While it is not possible to change civilian ship designs, Stellaris military ships are highly customizable and can be the key to victory in many battles, even if they are outnumbered. Access to each optional ship class and component requires multiple expansions and DLCs, but each can offer new benefits and methods to win space battles and one day dominate the entire galaxy.
In the Ship Designer menu, players can create, update, and customize ship templates and defense stations. If a ship of a design is under construction or is being upgraded, the design cannot be edited. Players can choose the auto-generate box to continuously update the ship designs based on the latest technology research. However, it does not take into account the enemies the fleet is facing or may face, so it may choose components that an opponent can counter instead of a less current component that has proven successful.
Direct involvement in ship design is optional and Stellaris can be played without touching this menu often. Still, it’s always best to be aware of the strengths and weaknesses of current and potential enemies, and update or improve ship designs to counter them. For example, while shields are effective against most energy weapons, they are vulnerable to kinetic weapons, while armor is the exact opposite.
On the right side of the designer, players can select options for various subsystems of the ship. Most of them are required and it is not possible to design a ship without a version of them, but some of them are optional and have the option of not installing a subsystem in their slot. These systems include the reactor, FTL propulsion, computer system, sub-light thrusters, and sensors. Since almost every component requires electricity, it is strongly recommended to keep the reactor up to date or to supply it with a reactor booster.
Each ship and station has one to three sections, and each section can have its own design. The designs of the ship sections vary depending on where they are in the ship, while the designs of the station sections are all the same. Each section design offers space for a variety of offensive and defensive modules. For example, a station section can be designed to carry a single large weapon or four small weapons. Although they are more expensive and not mobile, defense stations have no maintenance costs.
In the game, weapons follow statistics based on crafting cost, energy consumption, type, damage, cooldown, accuracy, tracking, and range. There are also six categories of weapons that can be installed on ships and defense stations, including Energy, Kinetics, Explosives, Assault Ship, Point Defense, and Titanic. Researching upgrades to launch weapons can unlock new weapons that can be researched and installed in new designs. Strike Craft Hangars will launch small spaceships to attack. Like explosive weapons, attack vehicles ignore shields to damage armor and hull, but can be shot down by anti-aircraft guns. They usually pick up enemy fire before the rest of your fleet, which makes them useful for both offense and defense.
The Titan Lance is a weapon that can only be equipped for Titans or Stationary Ion Cannons. They are time consuming and expensive to make, but their extremely high damage and range within the systems offer a tactical advantage as typical enemy fleets are not even within range to fire back before you’ve attacked.
While there isn’t much weapon choice for Titan-class ships, they instead have a special core component slot called Titan-Aura, which can affect both allied and enemy fleets in open battle. A defensive aura gives a buff to allied ships in the same fleet, while an offensive aura gives a debuff to all enemy ships in combat with the Titan’s fleet. In both cases, the distance to the titanium is irrelevant. While the Juggernaut-class ship cannot be added to a fleet, it can be equipped with an aura that affects all ships in the same system.
Battleships can be armed with spine-mounted, extra-large energy or kinetic weapons that cause significant damage at long range. While they may not be as powerful as the Titan Lance, the fact that they can be equipped on battleships means that they are more widely available for battles. Equipping every section of a ship with powerful weapons may be tempting, but doing so can leave them equally vulnerable to damage from enemy ships. Ideally, ships should be equipped with a mix of weapons and point defense or flak cannons to defend against incoming missiles and attack vehicles.
Auxiliary components primarily provide defense against incoming damage, although the auxiliary slots can provide components that give ships additional buffs. For example, while shields have inherent regeneration, armor and hull do not. This means that damaged ships will by default not be fully operational again without returning to a starbase, which limits operations far removed from those starbases. Therefore, it makes sense to secure at least one source of hull and armor regeneration, especially during lengthy offensive operations. This can be done by purchasing the regenerative hull tissue or nanobot repair system technology and installing it in the auxiliary slot.
About the author
Robert Koumarelas
(182 published articles)
Robert Koumarelas is a writer, video and picture editor. After graduating from Sheridan College for Journalism, reporting and writing great stories has become as passionate as it is a career. Video games aren’t just a fun hobby for him, they’re a legitimate form of art and storytelling that fans love.
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