If you have Megacorps DLC, you should try this build.

[The Founder]

and since you have -50% diplomatic costs, the additional -50% diplomatic costs from adopting diplomacy means, all agreements with aliens are free, including defence pacts, research agreements, and trade pacts...

IIRC there was a minimum cost of 5%, even if you got -100% reduction. But still pretty close to "free".

 

[Nitrousoxide]

I may have had a change of heart here,

looking at this build,
race traits: thifty
ethics Authoritarian, Fanatic Xenophile,
civics: free traders, private prospectors

gives you a day one trade output of 49.8,

and since you have -50% diplomatic costs, the additional -50% diplomatic costs from adopting diplomacy means, all agreements with aliens are free, including defence pacts, research agreements, and trade pacts...

this might actually be better build, especially since you can build robots without annoying your pops... and you get private prospectors civic, which isn´t bad, despite what I said about it earlier.

As to what gospel of masses does? It seems like from pops is decreased to 4.45 without it... so if not getting gospel of masses only costs you 2.75 trade, its probably not worth... possibly glitched in some way.

(edit) or maybe it doesn´t kick in until you get a spiritualist faction? or shows up elsewhere? I don´t know.

I would recommend replacing free traders with the one that gives you 40% slaves for your kick off. You won't have a ton of trade to start with, but increasing your mineral/food production to start with by a significant margin and decreasing their housing/amenities usage is really useful.

Once you get the extra civic later from tech do grab the free traders one, or if you finish colonizing planets you could swap out private prospectors then as well. You should have more influence than you know what to do with since you'll have basically no costs for your diplo agreements.

Another thing I'd suggest is you probably still want to use the holotheaters for your amenities early on. If you rely on clerks only you'll substantially hamper your unity production which will slow the rate at which you get new ascension perks.

 

[Zenopath]

I would recommend replacing free traders with the one that gives you 40% slaves for your kick off. You won't have a ton of trade to start with, but increasing your mineral/food production to start with by a significant margin and decreasing their housing/amenities usage is really useful.

Once you get the extra civic later from tech do grab the free traders one, or if you finish colonizing planets you could swap out private prospectors then as well. You should have more influence than you know what to do with since you'll have basically no costs for your diplo agreements.

Another thing I'd suggest is you probably still want to use the holotheaters for your amenities early on. If you rely on clerks only you'll substantially hamper your unity production which will slow the rate at which you get new ascension perks.

I think for unity what you could do is do marketplace of ideas in early game. There is a fair gap of time where you can make do with balanced economy and civilian infrastructure. This would let you get unity from trade until you finish a few trees, then you transition to consumer benefits, replace civillian factories and go militarized when you ramping up into first war...

 

[Zenopath]

The important point is, that these colony ships do not cost alloys (nor food nor consumer goods), only energy credits. So more science ships and more anomalies or a stronger fleet etc. And anomaly outcomes - and scouting - are actually very, very powerful. Five early private colony ships just cost 2500 energy credits, but would cost 1000 alloys, 1000 consumer goods and 1000 food. The 1000 alloys could be 8 science ships, the 1000 food could be a growth boost to the capital.

Actually, given that gospel of masses appears to be broken, I have changed my mind. I now think free traders + private prospectors a better choice, and without gospel of masses being worth, I am less inclined to go spiritualist. I now think maybe authoritarian + fanatic xenophile would be better.

Losing the ability to build temples would hurt you for unity production, but in early game you could just use market of ideas trade policy instead to unlock first couple of trees before switching over to consumer benefits...

But would have to try it before I could recommend it.

 

[The Founder]

The important point is, that these colony ships do not cost alloys (nor food nor consumer goods), only energy credits. So more science ships and more anomalies or a stronger fleet etc. And anomaly outcomes - and scouting - are actually very, very powerful. Five early private colony ships just cost 2500 energy credits, but would cost 1000 alloys, 1000 consumer goods and 1000 food. The 1000 alloys could be 8 science ships, the 1000 food could be a growth boost to the capital.

And the admin cap increase is meaningless, ie. it would not matter that much, if the actual bonus would be a penalty to the admin cap.
The civic would still be good.

