Every empire has to start somewhere in Stellaris, and yours is no different. One of the coolest and most impactful choices you will make in Stellaris is choosing an origin. A question I hear from a lot of new players is; what are the best origins to choose from in Stellaris?
Asking which origin is the best is a complicated question. It depends on what you want from your playthrough. Do you want to min-max and power game your way to galactic dominance? Or do you want to inject more story into your game?
Recommended Read: How to Become the Galactic Emperor in Stellaris
After deciding the kind of game you want, a careful read of each origin will help you make the right decision. Be aware; most of the origins in the game provide unique and powerful bonuses to your empire. Some make the game harder, and new players should avoid these origins until they are ready.
The best origin in Stellaris is the one that fits your playstyle and your empire’s strengths and or flavor. Get more information below to find the one that suits you.
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What Are the Best Origins in Stellaris
There isn’t a one size fits all solution to choosing the best origin in Stellaris. There is also nothing wrong with picking an origin that sounds cool, this is what most players do, and it works for them.
Not all origins are equal, and if you would like a more informed decision, then you are in the right place.
When selecting the best origin, you want to be considering at least one of these three things:
- It will make your empire stronger.
- It will add story elements to your empire that you would like to explore.
- It will make the game harder.
There are many things you could consider when choosing an origin. If the one you pick satisfies one or more of these points, you have yourself a good origin.
Best Origins for Making Your Empire Stronger
Selecting an origin that makes you stronger is a surefire way to make the game easier for yourself. This could be in the form of resource production, allies, research, or planets, to name a few.
No origin in the game has the power to make you an unstoppable force, though one does come close. What a strong start origin does do, is make becoming that unstoppable force a much easier process.
The early game rush is so important in high-difficulty games. So choosing an origin that gives you the best possible start is the best way to give your empire a chance at victory.
The origins to choose for the best possible start in Stellaris are as follows:
- Scion. The best origin for the struggling beginner by far. This origin makes your empire vassal to a Fallen Empire. Having a powerful overlord like this in your corner is no joke. Every few decades, they will bestow boons upon your empire. This could be in the form of resources or even ships. Not only that, but your sugar daddy will come to your aid if it looks like you are losing a war. Calling in a fallen empire to an early game war is the equivalent of bringing a tank to a knife fight. This origin will trivialize a lot of challenges in the game, but easy mode is a valid playstyle too. This Origin requires the Federations DLC to play.
- Hegemon. Victory in Stellaris these days often goes to the leader of the largest federation. Unlocking and forming a federation isn’t easy unless you decide to start the game as one. Hegemon origin has your empire start as the president of a three-empire-strong federation. Though not the same as a fallen empire in your back pocket, two allied empires are nothing to scoff at. You will start with the diplomacy tradition tree unlocked and federations unlocked too. This requires the Federations DLC to play.
- Ocean Paradise/Life Seeded. I am putting these together as they are more or less the same origin. You will begin the game on a size 30 planet that contains a lot of bonuses. A size 30 world’s potential is often underestimated. These large planets can carry an empire through half a full playthrough alone. Players who enjoy playing tall love these origins. These origins will require the Aquatics DLC or Apocalypse DLC, respectively.
- Teachers of the Shroud. If you ask me, Teachers of the Shroud is so busted, it is a joke, and I would remove it from the game. I’m not in charge of game balancing in Stellaris, though, so it is still here, and we may as well make use of it. This origin gives you the Mind Over Matter Ascension Perk for free at the start of the game. This doesn’t go towards the usual 10 perks, so you can have 11 in total. Ascension perks provide the most powerful bonuses in the game, and this origin hands you one of the best of them at the very beginning. Your species will start the game as latent psionics, boosting your unity and research. You can even be communicating with the shroud before you even meet any aliens. The only price is you can’t unlock any other ascension path perks. The strength of this origin is off the charts. If losing Stellaris games isn’t your jam take this origin. You’ll soon be tired of winning. This origin requires the Overlord DLC to play.
- Shattered Ring. Ringworlds are a late-game megastructure that can take almost a full game to unlock. You can skip all that hassle by taking this origin. Instead of starting on a planet, you will begin your game on a shattered ringworld. Ringworlds are stronger than planets because of the districts you can build on them. Your starter species will only be able to live on ringworlds, though. Luckily the strength of the Ringworld makes this cost worth it. This requires the Federations DLC to play.
