Starting as a corp

[Dustman]

While many people complain about megacorps, they are great for at least one thing, and this is to start a game as a normal empire w/o exclusive civics, like Inward Perfection.

Few reasons why:

1. Megacorp got +20 admin cap. Add Private Prospectors and your up to 60 at game start.

2. You get extra 4 pops and Commercial Center. Even if you aren't into trading and clerks later on, extra pops are nice to have, and some extra development saves on resources.

3. If you start with Private Prospectors, you get Private Colony Ships. 500 energy is much better than 200 of each alloys, CGs and food. And frankly, good corp ethics are rather few in-between to avoid this pick at the start.

4. As Spiritualist with Gospel of the Masses, you earn quite a bit from your pops being of your ethos.

Sure, it costs quite a bit in influence to switch government later on, and double sprawl penalty will hit hard at one point, but for little bit easier start megacorps are great.

 

[Nakkivene]

I like fanatic pacifist crimecorp. You interact with other empires by crimebombing them, and when they come for your throat, you make them subsidiaries.

 

[Defiler99]

The "Trading Posts" civic is super strong as well. Almost as good as Grasp the Void, and the latter is an ascension perk.

 

[Xaos]

Mid game they have the best vassalization option in subsidiaries. Since subsidiaries have to have a commercial pact with you, if they aren't megacorps you can build branch offices on their planets.

 

[Dustman]

I personally prefer tributaries to subsidiaries, but that's fine anyway.

Criminal Heritage is quite annoying. From one side you get Adaptability, but you are stuck with this civic forever and your corporate buildings aren't popular on receiving end. They will build enforcers en masse, reducing usefulness of such offices drastically. Sure, you can cripple their economies this way, but IMO energy, and more importantly influence, is better spent elsewhere. Normal corps or stellar church will have much easier time maintaining their offices and their number will increase steadily. RoI is rather low with crime lords comparing to norm.

From another side, switching away from Corporation might be beneficial, especially when you get few corporate neighbors. Why spend money and influence on branch offices when they can be built on your planets, granting jobs and improving relations with aforementioned corporations? If you like trade and build megaplexes, Merchant Guilds could be quite lucrative. Tradition grab comparable with Exalted Priesthood and no lock into Spiritualism. Plus by mid game normal civics far outpace corporal.

 

[Masoz]

Subsidiaries are superior as they can still grow and they will join your wars.

 

[Zenopath]

I honestly consider a thrifty trait, fanatic spiritualist, authoritarian mega corp with gospel of the masses to be OP.
2nd pick is debatable, but free trader is probably best.

There is literally nothing more powerful on day 1. I have tried lots of other builds, nothing else is quite so powerful, not even the much hyped hive minds.

edit: I tried dropping a point in spiritualist for xenophile and you do lose a little trade overall right at start, but make up for it later... could be worth it for diplomacy bonuses, and saved influence costs on trade pacts.

 

[Dustman]

I honestly consider a thrifty trait, fanatic spiritualist, authoritarian mega corp with gospel of the masses to be OP.
2nd pick is debatable, but free trader is probably best.

There is literally nothing more powerful on day 1. I have tried lots of other builds, nothing else is quite so powerful, not even the much hyped hive minds.

edit: I tried dropping a point in spiritualist for xenophile and you do lose a little trade overall right at start, but make up for it later... could be worth it for diplomacy bonuses, and saved influence costs on trade pacts.

Private Prospectors beats everything as a starter, even Gospel. Ability to expand faster due to saving alloys on colony ships, and extra food that can be used for decisions, policies or simple trading... On day 1 Free Traders are like having an extra energy mining station, good but not overly useful.