^^That.
Even if you build a 2nd Alloy foundry, Alloys can be an issue early game.

Once your Empire Sprawl get's you penalties, of course the formula changes. As you need more energy/leader, the avalibilty of Energy goes down. but by this time, the other 3 should be plentyfull. Or you should just bleeping stop expanding already, because you are a Megacorp!

Actually, given that gospel of masses appears to be broken, I have changed my mind.

I never change my mind - or even develop a strategy - based on a bug. Those tend to be fixed, invalidating the whole idea.

Of course I am unsure in what way you think it is "broken".

 

[Zenopath]

Of course I am unsure in what way you think it is "broken".

it does not do what the tool tip says it does. If you start a megacorp with gospel of masses, look at the population tab, count number of spiritualist pop, you should see 1 trade bonus per spiritualist ethic pop. I counted 11 spiritualist ethic pops, was expecting to see 11 extra trade. Instead you seem to get increase of the ¨from pop¨ trade output of about 4 on day 1 as compared to starting game without civic

 

[Dustman]

Free Traders + Private Prospectors is indeed the best combo early game.

As for civics and ethics, it's debatable. X-philes are good if you aim at peaceful game, but picking (F. )Militarists + (F.) Xenophobes can net you more income long run. I'd bet Nihilistic Acquisition is superior to Xeno-Compatibility. Later is a real mess with species, and you can safely forget about trait optimization, but not as bad if you go for Psi ascension. X-phobes on another hand provide you with constant pop growth even w/o a perk. Plus you can decimate neighbors and make them subsidiaries, providing easy way to build branches.

I like to replace CG factory with a lab. Better weapons/shields/armor in time for the first war is quite a bonus.

 

[The Founder]

it does not do what the tool tip says it does. If you start a megacorp with gospel of masses, look at the population tab, count number of spiritualist pop, you should see 1 trade bonus per spiritualist ethic pop. I counted 11 spiritualist ethic pops, was expecting to see 11 extra trade. Instead you seem to get increase of the ¨from pop¨ trade output of about 4 on day 1 as compared to starting game without civic

It apparently uses the same mechanic as the "from Living Standarts" calculation:

@trade_value_prosperity_gospel = 0.25
@trade_value_shared_burden = 0.20
@trade_value_very_high = 0.40
@trade_value_high = 0.25
@trade_value_normal = 0.15
@trade_value_low = 0.10
@trade_value_very_low = 0.05

from Stellaris\common\scripted_variables\01_scripted_variables_megacorp.txt

However I can not remember the Civic ever mentioning a exact value like "1 per pop".

Edit: I looked and it only say "Additional Trade value per Spiritualist pop" in the tooltip, with no exact definition of the value.
Seems like hte Individuals/Pop, this is left intentionally ambigious.

 

[Zenopath]

Edit: I looked and it only say "Additional Trade value per Spiritualist pop" in the tooltip, with no exact definition of the value.
Seems like hte Individuals/Pop, this is left intentionally ambigious.

So far as I can tell, that additional value might very well be 0.25 per spiritualist pop, as the text file you copy pasted seems to indicate. All I can say for sure is that, on day 1, with gospel of masses, counting 11 spiritualist ethic pops, you get 4 extra trade ¨from pop¨ (before multipliers from trade value), as you would on day 1 without gospel of masses. So, with rounding, that could be how it is calculated.

Edit: With only a 0.25 trade value bonus from gospel of masses, it is not really a valuable civic, imo. So next time I play a mega corp I will try private prospector instead. As to the ethic, I am not sure. To me, swapping authoritarian for xenophobe could be workable, so long as you are able to grab some alien slaves to work as clerks... if you do not get slaves compatible to your homeworld near you, how will you make your homeworld a trade hub though? You will face unrest if you use subsistance slaves in high numbers on a 20% habitability world.

 

[Dustman]

That's a challenge, for sure. You can use their homeworld as a hub if habitability is really low. Or simply hunt further. If you got a navy to defeat one enemy, another is usually quite easy.

