Do you want to play in Stellaris Timelines - Second Renaissance? If the answer is yes then I have good news for you, sign-ups are now open and a draw will take place on Friday 28th April! How will it work? There are 20 places available for the Stellaris Timelines - Second Renaissance campaign (May 12 - 14). Admiral, Custodian And Emperor tier supporters are guaranteed a place in Second Renaissance. There are 2 places reserved for people that are not supporters. All other places will be allocated by a random draw, for each tier you gain 1 entry to the draw: Priest - 1 entry Researcher - 2 entries Noble - 3 entries Executive - 4 entries Science Director - 5 entries The higher your supporter tier the more chance you have of playing! You can become a supporter of the channel via Patreon: www.patreon.com/MontuPlays or RUclips Membership If you have any questions, ask on #timelines-general on the discord server. You can join the server here -> discord.gg/4RDKJYeKPZ SIGN UP HERE -> forms.gle/f2Z5JWHB7HQugWsZ8 Sessions will run from the evening of Friday 12th May until the evening of Sunday 14th May: evening sessions: 7.30pm - 11.30pm (CEST) afternoon sessions: 2pm - 6pm (CEST)
I’m actually more curious about how this will affect megacorps and esp. criminal megacorps. I can only imagine that crime syndicates won’t be conforming to the usual council structure. And if espionage will have assassinate leader operations, that would make espionage a lot more fun!
@@emberframe6994 Feature accretion. It's quite noticeable how PDX DLC features interact very little with each other, and how old features tend to remain completely untouched for a long time after the initial post-release rush to patch out obvious bugs and exploits. Every DLC feature likes to exist in its own little capsule and not link to features from other DLC. That way, there's less need to devote testing and development time to (re)balancing old features with new interactions. At the same time, it looks like they might be cautiously moving away from this design philosophy: First Contact did make use of the Espionage feature in some stealthy interactions with primitives.
@@cryocyte7369 ooooh! Nice. I’m currently working on a mod that adds an espionage mission that allows you to spend a military asset to attempt a battlecruiser heist of a rival.
10:04 I interpret "Executor" as just the title of the main node that executes decisions for the gestalt consciousness, not related to an "executioner" or "executing" in the other sense. See Star Craft for a handy use of Executor as a generic title, also pronounced a bit differently than you had it. That being said, those robots are the pop model for a default Determined Exterminator, so I think you're still right.
I am just wildly excited because I am a hive mind player and knowing that I can now customize my leader and Council to my liking makes me feel like a mad scientist. Everyone else has to deal with RNG. But I get to be whatever the fuck I want~ HAHAHAHA!
@@dodojesus4529No joke, feudal might be an issue if you go beyond your new leader cap, but being tall-ish, psionic and imperial with a philosopher king chosen one is just so OP. As a materialist egalitarian that likes to create "nice" builds, I cry...😢
I think gestallt getting no destiny traits is just pure balance (also great from lore perspective), because they get immortal council, so it's not just gestallt not geting love.
I think the Gestalt Council might play out like more lightweight traditions, possibly even with the possibility to swap them out for other focus later. Fully boxed in by other empires? Time to turn off that expansion node and boot up that exterminator node
Took me some time to realize that the Veteran and Destiny traits means that leaders get stronger at a faster pace at higher levels than before. It depends on how long it takes to level up at each level, but making leaders live longer and learn faster just became a lot more important.
Meme Build expansion looks lit. Also; Progenitors probably have normal councilors instead of Gestalt-brand, so they're not immortal, but they get the auto-levelup.
2:58 do the titles of your ministers change based on your ethics/civics? It would be cool if like, you were Warrior Culture, you would have a Polemarch instead of a Minister of Defense, or if you were a megacorp, you would have a CEO instead of a Primus. Or it would be cool just to have the ability to rename titles, on the fly, for like, flavor, you know.
What an exciting announcement for Stellaris. Still lots of little core changes Stellaris could use to make it better, but new content is better than nothing.
I think this will make authoritarians empire more powerful, as you won't cycling through leaders as often, and it will potentially make leader lifespan etc more important
Thank you for being on top of these so quickly. It's much more fun to hear the notes narrated while driving or cooking than to sit down and read everything.
Y'know the changes to governors made me think about Star Wars: "The Imperial Senate will no longer concern us. I have just received word that the Emperor has dissolved the council permanently. The last remnants of the Old Republic have been swept away." "That's impossible! How will the Emperor maintain control without the bureaucracy?" "The regional governors now have direct control over their territories."
I reckon ethics will matter somewhat as they'll lead into higher weights for certain traits to be given to leaders. For instance at 2:33 the governor shown is materialist, and alongside the known trait for decreased building costs, there's also a new one, which I'm just going to assume is faster mechanical pop assembly given the icon being an arm from an assembly line.
'Emotional Support Pet' best pop culture reference ever! Like you Montu I am rather hoping for a dogo icon :) Also as a general point looks to be a really solid well thought out DLC
One of my favorite builds has always been to make space elves who live as long as possible and reach the highest level I can manage. I'm excited to see how well my summer court in space will do when focusing on making hyper elite leaders is a viable strategy at last.
