Stellaris: Best Enclaves, Ranked

Highlights

Enclaves like the Mercenary Enclaves can provide bonuses like Naval Capacity and damage against crises, boosting an empire’s strength.
Salvagers offer the ability to scrap unused ships for resources like alloys, contributing to engineering research speed and fleet enhancement.
The Artisan Troupe boosts Unity and Influence gain through festivals, improving happiness and pop growth, crucial for resource production.

Diplomacy is one of the integral parts of Stellaris that can be done right if the player is able to utilize it correctly, although it might not be needed at all should they choose the path of a Fanatic Purifier or a Determined Exterminator that did not have diplomacy as an option. This part of the game also applies to a special group of AI empires called Enclaves.

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These Enclaves can give hugely beneficial modifiers to an empire that is willing to enlist their services, usually for a price that can be hefty. However, the added modifiers can single-handedly propel an empire into becoming a galactic contender in no time, provided that they prioritize the best ones out of the other Enclaves.

6 Mercenary Enclaves

Self-Founded Enclaves For Both Profitability And Security

Able to be founded by an empire instead of existing at the start of the game. (Except by Gestalt Consciousness empires)
Generate dividends to the parent empire by completing a situation
Able to provide bonus Naval Capacity and damage towards a crisis for higher tiers of the Enclaves

Mercenary Enclaves can somewhat be a forgotten enclave for many players, including returning veterans of Stellaris, due to its niche. Forming a Mercenary Enclave will require an empire to cede one of its systems and a number of fleets, which can be damaging while trying to defend against a looming threat or preparing an attack against a belligerent leviathan such as the Automated Dreadnought.

Stellaris: How to Form a Mercenary Enclave

Mercenary Enclaves are a useful tool for both militarist and pacifist Empires in Stellaris, gaining regular dividends in exchange for a fleet.

However, if an empire is successfully able to cultivate the Mercenary Enclave, they can reap various bonuses capacity, including generating passive income in the form of dividends and purchasing powerful bonuses such as extra Naval Capacity and damage against a crisis for the higher tier of the Enclave. These bonuses can come in handy while trying to fight off crises that can end the galaxy in a matter of years, such as the ones that are born out of a generic empire due to their crisis aspiration.

5 Shroud-Touched Coven

The Ultimate Coven For Psionics Empire

Able to provide a powerful Psionic Leader for an empire
Able to start unique situations with random outcome
Able to provide a unique gateway via the Shroud Beacon

The enigmatic Shroud-Touched Coven will be a common sight for players who tend to go with the Teachers of the Shroud’s origin to be able to beeline into the Psionic tradition tree. However, other empires can also make contact with the enclave to enlist their services in the form of creating a unique situation or enlisting a powerful Psionic Leader.

Stellaris: How to Form a Shroud Covenant

Forming a Covenant with one of the unknowable entities of the Shroud can be a path to success in Stellaris, but angering one can be a disaster.

Moreover, the enclave also provides an opportunity for a willing empire to create a waypoint between their empire and the enclave’s station via the Shroud Beacon starbase building. This can be hugely useful to either explore different parts of the galaxy or to ease traveling time for the empire’s fleet to traverse the galaxy.

4 Salvagers

Scrap Unused Weak Ships For Resources

Able to scrap a fleet, gaining some alloys that are used for the ship’s construction
Able to provide ships based on other empire’s designs
Able to provide debris fields to be salvaged
Able to increase engineering research speed

The unique Salvagers enclave provides an opportunity for an empire to either enhance their fleet with ships from various empires to harness their technology or simply scrap unwanted ships that might be no longer beneficial to keep despite their powerful ship design due to various circumstances.

Moreover, the enclave also provides services to enhance the empire’s engineering research speed, which can quicken the pace of obtaining powerful fleet technologies. All in all, the Salvagers can be a powerful ally should a positive relationship with them be well maintained.

3 Merchant Enclaves

Obtain Powerful Strategic Resources For A Fair Price

XuraCorp provides Exotic Gases for sale
Muutagan Merchant Guild provides Rare Crystals for sale
Riggan Commerce Exchange provides Volatile Motes for sale

The Merchant enclaves consist of three different enclaves that provide similar services for selling Strategic Resources which can be quite difficult to obtain, especially in the early game. These Strategic Resources can be used to either build advanced buildings that require them or to equip a fleet with strong ship components which also typically require them.

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Knowing what the best ship components are in Stellaris is necessary for players wanting to construct a powerful fleet.

Moreover, these enclaves also offer an empire the chance to enlist one of their leaders’ services to boost a planet’s trade value, although it requires the empire to have a solid trading relationship first with them.

2 Artisan Troupe

Free-Willed Enclave To Boost Unity And Influences Gain

Able to provide huge Unity bonuses and random Influence gain by becoming a patron
Able to organize “Festival of Worlds” to boost an empire’s Happiness and Pop Growth Speed

Domestic bonuses to an empire such as happiness and pop growth speed are always crucial as they allow the pops of the empire to be thriving and productive, increasing resources gained per month in the process. Although increasing those modifiers can be a little hard to do, the presence of the Artisan Troupe can make the process to be quite trivial due to its “Festival of Worlds”.

However, the festival can only be organized once an empire manages to become a patron of the troupe for a period of time, which is also beneficial on its own. Becoming a patron of the troupe provides an empire a huge Unity boost and a random Influence gain, making the empire able to quickly obtain Ascension Perks by rushing a specific Tradition Tree.

1 Curator Order

Obtain Technologies Easily With The Curator’s Aid

Able to provide Research speed increase for a price
Able to provide a powerful Curator Scientist leader
Able to provide insights on Guardians and a special damage bonus against them
Able to provide an L-Gate insight once per 10 years

In a multiplayer game of Stellaris, a player can expect to have the Curator Order enclave heavily guarded or taken into their borders due to their value in providing various bonuses, mainly on the technological side. The order can boost an empire’s research speed for a price, enabling the empire to rush certain rare technologies to become a force to be reckoned with in the galaxy.

Moreover, the order also provides several services for the empire to buy, such as lending a powerful Scientist Leader, insights on Guardians, and an L-Gate insight to gain an advantage in becoming the first denizen of the L-Cluster. It is always beneficial for an empire to keep a friendly relationship with the Curator Order, save for some that are only interested in destroying the galaxy alone, such as a Crisis Aspirant.