Ethics in Stellaris represent the guiding principles, values, and moral compass of your empire’s government and citizens. They influence the behavior, policies, and interactions of your empire and play a significant role in shaping the game’s mechanics and narrative. Each empire in Stellaris is defined by its ethics, and these ethics can be changed over time based on your empire’s choices and events.
Types of Ethics:
- Authoritarianism: Authoritarian empires value order, control, and discipline. They believe in strong centralized authority, where leaders make decisions for the greater good. Authoritarian empires often have more rigid social structures and can use slavery more effectively.
- Egalitarianism: Egalitarian empires value equality, freedom, and individual rights. They promote a more democratic society, ensuring equal opportunities and rights for all citizens. Egalitarian empires often focus on social welfare policies and have more diverse governing styles.
- Militarism: Militaristic empires prioritize military strength, honor, and the readiness for war. They often have a strong military tradition, emphasizing the importance of a powerful fleet and well-trained armies.
- Pacifism: Pacifist empires advocate for peace, diplomacy, and non-violence. They prioritize harmony with other civilizations and often seek peaceful resolutions to conflicts. Pacifist empires enjoy bonuses to unity generation and diplomacy.
- Materialism: Materialist empires value science, technology, and the pursuit of knowledge. They are rational and secular, focusing on advancing their understanding of the universe. Materialist empires gain bonuses to research output.
- Spiritualism: Spiritualist empires believe in the existence of a higher power, connecting them to the spiritual realm. They value faith, traditions, and mysticism. Spiritualist empires often have strong ethics attractions, making it easier to maintain their citizens’ beliefs.
- Xenophobia: Xenophobic empires are distrustful of alien species and prioritize the interests of their own kind. They often have strict immigration policies and are less open to diplomacy and cooperation with other species.
- Xenophilia: Xenophilic empires are open-minded, curious, and accepting of alien species. They value diversity and are more willing to engage in diplomacy, alliances, and cooperation with other species.
Changing Ethics:
Throughout the game, your empire’s ethics can change based on events, decisions, and interactions. For instance, certain technologies, leader traits, and interactions with other civilizations can influence ethics attraction. There are also rare events and crises that can lead to significant shifts in your empire’s ethics.
Choosing your ethics carefully is crucial because they affect how other empires perceive you, how your own citizens behave, and the bonuses your empire receives. They also impact which Ascension Perks are available to you, further shaping your empire’s development and playstyle in Stellaris.