There's ONE thing I didn't talk about in this tutorial that I wish I had - and that is *taking planets*. So while I said this is the final part of the tutorial series there miiiiiiight be one more video, or I'll lump it in with the FAQ at the end of the series. Also, did you see that I've been partnering with Paradox to bring a series of Top 10 videos for the official Stellaris TH-cam channel? Check it out here! th-cam.com/video/ib3B_-9Cs-Q/w-d-xo.html
9:40 "G" is a naval classification code that stands for "guided missile." It designates that a ship has an armament of guided missiles. I'm assuming that's why they've used it for this game.
A question: Do i need to unlock Ship Designer through researching or some other way? Fairly new to the game and for some reason the option to design ships is locked for me in starbases.
Loved this series. As I said before, you are a natural teacher. If I have one criticism, it's that the series is too short. Any chance of any more? Any chance of a full playthrough with your excellent commentary? I'd love to watch that
I purchased all the DLCs and felt overwhelmed from being new to this game style. I put it off for almost a year before deciding to get back into this game. This helped so much with getting back into this game and not giving up. Can't thank you enough!
I don’t care about the length, this video alone was integral for me taking over the galaxy for the first time. The war system seemed very intimidating and complex, but Max described it all very clearly and actually made me excited to try it out. This is the best in-depth mechanics series for this game and I 100% recommend and thank you, Max!
Regarding Excess Power when designing a ship: The more excess power you have, the more evasion you get. So a "balanced" ship with no excess power is okay, but it's really not the end of the world if you have a bunch of excess power. It doesn't add much evasion but it definitely helps.
Oh, this is so amazing! It's very in depth but it's not at all overwhelming. It's fun, has good pacing, tells me lot's of stuff I need to know in such a light and entertaining way. Man, seriously, congratulations, I think this is the best tutorial of a game I've ever watched. It's not a chore, I haven't skipped a second of it. As suggestions, I'd love to see a video of this length about how to specialiaze planets. You mentioned in previous videos that this can be done but I haven't managed to make it right yet
I've owned this game for quite a few years playing just under 100 hours. The detail of this series helped a ton figuring out the early game (my biggest struggle). Two big thumbs up Max, thank you for the work you put into this. As others have mentioned maybe a couple more video's on some of the end game stuff, and possibly some explanations into hive mind/robotics mechanics. Also looking forward to a dlc tier list!
This whole series has been so helpful for me :) You are so good at communicating the proper information at the correct time. And just overall very enjoyable to watch. I really like your personality and sense of humor :) I just recently got into Stellaris and your guide has been so incredibly helpful and informative.Thanks so much for all of the hard work you put into this whole series :)
Exhaustion: Why are we still here? Just to suffer? Every night, I can feel my leg… and my arm… even my fingers. The body I've lost… the comrades I've lost…
I can't be the only person who noticed the interesting shape that territory made when he settled the war and took the space from the opponent. Really gave 'em a hard time LOL New to the game and to your channel as I wanted some extra guidance the game doesn't provide very well. CK3 explains itself a lot better. Love your vibe, energy, and clear manner for explaining some fairly complicated concepts in a simple manner that's easy to follow. Oh, and your intro/outro tune is just jammin' haha earned this sub, max! Keep up the good work!
I just have to say out of all the guides this guy just called a beginner's guide, yeah I've been playing for some time and it still helped tremendously thank you!
Thank you so much for this series. It's really useful to have someone who knows the shape of the game to show me what game events I should (a) jump on right now, (b) schedule for dealing with later and (c) do if I feel like it. It was really useful seeing you fight a war "non optimally" (by "forgetting" to claim a system). It's always more useful to see how to recover from mistakes than to watch a game where the player knows from Day1 how to make the various parts of the Imperial machine mesh together.
Excellent timing, Max! I just got started on Stellaris, but I really had no idea what I was doing; it's quite an overwhelming game when you're new to both grand strategy and 4X (well, mostly new, I played Space Empires II back when we were all swooning over this shiny new thing called Windows 95). Most tutorials on TH-cam seem to be geared towards advanced players, not absolute newbies, so this series showed up just in time and has been very, very helpful. Thank you, thank you, thank you, and keep up the good work!
On the map, around 38:47, there's a dark blue border which is your border.. correct? But what is the white border within it that doesn't expand out to Faenov or Sugeylia? I feel like you had already explained it in a previous video, but there was a lot to take in from one watch of the series.
I actually explain that in the next video but I'll give you the extra sneak-peak. ;) That's a Sector border. Sectors are areas of space within your borders that divide up your space into smaller groupings around a Sector Capital. Sectors are at most 4 hyperlanes large extending from the chosen capital planet. And you can create multiple sectors by selecting a planet and pressing the "Create Sector" button on the right side of the planetary window. This allows you to recruit a Governor that will give a bonus to all planets within that sector, and allows you to further specialize your planets in a region of space.
Awesome guide. Just got into stellaris. Had the game for years with less than 2 hours played... felt like an information overload. This guide has been really helpful...
Holy cow, this game is complicated! My first attempt (before watching your tutorials) ended in failure, but my second attempt (after watching about halfway through these videos) is going MUCH better. Thank you for your patient explanation of... EVERYTHING. Also, your intro/outro music is a jam!
pretty nice series of tutorial and relatively easy to understand. After watching hours and hours of other content creators' tutorials, this one helped the most in terms of explaining the fundamentals and remove the feel of being overwhelmed by all the stats and digits on the screen. criticism: i think what you meant by "if we scroll over this" is "if we hover our cursor over this". all in all, solid tutorial and you earned my sub. cheers!
Thank you so much for this great series. Definitely one more episode on taking planets would be great and perhaps also another one on general strategy tips for the later game.
Just found your channel/series and great narration and advice! Last night i learned the value of a chokepoint station in a neutron star (or pulsar) system. Early war won because oof the AI neighbor kept throwing destroyers against the upgraded pulsar station with a targeting building. But now I'm going to try defensive platforms. Thanks!
