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By “Co-op” I mean a game mode mostly seen in FPS (first-person shooter) games, where each human player is represented on the screen by an avatar. In co-op games, the setup is done so that two or more players can play the game as a team and win together. Stellaris, though does not come with a co-op mode.

Since I like to play in co-op mode with friends, I researched. Here are my results:

Stellaris does not have a special mode for co-op, but there are ways to set up the game to play with your friends as a team. This is done by creating your own Multiplayer-server in the main menu and letting Stellaris know you want to spawn close to each other. This way, you can work as a federation and conquer the galaxy together.

In this post, we will go into how to exactly set up Stellaris so that you can play a co-op game with your friends.

All about Stellaris Multiplayer

So, we learned that we can set up Stellaris to let us play as a team in co-op. How is this done?

Can two or more people play one Empire in Stellaris?

It is not possible for two or more people to play one Empire in Stellaris. Each player can only play one empire, not more, and not half-an-empire.

So we need another way to play Stellaris in Co-op.

Easiest method for Co-op in Stellaris – tested method

1. The way to achieve this is to start a new Multiplayer game in Stellaris:

2. Give your new server a name and a password you share only with your friends, so only they can join you. Share these with your friends:

3. To play in co-op, you should make sure to pick compatible empires/ethics!

How to Spawn next to friends in Stellaris?

4. Finally, in-game settings, to ensure that you and your co-players are not spawning all over the galaxy, you scroll down and choose “Clustered Players”.

Now all of you will spawn within 3 to 10-star systems from each other. This way, finding each other takes only a few in-game years, not generations.

Also, using the in-game chat, you can easily communicate where exactly you spawned, so sending a science ship to lift the fog of war speeds up the process even more.

You should consider subscribing to the HexGrid Overlay. He created this nice mod – inspired by the classic Babylon 5 – making communicating map coordinates with your teammates much easier.

With this mod, you can give your friends an exact “address” of where you spawned on the map.

During my research, my attention was brought to an alternative method.

2. The Saved Single Player Game method

A very lovely Canadian sent me another- very smart – method to create a coop game.

1. You start a single-player game and choose an empire
2. Once the game started and you look at your home system, open the Console (on most keyboards the key between the TAB and Esc keys, showing ^°).
3. You see a blinking cursor: Type in “observe” (without the “”)
4. Now you see the galaxy from a bird’s view perspective, without any fog of war
5. Looking at the map, you and your friends choose an empire on that map
6. Save the game (give it a memorable name, it could be hard to find)
7. Close the game
8. Open Multiplayer in the Main menu
9. Click “Host Save Game”
10. Choose the saved game from the list
11. Give the server a name (or go with the default) and set a password – send the server name and password to your friends
12. In the game lobby, each Co-op player chooses his chosen empire

The disadvantage of this method is that you already have seen the full map, which might reduce the feeling of adventure a little.

Can Stellaris Co-op games be won by more than one empire?

Now, one caveat about co-op games: In the long run, there can only be one winning the game. So even if you play in co-op. So if you keep playing by the Stellaris default rules, to find a winner at the end you will have to fight each other.

How many players in Co-op and Multiplayer games?

Up to 32 players can join a Stellaris Multiplayer/Co-op-game.

Since I love the game and I am looking for even more joy playing, I began looking into the Multiplayer to see if it is even better … and I was not disappointed!

Is the Stellaris Multiplayer good?

Stepping into Multiplayer lifted the fun to a new level. Once you start playing with fellow humans, the game becomes even more immersive. Chatting with your friends or even friendly strangers located someplace on planet Earth adds a completely new element to the game.

So, let’s get some questions about the Stellaris Multiplayer out of the way.

Is Stellaris Single- and Multiplayer?

Some wonder if Stellaris is suitable for either single- or multiplayer.

Stellaris is both! Playing Stellaris in either single or multiplayer is simply your choice. It is very easy to either start a single-player or enter a multiplayer game anytime. Stellaris makes no distinction between these two game modes.

Does Stellaris have Multiplayer?

As mentioned above, Stellaris comes with both game modes – single and Multiplayer, and both are included in the vanilla game. All you need for playing Multiplayer – next to the game itself – is a good internet connection.

Can you play Stellaris Multiplayer on PC?

Stellaris Multiplayer even used to be PC only. So the answer to the question is yes,, you can play Stellaris Multiplayer on PC.

How does the Stellaris Multiplayer work?

Each player plays one empire and decides how to treat the other players/empires. You can wage war on them or build a federation together. Ultimately, though, in order to win the game, most players will be rivals sooner or later.

How many Players can join a Multiplayer Game?

Up to 32 players can play in one Multiplayer game.

How do you start a Multiplayer game in Stellaris?

Starting a Multiplayer game in Stellaris is easy.

To start a multiplayer game, first, you choose Multiplayer in the main menu.

In the appearing Game Browser, you will see a long list of available multiplayer games.

This list of available games can be sorted by:

• Open slots
• private or not
• password required or not
• Stellaris version
• Mods

a. Start a Stellaris Multiplayer game by Joining a Server

Obviously, if you are not invited by a friend to join, you will need to find a game that does not require a password. And even then, the admin might reject you. If this happens, as long as you do not have a reputation in the Stellaris community, no need to take this personally. Perhaps the host is waiting for someone or they do not want too many players.

