Governments

The important aspect of governments is that their effects apply to the whole empire - that means all pops under your rule are affected. Unlike ethics and traits you are also able to switch rather freely between government types, so even situational governments are quite viable - it never hurts to have multiple options available. It is also important to look at governments in conjunction with ethics - some ethics (like Pacifist) have pretty bad ethic effects, but very powerful governments, while others (like Collectivist) have strong ethic effects at the cost of government options. Advanced governments can be unlocked quite early and usually double the effects of the basic versions.



Indirect Democracy / Democratic Utopia (democratic neutral) (NOT collectivist or fanatic collectivist)

* +1/+2 Leader Starting Skill Levels

* -10/-20% Leader Recruitment Cost

A very good choice for a leader-focused build. Synergizes very well with other leader traits and longer leader life span. The advanced version is slightly less useful, considering that it is rather easy to reach the level 5 cap with leaders. Remember that level 5 scientists are quite good when using the "assist research" ability with a Science Ship.



Plutocratic Oligarchy / Mega Corporation (oligarchic neutral) (NOT fanatic collectivist or fanatic individualist)

* +5/+10% Mineral and Energy Tile Yield

Considering that a lot of your yields will come from non-tile sources, this government is actually a lot weaker than it seems. The advanced version is a bit stronger since it comes at the later stage of the game when a larger % of your total E and M income should come from tile yields. A surprisingly good option for builders that expect occassional wars, considering that more E and M can be used for both civilan and military projects.



Despotic Empire / Star Empire (autocratic neutral) (NOT individualist or fanatic individualist)

* +10/+20% Slave Mineral and Food Tile Yield

* -15/-30% Building Cost

* Can build one oversized Military Station per ruler (+50% armor, HP and shields)

A very strong option for anyone who plans to use slavery and even quite good just for the building cost reduction (actually much stronger than Plutocratic Oligarchy during the early game). A thing to keep in mind is that Robots are a solid alternative to slaves and there are edict related slavery bonuses, so while powerful this is by no means a no-brainer option. This also means the advanced version isn't that great, even more so since build cost reduction matters little past the early mid game. The oversized station is mostly irrelevant, considering that defence stations are very weak and costly compared to regular ships.



Moral Democracy / Irenic Democracy (democratic pacifist) (pacifist OR fanatic pacifist, NOT collectivist or fanatic collectivist)

* +10/+20% Happiness

Moral Democracy is a very situational option, since you need to reach the 80% happiness threshold. This will be the case on your homeworld (due to the innate +10% happiness bonus), so it's equal to +10% early game tile yields. For other planets you will need a secondary source of happiness - which is thankfully easily accessible to pacifists due to their Paradise Dome unique building. The advanced version is equal to a powerful +10% empire wide tile yield bonus on your preferred planet types, which can go up to +20% tile yields if you have another happiness source and a habitability bonus (from techs or traits). While this is a great option, keep in mind that there are plenty of global happiness sources available - in some cases this government can end up with a big "happiness overkill".



Peaceful Bureaucracy / Irenic Protectorate (oligarchic pacifist) (pacifist OR fanatic pacifist, NOT fanatic collectivist or fanatic individualist)

* +1/+2 Leader Pool Choices

* +1/+2 Empire Leader Capacity

* -15/-30% Leader Recruitment Cost

The second leader-related government in the game. While Indirect Democracy aims for quality, this one goes for quantity. A great way to get leaders with specific traits (which is very important for scientists and quite useful for admirals) or tons of scientists for research assistance, but not strong enough to make it into the "good" category.



Enlightened Monarchy / Irenic Monarchy (autocratic pacifist) (pacifist OR fanatic pacifist, NOT individualist or fanatic individualist)

* -25/-50% Edict Cost

* +25/+50% Edict Duration

* +1/+2 Core Planet Limit

* Can build one Royal Garden per ruler (+10% Happiness)

A very powerful government that enables a unique edict-focused playstile. The edict cost reduction does also affect edict upkeep cost - which means you can run a lot of empire-wide edicts and use the extra Influence on planetary edicts or outposts. The advanced version is even more powerful and comes at a point when you should have a dozen different edicts available. While you can issue edicts on Sector planets, the Extra Core Planet effect is also quite powerful - think of it as the icing on a delicious cake of edict value. The Royal Park is pretty mediocre, considering that Pacifists have access to the much stronger Paradise Dome, but it might be worth building on large worlds if it allows you to push happiness towards the 90% limit.



Direct Democracy / Subconscious Consensus (democratic materialist) (materialist OR fanatic materialist, NOT collectivist or fanatic collectivist)

* +2/+4 Core Planet Limit

While this is strictly worse than the Spiritualist counterpart, keep in mind that it is also attached to the best ethic in the game. Extra Core planets are very useful to speed up expansion without having to use the unreliable Sector mechanic. Planets under your direct Control will always grow faster and be more efficient. If you are planning for a rapid expansion (REXing) playstile, this is for you. Remember you can always swap to a more useful government type once your expansion phase is over.



