Stellaris News

[p] by Eladrin

The [color]End of the Cycle[/color] is not a crisis. It’s an opportunity. [color]An opportunity to end all things.[/color]

This too, shall pass.​

Today we’ll be looking at the end of things, and the remaining civics and an addition to Subterfuge - Proxy Wars.

[h3][color]The Endbringers and the End of the Cycle[/color]​[/h3]
The Endbringers are a challenging and doomed origin. A mysterious calamity turned a neighboring planet into a shrouded world, and your people have been cursed with a sense of foreboding and growing paranoia ever since.

[h2][color]IT IS NOT YET YOUR TIME. BUT IT COULD BE.[/color][/h2]

Should you not act to quell it, your Empire’s Paranoia grows over time, up to a maximum of 50%.​

Endbringers soon discover an archaeology site at the shrouded world that will provide few answers but will guide you towards your dark patron.

As a madness-consumed doomsday cult, your journey through Psionic Ascension will differ a little from more conventional paths. No Ascension Perk is needed for them to pursue Psionic Ascension - this decision was already made for you long ago.



Your Psi-Corps in the Tradition tree are also replaced with the Chambers of Silence.



Your entry into the Shroud itself differs a bit as well, as you have already been claimed.



A perfectly silent galaxy awaits, saturated in the inevitability of the [color]Aura of the End[/color].

Forming this covenant changes the conventional Shroud UI to a ticking clock, counting down the moments until the end of your story.



As the Cycle progresses, you will gain more Covenant Powers, including some that will let you stall for time. Powers that reduce the End of the Cycle Situation Progress can be used only once per game, though: while the End is patient, it is relentless.



Should you blanket enough of the galaxy in the Aura of the End, you will be permitted to rest in a [color]perfected universe[/color]. Should you fail, the Reckoning will consume you.

The Endbringers are not the only way to form a Covenant with the End of the Cycle - the “old way” of encountering them conventionally still exists. This will also switch your Shroud UI over to the ticking clock, but will not change your Psi-Corps.

[h3][color]Entropy Drinkers​[/color][/h3]
The Entropy Drinkers civics enable the transfer of life energy from the populace to the Empire's leaders.


Leader, take my energy!​

These empires possess edicts that further empower their leaders by siphoning additional life energy from the populace. The Convergence of Will edict has both Unity and Zro upkeep.



Having plenty of Energy Thralls will also reduce the Pop Growth Speed penalties of these edicts.

[h3][color]Proxy Wars and Secret Societies​​[/color][/h3]
Proxy Wars allow empires to incite conflict between other civilizations via the Diplomacy menu, requiring high Trust or Infiltration, with potential diplomatic consequences if discovered.



Proxy Wars require Trust or Infiltration and Influence to trigger. When starting a Proxy War, you can select the CB you wish to manipulate the Attacker into using, though some cost more Trust or Infiltration and Influence than others.



In general, when manipulating other nations it’s best to select a cause for war that corresponds with their inherent biases and desires, so they seek to achieve their war goals rather than accepting a status quo early.

Secret Societies civics grant earlier access to Proxy Wars and introduce covert actors who influence galactic affairs from the shadows.



These mysterious factions are revealed upon establishing communications with their contacts, each driven by priorities markedly different from standard factions.



[h3][color]Shadows of the Shroud Stream​​[/color][/h3]
Our final Shadows of the Shroud stream will be held today at 16:00 CEST, in which we plan on showcasing the Endbringers.



[h3][color]This Thursday​​[/color][/h3]
This Thursday’s dev diary will be the Preliminary Release Notes for the 4.1.0 ‘Vela’ update!

Shadows of the Shroud and the 4.1.0 ‘Vela’ update will be released on Monday, September 22nd, and is included as part of Stellaris: Season 09.

