# Ship designer

Version

The Ship Designer (Hotkey F10) is where players may create, update and customize ship templates and defense stations. All designs created or edited apply only to new shipbuilding orders, not to ships already under construction or in the fleet. However, a fleet can be ordered to upgrade to the nearest spaceport in order to update its entire design. When it does so, each ship will upgrade to the latest existing design for its hull size that has a name identical to its current design name (e.g., a Victory class cruiser will upgrade to the most recent "Victory" cruiser design). If there is no such identically-named design, it will upgrade to the most recent design for its hull size, whatever the name.

Many naval strategies advise that their empires deploy several types of warships to fill different tactical roles and face different opponents, and it is convenient for these to have different class names. Ships can be converted to and from such specialized designs and have different names by first making sure there is no design with an identical name and then saving the design the ship should upgrade to under the desired new class name, bumping it at the top of the ship design list for its size.

Clicking the Auto-Generate box on the lower left of the menu orders computer designers to continually update ship designs based on the latest technology research. Note that they do not take account of the enemies that the fleet is facing or may face, so it might choose components that an opponent can counter instead of a less up-to-date component that has proven successful. For example, the computer might auto-generate a design with an advanced laser that is statistically superior although the current enemy has heavily invested in shield technology that will heavily impair laser weapons but is vulnerable to attacks with the existing missile weapons.

Direct involvement in ship design is optional. Since 1.3, an alert icon will appear if a ship design is obsolete, and a toggle enables automatic upgrading of components for player convenience. Stellaris can be played without touching this menu very often, but it is always advisable to be aware of the strengths and weaknesses of current and potential enemies.

## Construction cost & Power balance

Every Ship design has an associated mineral cost for construction. The amount required is determined by the ship size and every added component. More advanced components cost more minerals. Slots can be left unused if not needed.

In addition, ship designs also requires power to support its various components. A design with a negative power balance can not be approved.

A ship with an over-positive power balance enjoys improved performance, proportionate to power required. This gives a percentile buff to Evasion, Combat Speed and Weapon Damage and can be seen on the respective tooltips in the designer. The formula is complicated and leads to diminishing returns towards a 10% bonus. A ship needing 10 power but having 20 would get +5% bonus. A ship with 10/70 Power has only +8%. And a ship with 10/100 has 9%.

## Ship types

The ship type determines the ship's base statistics. Different sections do not affect a ship's stats.

Ship type Hit points Armor Evasion Speed
Corvette 300 2 60% 5.25
Destroyer 600 12 25% 4.5
Cruiser 1600 30 10% 3.75
Battleship 2400 80 5% 3
Defense platform 2000 15 - 0
Defense station 4000 30 - 0
Fortress 8000 44 - 0

### Sections

Each ship is made up of sections. Corvettes, construction ships, and colony ships have a single section, destroyers and defense platforms have two sections, cruisers and battleships three sections and defense stations and fortresses have four. Each section has space for a variety of modules, including space for weapons, power generators and defenses. There is a range of section designs to choose from, and the display shows which sections support which types and sizes of modules.

Science, construction, colony and transport ships cannot be outfitted with weapons.

To add an item to a module, click on the module (in the center part of the menu, identified by , , , , , , , , ) to see what items can be added.

#### Corvette Hull Modules

Core
Name Weapon Slots Utility Slots
Interceptor 3 3 2 1
Torpedo Boat 1 1 3 2 1

#### Destroyer Hull Modules

Bow
Name Weapon Slots Utility Slots
Artillery 1 3
Gunship 2 1 3
Picket Ship 2 1 4
Stern
Name Weapon Slots Utility Slots
Gunship 1 4 1
Picket Ship 2 4 1

#### Cruiser Hull Modules

Bow
Name Weapon Slots Utility Slots
Artillery 1 3
Torpedo 2 1 3
Core
Name Weapon Slots Utility Slots
Artillery 1 1 3 2
Hangar 2 1 3 2
Torpedo 2 2 3 2
Stern
Name Weapon Slots Utility Slots
Gunship 2 3

#### Battleship Hull Modules

Bow
Name Weapon Slots Utility Slots
Artillery 2 2 2
Broadside 2 1 1 2 2
Hangar 1 2 1 2 2
Spinal Mount 1 2 2
Core
Name Weapon Slots Utility Slots
Artillery 3 6
Carrier 2 2 2 6
Hangar 4 1 6
Stern
Name Weapon Slots Utility Slots
Artillery 1 2

### Oversized ships and stations

Military Dictatorship and Martial Empire governments can build an oversized ship while Despotic Empire and Star Empire governments can build an oversized station. This is available as an extra entry on the Build Menu, usually of the most expensive, largest buildable at the time. The ship or station has the same base values as its basic counterpart except the "Oversized" buff that is applied to it when construction is complete. It is named after the current leader but for all other intents is considered as the original class (including upgrades). A Leader can only build a single oversized ship or station, if one is built and then destroyed or disbanded it cannot be replaced until a new Leader is elected. As with all autocracy specials, species with shorter lifespans will be able to build these ships more often.

Oversized gives the following bonuses:

• +50% Weapon damage
• +50% Armor
• +50% Shield
• +50% HP
• increased model size.

Example: An Empire with a leader called "Che Guevara" and the Cruiser class called "Rebellion" would see a "Che Guevara-class" entry in their shipbuild menu. However, what would actually be built is a Rebellion class Cruiser, named "Che Guevara", with the "Oversized" buff and the resulting increase in statistics and model.

## Subsystems

On the right side of the designer one can select options for different subsystems of the ship. Most of them are required and it is not possible to design a ship without some version of them, but few of them are optional, having the option to install no subsystem in its slot.