"we want you to have less leaders than before in order to make every single one of them more impactful and let you watch their career with great interest" "now you seat a governor on each of your 15 planets, if you can afford them"
Leaders in Stellaris always have a sweet spot in my heart. I might not ever read their name and employ and fire them like a maniac but it feels absolutely amazing when you can find that diamond among the chaff stack, all the research bonuses, make him the chosen or get his level maxed. It could be the entire reason I go synthetic so they become immortal. Also there is a mod "Merged Leader Levels" that makes the entire feature so much better and probably inspired part of this overhaul. (Its also quite telling that the mod gives lot of changes and bonuses to rulers governors scientist and admirals but just ignores generals lol)
I really hope they allow us to edit in-game the titles of the council positions. (Ex. Allow us to rename 'Minister of Defense' to something like 'War Consul' if we wish for Roleplay purposes)
I love the theme. I am just a bit anxious about the level of interactions it implies : price of leaders to sell with vassals, curators traders raiders might be a joke since they can’t really be integrated to your empire and the new traits are far more powerful,old unique leader grey, oracle. Can we have a mercenary enclave leader bug fixed for the leader DLC … How the AI manages those changes ?
So many changes I have wanted for so long, this is shaping up to be a really great dlc. I just hope the soft-cap on leaders doesn't hurt early game exploration too much, and that explorer scientists have something to do after the early-game.
This is an excellent change. I’ve enjoyed the recent “flavor packs” quite a bit but this changes a core element of the game I NEVER cared about. Sure, I wanted a genius for science research and tried to match governors to sector outputs BUT never really cared about my leaders. A 5-10% bonus just didn’t mean a lot. “Leader lifespan” was entirely useless and unless I was doing something goofy with my friends I never paid any attention who was in charge. This update promises to evolve both the RP aspect of leaders AND the actual mechanics of them. That’s a GREAT implementation. If they can actually pull off what they promise, this might be one of the best DLC periods. I’m excited.
I think I'm on board with everything on display here! I can't say I'm a fan of limiting governor traits to exclusively apply to the planet they sit on since "Righteous" has always been my favorite trait to pull in the leader pool, but I suppose I can afford to build a second precinct hall on developing planets in the early game and then just replace it when I get the Hall's of Justice upgrade. Also, R.I.P me and my friend's ongoing campaigns! I booted up an hour ago not realizing the update dropped, saw the changes, and immediately dropped to desktop like it's hot to check your channel so I would actually know that the heck I'm doing. Thanks for the thorough exploration Montu!!!! Now I can awaken even further depths of my inner micromanager!
I wonder if the development of Age of Wonders 4 inspired any of this. The timing is interesting with that game (4X having a focus on faction and leader customization) coming out May 2nd
Way late to the party, but this update actually got me to like imperial governments. It’s very fun for me to have a particular council position traditionally filled by the heir. It gives imperial governments a sense of continuity and stability they didn’t have before. (And conversely, democratic ones feel very much in flux sometimes, with sometimes a new ruler being elected meaning multiple council positions needing to be reshuffled.)
Imagin the potential of multiplayer empires with detailed leader from a roleplay perspective now we can imagine games where every leader is played by a player, maybe the majority can choose if one should go when the need arise to replace one with another, pushing you to chose between beter bonuses or the charisma and skills of the current ministry of desfense when it comes to fleet battles... and by the way it would means more potential players in events such as... idk... second renaissance ? 😗
I wonder if we still need researchers for science ships? I also wonder why they removed all the individual science positions. It might have been interesting to have some type of hierarchy where the 3 old ones sat under the new council position even if they simplified those leaders like they do with envoys. This is definitely looking interesting though. They're adding ideas from their other games with every update and making Stellaris one of their most versatile games.
Thanks for the in-depth video Montu! Would you consider making shorter breakdowns for folks like me who love your channel but need a quick announcement breakdown?
I am LOVING this overhaul to leaders, both free and DLC. Everything about it sounds great, even if leaders are capped like starbasses. What's interesting with how they've described with Gestalt Consciousness councils is that they're not tied into civics like normal empires. Where a normal empire can have up to 6 council positions, one for each civic they have (though they have to unlock the extra council seats and research the third civic slot as well), the gestalt consciousness is locked at 5. However, unless I'm mistaken, they seem to potentially start the game at those 5 (the immortal ruler and 4 nodes), but those nodes are static and need to be upgraded with care because those nodes are presumably static/permanent and can't be swapped like normal councilors can. Still, it plays into that core fantasy of designing the central system that controls the empire; you have one super ruler instead of 3-6 councilors. Progenitor Hive could be really, really fun with this, though perhaps with this leader rework, things like Progenitor Hive and Feudal Society will likely be seeing changes now that leaders are more powerful. Zero upkeep leaders sounds like it might be too good with this, as presumably going over your leader cap increases their upkeep cost, which would make Feudal Societ as it stands now an effective removal of said cap. I liked the negated ruler upkeep from that civic, so I'm really curious to see how they change it, because I can't imagine it remains unchanged. The existence of sector governors and planetary governors is an interesting one as well, as only the leader level bonus applies sector-wide (which I think primarily effects crime/devianace), but now each planet can have a planetary governor whose leader level overrides the sector governor, but applies their traits to the planet, so low every planet can have a governor specialized to the production type of that planet, so you can have planet classification and governor traits doubling up on planets for maximum benefit. However, I'd wager having a specialized governor for every planet is one of those things likely to set you over your leader cap. P.S. Executor is not another term for executioner. Executor is more like "executing a plan" than "executing a person", so closer to an executive. However, as the unit is named XT-489 Exterminator, they likely are a Fanatic Purifier empire still. Also, I'm pretty sure Arrested Development changed somewhere down the line, where it's something like -2 leader level instead of -100/0% experience game, so if you have enough leader level cap bonuses you can overcome it, but if all leaders go to 10 from the get go with the update, I wonder what Arrested Development will do now?