Max, you absolutely nailed it with this series. I watched the videos in turn after I tinkered around in the game (because that's what I like) and always found bits I missed and new insights. Also, love your intro and outro. Usually skip those but yours just set a great mood!
I am new to the game and your series really helped me a lot. Especially the tip with piracy. Some big questions I have are 1. How do I win a game of Stellaris? 2. Empires Size: Do I need to claim as many systems as I can/is it good to go to war for expanding my empire?
I searched for tutorials from all youtube, and found some tricks and tips, but never the explanations about the tatics, decisions and options. Thanks to share your videos, the game is very complex and is a lot of possibilities. So your content is very easy to get, thanks!
I have had a hard time picking up Stellaris (started and stopped for several years), the game is VERY overwhelming for new players (and I have been playing Civ since the first game). All the tutorials (excluding this channel) have been very bad at explaining the game ie they go through the menu point by point and therefore overload the viewer with too much information. @MaxTheCatfish is a master storyteller. By telling the story of the building of United Nations of Earth we get emotionally involved in the game and the outcome. Superbly done. In an earlier episode you mentioned that you were maybe going to do a DLC breakdown. Is that still an option? 17 DLC is quite overwhelming for new players. I am into my first game, and I am loving it. Thanks for this great tutorial
DLC video is DEFINITELY coming. I've been busy with TwitchCon, then a Stellaris video partnership with Paradox, and now I'm fighting a nasty eye infection. But I'm working on the next few videos and the Stellaris DLCs will 100% be in there! So glad the series has helped you!
Need more info on how to manage my planets. Specializing, dealing with pop, when to colonize and when not to, and so much more. Maybe a intermediate set of videos.
This is a very cool guide I was missing in Stellaris for years now and solved a lot of the mysteries for me. Big thanks! :) I would love to have more tutorials here. Things I am kinda missing is: - Which paths to choose (Bilogical, Robotic, Psi) and how to apply them - Managing an huge empire (you kinda skipped the sectors part for me :D) - How research works when focusing on a specific goal - How pop grow works - More details on how espionage works and can be used! I really had fun when I tried this. - Some playthroughs with different empires but still explaining why you do certain stuff and finishing a game - IMHO I wouldnt try to focus on the vanilla game. I think everyone who is getting into the game will quickly get all the DLCs... I own now Stellaris for several years but never managed to finish a game. I am kinda stuck in the mid game where you wanna go down a specific path but I feel like I am lost in the details there.
This video is great. As a brand new stellaris player it really helped me know where I’m thinking about combat in the right way, and where I’m thinking about it in the wrong way. Biggest thing I learned so far was why build+pay for a very large fleet of ships at the beginning of the game if you’re not planning on fighting something? Just save the resources, and build defense platforms. I did not realize how reliable they could be. Thanks!
i just finished 2 days ago the first 6 episodes, but i had no clue wth am doing with warfare so this video is what I need best tutorial i ever watched I love you for this man
Hey Max! LOVE the tutorials. I've been getting super into Stellaris recently and your guides have been a massive help. If you're planning a Q&A still, I'd love to hear more about armies and how to conquer/claim planets! Can't wait to see more and sending much love
Let me say thank you from the bottom of my heart. You have been instrumental in much of my understanding of Stellaris. Since this game is going to be my new primary RNR activity, you have become my new best friend. Subscribed since January 1st 2200 - my very first day playing this unbelievable game.
Fantastic video as always, Max - thanks so much! It would be great if you could do one more on taking systems where there are alien planets that they have colonized, and how armies need to be used to do this. Also, that video with answers to things like the DLCs would be hugely appreciated. Thanks again for this tutorial series, and rest assured that I will be watching anything else that you put out on this channel in future.
This series is phenomenal and has finally let me get over the learning curve and enjoy this game! If you also play any other Paradox games, tutorials on those would be amazing!
Watched this entire series. Wow. I've gone from some blithering Stellaris idiot, into my first war on two fronts in which I held my own. When they sued for peace, I (when the time was right) dec'd the weaker of the two and wiped the floor with them. Feels good, thankyou for doing this, epic series!
Some more things I would love to see since you asked about it near the start of the video. 1. Diplomacy: I feel like the last video passed over what Diplomacy could really do for you since the first empire you ran into was so hostile. If you do discover another empire on the other side of the Spyr K'tath, I would love to see some Diplo with a more friendly empire, maybe even getting them to team up against your rival. 2. Anomalies: You kind of skipped these for when you had more time to actually go through them. I assume that we would be exploring these anomalies at some point but don't know the priority. Should you try to fully explore the space you can? Or will anomalies provide a big enough boost to hold off on exploring your space. Loved the series, looking forward to seeing more from you :)
I was Like #500! So I just started playing Stellaris yesterday, 9/18/22 after thinking for years that I wouldn't be a fan of 4X games in general. But WOW was I proven wrong, I played this first match with all the tutorials on, taking it slow and just enthralled with all the different things going on, all the different random findings or intelligent species who are also out there in the stars, building, growing, and trying to expand even into YOUR own territory. I remember anxiously awaiting my first contact with another empire and it ended up being a super early 3k~ power bioships fleet compared to my 400~ power handful of unupgraded, non-manually crafted Corvettes lol. I really was not expecting such a huge difference in power so early in the game, but I guess if this was a unique event or other empires focus mainly on military might it might not be so uncommon. Anyway, I ended up playing this first game of Stellaris for literally over 13 hours straight, I had no idea how much time had passed, just the sun coming through the window and then boom suddenly it was 1pm the next day haha. I had to save and quit but holy cow I never would have expected having so much fun with this type of game. I can't wait to get some sleep, watch a few more of your Beginner's Guides and jump right back into that campaign! You genuinely are helpful with the way you explain things! :)
Hey Max, you are so charasmatic and explain these systems so well that it makes watching this a real joy. I LOVE this game. I just discovered it after being turned off by endless space 2. Very glad to have joined this game (6 years) late.
