Stellaris: 7 Best Council Traits To Prioritize, Ranked

Highlights

The new Galactic Paragons DLC for Stellaris has made leaders an integral part of the gameplay, with buffed abilities and the ability to serve on a Council for the empire’s government.
Different leader traits have various benefits, such as increasing resource gain, reducing ship costs, and improving terraforming time, making some traits more beneficial than others.
Having multiple councilors with specific traits, such as Fleet Organizer and Shipwright, can help increase naval capacity, improve ship construction speed and cost, and create a powerful fleet to dominate the galaxy.

With the addition of the new content for Stellaris, the Galactic Paragons DLC, players have been exploring mechanics that previously could be categorized as obsolete, such as leaders, which are now buffed and have become an integral part of the gameplay loop. Moreover, these leaders can also serve in a Council for the empire’s government, each with their own beneficial traits according to their classes.

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These traits range from increasing resource gain, strengthening the empire’s fleet by reducing ship costs, and reducing terraforming time to facilitate easier colonization by the empire. Due to the variety of the traits, some are more beneficial to prioritize than others.

7 Principled

Keep All Colonies In The Empire Stable To Increase Productivity

Level 1: +2 to Stability
Level 2: +4 to Stability

Colonies in the player’s empire can come in many different forms, such as a Planet Colony that can be fitted with an Orbital Ring, Habitat, or even the Megastructure Ring World. These colonies often have a value of stability which indicates whether the colony is thriving or not, which is also affected by a pops’ happiness, habitability, as well as numerous other factors.

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Unfortunately, stability in these colonies can be negatively affected by those modifiers as well, which affects the colony’s productivity. Moreover, a colony with low stability within a long period of time can cause a Planetary Revolt, resulting in the colony declaring independence from the empire.

6 Fleet Organizer

Naval Capacity Is Now Easier To Increase Than Ever

Level 1: +5% to Naval Capacity
Level 2: +15% to Naval Capacity

While thriving as an empire, a Stellaris player can sometimes hit a limit to their strength in the form of Naval Capacity, preventing them from achieving more strength than other empires in the vicinity of their border. Reaching an overcapacity with this cap can result in very expensive upkeep of the ships, limiting energy credits in the process.

Having several councilors with the Fleet Organizer trait is a way to circumvent this limit, as the empire would be able to overwhelm other empires with no trouble due to its increased Naval Capacity. This can also enable the player to create strong ship designs without getting worried by the Naval Capacity.

5 Hostility

Create A Fearsome Fleet With Destructive Power

Level 1: +5% to Ship Weapons Damage and +5% to Army Damage
Level 2: +7.5% to Ship Weapons Damage and +15% to Army Damage

Sometimes, having the optimal ship design and capping the Naval Capacity is not enough in a game of Stellaris, especially when facing other players. Therefore, having a modifier that increases a ship’s damage will increase the chances of the player winning a fierce fleet battle against other hostile empires that may have superior fleets in terms of numbers and ship designs.

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With the addition of Hostility trait to the empire’s councilors, the empire will receive an increase in their ship’s weapon damage. Although the bonus might not seem to be huge at first, it will add up once the player’s fleet becomes larger. Moreover, having the strongest tier weapons, such as Tachyon Lance and Focused Arc Emitter, will see the empire benefit more from this trait.

4 Politician

Run Multiple Council Agenda For Higher Benefits

Level 1: +5% to Council Agenda Speed
Level 2: +10% to Council Agenda Speed

With the addition of a Council Agenda, empires can expand and create multiple advantages with no drawbacks, aside from having to wait for multiple years or so. These Council Agenda also range from basic bonuses to pops happiness to an increased colony development speed to settle on powerful new systems, to an Agenda that is powerful enough to fund an entire fleet, Military Buildup.

By having multiple councilors with the Politician trait, the player will be able to have 3 or more agendas running simultaneously to boost the empire’s strength and productivity. It will be a normal sight to see a pop’s productivity being boosted by 50% or more with the combination of the Politician trait and multiple running agendas.

3 Shipwright

Rapidly Construct A Humongous Fleet To Surprise A Rival Empire

Level 1: +5% to Ship Build Speed and −5% to Ship Build Cost
Level 2: +10% to Ship Build Speed and -10% Ship Build Cost

After a long-fought and fierce battle, two empires will commonly have a weakened fleet in each of their ranks, making them vulnerable to other empires’ invasions, especially the opportunist ones that are waiting for the right chance to strike. Therefore, having multiple Shipyards can be crucial to building multiple ships simultaneously and rapidly.

The rapid fleet deployment can be further enhanced with the Shipwright councilor trait, which reduces ship build costs and increases the speed of shipbuilding. Having multiple councilors with this trait will translate to a strong fleet that can be deployed rapidly against hostile threats, such as the Enigmatic Fortress.

2 Spark Of Genius

Rush Technologies Quickly To Dominate The Galaxy

Level 1: +3% to Research Speed
Level 2: +6% to Research Speed
Rare research options have an increased chance of appearing

As a grand-strategy game that is focused on exploration, exploitation, expansion, and extermination, Stellaris rewards technological advancement with the guaranteed survival of a space-faring empire. In some cases, technological advancement can also be converted into rapid expansion into the galaxy while defeating other space-faring empires, ensuring domination.

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Having a Scientist councilor with the Spark of Genius trait will both increase research speed and the chance to obtain powerful rare technologies. In multiplayer games, Scientists with this specific trait are more valued by the players than other traits, as they represent a chance for them to gain an advantage over other players.

1 Fertility Preacher

Rapidly Grow The Empire With Population Boom

An image of Stellaris: Fertility Preacher

Level 1: +3% to Pop Growth Speed and +10% for Food from Jobs
Level 2: +5% to Pop Growth Speed and +15% for Food from Jobs

Population is the most valued resource in Stellaris since resources come from jobs that are worked by the people within the empire, aside from the ones obtainable from the system via Mining and Research stations. Having quick population growth will often ensure an empire’s advantage over the others in the galaxy.

Therefore, having multiple Officials councilors with the Fertility Preacher trait is something that should be prioritized by players playing as a Biological species. This trait will improve population growth speed and increase food production from jobs, ensuring that the food output keeps up with consumption. Paired with a strong biological species combo, this trait has the potential to be a strong trait to handily dominate the galaxy.