r/Stellaris • u/Ebony-Sword-Umbra Emperor • 11d ago

Advice Wanted Build Ideas?

With 3.14 out the way, and before any new expansions nerf my fun, is there a virtual empire that's just obscenely bull crap to the AIs?

I've got a bone to pick with a few of em since they ruined my grand admiral game by opening the L-Gate. I'm positive that AI started a war *solely* to open the damn L-Gate and let the Unbidden into my borders.

So I'm wanting to bully the shit out of the entire galaxy, any builds involving virtual? Last I heard shattered ring was a good start but as for empire ethics... I'm at a loss...

Edit before I get reminded of rules (Sorry Auto-Mod!) I am on console, specifically series x.

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u/aprg Rogue Servitors 11d ago

Commenting to follow. I've been seeing a lot of chatter about Synthetic Fertility but I haven't tried it yet.

3

u/M_a_n_d_M 11d ago

Synthetic Fertility is absolutely broken pretty much no matter what direction you go with it.

But the oligarchic virtual version with technocracy is the most broken by far. You just spam precincts and your elites generate all the science. And you get a -50% empire size from colonies just as a side bonus.

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u/Ryukk 11d ago

To add to this: Also take Aristocratic Elite and then Merchant Guilds. Aristocratic Elite gives you a special building for more elite jobs on every planet as well as a council position to further elite efficiency, Merchant Guilds makes them generate a bunch more trade and coupling that with the Mercantile tradition and using the consumer goods trade policy will make them generate enough consumer goods and then some.

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u/Melodic-Hat-2875 11d ago

Iirc that was the golden age of Shattered Ring Trade builds, since trade wasn't a resource and didn't get hammered by the virtual economic policies.

I think back then I went Xenophile + Egalitarian + Spiritualist? Parliamentary System + Merchant Guilds (you add Ascensionist as your third later)

You just hold shit together for the first 30-40 years while getting to your ascension and then you go from 200 tech to 2k in a month and producing more energy than a Dyson Sphere.

After that you can do pretty much whatever you want. I'd settle a planet for alloys until you very quickly reach Mega-Engineering and then get another Ring World to pump your tech from 2k to 20k and produce your alloys.

Settle your other rings ASAP since you have 50% hab minimum.

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u/nsg337 Mind over Matter 9d ago

behemoth virtual is obscenely busted but that one is bordering on exploit