I want to see a civic for gestalt consciousnesses that is something like "Semi-independant leaders" that enables more of the leader/concil effects for gestalt conciousnesses, I think that would preserve the gestalt fantasy while still enabling players to make full use of the new leader mechanics.
Super interesting, one of my recent single player games was basically a build geared towards maximizing leaders by trying to get as many additional traits as possible (whilst lengthening leader lifespan as much as i could) Might be more powerful and controllable with a bit more choice at play
I was really afraid that Hive/Collective Consciousness were not going to receive anything. Maybe a bit silly of my part but this is relieving. Can’t wait to try Progenitor Hive along with the new Sector Editor! 🎉
The ability to specialize leaders at start may help take somewhat powerful niche builds into the stratosphere. Just checked out Lathland’s angler idyll baol run, and while baol in Mp is unlikely, starting with a thrifty agrarian leader could get its benefits much quicker. Imagine a build where farmers are … good?
Personally I have mixed feelings. For one I like the changes, but on the other hand, I use a couple of mods that give cutsom leaders, so Ill have less of them/less with high levels. Also have to wait weeks/months until the mods are updated, since they added a lot of custom traits and systems, that will probably have to be changed.
I like how Paradox "steals" features from their own games, this one is clearly inspired by CK. Honestly, it's a good thing they're exploiting that synergy, as long as it makes sense.
After the initial announcement, I was actually afraid that it was yet another dlc where machine empires were largely ignored. Glad to hear that we'll be getting some love.
Honestly, I do like the idea of head of research, however having other scientific groups and they leaders. Like, science is about understanding things better by using a solid methodology, so anyone can do it. However I do understand that having 3 scientist does not help to them feeling impactful and increase the micromanagement. Still, it would be interesting if the game have some events around science, like planets scientist having a head to head competition on something or they presenting a expensive proposal that we are better off choosing one, event one leader having their chime in. Just like spaceship scientist have their own details, it would feel quite unique if the game keep tracking them and their history and what they do better.
Dear Paradox! Please make Envoys a separate leaders as well, so that their levels would matter, and they death would have an impact. It would've been cool to have to pay attention what type of individual represents your empire in any sort of diplomacy. May be tie-up envoys` levels and their traits to bonuses/debuffs based on opposing side's ethics? (so, strong envoy would be a great friend to militarists, while one with AI assistant will angry Spiritiulists, etc.) Now is the time! :D
Well, I can definitely say, that after this update, I now have more questions than before. For example, do we still need scientists to survey systems? Do we still need archaeologists? And also, though I understand that we save on multiple clicks if we really wish to switch scientists per research choice, do we really achieve the more-choice dogma by having a single scientist leader? Still, excellent Dev Diary, let's see for more info on the next one... @Montu Plays : Would you have any info on whether the DLC affects also Envoys? It would be a perfectly fine opportunity to upgrade them to proper leaders. P.S.: Since we are going full Crusader Kings here, I guess we could also do with a master of spies in the council...
I'd really like to see some of the old portraits get some love like they did with the humans a few years ago. Some of them look a bit shit at the moment.
I'm torn because on one hand, I know Stellaris 2 will be a typical paradox release and being lacking in features on launch, but on the other hand, I desperately want a new/upgraded engine. The mid-late game slowdown is ridiculous and I have a pretty good PC, I can't imagine what it's like for those closer to the minimum system requirements
The gestalt screen is the purifiers, look at the name in the top left corner. Though you got the pronunciation and meaning of the word executor wrong. Exec-utor, a type of leader/ruler, often the highest in their position. My favorite notable example is Executor Selendis of StarCraft 2, who is the grand admiral of the Protoss factions’ golden armada.
genuinely hyped for this, though I do worry about how this will work for empires with short lived leaders such as overtuned or clone army. seeing as how this system is suppose to streamline leaders, yet give a ton of customization option at set intervals. also, with how leaders level over time at the moment, having them level at the same speed as they do now might not be great, considering it can take well over 80 years for some leaders to reach level 10, if they can at all.
This leader rework and council system is something I've wanted add to the game for a very long time. Now I just want more extra galactic clusters and Maga project star fortresses and I'd be happy
With how much more powerful leaders are becoming, I could definitely see an expansion of the espionage system (either in this DLC or a future one) allowing you to mess with another empire's leaders. These could include things like temporarily incapacitating them, forcing them to take a negative trait, full blown assassination, or even making them a double agent/turncoat at the highest levels. This could also help balance out empires with imortal leaders snowballing out of control.
10:00 That's Executor as in "Executor of a Will/Estate", or in broader terms someone who is tasked with carrying out a duty. The term you're thinking of is Executioner. Granted it is still probably a Determined Exterminator empire (not Fanatic Purifier, that is for non-Gestalt empires, the genocidal civic for Gestalts are Devouring Swarm or Terravore for Hiveminds, and Determined Extermintor for Machine Intelligence) on account of the empire name in the top left.