### FTL drive

This subsystem is optional, although without an FTL drive the ship is incapable of moving between systems. See FTL for further information.

### Computer System

This improves various performance, like accuracy, evasion, speed and damage, depending on ship class.

Behaviors
• Swarm: Ship will charge straight at enemies and try to deal as much damage as possible.
• Mixed: Ship will have a balanced approach between offense and defense.
• Artillery: Ship will stay at range and fire its long range weapons on the target.

Note: All military ship classes start with the Basic Combat Computer which applies the class behavior (Destroyers also get +10% Tracking).

Ship Class Behavior Intermediate Advanced Sentient Precognitive
Corvette Swarm
• +10% Combat speed
• +3% Evasion
• +20% Combat speed
• +6% Evasion
• +20% Combat speed
• +6% Evasion
• +5% Accuracy
• +20% Combat speed
• +11% Evasion
Destroyer Mixed
• +2% Evasion
• +12% Tracking
• +4% Evasion
• +14% Tracking
• +4% Evasion
• +14% Tracking
• +5% Accuracy
• +9% Evasion
• +14% Tracking
Cruiser Mixed
• +4% Accuracy
• +5% Attack speed
• +4% Accuracy
• +10% Attack speed
• +4% Accuracy
• +15% Attack speed
• +4% Accuracy
• +10% Attack speed
• +5% Evasion
Battleship Artillery
• +5% Damage
• +10% Damage
• +10% Damage
• +5% Attack speed
• +5% Damage
• +5% Accuracy
• +5% Tracking
Cost 5 10 20 20

### Sublight Thrusters

The thrusters determine how fast the ship maneuvers within a star system. They also increase the chance to evade enemy attack in combat.

Name Power Usage Sublight Speed Combat Speed Evasion Description
Chemical Thrusters 5 5 Simple yet moderately effective chemical thrusters that rely on combustible propellant to generate thrust.
Ion Thrusters 10 10 +20% +20% +3% These electric thrusters use beams of ions to generate thrust without the need for propellant.
Plasma Thrusters 15 15 +40% +40% +6% An advanced form of electric propulsion, plasma thrusters afford ships greater sublight speeds and maneuverability.
Impulse Thrusters 20 20 +60% +60% +9% These highly advanced fusion-powered thrusters provide ships with unmatched maneuverability and speed under sublight conditions.

### Sensor Array

Sensors determine how far a ship can detect on galaxy map. They also increase tracking of all weapon systems, which is related to accuracy. While ship-mounted sensors and stations-based sensors have different names and fall in different categories in game, their performances are still the same.

Name Power Usage Tracking Sensor Range Description
Radar System 5 0 20 A planet-bound technology adapted for use in deep space, the radar system provides basic detection and tracking capability for interstellar vessels.
Gravitic Sensors 10 5 +3 30 These sensors have been tuned to look for any gravitational changes in space, such as those produced by the presence of a starship.
Subspace Sensors 10 10 +6 40 Sensors that detect subspace fluctuations left in the wake of traveling starships. Their sensitivity and range and greater than that of a gravitic sensor array.
Tachyon Sensors 10 15 +9 50 Advances sensors that rely on rotating tachyon beams to detect ship movements even at extreme distances.

### Science Labs

Science labs are crucial components equipped to science ships by default. While the basic science lab provides to bonuses there are two alternatives that gives bonuses on survey available after an empire has encountered and communicated with a Curator Enclave.

• Curator Exploration Lab: +25% Survey speed.
• Curator Archaeology Lab: -5% Anomaly fail risk; +5% anomaly discovery chance; +25% anomaly research speed.

### Military Station Aura Systems

These are optional systems that give wide aura effects to the ships within their range. Each defense platform or defense stations has one aura slot, while fortress can have up to two aura slots.

Defensive Auras: These auras have positive effects on friendly ships.

• Support:
• Nanobot Cloud: +5% monthly hull regen.
• Capacitor Fields: +20% monthly shield regen. Require Capacitor Fields technology.

Offensive Auras: These auras have negative effects on hostile ships.

• Inhibitor:
• Shield Dampener: -25% shield HP and -5% monthly shield regen.
• Quantum Destabilizer: -15% fire rate. Require Quantum Destabilizer technology.
• Enigmatic Disruption Field: -10% monthly shield regen and -20% fire rate. Can only be installed on fortress. Available through Enigmatic Fortress event chain.
• Snare:
• Subspace Snare: +400% jump charge time, -50% sublight speed and +100% emergency FTL jump cooldown. Incoming hostile fleets are forcibly redirected to this station.
• Minefield:
• Proximity Mines: hostile ships within minefield has a daily 20% chance to take 5 - 15 damage ignoring 75% of the armor. This damage can be evaded.

## Weapon details

Legend: small , medium , large , hangar , point , xl , torpedo .

NOTE: The column Average scales the DPS of the weapon by its accuracy.

### General Characteristics

The following table describes the general characteristics of weapons within the same category branch. For a more detailed description of a particular weapon component see the tables below.

