How To Terraform Planets In Stellaris
To have a thriving population in Stellaris, They must live on planets that suit their needs! A race that comes from a desert planet isn’t going to do very well on a tropical planet, right? This is where terraforming comes into play.
Terraforming is the process of using gases to give a planet a brand new environment. In Stellaris, it can be used to increase a world’s habitability. This article covers everything you need to know about including how to unlock the mechanic, how to use it afterwards, which planets can be terraformed, and more.
There are several social technologies that you must research for terraforming planets. One of them unlocks the basic ability, and the others expand your options. If you want to terraform as quickly as possible, focus on producing social research instead of engineering and physics research. There are also bonus tools you can unlock to terraform unique planets.
| source | Type | what it does | Costs | requirements | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Terrestrial Sculpture | technology | rank 2 | Terrestrial Sculpture is the basic technology you need this invest to start terraforming. This allows you to terraform simple planets into other basic planet types. | 6,000 Society Research |
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| restoration of the climate | technology | Level 4 | restoration of the climate allows you to terraform burial worlds (Planets that are basically dead). | 16,000 Society Research |
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| Ecological Adaptation | technology | level 3 | Ecological adaptation allows you Terraform planets that already have residents. | 10,000 Society Research |
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| Terraforming Candidate | modifier | Terraforming Candidate is a modifier applied to planets that could be terraformed but had to be explored first. Most of the planets you encounter are safe to live in, but Barren Worlds, Barren (Cold) Worlds, and Frozen Worlds may have an anomaly that needs to be investigated first. Once this is done, the planet will gain this modifier and you can terraform it. | Changeable |
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| world shaper | Advancement Bonus | step 1 | The world shaper’s ascension perk allows you to turn planets into Gaia worlds, These are special planets that rarely appear naturally in the galaxy. They have 100% habitability for all species. | Changeable |
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| Hive worlds | Advancement Bonus | rank 2 | The Hive Worlds Ascension Perk allows you to Terraform planets in Hive worlds. | Changeable |
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| machine worlds | Advancement Bonus | rank 2 | The ascension bonus of the machine worlds allows you to terraform planets in machine worlds. | Changeable |
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Like terraforming
Once you’ve at least unlocked the Terrestrial Sculpting Technology, you can Start terraforming your first planets!
Click on a planet that…
- interrogated
- Within the borders of your empire
…and look for the “Terraform” option. From there you select the type of world you want and the game will tell you how much the process will cost and how long it will take. The percentage listed is the habitability of the planet for the race that makes up your empire. If there are multiple races in your empire, the percentage shows the habitability for the race best suited to that environment.
Terraforming Events
When you first terraform a planet, there is a small chance that the planet will be affected by a terraforming event. These are special conditions that can change your planet for better or worse. For example, some terraforming events add additional districts to the planet, while one terraforming event can result in all humans living on a Gaia world being unable to live on a Gaia world. You can also make a choice that affects the outcome of the terraforming event.
All planet types and terraform costs
The table below shows details each type of planet and the ways it can be terraformed, along with the requirements, cost, and amount of time the terraforming will take.
| Original climate | New climate | costs in energy credits | Time it will take in years | requirements |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alpine, arctic or tundra world | Alpine, arctic or tundra world | 2,000 | 5 |
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| Dry, desert or savannah world | 5,000 | 10 | ||
| Continental, oceanic or tropical world | ||||
| Gaia world | 7,500 | 10 |
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| Hive world | 10,000 | 20 |
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| machine world |
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| Dry, desert or savannah world | Dry, desert or savannah world | 2,000 | 5 |
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| Alpine, arctic or tundra world | 5,000 | 10 | ||
| Continental, oceanic or tropical world | ||||
| Gaia world | 7,500 | 10 |
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| Hive world | 10,000 | 20 |
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| machine world |
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| Continental, oceanic or tropical world | Continental, oceanic or tropical world | 2,000 | 5 |
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| Dry, desert or savannah world | 5,000 | 10 | ||
| Alpine, arctic or tundra world | ||||
| Gaia world | 7,500 | 10 |
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| Hive world | 10,000 | 20 |
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| machine world |
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| barren world | Continental, oceanic or tropical world | 10,000 | fifteen |
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| Dry, desert or savannah world | 5,000 | 10 | ||
| Alpine, arctic or tundra world | 15,000 | 20 | ||
| Gaia world | 12,500 | 25 |
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| Hive world | 10,000 | 20 |
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| machine world |
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| Barren (cold) world | Dry, desert or savannah world | 15,000 | 20 |
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| Alpine, arctic or tundra world | 5,000 | 10 | ||
| Continental, oceanic or tropical world | 10,000 | fifteen | ||
| Gaia world | 12,500 | 25 |
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| Hive world | 10,000 | 20 |
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| machine world |
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| frozen world | ocean world | 12,500 | 25 |
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| tomb world | Continental, oceanic or tropical world | 10,000 | 20 |
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| Alpine, arctic or tundra world | ||||
| Dry, desert or savannah world | ||||
| gaia | 12,500 | 25 |
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| nanite world | Continental, oceanic or tropical world | 1,000 | 1 |
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| Alpine, arctic or tundra world | ||||
| Dry, desert or savannah world | ||||
| Hive world | Continental, oceanic or tropical world | 1,000 | 1 |
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| Alpine, arctic or tundra world | ||||
| Dry, desert or savannah world | ||||
| machine world | Continental, oceanic or tropical world | 1,000 | 1 |
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| Alpine, arctic or tundra world | ||||
| Dry, desert or savannah world |
Changes to cost and/or time spent on Terraform
There are some small exceptions to the exact cost and time it takes to terraform a planet, as we detailed above. Check the table below to see if any of the situations listed apply to you; If this is the case, the cost or the length of time will change.
| source | Type | Terraforming cost change | Terraforming time change | Required DLC |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| world shaper | Advancement Bonus | The costs are reduced by 25 percent | none | none |
| Terraforming Gases | edict | none | The time required is reduced by 50 percent | none |
| Bottlenecks in exotic gases | location | none | The time increases by 20 percent per phase of the situation | none |
| world shaper | rulership | none | The time required is reduced by 25 percent | none |
| Mask of Transformation | Empire modifier | The costs are reduced by 10 percent | The time required is reduced by 10 percent | none |
| hydrocentric | tradition | The cost goes down by 25 percent if you create an ocean world | none | water sports |
| Secrets of the Baol | Empire modifier | The costs are reduced by 15 percent | none | Ancient relics |
| Shallaric terraforming knowledge | Empire modifier | The costs are reduced by 10 percent | The time required is reduced by 20 percent | federations |
| Environmental Protection Decree 4 | Galactic Dissolution | The costs increase by 25 percent | none | federations |
| Environmental Protection Decree 5 | Galactic Dissolution | The costs increase by 100 percent | none | federations |