Science Directorate / Illuminated Technocracy (oligarchic materialist) (materialist OR fanatic materialist, NOT fanatic collectivist or fanatic individualist)

* +1/+2 Research Alternatives

* +1/+2 Empire Leader Capacity

Tech options are extremely powerful during the early game. This is, hands down, the government that will you provide with the most consistency throughout the early and mid game. Yes, you could get something with more research speed (see below), but getting good tech options is actually WAY more important. If you ever had to wait a decade to get your Battleship tech, you know what I am talking about. The advanced version isn't that relevant, since there aren't that many vital late game techs and you already got +1 Research Alternative from a computer tech. The extra leader capacity is nice, but nothing too important.



Despotic Hegemony / Neural Network Administration (autocratic materialist) (materialist OR fanatic materialist, NOT individualist or fanatic individualist)

* +5/+10% Research Speed

* +10/+20% Survey Speed

* Can build one Elite Assault Army per ruler

Science is king - so this government is never a bad choice. The extra research speed is pretty solid and works well with all the other Materialist pop bonuses. The survey speed is also quite good for early game exploration. Certainly the best option for a science-focused empire (but keep in mind that a happiness build has the potential to grant you +20% science yields). Elite Assault Armies are very powerful, but will rarely have a big impact since they are limited in numbers.



Theocratic Republic / Transcendent Republic (democratic spiritualist) (spiritualist OR fanatic spiritualist, NOT collectivist or fanatic collectivist)

* -10/-20% Ethic Divergence

* +2/+4 Core Planet Limit

The stronger version of Direct Democracy, attached to a pretty weak ethic. Great for REXing and pretty decent to keep ethics in a large empire in check without having to rely on other Ethic Divergence effects. Remember that negative ethic divergence can shift pops towards your empire's starting ethics.



Theocratic Oligarchy / Transcendent Oligarchy (oligarchic spiritualist) (spiritualist OR fanatic spiritualist, NOT fanatic collectivist or fanatic individualist)

* -10/-20% Ethic Divergence

* -15/-30% Leader Recruitment Cost

Probably the weakest government out there. Ethic Divergence can be gained via other effects, so there is no need to use your government slot for that. The reduced leader recruit cost isn't terrible, but other governments provide you with better leader-related options. The advanced version might be okay for a large empires that, for some reason, do not have access to Divergence reduction, but apart from that I don't see any reason to pick this.



Divine Mandate / Transcendent Empire (autocratic spiritualist) (spiritualist OR fanatic spiritualist, NOT individualist or fanatic individualist)

* +50/+100% Slavery Tolerance

* -15/-30% Resettle Cost

* Can build one Grand Mausoleum per ruler (-10% Ethic Divergence)

This is actually a very interesting government. The first level is pretty bad, since +50% Slavery Tolerance usually won't be enough to establish extensive slavery in your empire without your pops getting angry. The advanced version, however, is different. Remember that this applies to ALL pops in your empire, so it will affect Xenos and conquered species. This means the only pops with individualist ethics will resist slavery (and maybe you can "re-educate" them with lots of Ethic Divergence reduction?). Yes, you do not get the increased Slave Yield bonus from Despotic Empire, but I can see this as a valid option for an aggressively expanding empire with multiple species in it. Plus: Isn't it good to be called God Emperor? Resettle cost reduction is nice, but early on your influence is better spend on outposts. The Grand Mausoleum is pretty bad, considering that you have to sacrifice a tile to gain -10% Divergence.



Military Republic / Martial Democracy (democratic militarist) (militarist OR fanatic militarist, NOT collectivist or fanatic collectivist)

* -10/-20% Army Upkeep

* -10/-20% Navy Upkeep

* +5/+10% War Happiness

A government that is quite weak early on, but actually develops into a decent pick during the late game. Late game navies can easily eat up a quarter or more of your monthly income, so the upkeep reduction is pretty good (actually stronger than Mega Corporation if you are mostly focused on war). The war happiness can be used in conjunction with the militarist ethic effect to get to 80% happiness via phoney wars (which means a +10% yield boost on homeworld type planets).



Military Junta / Ordered Stratocracy (oligarchic militarist) (militarist OR fanatic militarist, NOT fanatic collectivist or fanatic individualist)

-10/-20% Ship Cost

-25/-50% Ship Upgrade Cost

A good option for aggressive early game rushing, but doesn't offer too much past that. The reduced ship cost does also affect ship upkeep, so it sorta overlaps with Military Republic in terms of late game use. The Ship Upgrade Cost Reduction, however, becomes rather useless during the later stage of the game, since you are usually drowning in Minerals after the first two decades - upgrade time is actually a much more important factor at that point (it can take years to upgrade a big BB fleet).



Military Dictatorship / Martial Empire (autocratic militarist) (militarist OR fanatic militarist, NOT individualist or fanatic individualist)

* +20/+40% Naval Capacity

*-5/-10% Navy Upkeep

* Can build one oversized Military Ship per ruler (+50% armor, HP and shields)

A very situational government for small empires that have access to large Mineral income. I have never been able to max out my navy limit, considering that you usually can build max level Spaceports on every planet during the mid game. The ship upkeep reduction is neglectible. The oversized ship is pretty decent (especially if you manage to get Cruisers or Battleships before your enemies), but I don't think it is enough to make up for the other lackluster effects. Maybe it's an option for Multiplayer games that are locked down in a big stand-off?