Category T Windup C Penetration Notes
Min Max
Laser 2 23 3.75 +15% Armor
Energy Lance 22 35 8.85 +75% Armor
Plasma 2 25 4.35 +75% Armor
Arc Emitter 22 30 6.6
• +100% Armor
• +100% Shield
-100% Shield Damage
Disruptor 2 20 3.6 +100% Shield Damage
Energy Torpedo 2 23 6.75 +200% Shield Damage
ED Matter Disintegrator 2 25 3.85
• +50% Armor
• +50% Shield
Crystal Capacitors 2 25 4.35 +50% Armor
Mining Drone Laser 2 25 4.35 +100% Armor
Cloud Void Lightning E 2 25 4.35 +50% Armor
Tiyanki Energy Syphon E 2 25 4.35 +50% Armor
Missile 20 30 5.5 5 Missile Speed, ignores evasion
Swarmer Missile 2 8 2.5 5 Missile Speed, ignores evasion
Torpedo 2 15 8.35 +100% Shield 5 Missile Speed, ignores evasion
Swarm Missile X 2 25 5.35 5 Missile Speed, ignores evasion
Mass Driver 2 23 3.75 +33% Shield damage
Kinetic Artillery 2 18 8 +15% Shield damage
Autocannon 2 25 3.15 +15% Shield damage
Point-Defense 1 3 0.9 Can attack missiles and strike craft
Flak Battery 2 18 2.8 Can attack missiles and strike craft
Scout Wing 2 8 Units, can attack missiles and strike craft
Fighter Wing 2 8 Units, can attack missiles and strike craft
Bomber Wing 5
• +50% Armor
• +100% Shield
8 Units
Amoeba Flagella 5
• +50% Armor
• +100% Shield
4 Units
Swarm Strike 5
• +66% Armor
• +100% Shield
4 Units

### Energy

Crystalline Entity weapons are no longer available to player as corresponding techs are not valid for reverse engineering anymore.

Name Size
Damage Range Accuracy Tracking Notes
Min Max CD Avg
Red Laser 2.5 5 10 3.75 1.8 30 90% 60% 15% Armor Penetration

-20% Shield Damage

Red Laser 5 13 18 3.75 3.51 50 85% 30% 30% Armor Penetration

-20% Shield Damage

Red Laser 7.5 25 43 3.75 7.25 70 80% 5% 60% Armor Penetration

-20% Shield Damage

Blue Laser 5 6 11 3.75 2.03 30 90% 60% 15% Armor Penetration

-20% Shield Damage

Blue Laser 10 15 22 3.75 4.19 50 85% 30% 30% Armor Penetration

-20% Shield Damage

Blue Laser 20 32 48 3.75 8.53 70 80% 5% 60% Armor Penetration

-20% Shield Damage

UV Laser 7.5 8 12 3.75 2.39 30 90% 60% 15% Armor Penetration

-20% Shield Damage

UV Laser 15 16 26 3.75 4.76 50 85% 30% 30% Armor Penetration

-20% Shield Damage

UV Laser 30 35 56 3.75 9.7 70 80% 5% 60% Armor Penetration

-20% Shield Damage

X-Ray Laser 10 9 13 3.75 2.63 30 90% 60% 15% Armor Penetration

-20% Shield Damage

X-Ray Laser 20 18 30 3.75 5.44 50 85% 30% 30% Armor Penetration

-20% Shield Damage

X-Ray Laser 40 39 63 3.75 10.88 70 80% 5% 60% Armor Penetration

-20% Shield Damage

Gamma Laser 12.5 11 14 3.75 2.99 30 90% 60% 15% Armor Penetration

-20% Shield Damage

Gamma Laser 25 19 33 3.75 5.89 50 85% 30% 30% Armor Penetration

-20% Shield Damage

Gamma Laser 50 42 71 3.75 12.05 70 80% 5% 60% Armor Penetration

-20% Shield Damage

Particle Lance 100 144 273 8.85 13.78 100 85% 0% 90% Armor Penetration

-33% Shield Damage

Tachyon Lance 120 169 331 8.85 15.22 100 85% 0% 90% Armor Penetration

-33% Shield Damage

Plasma Thrower 7.5 8 14 4.35 2.14 40 85% 40% 60% Armor Penetration

-20% Shield Damage

Plasma Thrower 15 18 27 4.35 4.13 60 80% 20% 80% Armor Penetration

-20% Shield Damage

Plasma Thrower 30 35 61 4.35 8.27 80 75% 5% 90% Armor Penetration

-20% Shield Damage

Plasma Accelerator 10 9 17 4.35 2.53 40 85% 40% 60% Armor Penetration

-20% Shield Damage

Plasma Accelerator 20 22 31 4.35 4.87 60 80% 20% 80% Armor Penetration

-20% Shield Damage

Plasma Accelerator 40 45 69 4.35 9.82 80 75% 5% 90% Armor Penetration

-20% Shield Damage

Plasma Cannon 12.5 11 19 4.35 2.93 40 85% 40% 60% Armor Penetration

-20% Shield Damage

Plasma Cannon 25 24 38 4.35 5.7 60 80% 20% 80% Armor Penetration

-20% Shield Damage

Plasma Cannon 50 48 83 4.35 11.29 80 75% 5% 90% Armor Penetration

-20% Shield Damage

Arc Emitter 100 1 184 8.60 9.94 100 100% 100% 100% Armor Penetration

100% Shield Penetration

Focused Arc Emitter 120 1 221 8.60 11.10 110 100% 100% 100% Armor Penetration

100% Shield Penetration

Disruptor 7.5 4 8 3.60 1.49 40 90% 60% +200% Shield Damage
Disruptor 15 8 18 3.60 3.06 60 85% 30% +200% Shield Damage
Disruptor 30 19 35 3.60 6.00 80 80% 5% +200% Shield Damage
Ion Disruptor 10 5 10 3.60 1.87 40 90% 60% +200% Shield Damage
Ion Disruptor 20 10 22 3.60 3.77 60 85% 30% +200% Shield Damage
Ion Disruptor 40 23 45 3.60 7.55 80 80% 5% +200% Shield Damage
Phase Disruptor 12.5 6 12 3.60 2.25 40 90% 60% +200% Shield Damage
Phase Disruptor 25 12 26 3.60 4.48 60 85% 30% +200% Shield Damage
Phase Disruptor 50 27 54 3.60 9.00 80 80% 5% +200% Shield Damage
Proton Torpedoes 40 130 240 21.25 7.83 70 90% 0% +200% Shield Damage
Neutron Torpedoes 60 180 330 21.25 10.80 70 90% 0% +200% Shield Damage
Matter Disintegrator 15 13 19 3.85 3.24 40 78% 60% 50% Armor Penetration

