Without a shadow of a doubt, the Mega-Engineering technology is one of the most important research techs you will unlock in Stellaris. Without it, your empire will lack the key to the next level of power.
Unlocking this tech is not as simple as it seems. Due to the game dubbing it as rare; you either have to be lucky or know how to make your own luck. If you play the game long enough, you will unlock it. But the earlier you can get your hands on it, the sooner you can get ahead.
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This guide will teach you about what mega-engineering is and will feature some great tips to improve your odds of an early unlock. This guide will not feature anything to do with megastructures, but there is a great guide for that here on Gamer Empire already, so go check it out.
You unlock Mega-Engineering in Stellaris by researching it in the engineering tech tree. The technology has a rare classification, making the chances of unlocking it low. Stacking modifiers to increase your odds of rolling it as an option is the best way to get it early.
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How to Get Mega-Engineering in Stellaris
Unlocking mega-engineering can be as simple as waiting for it to become an option. That makes for an unsatisfying guide, and Stellaris wouldn’t be Stellaris if there wasn’t a way to stack the deck in your favor.
When you are offered a research project in Stellaris, you may believe that the game provides you with random choices.
While there is an element of random, in reality, the game is doing quite a bit of maths in the background to choose the projects you get to research.
All the tech in the game has an assigned tier. The more advanced a technology is, the higher the tier.
The game will not allow you to have a chance at researching a tech from a higher tier until enough tech from the previous tier gets researched.
Of course, the tech we care about in this guide is a tier-five technology. This means it will not become available until quite late in a play-through. There is another problem, the techs from each tier do not have an equal chance to appear either.
The rarer a research project is, the less likely the game is to offer it as a choice. Mega-engineering has one of the lowest base chances in the game.
What is Mega-Engineering
Before I explain how to get mega-engineering sooner, it would serve you well to know what all this effort will get you. Believe me. The effort is more than worth it.
The biggest prize is, of course, the opportunity to build megastructures. My favorite game mechanic and the best way to take you from fledging empire to a galactic powerhouse.
Whatever problem you have in Stellaris; be it research, politics, or resources. There is a megastructure in the game that will fix that problem for you.
I should mention that mega-engineering won’t let you build megastructures on its own. Completing mega-engineering is only your first step to building these behemoths.
If your empire contains a ruined megastructure, mega-engineering will let you repair it. This lets you circumvent the need of researching the structure-specific project.
There is one final benefit, which isn’t as good. The upgrade in material resource storage capacity. Mega-engineering provides an immediate twenty thousand material resource storage.
While not a groundbreaking upgrade, it is still a handy bonus nonetheless.
How to Unlock Mega-Engineering Faster
This may go without saying, but the best way to get mega-engineering sooner is to research more projects. Gross over-simplification aside, let me explain why.
Every time you complete a research project, the game draws you a set of new projects to choose from. Every time the game does this is an extra shot at rolling the tech you want. So the faster your empire can research, the more chances they get.
The other reason why fast research is great is the prerequisite techs you need. Mega-engineering will not become a potential project without first unlocking the Citadel, Zero Point Power, and the Battleship technologies.
High resource production will enable your empire to rush these later game techs. Never forget, research is king in Stellaris, and you should be making it a high priority anyway, especially so, if you want mega-engineering.
Increase the Odds of Unlocking Mega-Engineering
As I said earlier in the guide, every tech has a base chance of becoming an available research project. The mathematics behind how the game works this out is beyond the scope of this guide. Instead, I will keep it as simple as I can.
The rarer techs are less likely it is to be selected as an option. What we, as players, can do, is increase the chance of rarer projects appearing.
You can do this with; ruler traits, ascension perks, joining federations, and the technology your neighbor has.
The easiest way to improve your chances is by appointing a scientist to the council with the best traits. The ruler traits that improve the chances of getting mega-engineering are; Expertise: Voidcraft and Curator.
Voidcraft can be on any scientist ruler. Curator can only be on a scientist hired from the curator enclave for 1000 energy credits. They also research faster, so it is a well worthwhile investment.
There is one ascension perk that can increase your odds of rolling rare techs. For me, this perk is a must-include in any empire. That perk is, of course, technological ascendency.
It is too good to pass up on; a 10 percent increase in research speed and a whopping 50 percent increase in rare technology chance. Every empire needs this perk.
Next is the research cooperative federation. You will need to own the federations DLC to make use of this method. You will need to either form your own or you can join an existing one.
When the federation reaches level three, the odds of rolling rare technology are doubled. Not only that, you will have a host of allies devoted to scientific advancement too.
If an empire you border has mega-engineering unlocked. The odds of rolling it are doubled. This is impossible to reliably farm, so you shouldn’t rely on it.
Saving the best for last, I have one last extra method. It is the ruined megastructure hunt. If a megastructure of any kind, and in any condition, is within your borders; your odds of rolling mega-engineering improve by 2000 percent.
Spotting one of these in the galaxy is rare, but if you do, you should make a rush for it. Getting lucky, with the Cybrex as your precursor empire event chain, is a free pass to this bonus.
The end reward is a system containing a ring world megastructure, which will give you this benefit.
That is everything you need to know about how to get mega-engineering in Stellaris.
If you have any questions or suggestions for this guide, please let us know in the comments section below. As always, have fun researching mega-engineering in Stellaris.