[p][/p][p]by Eladrin[/p][p][/p][p]Hi everyone![/p][p][/p][p]Earlier this week we introduced some of the entities you’ll meet in Shadows of the Shroud, and had a brief overview of the Psionic Auras system. Today’s topic is Mindwardens! Mindwardens! Mindwardens! (and Shroud-Forged… and Tankbound.)[/p][p][/p][p]Put on your tinfoil hats and get ready to fight back against the psionic menace.[/p][p]Fledgling empires are so eager to throw away their freedom and enslave themselves to eldritch entities for a pittance of power.[/p][p][/p][p]Motivated by a deep antipathy toward the Shroud, this organization provides services and technology to counteract the powerful effects of psionic practices. Their mission is to protect against the menace of the Shroud and all those who spread its ill effects. They believe in minds free from invasion, and a galaxy fortified against psionics.[/p][p][/p][p]
Assuming you have not been compromised, the Mindwardens will provide a number of services. They will happily warn newcomers of the dangers presented by the ethereal, can offer “Thought Police” services to reduce crime, can provide targeted raids against known threats (similar to Marauders, but with greater strength of purpose and intent), and will happily dispose of donated Zro.[/p][p][/p][p]Those who have earned the Mindwarden’s trust can also make use of their logistical assistance - reducing ship upkeep for ten years, hire Assault Warden armies that excel against Psionic foes, or provide the services of a Mindwarden Commissioner that can act as a Thought Warden on your Council.[/p][p]
[/p][p]One of the greatest inventions of the Mindwardens, however, is the Shroud Seal. These seals drain the power of Psionic Auras, weakening them over time. Shroud Seals will suppress their system and adjacent systems, though there are rumors of a Relic that can increase their power.[/p][p]
[/p][p]Should the corruptive influences of a Psionic Aura threaten your territory, the Mindwardens can provide a counter to this malicious influence.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]The Shroudwalkers tend to take offense at those interacting with the Mindwardens, and will cease all dealings with you should you perform profane acts such as building a Shroud Seal.[/p][p]Freedom is meaningless without sovereignty of thought.[/p][p][/p][p]Should you wish to take a proactive approach towards dealing with otherworldly menaces, the challenging Mindwarden origin is here.[/p][p]
[/p][p]The Krijdex Wardenship is one of the three prescripted empires in Shadows of the Shroud[/p][p]
The perils of the Shroud are not only many, but unfortunately they are also near. The terrible “psi-radiation” of the Aura of the Dreamer infects many of the systems close to your homeworld.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]You’ll need to learn about this threat and how to counteract it. Thankfully, your ancestors overcame a psychic plague long ago and left you with an Ancient Ward to protect your people.
[/p][p]Should you succeed at containing this menace and securing the psychic safety of your empire, you’ll be able to release fleets to establish the first Mindwarden enclaves. Your empire will have a special relationship with them - providing the services the Enclaves normally possess as well as having a relationship similar to that between Mercenary Enclaves and their patrons.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Many triangles and sharp edges came together to produce this image for your desktop.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]In-game screenshots of many of these ships can be found in last week’s dev diary thread.
[/p][p]The Shroud-Forged Origin explores the tale of a gestalt machine intelligence that has attracted the attention of the Shroud entity known as the Animator of Clay.[/p][p][/p][p]The Yorphian Extactorate is the second of our three prescripted empires in Shadows of the Shroud.[/p][p][/p][p]It’s up to you whether you seek to reassert control over these rogue models, or embrace the Animator’s gifts. Both paths have unique benefits and drawbacks - spurning the blessings of a capricious eldritch entity has obvious downsides, but accepting them could be just as dangerous.[/p][p]
(Dangerous to whom?)
[/p][p]The balance of power within your empire is reflected in Forged by the Shroud situation.
[/p][p][/p][p]In the end, is this the story of the Animator of Clay playing with their beloved toys, or is it a tale of hubris leading to their downfall?[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]I’m not explicitly saying that the Shroud-Forged story can get a little dark, but if you have Nemesis, one of the possible Shroud-Forged paths has some special interactions with the Galactic Nemesis Ascension Perk.[/p][p]Completing our trifecta of prescripted empires is the Oracularity of Noerm, a Prosperous Unification empire with Superstitious Beliefs and the Tankbound civic.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]It automates.[/p][p]
Pops from a Tankbound society are unable to leave their protective vats of specialized bio-fluids. They are heavily reliant on assistive equipment and have difficulty engaging directly in physical work. They automatically automate their rural jobs (though starting with less efficiency than true automation), but as they unlock technologies related to automation they will work off these penalties.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]It optimizes.[/p][p][/p][p]The Tankbound civic requires one of the three portraits that heavily feature these chambers:[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Today at 16:00 CEST we’ll continue streaming Shadows of the Shroud. Today I expect that we’ll play through the beginnings of a Mindwarden empire, but the voices of the entities of chat will guide us.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]In next Tuesday’s dev diary we’ll end the cycle.[/p][p][/p][p]A funny thing happened while writing next Tuesday’s dev diary…[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p]

