence ascension perk. Your species’ newfound psychic abilities will let them communicate telepathically, putting their brainpower together more efficiently and saving a lot on phone bills. The result is 10% faster Research speed in all fields and 10% more Energy from jobs. In addition, the Psionic trait costs exactly 0 trait points – but since you first have to become a Latent Psionic species and then go for the Transcendence ascension perk, it’ll only come into play in the mid-late game.
1. Rapid Breeders & Mass-Produced
You know how much I value speedy population growth if you’ve read any of my other species trait rankings. It doesn’t matter how many Mineral Purification Hubs or Energy Nexuses you build if there isn’t anyone to operate them. The faster your population grows, the easier it will be to colonize new planets and grow your industry. Rapid Breeders enable your pops to reproduce 10% faster. The robotic version of this trait, Mass-Produced, is even better. It grants a 15% boost to pop assembly. They both cost two trait points. There are other ways to increase your fertility, such as the Fertile ascension trait or constructing Gene Clinics, but having the trait from the beginning is invaluable.
