With patch 3.0 coming to Stellaris, envoys will be playing a much bigger part of your galactic empire. Not only will they be used to improve or harm relations with an empire, you’ll be using them to establish first contact when you meet an empire, and you’re going to need them to create spy networks against empires you don’t trust to learn more about them. Because of the importance of envoys, you’ll want to quickly learn the best way to recruit envoys to your empire.
How to get more envoys
You normally start out a Stellaris game with two of them. Two is typically sufficient if you want to use one to communicate first contact with an empire, and the other to improve relations or create a spy network. Having two doesn’t last forever, and you’re going to need more as you learn about all of the empires you encounter.
Buildings
There are two buildings you can add to a planet that unlock additional envoys.
- Embassy Complex: +1 envoy
- Grand Embassy Complex: +2 envoys
These two buildings are both Empire Capital buildings, and can only be build on your Empire’s Capital world.
Civics and ethics
Before you start your game of Stellaris, you can choose to increase the number of envoys you’re earning by picking a specific civic and ethics for your empire. These are all of the civics that influence the number of envoys you start with.
- Diplomatic Corps: +2 envoys
- Empath: +2
- Fanatic Xenophile: +2 envoys
- Inward Perfection: -1 envoy
- Public Relations Specialist: +2
- Xenophile: +1
Diplomatic Grants edict
The Diplomatic Grants edict is another good way to add one envoy to your empire, even for a short time. You can spend 100 influence points to use this. The option becomes available after you’ve adopted the Diplomacy tradition tree.
Federations
There are five types of federations you can create in Stellaris, granted if you have the Federations DLC available.
- Galactic Union president (level 2): +1 envoy
- Hegemony president (level 2): +1 envoy
- Martial Alliance president (level 3): +1 envoy
- Research Cooperative president (level 4): +1 envoy
- Trade League president (level 2): +1 envoy
The Federation tradition will also unlock one envoy.
MegaCorp
For those who prefer to work with one of the MegaCorps, you can unlock envoys as you progress through the Interstellar Assembly stages. At stage II, you receive one envoy. At stave IV, you receive two envoys.
