When to Colonize Planets in Stellaris

Spreading your empire to new planets is a key element in Stellaris gameplay. Building Starbases and colonizing new worlds allow players to create a vast space empire. However, it is important to know when to colonize a planet to efficiently manage empire growth that is both sustainable and effective. While it is tempting to colonize as many planets as possible, there is a better way to do it. In this guide, we’ll discuss when it’s the best time to colonize a planet in Stellaris.

Habitability

The habitability score is the first factor to consider when choosing a planet to colonize in Stellaris. Every species in the game has a habitability preference based on their home planet. There are three different climates; dry, wet, and frozen that are then split into three different categories again. A planet type and climate determine a species’ habitability score on foreign worlds. Your home world provides 100 percent habitability, so if the planet you wish to colonize has a similar climate to your home world, it will have a higher habitability score than one with a different climate.

If the planet type and climate match that of your species, you should aim for a 75 percent habitability score, but if you want to colonize a world that has the wrong climate type, you have three options: terraforming, genetic modifications, and forming migration treaties.

Size

The size of a planet is another key factor to consider when choosing which planet to colonize. A planet will have a size between 12 and 25, while a moon will be between sizes 10 and 15. A planet’s size dictates how many districts can be built on a colonized world. More districts mean that the planet can support more pops, which means more pops working jobs and generating value for the empire. Therefore, if your empire has two colonizable planets with a good habitability score, target the larger planet first as it has more potential output than the smaller planet.

Empire Size

Finally, the size of your empire determines your Empire size score. The larger your empire is, in terms of star bases, pops, and planets, the slower your empire will advance. Costs for research, traditions, and many other features become more expensive. Therefore, when you expand too fast, your advancement slows down. For a better outcome result for your empire, have your planets develop and increase their output before expanding costly. This increased output will offset empire size penalties.

Conclusion

By considering habitability, size, and empire size, you can decide the best planet to colonize in Stellaris. If you have any questions or suggestions, don’t hesitate to leave them in the comments section below. Happy colonizing!