50% Shield Penetration

Matter Disintegrator 30 25 43 3.85 6.62 60 75% 30% 50% Armor Penetration

50% Shield Penetration

Matter Disintegrator 60 55 100 3.85 14.89 80 74% 5% 50% Armor Penetration

50% Shield Penetration

Mining Drone Laser 7.5 8 14 4.35 1.89 40 75% 60% 100% Armor Penetration
Mining Drone Laser 15 18 27 4.35 3.62 30 70% 30% 100% Armor Penetration
Cloud Lightning 10 1 27 4.35 3.21 50 100% 100% 50% Armor Penetration

-25% Shield Damage

Energy Siphon 5 3 11 3.60 1.59 40 82% 60% +100% Shield Damage

### Explosive

Explosive weapons have extremely high accuracy and tracking, which make them almost unavoidable. On the other hand, explosive weapons cannot reach enemy immediately after firing as energy and kinetic weapon do. They have HP, speed, evasion, armor and shield like strike craft, and therefore can be countered by enemy point-defense and strike craft.

(As of Patch 1.3, the armors and shields of all explosive weapons are zero, and there is no way to increase them in game, although they have been defined in /common/component_templates)

Name Size Damage Range Accuracy Tracking HP Evasion Speed Notes
Min Max CD Avg
Nuclear Missiles 2.5 8 12 5.50 1.81 50 100% 70% 1 0% 5
Nuclear Missiles 5 13 27 5.50 3.63 70 100% 70% 1 0% 5
Nuclear Missiles 10 30 50 5.50 7.27 90 100% 70% 1 0% 5
Fusion Missiles 5 9 14 5.50 2.09 50 100% 70% 2 10% 5
Fusion Missiles 10 16 30 5.50 4.18 70 100% 70% 2 10% 5
Fusion Missiles 20 37 57 5.50 8.54 90 100% 70% 2 10% 5
Antimatter Missiles 7.5 11 15 5.50 2.36 50 100% 70% 3 20% 5
Antimatter Missiles 15 19 34 5.50 4.81 70 100% 70% 3 20% 5
Antimatter Missiles 30 42 65 5.50 9.72 90 100% 70% 3 20% 5
Quantum Missiles 10 12 17 5.50 2.63 50 100% 70% 4 30% 5
Quantum Missiles 20 21 39 5.50 5.45 70 100% 70% 4 30% 5
Quantum Missiles 40 48 72 5.50 10.90 90 100% 70% 4 30% 5
Marauder Missiles 12.5 14 18 5.50 2.90 50 100% 70% 5 40% 5
Marauder Missiles 25 25 40 5.50 5.90 70 100% 70% 5 40% 5
Marauder Missiles 50 50 83 5.50 12.09 90 100% 70% 5 40% 5
Swarmer Missiles 20 8 12 2.10 4.76 50 100% 70% 1 200% 6
Whirlwind Missiles 25 10 15 2.10 5.95 50 100% 70% 1 200% 6
Space Torpedoes 10 120 215 20.85 9.11 60 100% 0% 2 0% 5 +100% Shield Penetration +50% Armour Penetration
Armored Torpedoes 15 140 180 20.85 10.79 60 100% 0% 4 0% 5 +100% Shield Penetration +50% Armour Penetration
Devastator Torpedoes 20 180 340 20.85 12.47 60 100% 0% 6 0% 5 +100% Shield Penetration +50% Armour Penetration
Scourge Missile 50 52 90 5.35 13.27 90 100% 80% 1 45% 5

### Kinetic

Name Size
Damage Range Accuracy Tracking Notes
Min Max CD Avg
Mass Driver 2.5 4 17 3.50 2.28 45 76% 60% +33% Shield Damage
Mass Driver 5 8 36 3.50 4.52 65 72% 30% 15% Armor Penetration

+33% Shield Damage

Mass Driver 10 21 74 3.50 9.09 85 67% 5% 30% Armor Penetration

+33% Shield Damage

Coilgun 5 5 19 3.50 2.60 45 76% 60% +33% Shield Damage
Coilgun 10 11 39 3.50 5.14 65 72% 30% 15% Armor Penetration

+33% Shield Damage

Coilgun 20 25 84 3.50 10.43 85 67% 5% 30% Armor Penetration

+33% Shield Damage

Railgun 7.5 6 21 3.50 2.93 45 76% 60% +33% shield damage
Railgun 15 13 44 3.50 5.86 65 72% 30% 15% Armor Penetration

+33% Shield Damage

Railgun 30 30 92 3.50 11.67 85 67% 5% 30% Armor Penetration

+33% Shield Damage

Advanced Railgun 10 7 23 3.50 3.25 45 76% 60% +33% Shield Damage
Advanced Railgun 20 15 49 3.50 6.58 65 72% 30% 15% Armor Penetration

