Best Stellaris DLCs

Summary

• Stellaris DLCs add new features and enhance gameplay, improving the overall quality-of-life and replayability of the game.
• DLCs like Nemesis and Overlord add depth to politics and gameplay, while MegaCorp focuses on corporations and their impact on the galaxy.
• Federations and Utopia expand on politics, diplomacy, and construction options, allowing players to shape and customize their space civilizations.

As a Paradox Interactive game, players can expect Stellaris to have many downloadable content packages that enrich the game further by adding many new intuitive and exciting features, improving quality-of-life, and offering story packs that enhance the already rich lore of the game itself. Furthermore, these DLCs also increase the replayability value of the game, which is great considering that the game was released back in 2016.

Although most of the downloadable content for Stellaris has been critically acclaimed and labeled as ‘must-haves,’ there will be some content that is more preferred and praised than others due to many factors, such as its additions to the base game and lore implications.

Updated on April 4, 2025, by Mehrdad Khayyat: Stellaris is one of the most successful strategy games by Paradox Interactive that has been receiving new content updates and expansions for more than a decade now.

The community just loves this game, and the developers never run out of new creative ideas to inject into this experience. Stellaris already has a detailed roadmap for new expansions coming in 2025, but it’s still worth it to overview all that has been released so far.

16

Cosmic Storms (Mechanical Expansion)

Steam User Rating: 26% (Out Of 499 Reviews)

• Adds up to 8 new storm types that players can engage with.
• Adds one new origin and 3 new Civics related to the cosmic storms.
• Adds a new map mode, new technologies, and Edicts.

Cosmic Storms is the first content drop in 2025, and it’s safe to say that the community just didn’t like what it delivered to the game. Cosmic Storms adds new types of storms to the game’s universe, which causes players new challenges as they need to keep their empires safe.

Storms come in different natures, which makes their effect on the empires and troops different. They can severely interrupt the battles or postpone a player’s plans for the future, but some players just seem not to like what it delivers in the end.

Cosmic Storms is probably too light in the content that it delivers. Other than that, the storms seem to be only useful when the player uses the origin offered with the expansion, and that completely blocks any creative approaches towards this natural phenomenon.

15

Astral Planes

Steam User Rating: 28% (Out Of 1,032 Reviews)

• Adds new powerful Relics that can enable the empire to dominate the galaxy
• Adds the unique Astral Planes for players to explore, unlocking Astral Actions in the process
• Adds new story events with branching narratives

Although the Steam user rating might not be impressive, Astral Planes can be defined as a Stellaris DLC that is worth acquiring due to its addition of powerful Relics and unique Astral Planes with branching narratives. The new Relics themselves enable the player to enhance their empire to another level, as one of them enables the empire’s leader to become immortal, for example.

Moreover, the explorable Astral Rifts also enable the player to acquire new unique powers in the form of Relics, technologies, and even powerful armies to unleash on the enemy. As a result of exploring these Astral Planes, players will also acquire the means to execute Astral Actions, which are powerful in their own ways as well.

14

Nemesis

Steam User Rating: 41% (Out Of 1,544 Reviews)

• Adds new special Become the Crisis Ascension Perk
• Adds the possibility of becoming either the Galactic Custodian or forming a new Galactic Imperium
• Expands the Espionage Mechanic

This particular DLC adds more depth to the politics, gameplay, and endgame for players to try. One of its notable additions was the ‘Become The Crisis’ ascension perk, which allows the player to become a Crisis themselves and try to bring an end to the galaxy in order to “ascend the mortal coil.”

This downloadable content also brings with it new endgame flavors by adding the option to become the ‘Galactic Custodian,’ countering any Crisis that threatens the galaxy, be it an extradimensional hunter or an upstart empire trying to extinguish all life.

Steam User Rating: 43% (Out Of 485 Reviews)

• Adds 3 new Origins with the theme of making first contact with other visitors of the universe.
• Adds Cloaking Technology as an advanced to survey secretly.
• Adds new interaction options with pre-FTL civilizations.

First Contact is one of those story packs that got the community divided. The biggest debate in First Contact is about the new Cloaking tech, which allows ships to survey and gather intel while being unnoticed.

Some players found the device quite overpowered, which made the enemy attacks almost unpredictable and challenging. On the multiplayer side, however, players found Cloaking almost useless, as the tech was too important that all players would focus on discovering it and its counter in the shortest amount of time, which made using it non-beneficial.

Aside from the Cloaking tech, the new origins were widely welcomed by the players, as they introduced some amazing ways to start a new adventure in the space.

12

Overlord

Steam User Rating: 50% (Out Of 1,222 Reviews)

• Adds more subject types to specialize vassals into new roles
• Adds scattered empires and enclaves with unique encounters for each of them
• Adds five new Origins
• Adds new advanced technologies (Orbital Rings, Quantum Catapults, Hyper Relays)

Politics in Stellaris has always been one of the main focuses that the player wants to engage with, and Stellaris: Overlord does the trick by adding several new options for players to either befriend or become the ‘overlord’ of their enemies in the galaxy.