Jumping around in the series and treating it a bit like an encyclopedia. You're that concise and clear. Really phenomenal teaching. Stellaris pedagogy. I love it. I know this is done to death, but you have such a good sense about this game I'd like to hear your opinion on it: Do you recommend any DLC? Do you recommend playing with DLC off? I played "vanilla" last night and some minor elements of the game seemed actually non-functional. What is your take? Again, really looking forward to going through this excellent series start to finish. Thanks for what I'm sure was a tremendous amount of hard work - to say nothing of the time and experience in the game itself.
Mentioned on previous episode, but I would love to see detail on managing Federations and interacting with the Galactic Government, but that might beyond the scope since these tutorials are DLC free for the most part.
Just starting those videos, but thanks so much, just “won” my first game l-gate style. Had no idea what I was doing until I watched up to now, and learning so much still. Thanks
The G in the ship designer stands for Guided munitions. Reinforcements using the 'emergency ftl' mechanic is really powerful. It used to be that the reinforcing ships would trickle to your fleet in 1s and 2s as they flew through half of the empire, and could be intercepted on the way. This is no longer the case.
Thanks for this series - well explained basics. Is there a possibility to make one video dedicated to some "basic for experienced, not so basic for newcomer stuff" like why you make new sectors, why to designate it for one thing not the another, why and where do the Fortress World, maybe how to organize gates to swiftly travel through your territory, maybe the basics of automation (what is worth to set to auto, when, etc.), why producing food on star bases, habitat tips ... - all that stuff that is not going too deeply (so something that fits for a FAQ video), yet it's stuff that makes the game enjoyable :)
Love these ideas! Yes! I might make an "Intermediate-Advanced Tips" video that covers things like this because you're right, there's a slew of helpful tips in there that would be useful for players leaving the "beginner" gameplay.
Yes! I've been waiting for this! :D I finished watching episode 6 right before my current playthrough at that time was about to go to war since my empire was surrounded by aggressive douchebags and boy was i lost. I tried searching for another guides but none were as thorough and beginner friendly as yours. You're an epic teacher! If i might make a suggestion for the FAQ video, can you cover how to take enemy planets? Again, thank you for this series! I will def stay in the channel from now on!
I bought vanilla Stellaris a few days back, opened it up for the first time, and was immediately lost. The in-game "tutorial" is all but useless. So, I started poking around for some guidance on how to begin and found this series you just completed. What good timing for me! Really well explained, so thanks for putting it out. (Paradox really should build these optional beginner steps into the game in the way they do with Crusader Kings). A couple questions: 1) What's the difference between the blue border of your empire and the section highlighted in white? 2) Is there some way to look at the enemy's ship design to perhaps guide your own ship design for greatest effectiveness? 3) Can you go into greater detail on how espionage works in vanilla Stellaris? 4) And yes, while I haven't gotten there yet in my own first game, it would be useful to know how to take planets. Thanks again for putting the series together. It was very helpful.
All great questions that I'll add to the FAQ video coming out soon! Some quick answers that I'll expand on in the video: 1. The large blue border is my empire border. White borders represent your Sectors within your empire. Each sector is governed by a separate governor and has its own Sector Capital. 2. You can learn your enemy's ship designs by either being close in relations with them (which is rare) or by assigning an envoy to build a Spy Network. Eventually, you'll be able to learn everything from their planetary makeup, to the ship designs they've made. 3. Espionage is definitely a video all to itself. I might make a video on this in the future! 4. Planets are easier to explain in a video - but the short answer is that you need to recruit Assault Armies - which you can do on any of your own planets. Then group those assault armies together, recruit a general (optional), and land them on an enemy's planet to take it. Your armies will fight the planet's defensive armies. So only land armies on a planet that you're confident you can win (by having more army power and stronger technology than your opponents) Thanks so much for watching and I'm glad it's helped you!
@@MaxTheCatfish Another possible question: Without giving anything away, is there a win condition I should be orienting my gameplay toward, or is the endgame open-ended as with other Paradox games? Thanks again!
SUCH A GREAT AND INFORMATIVE VIDEO. New to Stellaris and this was a real time saver and mistakes avoider lol. Thanks for taking the time to due such indepth guides!
Loved the series, would love a spin-off on how to play and take advantage of the different expansions like megacorp, nemesis etc. 10/10 tutorial series thanks
I got this game on Steam "Free to Play Weekend" and it was so confusing with no tutorial that I was about to give up. Then I saw you video series and bought the game! It seems a very entertaining deep game. Thank you! You are a great teacher!
Really enjoyed this series, your explanations were really well done. Was wondering why you chose not to add the afterburners. Do afterburners require a lot more energy? Or is that improvement just not worth having for your ships?
This is very very good tutorial. I have few hundreds hours in stellaris but I like to watch that kind of tutorials because I always learn something new and I'm still felling noob. You are explaining things very good. I listening and watching your video with pleasure.
Thank you a ton for this fantastic series @MaxTheCatfish. I can just agree to all positive comments. Wonderful energy and clear presentations, then on top of it all that war declaration could not have been better timed so thanks to the Enlightened Kingdom of Spyr K'tah too :D This episode has prepared me for my first fight, I feel it very soon will happen.
What's good Max, since the last video I have dived in pretty deep without your graceful guidance into the world of warfare. I'm not very good at it but that is okay, I am a fast learner. There is a topic I would like to know more about is a few things actually but all of similar issue. Vassals, Immigration/Migration Treaties, Diplomatic Favor, and Enslaving. I still struggle with how to achieve those things and would just like your detailed explanations on how to get those things and/or increase them.
Just started playing stellaris and as a ck3 player i always aim to achieve war goals just like enforcing demands since i didn't knew before that settle status quo gives you territories as well so thankyou for this tutorial.
