When the Overlord expansion was released in May 2022, a new megastructure called the Quantum Catapult got introduced.
The Quantum Catapult has the power to shoot your ships across the galaxy in a single jump. This is much quicker than traversing the hyperlane network.
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The tactical advantage this can provide while at war is priceless. Instead of fighting your way to an enemy’s capital, you can deposit a fleet right on top of them.
Using a Quantum Catapult requires a vast investment of research and resources. It will then need constructing around a pulsar or neutron star. When built, you can move your fleets to the system and click the new button on the UI and fire them to where they need to be.
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How to Operate the Quantum Catapult
Once built, using the Quantum Catapult is as simple as a few button clicks. The complicated part is building it.
How to Build a Quantum Catapult
All mega structures in the game need significant time and resources investment. The catapult is no different, even if it is a little cheaper because it does not cost any unity. Instead, it requires a one-time influence cost.
The first research projects that need completing are; Zero Point Power, Citadels, and Battleships. Once those are complete, you then have a chance to unlock the mega-engineering project. Finally, you have a chance at receiving the physics project called Quantum Catapult.
It is worth noting that Mega-Engineering and Quantum Catapult are rare technologies. As such it could take a long while to roll these projects in the research screen.
Lucky for us, there are ways to improve our chances. The ascension perk Technological Ascendancy can help. It improves your chances of getting rare technologies by 50 percent.
After doing all of that, we can use a construction ship to build the Quantum Catapult build site. Of course, there is another catch. The catapult can only be built in a system that contains a pulsar or neutron star.
While these celestial bodies are not ultra rare, you may not have one in or near your empire’s borders. In which case, you will need to find one to claim or liberate from another empire.
Once you find a suitable site, construction can begin. Creating the first stage of the catapult requires 5000 alloys and 300 influence. The first stage is only a build site and will not give you a working Quantum Catapult yet.
Clicking the site gives us the option to upgrade it to its next stage. This will take 5 years and cost a whopping 10,000 alloys. Once completed, the catapult is operational and ready for use.
Further upgrades can be applied to the catapult two more times. Each upgrade will cost 10,000 alloys and 5 years to complete. The total cost for a fully upgraded Quantum catapult is 35,000 alloys and 300 influence.
A much quicker and cheaper way to get a Quantum Catapult does exist in the game. During Empire creation, you have the option to select an origin story for your empire.
The Slingshot to the Stars origin will give you a ruined Quantum Catapult in your home system. You do not need to research to begin the reconstruction efforts of this catapult.
It will only cost 2500 alloys to repair, but it will take 10 years to finish. The restored catapult is as effective as a stage 2 normal catapult and only requires one upgrade to max out.
This upgrade will cost 15,000 alloys, bringing the full cost to 17,500 alloys.
What Does the Quantum Catapult do
Now that we know how to get a Quantum Catapult, what do we get for all our time and effort?
The Quantum Catapult gives your spaceships a brand new way to traverse the galaxy. Before getting across the galaxy could take years of in-game time. Now we have the potential to complete that journey in one jump.
Be warned, the further the jump, the more likely it is that things could go wrong. Fleets can get separated and even worse, go missing in action if they go too far off course. when using the catapult offensively, remember that while separated, your fleets are vulnerable to counterattacks.
This is why upgrading the catapult is super important. Each upgrade increases range and accuracy; mitigating but not eliminating the risk of mishaps.
How to use the Quantum Catapult.
Using the Quantum catapult is simple. First things first, we need to decide what fleets we want to send on a trip across the galaxy. Once you have decided, order them to move to the system containing the megastructure.
Once in the system, the “Catapult Fleet” option in the fleet UI will become selectable. It is next to the “Initiate Jump” button if you are struggling to find it. This option will only be selectable in the galaxy map, not in the system map.
After selecting the catapult fleet option, a target reticule will appear. You can then target which system you want to jump to.
You may notice the further away you target, the larger the reticule grows. This represents the potential margin of error when catapulting fleets. You must be aware that your fleets can land anywhere within that circle.
After selecting the target system, there is a wind-up time before your feet are launched. The time is determined by the catapult level, not the distance traveled.
After the wind-up, the fleets are launched and will land on or close to the target system, ready for orders.
Fleets fired by the catapult have a 33 percent modifier to their fire rate for 120 days. If you selected the Slingshot to the Stars Origin, this bonus is 50 percent.
This makes firing reinforcements into enemy territory not only cool but highly effective.
That is everything you need to know about how to use the Quantum Catapult in Stellaris.
If you have any questions or suggestions for this guide, please use the comment section below. Good luck shooting your fleets across the galaxy.