How To Terraform Planets In Stellaris

In order to have a thriving population in Stellaris, they'll need to live on planets that serve their needs! A race that hails from a desert planet isn't going to be able to live very well on a tropical planet, right? That's where Terraforming comes in.

Terraforming is the process of using gases to give a planet a brand-new environment. In Stellaris, it can be used to increase a World's Habitability. This article will cover everything you need to know about it, including how to unlock the mechanic, how to use it once you do, which planets can be Terraformed, and more.

There are several Social Technologies you'll need to research for Terraforming planets. One of them unlocks the basic ability, and the others expand on your options. If you want to Terraform as quickly as possible, focus on producing Social Research over Engineering and Physics Research. There are also bonus tools you can unlock to allow you to Terraform unique planets.

Source	Type		What It Does	Cost	Prerequisites
Terrestrial Sculpting	Technology	Tier 2	Terrestrial Sculpting is the basic technology that you need to invest in in order to start Terraforming. With this, you'll be able to terraform basic planets into other basic planet types.	6,000 Society Research	Have Researched at least six Technologies in Tier 1
Climate Restoration	Technology	Tier 4	Climate Restoration allows you to terraform Tomb Worlds (planets that are basically dead).	16,000 Society Research	Terrestrial Sculpting has been Researched Have Researched at least six Technologies in Tiers 1, 2, and 3
Ecological Adaption	Technology	Tier 3	Ecological Adaptation allows you to terraform planets that already have inhabitants.	10,000 Society Research	Have Researched at least six Technologies in Tiers 1 and 2
Terraforming Candidate	Modifier		Terraforming Candidate is a Modifier applied to planets that could be terraformed, but needed to be researched first. Most planets you encounter are safe to live on, but Barren Worlds, Barren (Cold) Worlds, and Frozen Worlds may have an Anomaly to investigate first. Once that is done, the planet will acquire this Modifier and you can terraform it.	Varied	Research Anomaly on the planet
World Shaper	Ascension Perk	Tier 1	The World Shaper Ascension Perk allows you to turn planets into Gaia Worlds, which are special planets that seldom naturally spawn into the galaxy. They have 100% habitability for all species.	Varied	Climate Restoration Technology has been Researched Must have taken at least 1 other Ascension Perk
Hive Worlds	Ascension Perk	Tier 2	The Hive Worlds Ascension Perk allows you to Terraform planets into Hive Worlds.	Varied	Synthetic Dawn Story Pack DLC Must have taken at least 2 other Ascension Perks Climate Restoration Technology has been Researched Your Government's Authority is a Hive Mind
Machine Worlds	Ascension Perk	Tier 2	The Machine Worlds Ascension Perk allows you to Terraform planets into Machine Worlds.	Varied	Utopia DLC Must have taken at least 2 other Ascension Perks Climate Restoration Technology has been Researched Your Government's Authority is a Machine Intelligence

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How To Terraform

Once you've unlocked, at the very least, the Terrestrial Sculpting Technology, you can begin to Terraform your first planets!

Click on a planet that is...

Surveyed
Within your Empire's borders

...and look for the option marked 'Terraform.' From there, you'll choose the type of World you'd like to have, and the game will tell you how much the process will cost and how long it will take. The percentage listed is the planet's habitability for the race that makes up your empire. If there are multiple races in your empire, the percentage will indicate the habitability for whichever race is most suited for that environment.

Terraforming Events

The first time that you terraform any planet, there is a small chance that the planet will be affected by a Terraforming Event. These are special conditions that can change your planet, for better or worse. For example, some Terraforming Events add extra districts to the planet, while one Terraforming Event can cause all the people living on a Gaia World to be unable to live off of a Gaia World. You may also be given a choice to make that will affect the outcome of the Terraforming Event.

All Planet Types And Costs To Terraform

The table below details each type of planet and the possible ways it can be terraformed, along with the requirements, cost, and length of time the terraforming will take.