+33% Shield Damage

Advanced Railgun 40 36 100 3.50 13.01 85 67% 5% 30% Armor Penetration

+33% Shield Damage

Gauss Cannon 12.5 8 25 3.50 3.58 45 76% 60% +33% Shield Damage
Gauss Cannon 25 17 53 3.50 7.20 65 72% 30% 15% Armor Penetration

+33% Shield Damage

Gauss Cannon 50 41 109 3.50 14.35 85 67% 5% 30% Armor Penetration

+33% Shield Damage

Kinetic Battery 100 106 218 8 14.17 100 70% 5% 20% Armor Penetration

+33% Shield Damage

Kinetic Artillery 120 121 239 8 15.75 100 70% 5% 20% Armor Penetration

+33% Shield Damage

Mega Cannon 100 92 300 7.85 22.47 120 90% 0% 50% Armor Penetration

+33% Shield Damage

Giga Cannon 120 121 350 7.85 27.00 120 90% 0% 50% Armor Penetration

+33% Shield Damage

Autocannon 5 3 15 2.35 3.13 20 82% 65%
Autocannon 10 6 31 2.35 6.29 40 80% 35% 10% Armor Penetration
Autocannon 20 16 66 2.35 13.08 60 75% 10% 20% Armor Penetration
Ripper Autocannon 7.5 4 16 2.35 3.53 20 82% 65%
Ripper Autocannon 15 8 33 2.35 7.06 40 80% 35% 10% Armor Penetration
Ripper Autocannon 30 21 67 2.35 14.22 60 75% 10% 20% Armor Penetration
Stormfire Autocannon 10 5 17 2.35 3.53 20 82% 65%
Stormfire Autocannon 20 10 35 2.35 7.85 40 80% 35% 10% Armor Penetration
Stormfire Autocannon 40 26 70 2.35 15.72 60 75% 10% 20% Armor Penetration

### Point-Defense

Note: Point-Defense weapons are kinetic type weapons used primarily for destroying small incoming targets such as enemy missiles, torpedoes, and strike craft.

Name Category & Mark S
Damage R A T Notes
Min Max cool Avg
Sentinel Point-Defense Point-Defense I 5 1 2 0.90 0.33 10 80% 20%
Barrier Point-Defense Point-Defense II 7.5 2 3 0.90 0.83 10 80% 30%
Guardian Point-Defense Point-Defense III 10 3 4 0.90 1.55 10 80% 40%
Flak Battery Flak Battery I 50 19 60 2.8 10.58 50 75%  ?
Flak Artillery Flak Battery II 60 23 67  ? 12.05 50 75%  ?

### Strike Craft

Name Category & Mark S
Damage R A Notes
Min Max Avg
Scout Wing Scout Wing 20 4 9 13 8 100%
Basic Fighter Wing Fighter Wing I 30 5 11 16 8 100%
Improved Fighter Wing Fighter Wing II 40 7 12 19 8 100%
Advanced Fighter Wing Fighter Wing III 50 8 14 22 8 100%
Basic Bomber Wing Bomber Wing I 30 15 28 17.2 8 100% 100% shield penetration, 50% armor penetration
Improved Bomber Wing Bomber Wing II 40 19 30 19.6 8 100% 100% shield penetration, 50% armor penetration
Advanced Bomber Wing Bomber Wing III 50 20 35 22 8 100% 100% shield penetration, 50% armor penetration
Amoeba Flagella Amoeba Flagella 45 20 32 20.8 8 100% 100% shield penetration, 50% armor penetration
Swarm Strikes Swarm Strike 80 15 40 22 6 100% 100% shield penetration, 66% armor penetration

## Utility Details

Legend: small , medium , large , aux .

There are 4 classes of Utility modules: Reactors, Armor, Shields and Auxiliary components. Reactors are used to power Shields, Weapons, Engines, and Auras. Armor provides a % damage reduction. Shields provide "extra" Hull Points. Auxiliary components have their own slots and grant various bonuses to a ship.

### Reactors

Name Size Minerals Energy
1 Fission Reactor 5 +10
1 Fission Reactor 10 +20
1 Fission Reactor 20 +40
2 Fusion Reactor 10 +15
2 Fusion Reactor 20 +30
2 Fusion Reactor 40 +60
3 Cold Fusion Reactor 15 +20
3 Cold Fusion Reactor 30 +40
3 Cold Fusion Reactor 60 +80
4 Antimatter Reactor 20 +25
4 Antimatter Reactor 40 +50
4 Antimatter Reactor 80 +100
5 Zero-Point Reactor 25 +30
5 Zero-Point Reactor 50 +60
5 Zero-Point Reactor 100 +120
6 Enigmatic Power Core 30 +35
6 Enigmatic Power Core 60 +70
6 Enigmatic Power Core 120 +140

### Armor

Name Size Minerals Armor
1 Nanocomposite Armor 2 2
1 Nanocomposite Armor 4 4
1 Nanocomposite Armor 8 8
2 Ceramo-Metal Armor 4 2.5
2 Ceramo-Metal Armor 8 5
2 Ceramo-Metal Armor 16 10
3 Plasteel Armor 6 3
3 Plasteel Armor 12 6
3 Plasteel Armor 24 12
4 Durasteel Armor 8 3.5
4 Durasteel Armor 16 7
4 Durasteel Armor 32 14
5 Neutronium Armor 10 4
5 Neutronium Armor 20 8
5 Neutronium Armor 40 16
6 Dragonscale Armor 10 4.5
6 Dragonscale Armor 20 9
6 Dragonscale Armor 40 18

Damage reduction percentage is proportional to armor value, and then modified by ship size multiplier. When the damage reduction reaches 75%, each point of armor is 50% less effective as previously. Damage reduction cannot exceed 90% regardless of ship size and armor value.