Side note: “executor” can also just mean someone that puts something into effect. Also would’ve been a determined exterminator, not a fanatic purifier. Just a nitpick
I wasn't sure, until I saw how the gestalt will be handled.. actually no, when I saw the picture for the example machine intelligence council. I'm sold. I don't play machines, I play hives, but.. yeah. That's amazing. Might have to touch up progenitor after this is released. Additionally I'm curious if it's fixed of if we can unlock more. Mmm, no destiny is a little sad if understandable.
Firstly: I'm curious if the text customizations and all that jazz will eventually be redone. The names for different things all being tied under a single selection can be a bummer. Secondly: "I'm not excited, you are!"
not sure how happy i am about removing scientists, the way it worked, picking the right scientist was important to reduce the rng of techs, while I personally don't want the rng itself to be gone (it should just stay managable). But let's see what comes out.
I wonder if it’s possible to send assassins to an hostile empire to kill an important leader. That could be an reason to go to war if succesful. This DLC opens up an new dimension for a already fantastic 4 x game. Can’t wait for the DLC. Great video review as always.
I hope this doesn't mean I will have to switch my planet governor with architectural sense every time I want to construct a building or district on a different planet. It was bad enough already switching them in and out to make use of it with sector wide effects
... That emotional support pet trait needs a potential "upgrade" path to something like "Small white lap-living obligate carnivore", adding some powerful red traits like "Crime lord"...
2:04 I just tried v3.9 for the first time, after a break from the game, and the Leader Screen (F5?) isn’t laggy any more. It was truly terrible in v3.8, but now it’s quite fast.
The two things I had hoped Paradox would adress are either internal politics or not making leaders bland rng stat sticks. But they just go ahead and adress both issues at once, I'm looking forward to this update
Regarding Gestalt councils, I wonder if the nodes will be affected by Leader-affecting species traits, and if yes, then how do they behave upon species modification mid-game.
I've been watching over and over looking for hidden info. At the gestalt consciousscreen, i had a realization. It is an exterminator! Their name is I'm the corner (they are the pre-made DE empire)
I'm surprised with the focus on lowering leader counts they wrapped up the three science rulers into one councilor but didn't do anything about individual leaders captaining every single science vessel. That would've been one of my first targets to eliminate given their goal (and if they're worried about sciship spam without it, they could just have a sciship cap).
A hybrid system might be worthwhile. Like not getting rid of the smaller leader positions and cutting back on total leaders, and instead giving a chance that small leaders can become these new and improved paragons
I really, really hope they expand tooltips for Civics and other choices to map out these changes. I'd like to know what council seats they unlock, for instance.
Do you want to play in Stellaris Timelines - Second Renaissance?
If the answer is yes then I have good news for you, sign-ups are now open and a draw will take place on Friday 28th April!
How will it work?
There are 20 places available for the Stellaris Timelines - Second Renaissance campaign (May 12 - 14).
Admiral, Custodian And Emperor tier supporters are guaranteed a place in Second Renaissance.
There are 2 places reserved for people that are not supporters.
All other places will be allocated by a random draw, for each tier you gain 1 entry to the draw:
Priest - 1 entry
Researcher - 2 entries
Noble - 3 entries
Executive - 4 entries
Science Director - 5 entries
The higher your supporter tier the more chance you have of playing!
You can become a supporter of the channel via Patreon: www.patreon.com/MontuPlays
or RUclips Membership
If you have any questions, ask on #timelines-general on the discord server. You can join the server here -> discord.gg/4RDKJYeKPZ
SIGN UP HERE -> forms.gle/f2Z5JWHB7HQugWsZ8
Sessions will run from the evening of Friday 12th May until the evening of Sunday 14th May:
evening sessions: 7.30pm - 11.30pm (CEST)
afternoon sessions: 2pm - 6pm (CEST)
Please make a tall tutorial after this dlc drops 🙏
Love the meme scenes at the start of your vids.
I’m really looking forward to the next Timelines!
The changes to leaders (esp. them having their own ethics/backstories) make my little RP brain very happy
I love rping in Stellaris. Now I can rp as the Romans even more accurately
I don't think I ever play without role-playing
same yes!
Same head cannons about how the council will be talking empire wide issues playing out in my head lol
Honestly I don't even know what optimization is. I just care about my sweet sweet roleplay.
I’m actually more curious about how this will affect megacorps and esp. criminal megacorps. I can only imagine that crime syndicates won’t be conforming to the usual council structure. And if espionage will have assassinate leader operations, that would make espionage a lot more fun!
crime and espionage certainly would benefit from more expansion.
Being able to assasinate another empire’s important leaders, or even making them defect(!) would be a huge increase in importance for subterfuge!!!
@@RogerValor definitely espionage is very un fleshed out.
@@emberframe6994 Feature accretion. It's quite noticeable how PDX DLC features interact very little with each other, and how old features tend to remain completely untouched for a long time after the initial post-release rush to patch out obvious bugs and exploits. Every DLC feature likes to exist in its own little capsule and not link to features from other DLC. That way, there's less need to devote testing and development time to (re)balancing old features with new interactions. At the same time, it looks like they might be cautiously moving away from this design philosophy: First Contact did make use of the Espionage feature in some stealthy interactions with primitives.
The Board Council or Council of Directors if you will. Considering the nature of a Megacorporation I imagine it’d fit really well actually
This is where the fun begins
Looking forward to your new video, "Can I beat the crisis on Grand Admiral using only leaders my patreon has picked specifically to troll me?"