[p]Hello everyone!
[/p][p]Last week we took a quick look at the Shroud UI coming in Shadows of the Shroud. Today we’re going to talk about the various entities of the Shroud, find out what Psionic Auras are, and then revisit the Cevantian Sovereignty now that they’ve gotten a third civic - Experimental Sentencing.
[/p][p]Let’s get to it![/p][p]The four Major Patrons - the Instrument of Desire, the Composer of Strands, the Eater of Worlds and the Cradle of Souls are dominant in the Shroud, and navigating their domains is a major part of Psionic gameplay. 
[/p][p]The Instrument of Desire: A boundless urge to possess and indulge.[/p][p]The Composer of Strands: A primal connection to the natural world.[/p][p]The Eater of Worlds: An unending hunger that cannot be sated.[/p][p]The Cradle of Souls: A welcoming vessel for communication and exchange.
[/p][p]They’re not the only denizens of the Shroud though - in each playthrough you may meet four of eight Minor Patrons.
[/p][p]A Sculpting Presence, a Sorrowed Entity, a Fathomless Being, an Insurmountable One, a Luxurious Being, an Irenic Entity, an Unyielding One, and a Restless Presence await you. Each has their place between two domains, though the being you encounter may differ from game to game.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]The Minor Patrons have Accords for those they meet, and should you encounter them again may grant you a portion of their power in the form of a Zro-consuming Edict.[/p][p]
[/p][p]There are also two Great Patrons.
[/p][p]One will be the focus of next Tuesday’s dev diary, and the other…[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]At the center of the Shroud spins the Whisperers, an ever-shifting amalgam of all Patrons with knowledge of all things.[/p][p][/p][p]The Shroud is no fixed realm. It bends to the psyche of those who enter, reflecting their nature, desires, and fears. What one empire encounters within may differ wildly from another’s experience. The Shroud reveals, and conceals, in equal measure. Most mysterious.[/p][p][/p][p]An empire that has achieved a certain level of accord with a domain unlocks Accords, but also gains access to the Psionic Auras technology. This will allow some of the Shroud’s power to leak back into corporeal reality, emitted from where your psionic population is concentrated. These Auras provide passive benefits to you and your allies, and hinder your enemies.
[/p][p]If you haven’t made a Covenant with an entity, your Aura will reflect the nature of the domain with which you have the greatest accord - though if you’re actively moving about the Shroud it won’t change more than once a month.
[/p][p]Upon forming a Covenant or rejecting all Covenants to forge your own path, Psionic Aura Intensification becomes available to research. [/p][p]
Oops, it looks like I didn’t crop that image correctly.[/p][p][/p][p]This allows your Aura to grow and even spread into other systems. When two Auras collide, the stronger Aura will eat away at the weaker one until it can take over.
[/p][p]Psionic Auras can be seen on the Galaxy Map similar to cosmic storms:[/p][p]
Wait, that’s not one of the ones you listed before.[/p][p][/p][p]Last dev diary the Cevantian Sovereignty rejected the shackles of a Covenant. [/p][p][/p][p]Their neighbors, the Maggar, aren’t quite so lucky. They found themselves in Cevantian shackles, as the Cevanti took Experimental Sentencing as their third civic.[/p][p]
[/p][p]The Experimental Testing situation lets you choose a branch of research to focus on - Physics, Society, or Engineering, and when completed will provide progress on a technology upon completion. Some of the Test Subjects will be lost, but it’s easy enough to acquire more.
[/p][p]Slaves set to the Orderlies Slavery Type will assist your researchers if they do not have any other worker job to take, providing a small number of Amenities and increasing Researcher Output.[/p][p]One of the two playable shipsets coming in Shadows of the Shroud is the Psionic shipset. I posted some in-game images in last week’s thread, but Abrakam created this image for those who need a nice desktop background.[/p][p]
[/p][p]Last week we weren’t able to stream due to technical difficulties, so join us today at 16:00 CEST and peer into the Shroud with us![/p][p]
[/p][p]Thursday’s dev diary will be “Mindwardens and Machines​”. We’ll show off the Mindwarden Enclave, the Mindwarden Origin, the Mindwarden Shipset, and the Shroud-Forged and Tankbound. 
[/p][p]See you then![/p]