The formula for damage reduction is:

• Below 75%:

${\displaystyle \%DamageReduction={\frac {Armor}{70*(1+(ShipSize-1)*0.15)}}}$

• Above 75%:

${\displaystyle \%DamageReduction=75\%+{\frac {Armor-CriticalArmor}{140*(1+(ShipSize-1)*0.15)}}}$

• Critical value of armor is determined by ship size:

${\displaystyle CriticalArmor=52.5*(1+(ShipSize-1)*0.15)}$

• Maximum value of armor is determined by ship size:

${\displaystyle MaximumArmor=73.5*(1+(ShipSize-1)*0.15)}$

Ship sizes of corvette, destroyer, cruiser and battleship are 1, 2, 4 and 8 respectively. Sizes of defense platform, defense station and fortress are 4, 8, 16 respectively. All civilian ships have size of 1, while all civilian stations have size of 4. Repaired dreadnought (size 20) is the largest ship player could obtain in game. Any ship larger than size 11 is considered as 11 for armor calculation.

Explicitly:

Ship size Critical armor
75% damage reduction
Maximum armor
90% damage reduction
Corvette 52.5 73.5
Destroyer 60.375 84.525
Cruiser
Defense platform
76.125 106.575
Battleship
Defense station
107.625 150.675
Fortress 131.25 183.75

Armor penetration from weapons is applied as a multiplier directly to the damage reduction percentage, not the ship's numerical armor points. This means no matter the number of armor points a ship has, if it has 90% damage reduction, and is attacked by a 50% armor penetration weapon, it would have an effective 45% damage reduction. This concept can be expressed as the formula:

${\displaystyle True\%DamageReduction=Armor\%DamageReduction*(1-\%ArmorPenetration)}$

Where armor damage reduction is the value calculated from the above damage reduction formula, and all variables are written as decimal percentages (E.G: 90% is 0.9).

### Shields

Name Size Minerals Energy Shield HP Shield Regen
1 Deflectors 5 2.5 20 +1.2
1 Deflectors 10 5 40 +2.4
1 Deflectors 20 10 80 +3.6
2 Advanced Deflectors 7.5 5 30 +1.8
2 Advanced Deflectors 15 10 60 +3.2
2 Advanced Deflectors 30 20 120 +4.6
3 Shields 10 7.5 45 +2.4
3 Shields 20 15 90 +4.0
3 Shields 40 30 180 +5.6
4 Advanced Shields 12.5 10 70 +3.0
4 Advanced Shields 25 20 140 +4.8
4 Advanced Shields 50 40 280 +6.6
5 Hyper Shields 15 12.5 105 +3.6
5 Hyper Shields 30 25 210 +5.6
5 Hyper Shields 60 50 420 +7.6
6 Enigmatic Deflectors 15 15 150 +4.6
6 Enigmatic Deflectors 30 30 300 +6.6
6 Enigmatic Deflectors 60 60 600 +8.6

### Auxiliary

Name Size Minerals Energy Effects
Crystal-Infused Plating 25 +5% Hull Points
Crystal-Forged Plating 40 +10% Hull Points
Regenerative Hull Tissue 30 +2% Monthly Hull Regen
Shield Capacitors 20 20 +50% Shield Regen (Allows shield regen in battle)
Afterburners 5 5 +10% Combat speed
Afterburners 10 10 +20% Combat speed
Afterburners 20 20 +40% Combat speed
Advanced Afterburners 7.5 10 +15% Combat speed
Advanced Afterburners 15 20 +30% Combat speed
Advanced Afterburners 30 40 +60% Combat speed
Enigmatic Encoder 20 20 +6 Evasion
Enigmatic Decoder 20 20 +3 Accuracy; +3 Tracking

## Design Ramifications

Above are the values, but what do they mean in the context of the game? What is a good ship? What is a good counter to that ship?

### Ship Classes

There are 4 basic military ship classes in the game; 3 of them have to be researched and unlocked in sequence. They go from the small Corvette to the incredibly big and expensive Battleship. As of 1.1, Upgrade times were dropped drastically, making most upgrading of big ships and fleets several orders of magnitude quicker. However it is clearly based on the Mineral cost for the upgrade now, meaning big fleets with considerable updates can still cost corresponding amounts of time.

#### Corvettes

Corvettes are the first ship type available and can be be mass produced quickly. Their role drastically changed with 1.3. Their primary defense is their high evasion stat, their secondary the speed with which they close the distance. The choice of combat computer reinforces both. In turn, their layouts are highly limited: either 3 small weapons or 1 small and a Torpedo Launcher. They lost the (pre-1.3) ability to field point defense. Due to their Weaponry choices they are poor at defeating spaceports early on, unless fielded in considerable masses (30+) and even then, casualties have to be expected. As with their historical counterparts on earth, they can be produced by any port (T1-T2), cost little and are quickly produced (2 months with T1 port). However the only reason to build them once bigger ships are available is to quickly fill a DPS need if the enemy lacks in corvette counter weaponry and their large ships are therefore vulnerable to massed torpedo corvette assaults or if the enemy is somehow fielding torpedo corvettes himself.

#### Destroyers

These are the first larger vessels and the first true military ships, but they can still be mass produced effectively later on (only needing a T3-T4 spaceport). With exception of Slots X, Torpedoes and Hangar, they can carry every weapon size in the game making them highly useful and variable. Early on they can offer the only access to large and medium slots as well as point defense. Their combat computer favors tracking.