@@Nemo2342 On Grand Admiral with 25x crisis strength and all three crises in a row
This is where it ends
I'm hoping for customization of the position names of the Councillors.
I hope we can edit the council seat titles as well!
This, I need this in my life
@@MontuPlays I’m hoping for espionage assassinations and new uses for “assets”
@@ekothesilent9456 or infiltration of the council, sneak someone on the council and maybe earn favors for it while the plant is there
@@cryocyte7369 ooooh! Nice. I’m currently working on a mod that adds an espionage mission that allows you to spend a military asset to attempt a battlecruiser heist of a rival.
10:04 I interpret "Executor" as just the title of the main node that executes decisions for the gestalt consciousness, not related to an "executioner" or "executing" in the other sense. See Star Craft for a handy use of Executor as a generic title, also pronounced a bit differently than you had it. That being said, those robots are the pop model for a default Determined Exterminator, so I think you're still right.
There is also the XT-487 Eliminator thing on the top left so...
Think executive branch. They simply execute the decisions and laws. Executor just means executive from Latin, loosely
it is just basically .exe file type that we have in our computers that executes stuff
Same way that Dictator used to just mean "The one who dictate orders".
I am just wildly excited because I am a hive mind player and knowing that I can now customize my leader and Council to my liking makes me feel like a mad scientist. Everyone else has to deal with RNG. But I get to be whatever the fuck I want~ HAHAHAHA!
As a tall psionic imperial player this dlc looks really exciting. Getting a Chosen One emperor with these new traits will be awesome.
with my luck my chosen one will get a bunch of negative traits
@@magmakojote1663 Philosopher King will be so good if it's not changed too much.
@@SybilantSquid philosopher king, feudal best monarchy build
@@dodojesus4529No joke, feudal might be an issue if you go beyond your new leader cap, but being tall-ish, psionic and imperial with a philosopher king chosen one is just so OP. As a materialist egalitarian that likes to create "nice" builds, I cry...😢
@@LuizAlexPhoenix I have played facist slaving monarchs or hive minds for an etenity so...yeah.
I think gestallt getting no destiny traits is just pure balance (also great from lore perspective), because they get immortal council, so it's not just gestallt not geting love.
Looking forward to the 700 trait tier list video!
The Ruler Creator, this is literally the only thing i have ever asked for in this game. No contest, best DLC for this game.
I think the Gestalt Council might play out like more lightweight traditions, possibly even with the possibility to swap them out for other focus later. Fully boxed in by other empires? Time to turn off that expansion node and boot up that exterminator node
One of those traits is definitely carrier focus, so now there is the potential for strike fighter battleships returning.
Praise the sun!
Took me some time to realize that the Veteran and Destiny traits means that leaders get stronger at a faster pace at higher levels than before. It depends on how long it takes to level up at each level, but making leaders live longer and learn faster just became a lot more important.
Meme Build expansion looks lit.
Also; Progenitors probably have normal councilors instead of Gestalt-brand, so they're not immortal, but they get the auto-levelup.
2:58 do the titles of your ministers change based on your ethics/civics? It would be cool if like, you were Warrior Culture, you would have a Polemarch instead of a Minister of Defense, or if you were a megacorp, you would have a CEO instead of a Primus. Or it would be cool just to have the ability to rename titles, on the fly, for like, flavor, you know.
I'm not sure. I hope we can rename them but I also think the ruler title changes (not the two ministers though)
@@MontuPlays We could not rename them 😞
What an exciting announcement for Stellaris. Still lots of little core changes Stellaris could use to make it better, but new content is better than nothing.
I think this will make authoritarians empire more powerful, as you won't cycling through leaders as often, and it will potentially make leader lifespan etc more important
I'm interested how heirs for Empire government type are handled with new system🤔
Thank you for being on top of these so quickly. It's much more fun to hear the notes narrated while driving or cooking than to sit down and read everything.
The leader creator is a massive step in the right direction. The ability to actually *choose* what your leader’s traits will be is simply fantastic.
This makes transcendent learning sound so much more better if they truly are going to make leaders matter
That and the other buffs to exp gain
Y'know the changes to governors made me think about Star Wars:
"The Imperial Senate will no longer concern us. I have just received word that the Emperor has dissolved the council permanently. The last remnants of the Old Republic have been swept away."
"That's impossible! How will the Emperor maintain control without the bureaucracy?"
"The regional governors now have direct control over their territories."
Im just thinking about Progenitor hives which passively gain exp and this DLC
Hives with that origin will have a massive buff
I love the asymmetry between bio and gestalt empire government, very great and much wanted feature
I wonder how unique the collectable leaders are going to be with this system. The Exile, Gray, governor robot guy etc.
I reckon ethics will matter somewhat as they'll lead into higher weights for certain traits to be given to leaders. For instance at 2:33 the governor shown is materialist, and alongside the known trait for decreased building costs, there's also a new one, which I'm just going to assume is faster mechanical pop assembly given the icon being an arm from an assembly line.
Crusader Kings 2 was my first Paradox game and still has a special place for me, so this DLC warms my imperial heart
huge update, this is huge
i had put the game aside for some time but this feels like the good time to come back,
I have to imagine Grey will be reworked into a Renowned or Legendary leader.