Heck yeah. I would love for a little talk about empire development philosophy. I always seem to get stuck in the cycle of settle planet, take space, build, research... ...then discover that I've reached 2350, barely have much of an army, and although I haven't been attacked, I also have barely grown... and I am now an average galactic empire capable of nothing. What are two philosophies that I could choose from that would give me a leg up and good chance to win? (and no, wide vs tall is not incredibly helpful!)
Ahhh, good question. Honestly the "Empire Development Philosophies" break into a few different parts starting with whether warfare will be a big part of your empire or not. If you aren't being attacked, and you aren't planning on conquering space, then you can focus on growing your Economic, Scientific, Diplomatic, or Traditional strength - all of which will give you a one-up on the rest of the galaxy but particularly Scientific strength. When I build a scientific-focused empire, I search for planets like Relic Worlds, or those with Planetary Traits that give a flat bonus to technology on the planet. I turn those planets into Tech Worlds and exclusively build City Districts and Research Labs. I tend to massively exceed my opponents' tech levels by doing this but it comes at the cost of specializing planets as Unity or Economic generation. Instead of technology, you could focus on Unity and Traditions if you'd like. In fact there's a mechanic in the game called Planetary Ascension, which allows you to boost the productivity of a planet using Unity. This is a balancing mechanic designed for Tall empires with small borders, or empires who focus on owning large numbers of Vassals instead of a large self-governed territory. This sort of comes back to your empire design. How you design your empire has a big effect on your empire's growth philosophy. If you have an Intelligent, Materialist, Technocratic empire, your philosophy should focus on minimizing warfare and maximizing tech growth. Try to improve relations with your neighbors, or better - create a federation with them - so they defend your borders for you. Similarly if your empire is Traditional, Spiritualist or Pacifist, and focuses on Unity gain, you'll want to build buildings that focus on unity generation and eventual planetary ascension. Really though...*every* empire needs technology. Whereas traditions - I feel - are a means to work toward ascension perks and the overall meta history of your empire (If your empire is spiritualist, they'll probably pick up the psionic ascension perks. If your empire is materialist, they'll probably want to pick up the robotics ascension perks) If you're a warfare-heavy empire, you'll want to focus on alloy generation first, tech generation second, and mineral/energy generation third (to support armies and upkeep costs). This allows you to pump out ships and defense platforms at strategic positions, take space from your opponents, make enemies, and then move your defense platforms upwards to the new forward position. Just keep doing this until you own everything. Growth in Stellaris typically comes in two major ways - taking a lot of space through warfare and diplomacy, or growing your existing space through explosive pop growth. I would recommend focusing on one of those two alongside your empire's main strength (Technology, Unity, Economic, Militaristic growth) and see if you can't improve your position by 2350 that way!
First I was like, maaan, I want just some quick tutorial video. But they really didn't work well. Then I watched your series which is like 4 hours of content haha, and loved them all, thank you so much for your detailed explanations :)
So far I've created a defense pact, commercial and research with another neighboring empire and tensions are rising with an neighboring aggressive empire. I've hired mercenaries with 10k power to hit them hard and I've also bought a powerful admiral from them. Right now I need more resources so I can really expand my fleet and max out the capacity of 56 I have. This Is honestly good timing as I've watched all your other tutorial videos on this game (which helped a lot) and now watching this one about warfare Is gonna also help with the upcoming war with my aggressive neighbors. If they continue to raise the tensions between us I will hire more mercenaries and declare war on them so me and my ally can hit them where It hurts.
I suggest unchecked auto generate designs the first time u go into ship designer and deleting the pre-made designs that you are custom designing, less mess and handles that save issue off the bat
Paradox games tend to scary lot of people that try to approach them, specially after some DLC are released, and the game mechanich get more and more deep, but you dude nailed it, so far is hand down the best stellaris series avaible. Would be awesome if in future you will consider some series on other paradox games. Thanks a lot.
There's ONE thing I didn't talk about in this tutorial that I wish I had - and that is *taking planets*. So while I said this is the final part of the tutorial series there miiiiiiight be one more video, or I'll lump it in with the FAQ at the end of the series. Also, did you see that I've been partnering with Paradox to bring a series of Top 10 videos for the official Stellaris TH-cam channel? Check it out here! th-cam.com/video/ib3B_-9Cs-Q/w-d-xo.html
Thank you very much sir for this video, 3days ago I bought stellaris and this video helped me a ton!
9:40 "G" is a naval classification code that stands for "guided missile." It designates that a ship has an armament of guided missiles. I'm assuming that's why they've used it for this game.
I've spent an entire weekend just watching these tutorials.
By Monday I might be ready to try.
A question: Do i need to unlock Ship Designer through researching or some other way? Fairly new to the game and for some reason the option to design ships is locked for me in starbases.
@@jimihuumonen4953 No, its available right away
Loved this series. As I said before, you are a natural teacher. If I have one criticism, it's that the series is too short. Any chance of any more? Any chance of a full playthrough with your excellent commentary? I'd love to watch that
Me too! I always try to catch Max's Twitch streams.
Drake's got the idea. My Twitch streams are pretty close in feeling to the TH-cam videos here!
+1
I purchased all the DLCs and felt overwhelmed from being new to this game style. I put it off for almost a year before deciding to get back into this game. This helped so much with getting back into this game and not giving up. Can't thank you enough!
I don’t care about the length, this video alone was integral for me taking over the galaxy for the first time. The war system seemed very intimidating and complex, but Max described it all very clearly and actually made me excited to try it out. This is the best in-depth mechanics series for this game and I 100% recommend and thank you, Max!
Probably one of the best tutorials I’ve seen on any game on TH-cam. Particularly considering the size and complexity of Stellaris your a natural sir.