Original Climate	New Climate	Cost In Energy Credits	Time It Will Take In Years	Prerequisites
Alpine, Arctic, or Tundra World	Alpine, Arctic, or Tundra World	2,000	5	Terrestrial Sculpting Researched
	Arid, Desert, or Savannah World	5,000	10
	Continental, Ocean, or Tropical World	5,000	10
	Gaia World	7,500	10	Terrestrial Sculpting Researched World Shaper Ascension Perk
	Hive World	10,000	20	Terrestrial Sculpting Researched Hive Worlds Ascension Perk Synthetic Dawn Story Pack DLC Owned
	Machine World	10,000	20	Terrestrial Sculpting Researched Machine Worlds Ascension Perk Utopia DLC Owned
Arid, Desert, or Savannah World	Arid, Desert, or Savannah World	2,000	5	Terrestrial Sculpting Researched
	Alpine, Arctic, or Tundra World	5,000	10
	Continental, Ocean, or Tropical World	5,000	10
	Gaia World	7,500	10	Terrestrial Sculpting Researched World Shaper Ascension Perk
	Hive World	10,000	20	Terrestrial Sculpting Researched Hive Worlds Ascension Perk Synthetic Dawn Story Pack DLC Owned
	Machine World	10,000	20	Terrestrial Sculpting Researched Machine Worlds Ascension Perk Utopia DLC Owned
Continental, Ocean, or Tropical World	Continental, Ocean, or Tropical World	2,000	5	Terrestrial Sculpting Researched
	Arid, Desert, or Savannah World	5,000	10
	Alpine, Arctic, or Tundra World	5,000	10
	Gaia World	7,500	10	Terrestrial Sculpting Researched World Shaper Ascension Perk
	Hive World	10,000	20	Terrestrial Sculpting Researched Hive Worlds Ascension Perk Synthetic Dawn Story Pack DLC Owned
	Machine World	10,000	20	Terrestrial Sculpting Researched Machine Worlds Ascension Perk Utopia DLC Owned
Barren World	Continental, Ocean, or Tropical World	10,000	15	Terrestrial Sculpting Researched Climate Restoration Technology Researched Terraforming Candidate Modifier
	Arid, Desert, or Savannah World	5,000	10
	Alpine, Arctic, or Tundra World	15,000	20
	Gaia World	12,500	25	Terrestrial Sculpting Researched World Shaper Ascension Perk Terraforming Candidate Modifier
	Hive World	10,000	20	Terrestrial Sculpting Researched Hive Worlds Ascension Perk Synthetic Dawn Story Pack DLC Owned Terraforming Candidate Modifier
	Machine World	10,000	20	Terrestrial Sculpting Researched Machine Worlds Ascension Perk Utopia DLC Owned Terraforming Candidate Modifier
Barren (Cold) World	Arid, Desert, or Savannah World	15,000	20	Terrestrial Sculpting Researched Climate Restoration Technology Researched Terraforming Candidate Modifier
	Alpine, Arctic, or Tundra World	5,000	10
	Continental, Ocean, or Tropical World	10,000	15
	Gaia World	12,500	25	Terrestrial Sculpting Researched World Shaper Ascension Perk Terraforming Candidate Modifier
	Hive World	10,000	20	Terrestrial Sculpting Researched Hive Worlds Ascension Perk Synthetic Dawn Story Pack DLC Owned Terraforming Candidate Modifier
	Machine World	10,000	20	Terrestrial Sculpting Researched Machine Worlds Ascension Perk Utopia DLC Owned Terraforming Candidate Modifier
Frozen World	Ocean World	12,500	25	Terrestrial Sculpting Researched Climate Restoration Technology Researched Terraforming Candidate Modifier
Tomb World	Continental, Ocean, or Tropical World	10,000	20	Terrestrial Sculpting Researched Climate Restoration Technology Researched
	Alpine, Arctic, or Tundra World
	Arid, Desert, or Savannah World
	Gaia	12,500	25	Terrestrial Sculpting Researched World Shaper Ascension Perk
Nanite World	Continental, Ocean, or Tropical World	1,000	1	Terrestrial Sculpting Researched Climate Restoration Technology Researched Terraforming Candidate Modifier Distant Stars DLC Owned
	Alpine, Arctic, or Tundra World
	Arid, Desert, or Savannah World
Hive World	Continental, Ocean, or Tropical World	1,000	1	Terrestrial Sculpting Researched Climate Restoration Technology Researched Synthetic Dawn Story Pack DLC Owned
	Alpine, Arctic, or Tundra World
	Arid, Desert, or Savannah World
Machine World	Continental, Ocean, or Tropical World	1,000	1	Terrestrial Sculpting Researched Climate Restoration Technology Researched Utopia DLC Owned
	Alpine, Arctic, or Tundra World
	Arid, Desert, or Savannah World

Changes To Cost And/Or Time It Takes To Terraform

There are some small exceptions to the exact required cost and length of time it takes to terraform a planet as we have detailed above. Refer to the table below to see if any of the situations there apply to you; if so, it will change the cost or length of time.

Source	Type	Terraforming Cost Change	Terraforming Time Change	Required DLC
World Shaper	Ascension Perk	Cost decreases by 25 percent	None	None
Terraforming Gases	Edict	None	Time required decreases by 50 percent	None
Exotic Gases Shortages	Situation	None	Time increases by 20 percent per stage of the Situation	None
World Shaper	Ruler Trait	None	Time required decreases by 25 percent	None
Mask Of Transformation	Empire Modifier	Cost decreases by 10 percent	Time required decreases by 10 percent	None
Hydrocentric	Tradition	Cost decreases by 25 percent if you are creating an Ocean World	None	Aquatics
Secrets of the Baol	Empire Modifier	Cost decreases by 15 percent	None	Ancient Relics
Shallarian Terraforming Knowledge	Empire Modifier	Cost decreases by 10 percent	Time required decreases by 20 percent	Federations
Ecological Protection Resolution 4	Galactic Resolution	Cost increases by 25 percent	None	Federations
Ecological Protection Resolution 5	Galactic Resolution	Cost increases by 100 percent	None	Federations