'Emotional Support Pet' best pop culture reference ever! Like you Montu I am rather hoping for a dogo icon :) Also as a general point looks to be a really solid well thought out DLC
One of my favorite builds has always been to make space elves who live as long as possible and reach the highest level I can manage. I'm excited to see how well my summer court in space will do when focusing on making hyper elite leaders is a viable strategy at last.
"we want you to have less leaders than before in order to make every single one of them more impactful and let you watch their career with great interest"
"now you seat a governor on each of your 15 planets, if you can afford them"
That's pretty much the one change I don't like about this.
Leaders in Stellaris always have a sweet spot in my heart. I might not ever read their name and employ and fire them like a maniac but it feels absolutely amazing when you can find that diamond among the chaff stack, all the research bonuses, make him the chosen or get his level maxed. It could be the entire reason I go synthetic so they become immortal.
Also there is a mod "Merged Leader Levels" that makes the entire feature so much better and probably inspired part of this overhaul. (Its also quite telling that the mod gives lot of changes and bonuses to rulers governors scientist and admirals but just ignores generals lol)
I really hope they allow us to edit in-game the titles of the council positions. (Ex. Allow us to rename 'Minister of Defense' to something like 'War Consul' if we wish for Roleplay purposes)
I love the theme. I am just a bit anxious about the level of interactions it implies : price of leaders to sell with vassals, curators traders raiders might be a joke since they can’t really be integrated to your empire and the new traits are far more powerful,old unique leader grey, oracle.
Can we have a mercenary enclave leader bug fixed for the leader DLC …
How the AI manages those changes ?
so, EP3o is Montu's Emotional Support Pet?
Can confirm
It's a good thing robots can't feel pain...
@@MontuPlays I wish I could ;)
So many changes I have wanted for so long, this is shaping up to be a really great dlc. I just hope the soft-cap on leaders doesn't hurt early game exploration too much, and that explorer scientists have something to do after the early-game.
This is an excellent change. I’ve enjoyed the recent “flavor packs” quite a bit but this changes a core element of the game I NEVER cared about.
Sure, I wanted a genius for science research and tried to match governors to sector outputs BUT never really cared about my leaders. A 5-10% bonus just didn’t mean a lot.
“Leader lifespan” was entirely useless and unless I was doing something goofy with my friends I never paid any attention who was in charge.
This update promises to evolve both the RP aspect of leaders AND the actual mechanics of them. That’s a GREAT implementation.
If they can actually pull off what they promise, this might be one of the best DLC periods. I’m excited.
I can only imagine the fun that will be had by people who write Stellaris fanfiction and do RP runs.
I think I'm on board with everything on display here! I can't say I'm a fan of limiting governor traits to exclusively apply to the planet they sit on since "Righteous" has always been my favorite trait to pull in the leader pool, but I suppose I can afford to build a second precinct hall on developing planets in the early game and then just replace it when I get the Hall's of Justice upgrade. Also, R.I.P me and my friend's ongoing campaigns! I booted up an hour ago not realizing the update dropped, saw the changes, and immediately dropped to desktop like it's hot to check your channel so I would actually know that the heck I'm doing.
Thanks for the thorough exploration Montu!!!! Now I can awaken even further depths of my inner micromanager!
I wonder if the development of Age of Wonders 4 inspired any of this. The timing is interesting with that game (4X having a focus on faction and leader customization) coming out May 2nd
Way late to the party, but this update actually got me to like imperial governments. It’s very fun for me to have a particular council position traditionally filled by the heir. It gives imperial governments a sense of continuity and stability they didn’t have before. (And conversely, democratic ones feel very much in flux sometimes, with sometimes a new ruler being elected meaning multiple council positions needing to be reshuffled.)
Imagin the potential of multiplayer empires with detailed leader from a roleplay perspective
now we can imagine games where every leader is played by a player, maybe the majority can choose if one should go when the need arise to replace one with another, pushing you to chose between beter bonuses or the charisma and skills of the current ministry of desfense when it comes to fleet battles... and by the way it would means more potential players in events such as... idk... second renaissance ? 😗
Thanks for the summary of the new stuff. Nicely done as always.
Imagine what a hell it would be for Montu to create a tier list of 700 leader traits ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
I wonder if we still need researchers for science ships?
I also wonder why they removed all the individual science positions. It might have been interesting to have some type of hierarchy where the 3 old ones sat under the new council position even if they simplified those leaders like they do with envoys.
This is definitely looking interesting though. They're adding ideas from their other games with every update and making Stellaris one of their most versatile games.
Thanks for the in-depth video Montu! Would you consider making shorter breakdowns for folks like me who love your channel but need a quick announcement breakdown?
I wonder if fear of the dark and the galacic emperor will give you another council memeber for the extra civics they give
I am LOVING this overhaul to leaders, both free and DLC. Everything about it sounds great, even if leaders are capped like starbasses.