Regarding Excess Power when designing a ship: The more excess power you have, the more evasion you get. So a "balanced" ship with no excess power is okay, but it's really not the end of the world if you have a bunch of excess power. It doesn't add much evasion but it definitely helps.
Didn't know that! Thanks 🙂
A series on each of the starter species that are pre made, and what they should be aiming for. Explanations of hive minds and machines, basic strats.
Oh, this is so amazing! It's very in depth but it's not at all overwhelming. It's fun, has good pacing, tells me lot's of stuff I need to know in such a light and entertaining way. Man, seriously, congratulations, I think this is the best tutorial of a game I've ever watched. It's not a chore, I haven't skipped a second of it.
As suggestions, I'd love to see a video of this length about how to specialiaze planets. You mentioned in previous videos that this can be done but I haven't managed to make it right yet
I've owned this game for quite a few years playing just under 100 hours. The detail of this series helped a ton figuring out the early game (my biggest struggle). Two big thumbs up Max, thank you for the work you put into this. As others have mentioned maybe a couple more video's on some of the end game stuff, and possibly some explanations into hive mind/robotics mechanics. Also looking forward to a dlc tier list!
This whole series has been so helpful for me :) You are so good at communicating the proper information at the correct time. And just overall very enjoyable to watch. I really like your personality and sense of humor :)
I just recently got into Stellaris and your guide has been so incredibly helpful and informative.Thanks so much for all of the hard work you put into this whole series :)
Exhaustion:
Why are we still here? Just to suffer? Every night, I can feel my leg… and my arm… even my fingers. The body I've lost… the comrades I've lost…
I can't be the only person who noticed the interesting shape that territory made when he settled the war and took the space from the opponent. Really gave 'em a hard time LOL
New to the game and to your channel as I wanted some extra guidance the game doesn't provide very well. CK3 explains itself a lot better. Love your vibe, energy, and clear manner for explaining some fairly complicated concepts in a simple manner that's easy to follow. Oh, and your intro/outro tune is just jammin' haha earned this sub, max! Keep up the good work!
I just have to say out of all the guides this guy just called a beginner's guide, yeah I've been playing for some time and it still helped tremendously thank you!
Thank you so much for this series. It's really useful to have someone who knows the shape of the game to show me what game events I should (a) jump on right now, (b) schedule for dealing with later and (c) do if I feel like it. It was really useful seeing you fight a war "non optimally" (by "forgetting" to claim a system). It's always more useful to see how to recover from mistakes than to watch a game where the player knows from Day1 how to make the various parts of the Imperial machine mesh together.
Excellent timing, Max! I just got started on Stellaris, but I really had no idea what I was doing; it's quite an overwhelming game when you're new to both grand strategy and 4X (well, mostly new, I played Space Empires II back when we were all swooning over this shiny new thing called Windows 95). Most tutorials on TH-cam seem to be geared towards advanced players, not absolute newbies, so this series showed up just in time and has been very, very helpful. Thank you, thank you, thank you, and keep up the good work!
On the map, around 38:47, there's a dark blue border which is your border.. correct? But what is the white border within it that doesn't expand out to Faenov or Sugeylia? I feel like you had already explained it in a previous video, but there was a lot to take in from one watch of the series.
I actually explain that in the next video but I'll give you the extra sneak-peak. ;)
That's a Sector border. Sectors are areas of space within your borders that divide up your space into smaller groupings around a Sector Capital. Sectors are at most 4 hyperlanes large extending from the chosen capital planet. And you can create multiple sectors by selecting a planet and pressing the "Create Sector" button on the right side of the planetary window. This allows you to recruit a Governor that will give a bonus to all planets within that sector, and allows you to further specialize your planets in a region of space.
@@MaxTheCatfish You da best :D
Awesome guide. Just got into stellaris. Had the game for years with less than 2 hours played... felt like an information overload.
This guide has been really helpful...
Thanks for this videao. Just started playing and have much to learn. Very helpful.
Naval capacity can be increased through technology, but it’s best to also use other means such as anchorages if you want to actually win any wars.
An espionage tutorial would be nice, with megacorps as well
Annnnnddddd my weekend has evaporated! Time well spent. Honestly great videos man, you're wonderful at this!
Holy cow, this game is complicated! My first attempt (before watching your tutorials) ended in failure, but my second attempt (after watching about halfway through these videos) is going MUCH better. Thank you for your patient explanation of... EVERYTHING.
Also, your intro/outro music is a jam!
pretty nice series of tutorial and relatively easy to understand. After watching hours and hours of other content creators' tutorials, this one helped the most in terms of explaining the fundamentals and remove the feel of being overwhelmed by all the stats and digits on the screen.
criticism: i think what you meant by "if we scroll over this" is "if we hover our cursor over this".
all in all, solid tutorial and you earned my sub. cheers!
Thank you so much for this great series. Definitely one more episode on taking planets would be great and perhaps also another one on general strategy tips for the later game.
Just found your channel/series and great narration and advice! Last night i learned the value of a chokepoint station in a neutron star (or pulsar) system. Early war won because oof the AI neighbor kept throwing destroyers against the upgraded pulsar station with a targeting building. But now I'm going to try defensive platforms. Thanks!
Great tutorial series, and still only scratches the surface :), but thank you!
Max, you absolutely nailed it with this series. I watched the videos in turn after I tinkered around in the game (because that's what I like) and always found bits I missed and new insights. Also, love your intro and outro. Usually skip those but yours just set a great mood!
30:54 you repeatedly didn't mention, that humiliating wargoal also give you your claimed systems. Can be seen in the text at that time
I am new to the game and your series really helped me a lot. Especially the tip with piracy. Some big questions I have are 1. How do I win a game of Stellaris? 2. Empires Size: Do I need to claim as many systems as I can/is it good to go to war for expanding my empire?
I searched for tutorials from all youtube, and found some tricks and tips, but never the explanations about the tatics, decisions and options. Thanks to share your videos, the game is very complex and is a lot of possibilities. So your content is very easy to get, thanks!