Common combinations include: 1 Large + 1 Medium (to fight Spaceports, Capital Ships of at least Cruiser Size or large Spaceborne aliens), 2 Medium, 2 Small (to fight corvettes with the extra tracking from the computer or other destroyers) and a 4 PD + 2 small build to act as a powerful point-defense and limited corvette screen for the larger ships. Due to their versatility and relative low cost they will likely be the most numerous ship in any fleet once cruisers are available.

#### Cruisers

Historical cruisers were a category of ship classes such as frigates suitable for independent operations or to lead a flotilla of small ships, as well as for scouting, relaying fleet messages, support of ground troops, and as secondary participants in major battles between opposing lines of battleships. Given how they were used, they often focused on firepower and/or speed at the expense of defense. Cruisers are designed to have similar roles in game, able to accomplish independent missions such as destroying enemy mining or research stations, chasing weak enemy ships, or being a substitute for larger ships when firepower or a strike craft force is needed but a battleship or carrier is not necessary or available. There is a cheaper/faster production spaceport module for cruisers - it is outside the normal Spaceport line of research. The cruiser combat computer boosts fire rate, which means that high crit and quick firing weapons work best. Defensively they face trade-offs. Cruiser defense benefit substantially from both armor or shields. Shields and HP regeneration can greatly boost endurance in enemy territory, but trades off direct battle survivability. Available armament, enemy weaponry, and modules used by both sides are deciding factors in their design and periodic re-design as fleets evolve. Cruisers in Stellaris have a fore, center, and aft section can be used as limited carriers (1 Hangar) and are the first vessels that can carry fighters.

#### Battleships

Battleships are large, powerful, expensive ships, intended to fight ships, bases or monsters of comparable strength or to bombard planets and rarely seen out of port otherwise in order to save on maintenance costs. They have three sections and can be designed as carriers with 1-3 possible strike craft hangars or as long-range weapons platforms. Both approaches serve the purpose of keeping the enemy at long range. Breaking off an unsuccessful battle in time for the battleships to survive is always a consideration for a fleet admiral because losing a battleship fleet is qualitatively different from losing many small ships. While swarms of Corvettes or Destroyers can be raised in a year by using every available spaceport in a large empire, and a mid-level port can turn out some cruisers as well, often only a fraction of an empire's ports can build battleships and even with a wealth of Minerals they can take a year and more to build so building, or rebuilding, a battleship fleet can take a span of years. So an empire's capital ship technology and construction plans are key elements in its grand strategy.

Their combat computer boosts plain damage. Defensively they gain the most from armor, as their high HP benefits more from damage mitigation percentages and they start with a considerable amount of free (built-in) armor as well. In turn, shields give a relatively small bonus to effective HP and also tend to consume power which could be used for more weaponry or support modules. However, their first defense is the long reach of their weapons. Long-range firepower and screening ships keep enemy at a distance. Battleships are built to sustain damage and survive to fight again. This is helped by having smaller screening ships that fight and sustain or evade damage. Battleship HP can be thought of as a reserve saved to ensure the ship will be able to escape battle and fight again, or at times consciously committed to a death ride to finish off enemy heavy ships to gain a substantial tactical or strategic advantage (though this is a role that might be better left to torpedo cruisers and smaller ships).

### Utility Slots

All sections have the exact same amount and size of Utility and Auxiliary Slots. As of 1.3, Battleships can no longer carry Aura support modules. Only stations may use them.

### Weapon Slots

#### Weapon Sizes

Most weapon can use one or more of following sizes slots: small, medium or large. The larger a slot a weapon is placed in, the more damage and range and the less accuracy and tracking it will have. For different sized weapons developed from same technology, the cost of and for small, medium and large size weapons are usually 1:2:4. There are also weapons that can't fit in normalized slots. They might go either into torpedo, point defense or extra large slots. While normalized weapons slot can be found on almost all sectors of ships and stations, special slots as well as hangar slots are only available on selected modules.

Weapon sizes are not related to weapon types. Flak Battery and Point Defense use medium and slots respectively, but both are point-defense kinetic weapons. Proton Torpedo and Space Torpedo share torpedo slot, while the former one is energy weapon and the latter one is explosive weapon with missile-like behaviors (having HP, evasion and speed).

Extra large weapons have some other restrictions. They can only be mounted on a battleship's bow with Spinal Mount selected. These weapons outperform any other weapons with incomparable average damage per time and long range. However, they have a firing arc and minimum range which limit their area of effect. So these weapons are only effective when engaging enemies in front of the ship at medium-long range. Typically, they are effective against large targets like battleships as well as besieging enemy stations, but almost useless when swarmed by corvettes or strike craft. An interesting fact is every large Fallen Empire ship is equipped with two extra large weapons. Some guardians also have powerful beam attacks using slot with limited firing arc and minimum range.

Point Defenses and Flak Battery are necessary against strike craft and missiles. They have very short range and high rates of fire, shooting down incoming strike craft and missiles when they approach the ship. Due to their low damage, they probably cannot protect a ship well from waves of advanced strike craft, marauder missiles, devastator torpedoes or swarm strike craft later in the game.