What's interesting with how they've described with Gestalt Consciousness councils is that they're not tied into civics like normal empires. Where a normal empire can have up to 6 council positions, one for each civic they have (though they have to unlock the extra council seats and research the third civic slot as well), the gestalt consciousness is locked at 5. However, unless I'm mistaken, they seem to potentially start the game at those 5 (the immortal ruler and 4 nodes), but those nodes are static and need to be upgraded with care because those nodes are presumably static/permanent and can't be swapped like normal councilors can. Still, it plays into that core fantasy of designing the central system that controls the empire; you have one super ruler instead of 3-6 councilors. Progenitor Hive could be really, really fun with this, though perhaps with this leader rework, things like Progenitor Hive and Feudal Society will likely be seeing changes now that leaders are more powerful. Zero upkeep leaders sounds like it might be too good with this, as presumably going over your leader cap increases their upkeep cost, which would make Feudal Societ as it stands now an effective removal of said cap. I liked the negated ruler upkeep from that civic, so I'm really curious to see how they change it, because I can't imagine it remains unchanged.
The existence of sector governors and planetary governors is an interesting one as well, as only the leader level bonus applies sector-wide (which I think primarily effects crime/devianace), but now each planet can have a planetary governor whose leader level overrides the sector governor, but applies their traits to the planet, so low every planet can have a governor specialized to the production type of that planet, so you can have planet classification and governor traits doubling up on planets for maximum benefit. However, I'd wager having a specialized governor for every planet is one of those things likely to set you over your leader cap.
P.S. Executor is not another term for executioner. Executor is more like "executing a plan" than "executing a person", so closer to an executive. However, as the unit is named XT-489 Exterminator, they likely are a Fanatic Purifier empire still. Also, I'm pretty sure Arrested Development changed somewhere down the line, where it's something like -2 leader level instead of -100/0% experience game, so if you have enough leader level cap bonuses you can overcome it, but if all leaders go to 10 from the get go with the update, I wonder what Arrested Development will do now?
I want to see a civic for gestalt consciousnesses that is something like "Semi-independant leaders" that enables more of the leader/concil effects for gestalt conciousnesses, I think that would preserve the gestalt fantasy while still enabling players to make full use of the new leader mechanics.
Super interesting, one of my recent single player games was basically a build geared towards maximizing leaders by trying to get as many additional traits as possible (whilst lengthening leader lifespan as much as i could)
Might be more powerful and controllable with a bit more choice at play
I was really afraid that Hive/Collective Consciousness were not going to receive anything. Maybe a bit silly of my part but this is relieving.
Can’t wait to try Progenitor Hive along with the new Sector Editor! 🎉
I'm kind of spooked to see how this will affect explorer scientists in the beginning.
"It's over 9000!" it's a reference to Dragon Ball, when Vegeta analizes Goku's power.
The ability to specialize leaders at start may help take somewhat powerful niche builds into the stratosphere. Just checked out Lathland’s angler idyll baol run, and while baol in Mp is unlikely, starting with a thrifty agrarian leader could get its benefits much quicker. Imagine a build where farmers are … good?
Personally I have mixed feelings. For one I like the changes, but on the other hand, I use a couple of mods that give cutsom leaders, so Ill have less of them/less with high levels. Also have to wait weeks/months until the mods are updated, since they added a lot of custom traits and systems, that will probably have to be changed.
I like how Paradox "steals" features from their own games, this one is clearly inspired by CK. Honestly, it's a good thing they're exploiting that synergy, as long as it makes sense.
With Xeno-Mediator, Xeno-Compatibility is about to be meta, at the risk of your computer imploding.
After the initial announcement, I was actually afraid that it was yet another dlc where machine empires were largely ignored. Glad to hear that we'll be getting some love.
Same
Honestly, I do like the idea of head of research, however having other scientific groups and they leaders.
Like, science is about understanding things better by using a solid methodology, so anyone can do it.
However I do understand that having 3 scientist does not help to them feeling impactful and increase the micromanagement.
Still, it would be interesting if the game have some events around science, like planets scientist having a head to head competition on something or they presenting a expensive proposal that we are better off choosing one, event one leader having their chime in.
Just like spaceship scientist have their own details, it would feel quite unique if the game keep tracking them and their history and what they do better.
Seeing a full video full of clips of the best avian portrait makes my chicken brain happy.
they should really make some biological shipset, all the hive and swarm kind o games really die down with those slick ship desgin we have now
Dear Paradox!
Please make Envoys a separate leaders as well, so that their levels would matter, and they death would have an impact.
It would've been cool to have to pay attention what type of individual represents your empire in any sort of diplomacy.
May be tie-up envoys` levels and their traits to bonuses/debuffs based on opposing side's ethics? (so, strong envoy would be a great friend to militarists, while one with AI assistant will angry Spiritiulists, etc.)
Now is the time! :D
Well, I can definitely say, that after this update, I now have more questions than before. For example, do we still need scientists to survey systems? Do we still need archaeologists? And also, though I understand that we save on multiple clicks if we really wish to switch scientists per research choice, do we really achieve the more-choice dogma by having a single scientist leader? Still, excellent Dev Diary, let's see for more info on the next one... @Montu Plays : Would you have any info on whether the DLC affects also Envoys? It would be a perfectly fine opportunity to upgrade them to proper leaders.
P.S.: Since we are going full Crusader Kings here, I guess we could also do with a master of spies in the council...
Can I make President MontUwU the best president of the galaxy?
Please god no
Not crazy about losing the researcher per category, since that was a way to help influence the tech RNG
I'm already interested in how the Gray's and other event leaders new traits look like.
"Leaders should be more important so there have to be fewer of them."
Creates more leader positions than there were before.
I'd really like to see some of the old portraits get some love like they did with the humans a few years ago. Some of them look a bit shit at the moment.