Btw, if you're going Bio path, Xenophobe + F. Egalitarian is an option as well. With xeno slaves attraction for both factions is extreme, and you'd be swimming in influence. Annoying you can't really move slaves around but can be negated to extent by picking Gaia or relying on habitats. Delicious will remove need for farms and domestic servants will fit many roles.

 

[Zenopath]

That's a challenge, for sure. You can use their homeworld as a hub if habitability is really low. Or simply hunt further. If you got a navy to defeat one enemy, another is usually quite easy.

Btw, if you're going Bio path, Xenophobe + F. Egalitarian is an option as well. With xeno slaves attraction for both factions is extreme, and you'd be swimming in influence. Annoying you can't really move slaves around but can be negated to extent by picking Gaia or relying on habitats. Delicious will remove need for farms and domestic servants will fit many roles.

That does sound interesting, F.Egalitarian gives +10% specialist output which is nice, and according to my new understanding of how ¨from pop¨ trade production works, taking Utopian abundance with slaves would have effect of both canceling out unhappy slaves and producing extra trade value from your specialists and rulers... So long as none of your people are working as workers, UA could be used safely...

But, F. Xenophile + authoritarian does give 3 distinct advantages:
1) +20% trade multiplier for a per clerk output of 3.25 with thrifty and free traders, (as compared to a 2.75 output for thrifty slaves + free traders)
2) 95% discount on trade agreements, non agression pact, etc costs when combined with trait from diplomacy tradition tree (50% base)
3) It is much easier to get people to agree to trade agreements, non agression pact, etc than it would be as a xenophobe, given how valuable branch offices are, which require trade pact, this is a big advantage.

I know xenophobe as a replacement for authoritarian offers a lot of advantages too, but unless you manage to conquer a thrifty alien of your planet type early on, you will have to work around some disadvantages, including high piracy if you decide to use alien homeworld as a trade hub.

Edit; I think you F.Militarist might be better than F. Egaliatarian if you plan to zerg rush though. I am not saying your idea is bad, just that it both requires a early game zerg rush which could damage your economy if it turns too costly or doesnt work, and being lucky enough to find aliens that are your planet type, or at least of same planet group. So it is a bit RNG dependant.

Edit 2: After some thought I think maybe best choice would be Authoritarian, Xenophile, Militarist. Losing 10% trade value for militarist ethic makes sense for me because you could try an early game zerg rush anyways, if situation merits it, without needing to enslave them. Also, the lack of civics available to megacorps is a bit of a problem, which the +15% naval capacity Naval Contractors civic (requires militarist) alieviates. That would be my choice for 3rd civic or replacement for private prospector later in game. If your really want slaves for better clerks, you could take indentured assets as 3rd civic/replacement for private prospector.

 

[The Founder]

So far as I can tell, that additional value might very well be 0.25 per spiritualist pop, as the text file you copy pasted seems to indicate. All I can say for sure is that, on day 1, with gospel of masses, counting 11 spiritualist ethic pops, you get 4 extra trade ¨from pop¨ (before multipliers from trade value), as you would on day 1 without gospel of masses. So, with rounding, that could be how it is calculated.

Edit: With only a 0.25 trade value bonus from gospel of masses, it is not really a valuable civic, imo. So next time I play a mega corp I will try private prospector instead. As to the ethic, I am not sure. To me, swapping authoritarian for xenophobe could be workable, so long as you are able to grab some alien slaves to work as clerks... if you do not get slaves compatible to your homeworld near you, how will you make your homeworld a trade hub though? You will face unrest if you use subsistance slaves in high numbers on a 20% habitability world.

I ran a test in 2.2.5, using my existing GoM and Criminal Megacorp.
Without GoM:
5.40 from Pops
32.50 from Pop Jobs
+9% from Stability
41.31 planetary total
16.07 Energy "from Trade"

With GoM:
10.15 from Pops
32.50 from Jobs
+9% from Stability
46.48 planetary Total
18.39 Energy "from Trade"

Of the 24 starting pop, 2 rulers, 4 Specialists and 8 Workers were Spiritualist
14*0.25 = 3.5
And 5.4 + 3.5 = 9.9
While not exactly 10.15, it is at least in the same ballpack.
Some part of the math might be wrong (like Stabiltiy being applied to early or twice).

