Permanent Vassalization

[Presapient]

Hi,
I recently got this game off of Xbox Game Pass, and started my very first file as the Commonwealth of Man. Things were going smoothly and I was enjoying the game thoroughly, until another empire with a more powerful fleet showed up and demanded my vassalization, which I agreed to. Little did I know that would stop me from expanding to new systems or using most diplomatic options. Then, my overlord became part of a federation, which automatically made me a member as well. So, fed up with the situation, I have been trying to break free of my overlord, but there doesn't seem to be any way of doing so. Before I go on I should mention this is on the basic console edition of Stellaris with no mods or expansions or DLC. Also, my game is in ironman mode, so I don't believe I can do cheats or save scumming.

There are several strategies I have been trying, but nothing seems to be working:

1) I can request independence from my overlord, but the base acceptance is -50, so even when using all 10 favors, they do not accept the offer. There does not seem to be any way to modify the base acceptance value and the Stellaris wiki and most sources online do not even mention this option.

2) When my overlord rejects my independence request, I should gain a casus belli against them. My casus belli does appear in the list of nations that have casus belli's against my overlord, but my empire's icon does not appear on the list, and the casus belli is not listed in my own empire's casus belli list. I do not know if this is a bug or not.

3) Not only that, but because I am in a federation, the option to declare war on my overlord is not even listed on the diplomacy screen. For other empires not in the federation, the option to declare war is listed, but it doesn't let me do so because I am a vassal.

4) If I left the federation, I would presumably be able to declare war on my overlord again. However, because I am a vassal, I cannot choose to leave the federation. I should also note that because I have no DLC, the federation rules say no vassals or subjects allowed, and the vassals of the other federation members are not included, so I don't know why I am considered a member of the federation anyway.

5) Finally, because this was my very first game, I stupidly set the game to end at 2700, it is currently around 2420. Even though it has been a century (I was vassalized around 2280), I have not been integrated and I don't think the AI has even tried to do so. (That is probably because I have more pops and more planets than my overlord.)

I know most people would probably say to just give up on that playthrough at this point, but I was really hoping to have a cool first time story of my empire being subjugated and then rising up for freedom and coming near the top of the heap (I don't expect to win the game, but I would at least like to be ABLE TO PLAY IT).

I was just wondering if there are any other tricks I may not have thought of yet. For instance, if I adopt the inward perfection civic, will that instantly free me from my overlord?

It just seems baffling that Paradox would overlook this, it is seems to be completely game breaking.

Anyway, I know this is a long and complicated problem explained in a longer and even more confusing post. I am grateful to anyone who is willing to take the time to read this and help, you guys are awesome

 

[Andy197905]

Ok gĺad your having fun it's a great game which I played for many an hour. It does sound like abug. However have you checked to see if the overlord or federation are at war with someone else. As you have to wait for them to be at peace before you can declare war. Also check for defensive pact you need to break that first tc

 

[eliakim88]

Hey, I really want to try this game it seems really intersting.

 

[Presapient]

Thanks for the advice, I checked and am not at war or in any defensive pact, so it really must just be a bug. That sucks, I guess I will just have to give up on this playthrough.

 

[Andy197905]

Hey, I really want to try this game it seems really intersting.

Yeah it is a fun game you should give it a go. Its on game pass. Or on sony sale at the moment depending on what you play on.

 

[Andy197905]

Thanks for the advice, I checked and am not at war or in any defensive pact, so it really must just be a bug. That sucks, I guess I will just have to give up on this playthrough.

Well only other thing I can think of is to research and build a colossus as that give you the total war option and then wipe them out all of them. Tc

 

[Hyporondar]

Hi all,

and thank you for describing the problem. Iam also stuck as a vassal and cant get free. Iam playing on highest difficulty and hoped the crisis (x2.5) would be any help, e.g. by smashing the alliance of my overlord. But by now it seems that x2.5 + stupid AI is not enough to help me.

It would be bad if there ist no way to get free...

Edit:
I won the game as Vassal. It was not possible to become independent because my overlord was in a federation and dragged me into it. Therefore, I could never start a war of independence. The crisis (2.5x) was no help. The AI was simply not aggressive enough and was defeated by the other empires alone. All that was left for me to do was to get my economy and research going so that I could score a point victory in the end.

At least now I know that you can also win as a Vassal.

Best
hypo

 

[MordridBlack]

Hi all,

and thank you for describing the problem. Iam also stuck as a vassal and cant get free. Iam playing on highest difficulty and hoped the crisis (x2.5) would be any help, e.g. by smashing the alliance of my overlord. But by now it seems that x2.5 + stupid AI is not enough to help me.

It would be bad if there ist no way to get free...

Edit:
I won the game as Vassal. It was not possible to become independent because my overlord was in a federation and dragged me into it. Therefore, I could never start a war of independence. The crisis (2.5x) was no help. The AI was simply not aggressive enough and was defeated by the other empires alone. All that was left for me to do was to get my economy and research going so that I could score a point victory in the end.

At least now I know that you can also win as a Vassal.

Best
hypo

About the only way to get free, if you either start the game as a vassal [i.e. Scion Origin] or if you choose to become a vassal of another ai empire later in the game, is to declare War against the AI you are under...and then beat/conquer them


This will free you of your shackles and allow you to do as you please

 

[tanner1ie]

Indeed, it may take multiple wars against your overlord, chipping away at their territory, weakening them as much as possible, while building up you own strength as much as possible.

I found myself vasselised twice so far and managed to free myself only the second time, by as said repeatedly stabbing the giant until I could take them on and eventually was albe to defeat them once I was free.

However sometimes your overlord, rival or rival alliance may have become too powerful to overcome with the territory and resources available, such as the first time I was vasselised, I couldn't break free and lost the game being integrated.

Other times I've fought the a.i. to a stalemate, where they're too powerful to defeat, but not agressive enough to wipe me out, so fighting them becomes an endless cycle of attrition, which becomes so tedious, you're best off abandoning your playthrough and starting a new one.
(Their tech may be so advanced that their fleets laugh off most of your attacks, with the reverse also being possible.)

On the flipside though you can find yourself on the other side of the power dynamic, take a lot of territory and resources early on and push hard for tech research and spacial discoveries and you can put yourself so far ahead of the a.i. that they can only nip at your heals, with your controlling most of the galaxy.

However then you can have situation where there are stragglers you can't vasselise, defeat or even ally with because of the games' new war mechanics and bugs...

For example in my current game, I've surpassed a fallen empire that only has two to four sectors left because of earlier wars, however I can't do anything about them as I've no castus bell against them, while even though they hate me, they'll never start a war that they can't win.

Similarly another empire who was allied with me became hostile due to a declare war bug and even using five envoys and doing nothing hostile towards them, their opinion of me keeps dropping, to the point that they hate me more than the fallen empire, but again they'll never attack me because they can never win!

Anyway in closing, maybe you can free yourself, or maybe it's not worth the time and effort it takes to do so, but only you can decide whether it's worth trying or if it's even possible to free yourself and or defeat them and you may be better off simply starting a new playthrough with all that you've learned to make you better and stronger in the future .

 

[MordridBlack]

general rule of thumb

always read what an ai empire sends you


sometimes they may ask for you to become their vassal, as you appear weak to them

and other times they'll come to you asking to be your vassal [or ask for protection], because you are strong


in the former case, say no unless you feel as if you have no choice

in the latter case, say yes and then just integrate them after 10 years or so