Discover how to find, collect, and display rare relics and artifacts in Stellaris. Learn about their rarities, sources, and the benefits they provide to your empire.
The Collection in Stellaris allows your empire to gather and display unique specimens obtained through events and discoveries. These specimens can provide various benefits and are essential for certain empire-building strategies. This guide covers how to acquire them, manage your collection, and understand their impact.
- 1Acquire Specimens: Specimens are primarily obtained through in-game events and discoveries. Some may also be acquired through trade with other empires.
- 2Unlock Galactic Archivism: Shortly after collecting your first specimen, you can spend 1000 Energy Credits to unlock the Galactic Archivism technology as a research option with 50% progress. This technology is required to display specimens.
- 3Build a Grand Archive: Construct the Grand Archive megastructure to house your collected specimens. This megastructure has an Energy upkeep that scales with your Empire Size.
- 4Display Specimens: You can display up to 9 specimens from each category (Aesthetic Wonders, Galactic History, Xeno Geology) in designated exhibit slots. An additional 18 specimens of any category can be stored.
- 5Manage Storage: If your storage is full, newly collected specimens will be automatically sold. You can configure the storage to automatically sell specimens of a certain rarity.
- 6Protect Your Collection: If the starbase in the system containing your Grand Archive is occupied, your specimens are at risk. They can be stolen, and the megastructure can be destroyed. The Barbaric Despoilers civic increases the number of specimens that can be stolen.
- Specimens come in four rarities: Common, Rare, Epic, and Exceptional. Higher rarities offer greater benefits but also have higher Energy upkeep and sell values.
- The cost to unlock exhibit slots increases with each slot unlocked within a category.
- Genocidal empires gain Unity when unlocking 3, 5, and 9 exhibit slots from each category.
- Trading specimens with other empires is possible, with acceptance depending on the specimen's rarity.
- If a specimen is obtained via trade, you will not receive another copy if it's found normally later.
Displaying specimens can provide empire-wide bonuses depending on their type and rarity, such as increased Trade value or Energy from Jobs. The Grand Archive megastructure itself offers benefits, though it comes with an Energy upkeep cost.
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