Best Origins for Adding Story to Stellaris
If you have been playing Stellaris long, it can sometimes feel like you are going through the motions. Especially in the early days when empires were only differentiated by their ethics. Now that origins exist, we have the power to make our empires feel unique.
The game developers have seen fit to add origins that add some roleplay elements to your empire. While none of these will turn Stellaris into a brand-new experience, they are a nice change of pace to the game.
The following is a list of the best origins to choose if you are looking to add a more story-rich experience to Stellaris:
- There be Dragons. The coolest origin because it gives you space dragons. You read that right. This origin gives you an allied Sky Dragon in your home system. This dragon will protect your capital from invaders. The recommended fleet power to take on space dragons is 30-50 thousand. So no one will be messing with your home base any time soon. There are some cool story moments that come with this origin, but I will leave them for you to discover on your own. you have to own the Aquatics DLC to play this origin.
- Clone Army. This could also be in the stronger Empire section, as it is a very strong start. For a long while, this was considered one of the best origins to choose in Stellaris by far. Your species are clones that can only make more pops by using cloning vats. Your clone species has no clue where they came from or who made them, but they plan to find out. I can’t go into much more detail here as I don’t want to spoil the story. You just need to know there are some tough decisions you will have to make. This origin requires the Humanoids DLC to play.
- Under One Rule. This is the latest origin that came with the Galactic Paragons DLC. This origin will start you off with a powerful ruler that rules over your empire with an iron fist. After some time in the game, the Unifying Purpose situation will trigger. Your decisions and actions will forever change the future of your empire. This expansion is all about showing off the Galactic Paragons’ features. it is all about teaching the new leader mechanics added in the latest patch (3.7).
Best Origins for Making Stellaris Harder
Think you are good at Stellaris? Looking for your next challenge? In Stellaris, sometimes the best origins to choose are the ones that will give you a greater challenge.
The challenge can come in the form of story play elements or taking an origin that is plain bad. the best origins for making the game harder are:
- Doomsday. Your empire’s planet is going to explode. The only way your empire can survive this apocalyptic event is by finding a new world to call home. Here is the kicker; there are no guaranteed worlds spawned near your empire. You will have to explore fast and have to fight for your new planet. What’s worse is as your planet dies, its production potential and pop happiness fall. Those who want to shake up the slower early-game experience should try out this origin. You need the Federations DLC to play this origin.
- Galactic Doorstep. This is the most useless origin in the game. It provides zero bonuses or cool story beats for your empire at the beginning. You start with a dormant gateway in your starting system. That is it. One event will trigger at some point in the future and give you some borderline useless rewards. Sure, you can unlock gateways a little bit earlier, but having one next to your capital is a big risk. Later in the game, any empire that has gateway technology has a back door straight to your capital. The AI isn’t as stupid as it used to be, and it will know how to push this advantage. You sacrifice many benefits taking this origin; that is what makes it a harder start. If you want to make the game a little bit harder for yourself and have no DLC, this is the origin to try.
- Slingshot to the Stars. Much like Galactic Doorstep, this origin gifts you a ruined megastructure in your home system. The megastructure in question is a Quantum Catapult. This origin lets you build a Quantum Catapult much earlier than in a different game. The cost is a lot cheaper than the normal approach, but there are better things you can spend resources on. You forgo a lot of benefits, and your only reward is a resource sink, which provides very niche benefits. If you think the Quantum Catapult is cool and want to get it as soon as possible, this is the origin you should take. The Overlord DLC is required to play this origin.
After all of this advice, you may still be struggling to pick an origin for your empire. If that is the case, I have one more piece of advice to share.
The Prosperous Unification origin is a “vanilla” start in Stellaris. Years ago, all empires received the same starting benefits at the start of the game. The prosperous Unification origin is a clone of those origins. No DLC is required to play this origin either, and it is a very decent start.
If you are looking for a strong origin to play, this should be what you compare it to. Origins that are superior to Prosperous Unification are considered strong. An origin is classed as poor in the meta if it is weaker than Prosperous Unification.
This has been a list of the best origins to choose when you play Stellaris.
Do you agree or disagree with my list? Let us know in the comments section below. Remember to never forget your empire’s roots when playing Stellaris.
