Stellaris Apocalypse is a second large expansion pack released of the grand strategy game Stellaris. In this expansion, the player gets to wield the forces of destruction, such as star base-mounted Ion cannons, Titan class spaceships, a new faction in the galaxy as well as the Colossus, a spaceship able to decimate entire planets. The Apocalypse expansion pack came with a 2.0 patch, Cherryh, which introduced some new elements to the gameplay and reworked some of its components.

Expansion features

Stellaris: Apocalypse’s new content is divided between the expansion pack itself and changes introduced in the 2.0 patch. The expansion pack introduces four major elements to the core game, the first and foremost of which is certainly the Colossus-class spaceships. These dreadnoughts appear late in the game and for a good reason. Using a Colossus’ requires the player to gain the respective Ascension Perk. The ship has a single slot for its mass-destruction weapon. The player can choose from different types of weapons. Each of them has different effects from killing or assimilating species, to completely wiping out the life on a planet or even destroying it completely.

Other new features include the Titan-class ships, large, heavily armed vessels, which provide high bonuses to units serving under it, ion cannons, able to reach the other end of the system, and a new faction of Marauders, spawning in the fringes of the galaxy, from whom the player can recruit mercenaries.

Patch content

Patch 2.0 introduced in Stellaris: Apocalypse changes some of the mechanics of the game. Said changes are pretty significant and might influence the player’s gameplay strategy. Fleets now have a size limit, and the Force Disparity Combat Bonus is awarded when a smaller fleet engages a larger one. Faster-than-light (FTL) traveling has been modified, focusing primarily on hyperplanes, and the sublight travel has been sped up to compensate. There are some smaller and bigger changes introduced in this expansion, which makes the layer carefully plan and test the limits of what they can and cannot do.

Reception

Stellaris: Apocalypse was met with positive critical reception. The reviewers praised the expansion’s ambitious changes, some of which completely overhauled the gameplay experience. The new content added by the expansion as was also praised as a step in the right direction towards making Stellaris the best galactic sandbox.

Key features:

• Apocalypse now! Use the Colossus-class spaceship to raze entire worlds and make the galaxy tremble in fear.
• New ship! Titan-class spaceships are armed to the teeth fortresses and having one on your side will surely boost the morale of your army!
• New faction! The Marauders live in the fringes of the known galaxy and they might want to join you…if your pockets are deep enough.
• Gameplay overhaul! Patch 2.0 reworks many of the Stellaris’ mechanics, introducing interesting new features and changing already existing ones.