Stellaris is one of the greatest grand strategy games of all time, and the fact that it's set in space makes it all the more alluring for fans of this genre. After all, there aren't that many great strategy games that are set in space, so the fact that Stellaris ends up being such an unforgettable experience in this regard is certainly something that should be commended.
While Stellaris might have an excellent start and end to the overall experience, some people might grow bored of the events that happen mid-game. This can be extremely grating on repeated playthroughs, which is why mods are recommended to freshen up the entire experience. Keeping this in mind, here are the best mods that players can download for Stellaris.
Updated December 2, 2021 by Ritwik Mitra: Paradox Interactive has consistently been at the helm of developing stellar grand strategy titles that can immerse players for hours on end through a mix of emergent storytelling and exciting strategic gameplay. Stellaris is no exception, with the incredible setting of space allowing for endless potential as players create their own space empire and run it as they see fit. Players who want even more out of Stellaris can download mods to augment the experience, with the following mods being the best of the bunch.
15 Mass Effect: Beyond The Relays
Given the space setting of Stellaris, most people would agree that this would be perfect to house a Mass Effect conversion mod. It seems that modders weren't far behind, with Mass Effect: Beyond the Relays fulfilling this exact purpose.
This impressive mod is one of the best ways to spice up your playthrough of Stellaris, especially if you're a fan of the brilliant Mass Effect series. Taking control of one of the many species in the Mass Effect universe and carving your path in the galaxy makes for an unforgettable video game experience.
14 Overflow Fix
Glitches are the worst thing that can ruin your playthrough of Stellaris. They might be fine in any other game, but a game like Stellaris where players put in hours of their time and effort can be completely ruined if the game's systems go awry and destroy any scope of getting good results.
The overflow glitch is an infamous bug that plagues most Stellaris players, with numerical overflows causing your ships to disappear or for your weapons to not fire. Thankfully, this simple fix ensures that players won't have to encounter this issue during their playthrough at all.
13 Gigastructural Engineering & More
Megastructures are one of the most fun things to build in Stellaris once players accumulate the required resources. This mod adds a total of forty-five new megastructures that are an absolute blast to build!
These megastructures are so powerful and resource-intensive that they will make the endgame of Stellaris infinitely more interesting. Along with this, it adds new endgame events and an alternate beginning that lets you start on a ruined megastructure as well!
12 Guilli's Planet Modifiers And Features
The vanilla planets in Stellaris are pretty diverse enough, to be fair. However, the player will undoubtedly reach a point where they'll get bored of all the variations that are present.
Thankfully, with Guilli's Planet Modifiers And Features mod, planets can become way more diverse and interesting to explore. As a result, exploration becomes fresh and enjoyable once again for veterans of the series!
11 Diverse Rooms
Communicating with alien species is definitely one of the highlights of Stellaris. That being said, the game has a habit of using the same room over and over again during these video conversations, which can get on a player's nerves after a point.
With the Diverse Rooms mod, this issue will become a thing of the past. All of a sudden, players will enjoy a greater degree of immersion as they speak to different races who contact them from a host of different room palettes and the like.
10 Beautiful Universe v2.0
Stellaris is an excellent game, but its graphics aren't necessary its best selling point. For the most part, most players don't really have a problem with the game's basic visuals, but there are bound to be some exceptions to this.
People who want their copy of Stellaris to look as beautiful as possible should opt for the Beautiful Universe v2.0 mod. It enhances the skyboxes of the game to make them look truly awe-inspiring. The fact that it takes references from NASA's research, EVE Online's visuals, and other such aspects makes this mod all the more authentic to behold.
9 Improved Space Battles
Battles in Stellaris are quite engaging in their own right. However, these conflicts have a ton of unrealized potential regardless.
To ensure that these space battles live up to the expectations of every player, one need not look further than the Improved Space Battles mod. Not only does it enhance the visuals of these space battles, but it also integrates numerous improvements to make the destructiveness and satisfaction of these battles all the more immense.
8 Planetary Diversity
There are several habitable planets present across the world of Stellaris. However, given the addictive nature of this game, you will find yourself recycling through these planets sooner rather than later.
In such an event, you should increase your enjoyment with this title by opting for the Planetary Diversity mod. It adds a bevy of new planets to the game, fifty of which are inhabitable!
7 Ascension Perk Increase
Ascension perks seem like a rather novel idea that players can't wait to test out in Stellaris. However, after a few games, you will realize that the majority of these ascension perks don't really contribute to gameplay in a substantial manner.
This is where the Ascension Perk Increase mod comes into the picture. It adds a bevy of new ascension perk slots to make the effect of this gameplay mechanic all the more palpable. Along with this, it also adds a repeatable version of the ascension theory technology as well, although a fair bit of resources are needed to achieve this feat.
6 Real Space 3.8
A big part of what sells a game is immersion. Stellaris definitely doesn't disappoint in that regard, although that doesn't mean the game can't feature even more immersive visuals and the like.
This is where the Real Space mod comes into the picture. It features numerous small changes that have minor changes on gameplay, such as new planet skins, universes, star systems, stellar classes, and the like.
5 Massive Galaxies
For the most part, the size of galaxies present in Stellaris is satisfactory. That being said, some people may want the scale of their galaxies to be absolutely massive.
The Massive Galaxies mod delivers exactly what its name promises. It increases the size of galaxies in Stellaris by a gargantuan amount; namely, by increasing the size of galaxies by 10,000 stars and adding a whopping 5,000 AI empires as well!
4 No Grow When Overcrowded 2.7.2
As you approach the late-game, you will quickly realize that Stellaris ends up stalling quite a bit due to the sheer number of elements it needs to load. This is a shame since most people absolutely adore the end-game of this stellar strategy title.
To prevent this issue from occurring, this particular mod integrates a very ingenious fix. It manages the population across various AI empires so that they don't grow too much when there are no houses available. The lack of this useless section of the population, coupled with some interesting fixes, makes this mod all the more enjoyable to use.
3 UI Overhaul 1080p Plus
As is the case with most Paradox Interactive titles, Stellaris' UI isn't really all that great. To fix this, you can opt for the ingenious UI Overhaul mod.
It's a great mod that scales the UI properly for 1080p resolutions while simultaneously increasing the window size to allow for more information to appear on the screen without the need to scroll continuously. It also adds a Custom Ship Designer and expands the Outliner to make the game all the more enjoyable to play!
2 More Events Mod
The various events and anomalies that crop up in Stellaris certainly add a ton of flavor to the proceedings of the title. However, after a while, most of these events either repeat themselves or are slightly uninteresting.
To avoid this problem from hampering your enjoyment of the game, you need only look at the More Events mod. It adds numerous new events and anomalies to spice up one's Stellaris playthrough.
1 RPG Traits
The RPG mechanics of Stellaris are surprisingly fleshed out and make for an entertaining playthrough. This is especially true during the initial stages of an interstellar playthrough.
The traits present for each species in Stellaris are especially notable in that regard, although you might exhaust these combinations over time. To avoid this problem, players can download the RPG Traits mod to expand the number of traits in the game and make them feel all the more unique and distinctive.