Have been waiting for this one! So excited
I have had a hard time picking up Stellaris (started and stopped for several years), the game is VERY overwhelming for new players (and I have been playing Civ since the first game). All the tutorials (excluding this channel) have been very bad at explaining the game ie they go through the menu point by point and therefore overload the viewer with too much information.
@MaxTheCatfish is a master storyteller. By telling the story of the building of United Nations of Earth we get emotionally involved in the game and the outcome. Superbly done.
In an earlier episode you mentioned that you were maybe going to do a DLC breakdown. Is that still an option? 17 DLC is quite overwhelming for new players.
I am into my first game, and I am loving it. Thanks for this great tutorial
DLC video is DEFINITELY coming. I've been busy with TwitchCon, then a Stellaris video partnership with Paradox, and now I'm fighting a nasty eye infection. But I'm working on the next few videos and the Stellaris DLCs will 100% be in there! So glad the series has helped you!
The whole series was awesome! Please make more of these tutorials. Pretty please!
Need more info on how to manage my planets. Specializing, dealing with pop, when to colonize and when not to, and so much more. Maybe a intermediate set of videos.
This is a very cool guide I was missing in Stellaris for years now and solved a lot of the mysteries for me. Big thanks! :)
I would love to have more tutorials here. Things I am kinda missing is:
- Which paths to choose (Bilogical, Robotic, Psi) and how to apply them
- Managing an huge empire (you kinda skipped the sectors part for me :D)
- How research works when focusing on a specific goal
- How pop grow works
- More details on how espionage works and can be used! I really had fun when I tried this.
- Some playthroughs with different empires but still explaining why you do certain stuff and finishing a game
- IMHO I wouldnt try to focus on the vanilla game. I think everyone who is getting into the game will quickly get all the DLCs...
I own now Stellaris for several years but never managed to finish a game. I am kinda stuck in the mid game where you wanna go down a specific path but I feel like I am lost in the details there.
This video is great. As a brand new stellaris player it really helped me know where I’m thinking about combat in the right way, and where I’m thinking about it in the wrong way. Biggest thing I learned so far was why build+pay for a very large fleet of ships at the beginning of the game if you’re not planning on fighting something? Just save the resources, and build defense platforms. I did not realize how reliable they could be. Thanks!
i just finished 2 days ago the first 6 episodes, but i had no clue wth am doing with warfare so this video is what I need best tutorial i ever watched I love you for this man
Fantastic video series, so very clear and full of enthusiasm- the benchmark of how beginner guides should be!
Hey Max! LOVE the tutorials. I've been getting super into Stellaris recently and your guides have been a massive help. If you're planning a Q&A still, I'd love to hear more about armies and how to conquer/claim planets! Can't wait to see more and sending much love
Let me say thank you from the bottom of my heart. You have been instrumental in much of my understanding of Stellaris. Since this game is going to be my new primary RNR activity, you have become my new best friend. Subscribed since January 1st 2200 - my very first day playing this unbelievable game.
Fantastic video as always, Max - thanks so much! It would be great if you could do one more on taking systems where there are alien planets that they have colonized, and how armies need to be used to do this. Also, that video with answers to things like the DLCs would be hugely appreciated.
Thanks again for this tutorial series, and rest assured that I will be watching anything else that you put out on this channel in future.
This series is phenomenal and has finally let me get over the learning curve and enjoy this game! If you also play any other Paradox games, tutorials on those would be amazing!
Watched this entire series. Wow. I've gone from some blithering Stellaris idiot, into my first war on two fronts in which I held my own. When they sued for peace, I (when the time was right) dec'd the weaker of the two and wiped the floor with them. Feels good, thankyou for doing this, epic series!
Some more things I would love to see since you asked about it near the start of the video.
1. Diplomacy: I feel like the last video passed over what Diplomacy could really do for you since the first empire you ran into was so hostile. If you do discover another empire on the other side of the Spyr K'tath, I would love to see some Diplo with a more friendly empire, maybe even getting them to team up against your rival.
2. Anomalies: You kind of skipped these for when you had more time to actually go through them. I assume that we would be exploring these anomalies at some point but don't know the priority. Should you try to fully explore the space you can? Or will anomalies provide a big enough boost to hold off on exploring your space.
Loved the series, looking forward to seeing more from you :)
thanks a lot for the tutorial. An episode on taking planets would be much appreciated!
This was super clutch !!!
I was Like #500! So I just started playing Stellaris yesterday, 9/18/22 after thinking for years that I wouldn't be a fan of 4X games in general. But WOW was I proven wrong, I played this first match with all the tutorials on, taking it slow and just enthralled with all the different things going on, all the different random findings or intelligent species who are also out there in the stars, building, growing, and trying to expand even into YOUR own territory. I remember anxiously awaiting my first contact with another empire and it ended up being a super early 3k~ power bioships fleet compared to my 400~ power handful of unupgraded, non-manually crafted Corvettes lol. I really was not expecting such a huge difference in power so early in the game, but I guess if this was a unique event or other empires focus mainly on military might it might not be so uncommon. Anyway, I ended up playing this first game of Stellaris for literally over 13 hours straight, I had no idea how much time had passed, just the sun coming through the window and then boom suddenly it was 1pm the next day haha. I had to save and quit but holy cow I never would have expected having so much fun with this type of game. I can't wait to get some sleep, watch a few more of your Beginner's Guides and jump right back into that campaign! You genuinely are helpful with the way you explain things! :)
Excellent Guides. Thank you.
Hey Max, you are so charasmatic and explain these systems so well that it makes watching this a real joy. I LOVE this game. I just discovered it after being turned off by endless space 2. Very glad to have joined this game (6 years) late.