#### Energy Weapons

This weapon class has by far the best armor penetration, with quite respectable range and accuracy. It also offers the widest range of weapon types. It comes in 6 basic categories:

• Lasers: Small lasers have notable accuracy with short range, while large lasers have more than twice the range and are quite effective against armored enemies. However, lasers are not good at crushing shields.
• Plasma: Plasma weapons have similar behavior to lasers at the same cost. They have slightly longer range and higher armor penetration than comparable lasers, but damage and accuracy are lower. Meanwhile, they also have a -20% penalty when hitting shields.
• Disruptor: Disruptors are specialized against shields. At same level of cost, their average damage is about 1/4 to 1/3 less than corresponding lasers. Unlike lasers and plasma weapons, they have +200% damage bonuses against shields. A good combination of disruptors and lasers can totally break through enemy defenses.
• Energy Torpedoes: Although having torpedo in their name, they don't have HP, speed and evasion like other missile and torpedo weapons. Similar to disruptors, they are designed to disable enemy shields with +200% damage. Each shot of energy torpedoes can deal huge amount of damage but the cooldown time is also much longer, resulting in a comparable average damage to large disruptors.
• Energy Lances: These extra large lance weapons have higher damage than any other energy weapons and ignore most enemy armor, but their accuracy and performance against shields are quite poor.
• Arc Emitters: With absolute accuracy and absolute disregard of enemy defenses, arc emitters can deliver 100% numerical damage onto the hull. However, the range of minimum to maximum damage is so large that the results of fighting with arc emitters are likely to be a game of luck.

Some other energy weapon designs can be obtained via reverse engineering or special projects. Cutting lasers, cloud lightning and energy siphon require analysis of the mining drone, void cloud and tiyanki respectively. These are open to research in the early game and these components are fairly cheap. Their damage stats are not as high as those lasers, but some unique attributes like 100% armor penetration, absolute accuracy and +100% shield damage are very rare in early game and can be a surprise to certain enemies.

Matter disintegrators can be only found on debris of extradimensional invaders. With 50% armor penetration and 50% shield penetration, they are effective against every kind of enemy regardless of their defenses. The large matter disintegrator has unusual high damage which is almost comparable to extra large weapons. Since its cost is simply half that of extra large weapons, matter disintegrators have the best cost/performance among all weapons. The only problem is matter disintegrators have the worst accuracy among all energy weapons and only better than a few kinetic mass drivers, which makes them difficult to fight hordes of corvettes.

#### Missile Weapons

Missile weapons are rather different from other weapon types. They have a 100% accuracy and varying tracking values, but in turn can be shot down by Point Defenses (equipped only by destroyers and above).

• Missiles have the best base range of all weapons. They also have equally high tracking for all slot sizes, giving any ship a good counter to corvettes.
• Conventional Torpedoes have the ability to skip right past shields, making them especially dangerous to shield-reliant foes, but their weakness is that they lack tracking and are only available for the special torpedo slot.
• Swarmer missiles are medium slot, shorter ranged missiles that split up with the goal of overwhelming enemy defenses in a saturation attack. Their evasion is so high they can not be shot down.

While they have good range, overall they lack in the short range department. Salvaged technology or research into other areas has to make up for that. Their efficiency is also highly dependent on how well the PD and Fighters operate in any given game patch.

#### Projectile Weapons

Projectile weapons have high DPS and bonus damage against shields, but their accuracy, especially in larger slots, is meager. They come in three types:

• the average Mass drivers whose range even exceeds early energy weapons. Starting with Medium Slot size they also have Armor penetration.
• the shorter ranged but much faster firing Autocannons. These have higher DPS and stronger Armor Penetration, but lack the bonus against shields.
• the max range Kinetic Artillery.

It is notable that all point defense weapons are considered Kinetic weapons and the Flak Artillery - a special kind of medium slot Point Defense - is only available through this weapon line.

#### Hangars

Fighters/Bombers work like missiles or mobile point defense that can only be replenished out of combat. That would in theory make them suitable for hit and run, but in practice is not a good idea for large ships (due to the high cost of emergency FTL damage). However, Carrier wings can quickly be changed without any cost/upgrade time, as both Bomber and Fighter on the same tier cost the same. That means among the big ships carriers are the best at quickly being retrofitted to changing realities of conflict especially with the changes to retrofitting in 1.1.

#### Titan Laser

The Titan Laser is a unique type of weapon that is only used by their namesake Titans and a handful of Guardians. Between the base damage in the thousands and the passive bonuses the enemy will have, any battleship design can be effectively one-shotted by the Titan Laser. However it does suffer all the usual weaknesses of Lances, including Windup time, Weak Tracking, limited firing arc and relative weakness to shields (with heavy shield focus a BB might be there for a 2nd shoot).

#### Counters

Energy weapons in general work best burning through armor (Battleships, Armor Cruisers, spaceborne aliens) and are countered by shields, with the notable Exceptions of ED Matter Disintegrator, Energy Torpedo and Disruptor. Each of those weapons has its own set of trade-offs. Missiles make by far the best early long-range and big slot weaponry, with torpedoes in particular countering shield heavy designs and missiles countering corvettes. They are countered very effectively by PD and somewhat by armor and by every other weapon group with late long range weapons too. Kinetic weapons can shred through shields on decent range from the start, due to their high DPS. Strong armor mitigation counters them. As such they can be mostly adaptable. Fighters can counter missile and bomber heavy designs, if normal PD can not keep up. Bombers in turn counter any big ship, due to skipping both shields and armor. They do not work that well against small targets like corvettes.

## References

Game concepts
 Governance Empire • Government types • Policies • Edicts • Leader • Factions • Population
 Exploration Exploration • Map • Species • Anomaly • Events • FTL • Fallen empire • Pre-FTL species • Spaceborne aliens
 Colonization Colonization • Celestial body • Economy • Buildings • Technology • Construction • Spaceport • Fleet
 Diplomacy Diplomacy • Trade • Subject empire • Alliances and federations • AI personalities
 Warfare Warfare • Space warfare • Land warfare • Orbital bombardment • Military station • Ship designer
 Others Ethos • Traits • Terraforming • Genetic modification • Slavery • Crisis • Preset empires • Easter eggs