Like a reverse black hole, Stellaris continues to pump out additional matter into its swirling galaxy of expansions. Just four months on from the Biogenesis addon, which built out the 4X's bioengineering pathways, the Shadows of the Shroud DLC will expand the minds of psionic players on September 22...
Read more.

[p]by Eladrin[/p][p]Hi everyone![/p][p][/p][p]Today we’re going to look at Psionic Ascension, look at how the experience of delving into the Shroud will change, and finish off with the Superstitious Belief set of civics.[/p][p][/p][p]Today we’ll follow the path of the Cevanti Sovereignty as they unlock the power within them.[/p][p]Broke a mirror? Seven years in jail.[/p][p][/p][h3]Mind over Matter​[/h3][p]As is typical with the Ascension Perks that unlock Paths, the Mind Over Matter AP can be selected as your third Ascension Perk. Not much has changed regarding the Ascension Perk itself.

Hard Reset empires must be fully de-cyberized, and Gestalt Machine Empires or Shroud-Forged empires must \[REDACTED BY THE ANIMATOR OF CLAY]. Machines (whether Gestalt or Individualistic) tend to have a slightly tougher time interacting with the Shroud, so the Interdimensional Processing AP requires one extra Ascension Perk unless your empire has a Chosen civic.[/p][p][/p][p]The Psionics tradition tree requires Psionic Theory, which the Mind Over Matter agenda can grant as a permanent research option.[/p][p][/p][p]Much like how we’ve improved the other Ascension Paths, taking the Tradition tree will begin a situation that tracks your progress through Ascension and explores the societal ramifications of such change.[/p][p][/p][p]They call it “enlightenment” because of the glowing eyes.​[/p][p]
We can attempt to hasten our awakening through Organized Meditation, consuming psionically active materialsthat are certainly not dead aliens, or unraveling the threads tied to other planes of existence. Should we lack either of the latter, our approach guides us towards what we seek.[/p][p][/p][p]Progress through the situation is partially gated by progress through the Psionic Tradition tree, and the events that occur will influence the end results.[/p][p][/p][p]These first steps towards enlightenment open up a new sub-tab for the Shroud in Contacts, though it is admittedly pretty empty right now. Our position within the Shroud is slightly offset based on the nature of our Empire and the acts that have had impact on our collective soul.[/p][p]Show me where to look, tell me, what will I find?[/p][p]Acts of the physical realm reflect and ripple through the immaterial.​[/p][p]
At a certain point, we will need to establish a Psi Corps in order to continue developing our potential.