We need more like this! :)
Jumping around in the series and treating it a bit like an encyclopedia. You're that concise and clear. Really phenomenal teaching. Stellaris pedagogy. I love it. I know this is done to death, but you have such a good sense about this game I'd like to hear your opinion on it:
Do you recommend any DLC? Do you recommend playing with DLC off? I played "vanilla" last night and some minor elements of the game seemed actually non-functional. What is your take?
Again, really looking forward to going through this excellent series start to finish. Thanks for what I'm sure was a tremendous amount of hard work - to say nothing of the time and experience in the game itself.
What a fantastic series, well done and thank you.
Mentioned on previous episode, but I would love to see detail on managing Federations and interacting with the Galactic Government, but that might beyond the scope since these tutorials are DLC free for the most part.
Good day, this series has been epic for learning this game. Love it.
Just starting those videos, but thanks so much, just “won” my first game l-gate style. Had no idea what I was doing until I watched up to now, and learning so much still. Thanks
The G in the ship designer stands for Guided munitions.
Reinforcements using the 'emergency ftl' mechanic is really powerful. It used to be that the reinforcing ships would trickle to your fleet in 1s and 2s as they flew through half of the empire, and could be intercepted on the way. This is no longer the case.
Thanks for this series - well explained basics. Is there a possibility to make one video dedicated to some "basic for experienced, not so basic for newcomer stuff" like why you make new sectors, why to designate it for one thing not the another, why and where do the Fortress World, maybe how to organize gates to swiftly travel through your territory, maybe the basics of automation (what is worth to set to auto, when, etc.), why producing food on star bases, habitat tips ... - all that stuff that is not going too deeply (so something that fits for a FAQ video), yet it's stuff that makes the game enjoyable :)
Love these ideas! Yes! I might make an "Intermediate-Advanced Tips" video that covers things like this because you're right, there's a slew of helpful tips in there that would be useful for players leaving the "beginner" gameplay.
Yes! I've been waiting for this! :D
I finished watching episode 6 right before my current playthrough at that time was about to go to war since my empire was surrounded by aggressive douchebags and boy was i lost. I tried searching for another guides but none were as thorough and beginner friendly as yours. You're an epic teacher!
If i might make a suggestion for the FAQ video, can you cover how to take enemy planets?
Again, thank you for this series! I will def stay in the channel from now on!
I just released a video tutorial on Warfare Part 2! This explains taking planets and the mechanics around those!
Best tutorial online!!!!! Keep up the good work
The timing in that war decoration was impeccable!
I bought vanilla Stellaris a few days back, opened it up for the first time, and was immediately lost. The in-game "tutorial" is all but useless. So, I started poking around for some guidance on how to begin and found this series you just completed. What good timing for me! Really well explained, so thanks for putting it out. (Paradox really should build these optional beginner steps into the game in the way they do with Crusader Kings). A couple questions:
1) What's the difference between the blue border of your empire and the section highlighted in white?
2) Is there some way to look at the enemy's ship design to perhaps guide your own ship design for greatest effectiveness?
3) Can you go into greater detail on how espionage works in vanilla Stellaris?
4) And yes, while I haven't gotten there yet in my own first game, it would be useful to know how to take planets.
Thanks again for putting the series together. It was very helpful.
All great questions that I'll add to the FAQ video coming out soon!
Some quick answers that I'll expand on in the video:
1. The large blue border is my empire border. White borders represent your Sectors within your empire. Each sector is governed by a separate governor and has its own Sector Capital.
2. You can learn your enemy's ship designs by either being close in relations with them (which is rare) or by assigning an envoy to build a Spy Network. Eventually, you'll be able to learn everything from their planetary makeup, to the ship designs they've made.
3. Espionage is definitely a video all to itself. I might make a video on this in the future!
4. Planets are easier to explain in a video - but the short answer is that you need to recruit Assault Armies - which you can do on any of your own planets. Then group those assault armies together, recruit a general (optional), and land them on an enemy's planet to take it. Your armies will fight the planet's defensive armies. So only land armies on a planet that you're confident you can win (by having more army power and stronger technology than your opponents)
Thanks so much for watching and I'm glad it's helped you!
@@MaxTheCatfish Another possible question: Without giving anything away, is there a win condition I should be orienting my gameplay toward, or is the endgame open-ended as with other Paradox games? Thanks again!
Thank you so much for this series man, I bought Stellaris in the steam summer sale and with your help I've had a ton of fun already!
SUCH A GREAT AND INFORMATIVE VIDEO. New to Stellaris and this was a real time saver and mistakes avoider lol. Thanks for taking the time to due such indepth guides!
absolutely loved this series, i played together with this, thank you SO very much!! ; love your enthusiasm
I'm SO glad there's another video! Have U ever played /seen FreeOrion Max?
G stands for Guided Weapons @9:37
Nothing to say, good tut, supporting algorithm. Thanks for the tut
Best Stellaris tutorial series out there
Thank you!
Thank you so much!
Love your energy, bless your soul. These videos are superb.
Thank you for the excellent series! Your enthusiasm was very engaging and this series has made a very intimidating game much easier to get into :)
Loved the series, would love a spin-off on how to play and take advantage of the different expansions like megacorp, nemesis etc. 10/10 tutorial series thanks
Thanks for this guide, you really transmitted the live for the game
I got this game on Steam "Free to Play Weekend" and it was so confusing with no tutorial that I was about to give up. Then I saw you video series and bought the game! It seems a very entertaining deep game. Thank you! You are a great teacher!
that's a hell of a good tutorial serie!!! thanks a million times over for the awesome work you did!!!
Thanks for this series, brilliantly explained. Subbed
Really enjoyed this series, your explanations were really well done.
Was wondering why you chose not to add the afterburners. Do afterburners require a lot more energy? Or is that improvement just not worth having for your ships?
Great question! I think I answered this in the next video. ;)
Great video dude!
This is very very good tutorial. I have few hundreds hours in stellaris but I like to watch that kind of tutorials because I always learn something new and I'm still felling noob. You are explaining things very good. I listening and watching your video with pleasure.