New mechanics for diplomacy are added to ensure that the player has several options when engaging with other empires. In addition, new origins for their space-faring civilization and additional construction options such as Orbital Rings and Quantum Catapults also became the main focus of this DLC.

11

MegaCorp

Steam User Rating: 56% (Out Of 1,122 Reviews)

• Adds the possibility of becoming a MegaCorp empire
• Enables the extremely powerful Ecumenopolis world-type
• Adds Caravaneer Fleets that can trade resources and other unique interactions
• Adds more megastructures (Matter Decompressor, Mega-Art Installation, and Strategic Coordination Center)
• Adds the option to buy and sell slaves in the Galactic Market
• Adds new Ascension Perks

To simulate the ever-growing threat of corporations taking over an entire world or even the galaxy for the sole purpose of profit, Paradox Interactive created the DLC Stellaris: MegaCorp. With it, players are able to either roleplay as a humongous corporation or a criminal syndicate in the form of government types to gain an upper hand against other empires in the galaxy.

In addition to the new unique government types, the DLC also adds an option for the player to turn an entire planet into an ‘Ecumenopolis,’ a highly efficient and productive planet specialized in developing products at the cost of stripping the planet of its natural resources.

10

Galactic Paragons

Steam User Rating: 58% (Out Of 913 Reviews)

• Adds Council Mechanics to the government
• Adds new features to enhance Leaders and shape them according to the empire’s needs
• Adds Galactic Paragons, unique leaders with their own strengths and weaknesses
• Adds new Traditions, Civics, Leader Traits, and story content

Galactic Paragons adds numerous gameplay revamps that make the game fresh both for newcomers and returning veterans alike. The new Council Mechanics and Paragons add a new twist to the leader system, which might have been obsolete and tedious in the past.

Furthermore, the DLC also adds several new traditions and civics to increase the variety of gameplay for players to try out when attempting to take control of the whole galaxy for themselves.

9

Apocalypse

Steam User Rating: 63% (Out Of 1,456 Reviews)

• Adds the possibility of destroying planets via Colossus
• Adds the new powerful Titan-class ship type
• Adds Ion cannons, powerful defensive modules
• Adds Marauders that can be hired in the early game and become a mid-game crisis
• Adds new Civics and Ascension Perks

A slowdown in performance can always be expected in Stellaris due to the increased number of simulated populations and worlds across the galaxy controlled by human players and AI alike. One of the solutions provided by Paradox Interactive was to simply add the option to crack those worlds to gain a huge amount of passive resources with the addition of Stellaris: Apocalypse.

This DLC enables empires in the galaxy to construct a ‘Colossus’ – a planet-killer weapon in the form of a humongous spaceship, while also adding the option to build flagships in the form of ‘Titans’ to lead their fleet in conquering the galaxy.

8

Distant Stars (Story Pack)

Steam User Rating: 64% (Out Of 540 Reviews)

• Adds more storyline content
• Adds new solar systems with their unique storyline
• Adds numerous anomalies

The Stellaris: Distant Stars DLC adds several new storylines for players to explore in the form of multiple anomalies and other in-game events. Furthermore, it also adds new random events, like abandoned Gateways that can be reactivated to gain the upper hand when exploring the galaxy.

One of the most praised additions of the DLC would be the L-Clusters, which offer a chance for the player to either unlock a treasure trove of hidden worlds or unleash a deadly mid-game Crisis that could overwhelm the galaxy in a matter of decades.

7

Synthetic Dawn (Story Pack)

Steam User Rating: 69% (Out Of 826 Reviews)

• Adds the option of playing as a Machine Empire
• Adds new storyline content involving the artificially intelligent species
• Adds new synthetic species portraits
• Adds a new Fallen Empire
• Adds a new mid-game crisis

It is customary for sentient robots to appear in science fiction, and Paradox Interactive followed that trend by adding Stellaris: Synthetic Dawn to enable the option to play as a sentient artificial intelligence, either as determined exterminators or caretakers of their biological predecessors.

This DLC also adds another crisis in the form of Contingency, an ancient malfunctioning artificial intelligence that goes rogue and tries to exterminate all sentient life in the galaxy, be it synthetic or biological, with the justification of preventing something ‘worse’ coming to pass.

6

Federations

Steam User Rating: 70% (Out Of 940 Reviews)

• Adds the possibility of forming Federations
• Adds the Galactic Community
• Adds 8 new Origins
• Adds Mega Shipyard, a new megastructure
• Adds the Juggernaut, a new ship type

During its early iterations, Stellaris was largely lacking in terms of both politics and diplomacy between empires and governments in the galaxy. The creation of Stellaris: Federations adds more depth to the political intrigue and diplomacy options in the game.

By adding options of enhanced Federation in-game, players can band together with other space-faring civilizations to face more powerful foes or address the Crisis that will bring death to the entire galaxy. The addition of the Galactic Community also adds in-depth intrigue to politics, as bigger civilizations are able to hold power via peaceful options within the community.