FYI, it was one of the things that had to be fixed after 2.2.0 release. So it is likely you were measuring with a old, buggy version.

 

[Zenopath]

I ran a test in 2.2.5, using my existing GoM and Criminal Megacorp.
Without GoM:
5.40 from Pops
32.50 from Pop Jobs
+9% from Stability
41.31 planetary total
16.07 Energy "from Trade"

With GoM:
10.15 from Pops
32.50 from Jobs
+9% from Stability
46.48 planetary Total
18.39 Energy "from Trade"

Of the 24 starting pop, 2 rulers, 4 Specialists and 8 Workers were Spiritualist
14*0.25 = 3.5
And 5.4 + 3.5 = 9.9
While not exactly 10.15, it is at least in the same ballpack.
Some part of the math might be wrong (like Stabiltiy being applied to early or twice).

FYI, it was one of the things that had to be fixed after 2.2.0 release. So it is likely you were measuring with a old, buggy version.

Very likely there is some glitchiness there. Either way, I was thinking it was 1 per spiritualist, which is super powerful. 0.25-0.3 per spiritualist is pretty meh.

 

[The Founder]

Very likely there is some glitchiness there. Either way, I was thinking it was 1 per spiritualist, which is super powerful. 0.25-0.3 per spiritualist is pretty meh.

I grants +50% Spiritualist attraction passively.
Compared to the +5% from the Temple.

And it my also apply to Branch Office Planets, wich in turn get a Building to buff attraction (wich can have Stellar Political effect on turning Empires Spiritualist).

 

[Dustman]

But, F. Xenophile + authoritarian does give 3 distinct advantages:
1) +20% trade multiplier for a per clerk output of 3.25 with thrifty and free traders, (as compared to a 2.75 output for thrifty slaves + free traders)
2) 95% discount on trade agreements, non agression pact, etc costs when combined with trait from diplomacy tradition tree (50% base)
3) It is much easier to get people to agree to trade agreements, non agression pact, etc than it would be as a xenophobe, given how valuable branch offices are, which require trade pact, this is a big advantage.

1) Remember that slaves are almost free to support unlike even stratified clerks? Since not all of your workers will be clerks, slaves are generally better, due to reduced upkeep and better housing/production.
2 + 3) If you go for Xenophobe, you don't involve much in diplomacy. You attack xenos to steal their pops, and when they are weak and meek, turn them subsidiaries. And you can build branch offices for no influence cost since it's free, i.e. no need for commercial agreement, with subjects.

F. Egalitarian + Xenophobe is great to use Utopian, but controlling your pops is mess, since you need to disable both resettlement (clearly a bug or oversight, since it shouldn't be applied to slave pops) and pop controls. You must follow bio path to convert pops efficiently to useful treats after every single war, or else things get messy. But with tons of influence habitats will be spamming almost overnight.

Militarist is great ethic for conquest, but it is of limited use for megacorp. Sure, fire rate is great, but you wouldn't claim much anyway, and fire rate alone can be compensated by stronger economy. If you go habitat route, your ship numbers will be huge thanks to stronghold/fortresses. Plus, Militarist is generally weak for influence generation.

Damn, if PDX fixed no-resettlement bug for slaves, this would be one of the best combos.

If you go Xenophile route, you get better trade to start with, but can't use slaves if you care about main faction happiness. And, as I mentioned, your pops are mess, especially with Xeno-Compatibility. Very hard to get proper pops in proper places, so calculations with BiS thrifty clerks are far from guarantied if you'd like to avoid micromanagement hell. And you can't reliably gen-mod your pops for best results, since they are too many and come constantly via migration from all over universe. If you want to go this route, Synths are very good, but they can't be Thrifty. But at least you'll get uniform nice pops. Well, theoretically you can use Indentured Servants as one of the picks, but dunno how effective it would be since never tried.

And for Xenophiles fanatical version rules supreme, saving tons of influence. So, Auto + F. Xphiles.

By mid-game you'd probably be one of the top dogs anyway, and can easily vassalize everyone, and it's rather hard to do to your fed members