Science ships are the most important ships in the early game. They survey galaxies, discover anomalies, scout, and assist in your research.
You start the game with one Science ship, and it comes with a starting scientist too. If you are new to the game, using one ship is fine for the first few years as you begin exploring the galaxy. After some time has passed, you would do well to construct more.
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Science ships are one of the three civilian class ships in the game. Civilian ships have no weapons, so you will have to ensure you keep them away from the threats out in the galaxy.
Civilian ships get built at any star base that has the Shipyard module installed. They cost alloys to build.
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How to Build a Science Ship in Stellaris
A science ship is your best way to explore the galaxy around you when you start the game. You cannot build starbases in other systems and expand until a science ship surveys them.
Building extra ships is easy and completed with a few quick button presses. The first thing you will need is a starbase with a shipyard installed.
If you don’t know if your starbase has a shipyard, don’t worry. Your home starbase comes with one pre-installed, so check there.
If you already have a few starbases built, on the right-hand side of the interface is the outlier menu. This powerful tool helps makes managing your empire a breeze.
One of the tabs of the menu, named Shipyards, lists every starbase you have with one installed.
Clicking on a starbase opens the starbase interaction menu. At the bottom of the menu, you can find the shipyard tab highlighted green. Clicking on this will give you a list of all the ships you can currently build.
Select the science ship, and your starbase will begin construction straight away. When complete, it will appear in orbit around that station, waiting for orders.
Anything you research that improves your ships, such as; faster thrusters, better shields, etc., are automatically applied when unlocked. All upgrades applied this way are free of charge.
You will only ever need to build a handful of these ships throughout an entire playthrough.
Science ships often get themselves into trouble while they are out exploring the galaxy, so knowing how to replace them is key to finishing your exploration.
This is everything you need to know about building science ships in Stellaris.
If you have any questions or suggestions relating to this guide, please let us know in the comment section below. Have fun sending scientists to face the horrors of the galaxy alone.