Later on, we will need to pursue a Great Awakening to spread enlightenment to all Cevanti.

Completing the Psionic Ascension situation will let us realize our psionic potential, permitting our telepaths to reach into the Shroud.
[/p][h3]Our First Delve​[/h3][p]As mentioned earlier, our actions in the material plane have an impact on our attunement to the Shroud. We’ve shifted a bit since we first encountered this panel.[/p][p][/p][p]Our eye is open! It’s time to delve into the secrets of the Shroud and commune with the entities therein.[/p][p][/p][p]Piercing the veil and reaching into the Shroud is no trivial matter - it can take years to recover from such an exercise. In mundane mechanical terms, delving starts with a five year cooldown, but this of course can be modified in many ways. There is no longer a material cost.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Communing with the entities we find reveals their domain to us and gives us a Special Project to make “first contact” with this entity.[/p][p][/p][p]Completing communion reveals this entity to us in its full, terrifying glory.[/p][p][/p][p]This “Cradle of Souls” seeks order and harmony. But we Cevanti know that is foolish - order comes through the crack of a lash and by force of arms! We reject such a weak entity and redouble our vow to pursue our own path!Embracing? Resolving? Pleasing? More like revolting!​[/p][p]
Our choice to spurn the Cradle of Souls has shifted our position within the Shroud away from its domain. We’ve discovered some of the acts that will bring us more or less in accord with this entity, and a “Calling” that we can fulfill in order to become closer with it. Envoys can also be assigned to a variant of “Improve Relations” with an entity, increasing our Attunement.

Attunement to a domain grants Psionic Accords, which are essentially passive effects for mastering that domain. Active Covenant Powers exist for those who are more eager to lash themselves to serving a patron. Rumor has it that a servant can never truly reach the pinnacle of their potential though, and that such an “easy way out” is more limiting in some ways.

The next entity we encountered was a Starving Being, a ravenous beast called the Eater of Worlds. The raw power of this creature appealed to the Cevanti.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]You may have noticed that the deeds associated with this “Eater of Worlds” are diametrically opposite those of the weak and pathetic “Cradle of Souls”. Each action that brings us in accord with one will reduce our accord with the other.[/p][p][/p][p]Over time (and console commands), the Cevanti gained close attunement to the ravenous patron, and during one of our delves, it offered great power in exchange for a small sacrifice.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Accepting this Covenant would unlock both Covenant Powers associated with the Eater of Worlds, but would chain our people in servitude and force us to carry an ongoing cost. We reject this and will forge our own path like the Zroni did so long ago.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]While this dev diary focused primarily on the events where we encountered the established major patrons of the Shroud, there are minor patrons to interact with, rumors of greater powers out there, and of course, numerous other events. [/p][p][/p][p][/p][h3]Superstitious Beliefs​[/h3][p][/p][p]Available to all four main government types, the Superstitious Beliefs set of civics highlight civilizations that find patterns that others cannot see, and rely on predictions, numerology, astronomy, or other techniques to ensure that good fortune is assured.[/p][p][/p][p]The thirteen year cycles of weal and woe grant good fortune in certain endeavors while making it unwise to pursue others until circumstances change.[/p][p][/p][p]Their Galactic Dowsing edict allows them to apply their skill at divination to surveying, providing tangible benefits.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][h3]Streaming the Shroud​[/h3][p]Davide and I will be streaming Shadows of the Shroud on YouTube and Twitch today (and next Thursday) at 16:00 CEST.[/p][p]

Join us, ask questions, and see all sorts of spoilers from the next few dev diaries while you’re downloading a certain game that we’ve all been waiting for.
[/p][h3]Next Week​[/h3][p]Next Tuesday we’ll have a dev diary featuring more about the Entities of the Shroud and Psionic Auras, and see what the Cevanti are up to after they take the Experimental Sentencing civic.[/p]