5

Grand Archive (Story Pack)

Steam User Rating: 74% (Out Of 221 Reviews)

• Adds a new mega structure that allows for discovering and collecting new specimens.
• Adds over 150 specimens, including relics and space fauna.
• Allows for capturing wild space animals and enhancing their genetics to build new fleets.
• Adds 2 new Origins, 2 new Civics, and 2 new Tradition Trees.

The Grand Archive is one of the beloved story expansions for Stellaris in recent years that comes with meaty content and some fun gameplay modifiers to help players enhance their fleets and seek historical, powerful relics.

On top of all the additions, The Grand Archive lets players go after space fauna, capture them, and then enhance them genetically to create some massive fleets out of space animals, which adds fun new depth to the battles in the game.

Aside from that, the game also introduces Voidworms as a new hostile species in the galaxy, which attack the player’s empire as a mid-crisis plague. While it’s been admitted to be a tough challenge to beat, defeating Voidworms results in powerful rewards for the player that can allow them to use Voidworms against rival empires!

4

Leviathans (Story Pack)

Steam User Rating: 71% (Out Of 599 Reviews)

• Adds the mysterious and legendary Guardians
• Adds unique enclaves that can aid the player’s empire
• Adds the new endgame crisis involving two Fallen Empires, the War in Heaven

During the time of its release, Stellaris: Leviathans added an exciting option for players to face off against galactic threats that aren’t as dangerous as a Crisis but were still challenging nonetheless, coming in the form of Leviathans. These planet-sized creatures roam the galaxy and, more often than not, are hostile towards other sentient life.

Furthermore, the DLC also adds another form of Crisis with the awakening of fallen empires that turns into a ‘War in Heaven’ – dragging the whole galaxy into an ancient war that can complicate life in the endgame while the looming threat of a Crisis is in sight.

3

Ancient Relics (Story Pack)

Steam User Rating: 72% (Out Of 475 Reviews)

• Adds the ability to delve into ancient history and discover treasure in Archaeological Sites
• Adds two new Precursor civilizations with their own uniqueness and deep lore implications
• Adds the possibility of discovering a Relic World
• Adds Minor Artifacts, which can be used to strengthen an empire
• Adds powerful Relics with both passive and active abilities

Playing Stellaris without Ancient Relics can be said to be similar to eating plain rice without any side dishes. This DLC comes with a rich amount of content that adds a lot of depth to the gameplay loop. Science ships and Scientist leaders become more valuable due to their role in discovering and delving into Archeological Sites, which can be a huge boon to a player’s space empire.

Moreover, the DLC also adds a myriad of useful and exciting features, such as new Precursors and Relics, which can single-handedly win the game for a strong player due to their powerful abilities. The hugely positive reviews that the DLC received are also a reflection of its worthiness to be added into any Stellaris player’s library.

2

Utopia

Steam User Rating: 77% (Out Of 1,278 Reviews)

• Adds the possibility of constructing Megastructures
• Adds the possibility of creating Habitats on a solar system
• Adds Ascension Perks
• Adds new Purging and Slavery policies
• Adds the possibility of uplifting pre-FTL species
• Adds new Advanced Civics
• Adds the possibility of playing as a Hive Mind empire

Taming a star to power an entire fleet for huge space civilizations becomes a possibility with Stellaris: Utopia. This DLC adds the option to construct powerful Megastructures that need a huge economy to sustain their construction. Building a Dyson Sphere to harness the power of a star at the cost of making planets in the star system uninhabitable becomes one possibility that the player could do in-game.

In addition, the downloadable content also adds ‘Ascension Perks’ for the player to further customize their space civilizations and species, such as stripping the biological form of the species to transcend their biological limitations or communicating with psionic entities that offer boons with unforeseen consequences.

1

The Machine Age

Steam User Rating: 78% (Out Of 752 Reviews)

• Adds the possibility of having Individualistic Machine Empires
• Adds 3 new Origins (Arc Welders, Cybernetic Creed, Synthetic Fertility)
• Adds 6 new Civics and 2 new superstructures (Arc Furnace & Dyson Swarm)
• Adds Cetana the Synthetic Queen, a powerful Crisis
• Adds a new Player Crisis path
• Adds new evolving Portraits that progress with advancement through Cybernetic and Synthetic Ascensions

The Machine Age is regarded to be one of the best DLCs that has been added to Stellaris thanks to the bountiful content that it brings to the base game. Ranging from a new crisis with its unique interactions and the additional player crisis path that can basically restart the universe, many gamers have been praising this piece of downloadable content for being one of the best that Paradox has ever produced for the game.

In addition to all of those features, The Machine Age also allows players to make Individualistic Machine Empires instead of limiting them to Gestalt Consciousness empires. To top it off, the DLC also adds several new portraits that evolve with an empire’s progress, provided that players pick a Biological Empire to be ascended into a Synthetic or Cybernetic Empire. These new features undoubtedly make this piece of downloadable content a must-have for both newcomers and veterans of Stellaris alike.