I'm torn because on one hand, I know Stellaris 2 will be a typical paradox release and being lacking in features on launch, but on the other hand, I desperately want a new/upgraded engine. The mid-late game slowdown is ridiculous and I have a pretty good PC, I can't imagine what it's like for those closer to the minimum system requirements
The gestalt screen is the purifiers, look at the name in the top left corner. Though you got the pronunciation and meaning of the word executor wrong. Exec-utor, a type of leader/ruler, often the highest in their position. My favorite notable example is Executor Selendis of StarCraft 2, who is the grand admiral of the Protoss factions’ golden armada.
Listening to Montu, ad break, Galactic Paragon trailer for the ad.
That's prett funny 🤣
genuinely hyped for this, though I do worry about how this will work for empires with short lived leaders such as overtuned or clone army.
seeing as how this system is suppose to streamline leaders, yet give a ton of customization option at set intervals.
also, with how leaders level over time at the moment, having them level at the same speed as they do now might not be great, considering it can take well over 80 years for some leaders to reach level 10, if they can at all.
this sounds pretty great. But that fighting bird montage really made me want a ground battle rework.
This leader rework and council system is something I've wanted add to the game for a very long time. Now I just want more extra galactic clusters and Maga project star fortresses and I'd be happy
I like how when “apply to the planet that leader directly sits on” we are shown ring world
With how much more powerful leaders are becoming, I could definitely see an expansion of the espionage system (either in this DLC or a future one) allowing you to mess with another empire's leaders. These could include things like temporarily incapacitating them, forcing them to take a negative trait, full blown assassination, or even making them a double agent/turncoat at the highest levels. This could also help balance out empires with imortal leaders snowballing out of control.
10:00 That's Executor as in "Executor of a Will/Estate", or in broader terms someone who is tasked with carrying out a duty. The term you're thinking of is Executioner. Granted it is still probably a Determined Exterminator empire (not Fanatic Purifier, that is for non-Gestalt empires, the genocidal civic for Gestalts are Devouring Swarm or Terravore for Hiveminds, and Determined Extermintor for Machine Intelligence) on account of the empire name in the top left.
The Xeno Mediator trait is going to be perfect for the Broken Shackles origin.
Side note: “executor” can also just mean someone that puts something into effect. Also would’ve been a determined exterminator, not a fanatic purifier. Just a nitpick
I wasn't sure, until I saw how the gestalt will be handled.. actually no, when I saw the picture for the example machine intelligence council. I'm sold. I don't play machines, I play hives, but.. yeah. That's amazing.
Might have to touch up progenitor after this is released. Additionally I'm curious if it's fixed of if we can unlock more. Mmm, no destiny is a little sad if understandable.
I wonder if the special event faction will give a good leader. The manifesto that can sometimes show up in a game.
bro- i just want a timeline chart of my leaders- when they were hired, what they led, when they were inactive, traits, dob dod age at death
Firstly: I'm curious if the text customizations and all that jazz will eventually be redone. The names for different things all being tied under a single selection can be a bummer.
Secondly: "I'm not excited, you are!"
not sure how happy i am about removing scientists, the way it worked, picking the right scientist was important to reduce the rng of techs, while I personally don't want the rng itself to be gone (it should just stay managable). But let's see what comes out.
I wonder if it’s possible to send assassins to an hostile empire to kill an important leader. That could be an reason to go to war if succesful.
This DLC opens up an new dimension for a already fantastic 4 x game. Can’t wait for the DLC. Great video review as always.
I hope this doesn't mean I will have to switch my planet governor with architectural sense every time I want to construct a building or district on a different planet. It was bad enough already switching them in and out to make use of it with sector wide effects
... That emotional support pet trait needs a potential "upgrade" path to something like "Small white lap-living obligate carnivore", adding some powerful red traits like "Crime lord"...
2:04 I just tried v3.9 for the first time, after a break from the game, and the Leader Screen (F5?) isn’t laggy any more. It was truly terrible in v3.8, but now it’s quite fast.
As a Tall play style lobbyst I liked the video.
The two things I had hoped Paradox would adress are either internal politics or not making leaders bland rng stat sticks. But they just go ahead and adress both issues at once, I'm looking forward to this update
I can't wait to see all the new artwork, plus they said there would be new ships? Sounds like a must have DLC!
Regarding Gestalt councils, I wonder if the nodes will be affected by Leader-affecting species traits, and if yes, then how do they behave upon species modification mid-game.
Thank God about the Scientist/Reaearcher reduction. The kind of granularity/variety we currently have only matters when they die.
I've been watching over and over looking for hidden info. At the gestalt consciousscreen, i had a realization. It is an exterminator! Their name is I'm the corner (they are the pre-made DE empire)
Now this... is absolutely fantastic change in running an empire !!!!
I can’t wait to see what the council of a custodian or emperor looks like.
I'm surprised with the focus on lowering leader counts they wrapped up the three science rulers into one councilor but didn't do anything about individual leaders captaining every single science vessel. That would've been one of my first targets to eliminate given their goal (and if they're worried about sciship spam without it, they could just have a sciship cap).
A hybrid system might be worthwhile. Like not getting rid of the smaller leader positions and cutting back on total leaders, and instead giving a chance that small leaders can become these new and improved paragons
I really, really hope they expand tooltips for Civics and other choices to map out these changes. I'd like to know what council seats they unlock, for instance.