Thank you a ton for this fantastic series @MaxTheCatfish. I can just agree to all positive comments. Wonderful energy and clear presentations, then on top of it all that war declaration could not have been better timed so thanks to the Enlightened Kingdom of Spyr K'tah too :D
This episode has prepared me for my first fight, I feel it very soon will happen.
Really great series mate, i dont understand why you dont have more subs. I love your enthusiasm. You’ve def earned a sub from me!
What's good Max, since the last video I have dived in pretty deep without your graceful guidance into the world of warfare. I'm not very good at it but that is okay, I am a fast learner. There is a topic I would like to know more about is a few things actually but all of similar issue. Vassals, Immigration/Migration Treaties, Diplomatic Favor, and Enslaving. I still struggle with how to achieve those things and would just like your detailed explanations on how to get those things and/or increase them.
This is amazing please do similar series for other 4x and grand strategy games.
Maybe one on the state of the DLC's and what it brings. Love the series!
Yes! That's on my list for sure! Thanks so much for watching!
i watched all the tutorial episodes as i am new to stellaris. Thank you so much for the detailed and passioned guides you put out.
Just started playing stellaris and as a ck3 player i always aim to achieve war goals just like enforcing demands since i didn't knew before that settle status quo gives you territories as well so thankyou for this tutorial.
"G" in a weapons slot stands for Guided as in Guided Missile or Guided Torpedo.
Heck yeah.
I would love for a little talk about empire development philosophy. I always seem to get stuck in the cycle of settle planet, take space, build, research... ...then discover that I've reached 2350, barely have much of an army, and although I haven't been attacked, I also have barely grown... and I am now an average galactic empire capable of nothing. What are two philosophies that I could choose from that would give me a leg up and good chance to win? (and no, wide vs tall is not incredibly helpful!)
Ahhh, good question. Honestly the "Empire Development Philosophies" break into a few different parts starting with whether warfare will be a big part of your empire or not. If you aren't being attacked, and you aren't planning on conquering space, then you can focus on growing your Economic, Scientific, Diplomatic, or Traditional strength - all of which will give you a one-up on the rest of the galaxy but particularly Scientific strength. When I build a scientific-focused empire, I search for planets like Relic Worlds, or those with Planetary Traits that give a flat bonus to technology on the planet. I turn those planets into Tech Worlds and exclusively build City Districts and Research Labs. I tend to massively exceed my opponents' tech levels by doing this but it comes at the cost of specializing planets as Unity or Economic generation. Instead of technology, you could focus on Unity and Traditions if you'd like. In fact there's a mechanic in the game called Planetary Ascension, which allows you to boost the productivity of a planet using Unity. This is a balancing mechanic designed for Tall empires with small borders, or empires who focus on owning large numbers of Vassals instead of a large self-governed territory.
This sort of comes back to your empire design. How you design your empire has a big effect on your empire's growth philosophy. If you have an Intelligent, Materialist, Technocratic empire, your philosophy should focus on minimizing warfare and maximizing tech growth. Try to improve relations with your neighbors, or better - create a federation with them - so they defend your borders for you. Similarly if your empire is Traditional, Spiritualist or Pacifist, and focuses on Unity gain, you'll want to build buildings that focus on unity generation and eventual planetary ascension. Really though...*every* empire needs technology. Whereas traditions - I feel - are a means to work toward ascension perks and the overall meta history of your empire (If your empire is spiritualist, they'll probably pick up the psionic ascension perks. If your empire is materialist, they'll probably want to pick up the robotics ascension perks)
If you're a warfare-heavy empire, you'll want to focus on alloy generation first, tech generation second, and mineral/energy generation third (to support armies and upkeep costs). This allows you to pump out ships and defense platforms at strategic positions, take space from your opponents, make enemies, and then move your defense platforms upwards to the new forward position. Just keep doing this until you own everything.
Growth in Stellaris typically comes in two major ways - taking a lot of space through warfare and diplomacy, or growing your existing space through explosive pop growth. I would recommend focusing on one of those two alongside your empire's main strength (Technology, Unity, Economic, Militaristic growth) and see if you can't improve your position by 2350 that way!
Nice work and it was really helpful to get me started in the game!
First I was like, maaan, I want just some quick tutorial video. But they really didn't work well. Then I watched your series which is like 4 hours of content haha, and loved them all, thank you so much for your detailed explanations :)
So far I've created a defense pact, commercial and research with another neighboring empire and tensions are rising with an neighboring aggressive empire. I've hired mercenaries with 10k power to hit them hard and I've also bought a powerful admiral from them. Right now I need more resources so I can really expand my fleet and max out the capacity of 56 I have. This Is honestly good timing as I've watched all your other tutorial videos on this game (which helped a lot) and now watching this one about warfare Is gonna also help with the upcoming war with my aggressive neighbors. If they continue to raise the tensions between us I will hire more mercenaries and declare war on them so me and my ally can hit them where It hurts.
Hey Max, thank you so much for this series! Your videos are awesome and helped me to understand the various game mechanisms. What a great game!
Extremely extremely helpful
Thank you so much for this video, really helpful. It’s so difficult to find up to date guides on this game and this was brilliant 😊
Great Video, I am going to go back and watch the series now. I am new to Stellaris, this was helpful.
Great stuff, although probably going to have to go back to episode 1 as forgotten everything already 🙄.. not such a bad thing
Great informative videos 👍
I suggest unchecked auto generate designs the first time u go into ship designer and deleting the pre-made designs that you are custom designing, less mess and handles that save issue off the bat
Paradox games tend to scary lot of people that try to approach them, specially after some DLC are released, and the game mechanich get more and more deep, but you dude nailed it, so far is hand down the best stellaris series avaible.
Would be awesome if in future you will consider some series on other paradox games.
Thanks a lot.