To find such a game, check the “No Password Required” box. You can also try to sort by server tags, sometimes it helps with finding i.e. a “Fast Game” (still might take days). You can sort the list by clicking on the header.

On the right side, you see the game status, Running or Starting. You might want to join a game that is not several hours old, so try to find a “Starting” game.

When you found a game you would like to join and the admin accepts your request, you find yourself in the game lobby. Choose your species and enjoy the game!

b. (hot) “Direct Join” a Stellaris Game

If someone sent you a server name and password, you can use the “Direct Join” button to enter the server. Just enter the server name and password.

Do all players have to own the same DLCs for Stellaris Multiplayer?

If you are joining a server, It does not matter what DLCs you own, because the game host offers his DLCs for the whole server. So if the host for example owns the Utopia DLC, all players joining his server will enjoy the Utopia features during the game.

How long does a Stellaris Multiplayer game last?

Depending on the settings by the server host, a game can take a few hours in a small galaxy, up to a few days in a big galaxy.

For more detailed info, go to How long does a Stellaris game last?

Can you play Stellaris Multiplayer without DLC?

The Stellaris vanilla game (no DLC) is absolutely enough to play great Multiplayer games with other players. But adding DLCs to the mix could even enhance the game experience, and make it even more interesting. Still, the Stellaris in its vanilla version is absolutely enough.

And: As long as the server’s host owns the DLC, it is shared with all players on that server. So joining a multiplayer game can be a nice way to test the employed DLCs, if they make it on your wish list for Christmas.

Can you play Stellaris Multiplayer with Mods?

To be honest, this is also still a bit confusing to me. I read that you have to be subscribed to the same mods as the server admin. Also in the Multiplayer Game Browser, there is an extra column for the employed mods.

But in my research, I found no evidence for mods playing any role in joining and playing a Multiplayer game. Chatting with experienced Stellaris gamers on Multiplayer chats also did not produce any hints that mods are something to look at concerning Stellaris Multiplayer.

So, you can join and play any Stellaris Multiplayer game with mods.

I personally did encounter no issues with the respective mods I was subscribed to at the time of joining a Multiplayer server.

I have come to the conclusion that in the earlier Stellaris version the mod situation did play a role, hence the vacant column in the Game browser. But since at least the Stellaris Dick update (3.0) in 2021 mods are not a factor in multiplayer games anymore.

Can you cheat in Stellaris Multiplayer?

I let you on a secret: I do cheat a lot in my single-player games of Stellaris. I quickly grow tired of lacking resources and so open the console, type in the respective cheat commands, and voilà, my inventory is again full to the brim, again. Really speeds up fleet building. Nice… But that is just me cheating on my PC.

In Multiplayer, there is no option to cheat. You cannot open the necessary console, even. No mod is available to enable opening the console or cheating during a multiplayer game.

There seems to be a trick to reload a saved game and start it in Multiplayer. I do not know how this would work, and I read it’s a lot of hassle, but that’s the info I found. But, still would not help with cheating, because I also read that this method leads to server de-sync, meaning the game crashes.

So no, I did not find a way. And that’s good because cheating in multiplayer would ruin the game.

But that does not mean that some players have not found a way to cheat. Stellaris is so malleable, maybe someone found a hole.

When playing with experienced players, I learned from them that they suspected at least one player in the obviously close Stellaris Multiplayer community of cheating. The player with the Gamertag U* was immediately removed by the admin as soon as he tried to log on. All the admin said was “He is a cheater”.

So at least the Stellaris community suspects at least one Multiplayer to have found a way to cheat.

Is there a Stellaris Multiplayer Community?

Stellaris has an active and growing community of Multiplayer enthusiasts, and a very friendly one at that, too.

If you are interested in joining the Stellaris community and finding friends to play Stellaris, joining a multiplayer game is a very good way. Depending on what game the admin intends to play (for me, it is “chill” vs. “competitive”), you have some time in the game lobby to chat with the other players and befriend them on steam and Discord.

I personally am more interested in multiplayer games played for fun and to chill and chat with nice people. Sure, also to hand them their you-know-what, but in style and with fun.

I am happy to find that Stellaris attracts a great crowd of people, very fitting to this my website’s motto “for the classy gamer”.

Is there a Stellaris Local Multiplayer?

Does Stellaris offer a shared screen mode?

Stellaris does not offer a shared-screen mode. Each human player needs his/her own PC (or console).

Can you LAN Stellaris?

You cannot play Stellaris in a local network or by directly connecting two PCs with a LAN cable. All co-op and Multiplayer needs to be done via the Stellaris Multiplayer servers.

Does Stellaris have a co-op mode?

Yes. For more info, see my post Is there a Co-op in Stellaris?

FAQ

Is Stellaris multiplayer cross platform?

Stellaris is not cross platform. There is a console edition and a PC edition with each one having their own multiplayer servers and not being compatible.

Can two people play the same nation in Stellaris?

Two people can indeed play the same nation in Stellaris multiplayer, providing a unique way to play the game as you can both focus on different aspects of the game.

Do you need DLC for multiplayer?

To play multiplayer in Stellaris, you do not need any DLCs. However, if you wish to use the mechanics found in the DLC’s for Stellaris, then only the hosting player needs to have them.

How long is a multiplayer game of Stellaris?

A game of Stellaris can last as long as you want it to. There is no definitive answer as the length depends on what speed you play on, when your end game year is and if you get bored. Just like in single player when playing in multiplayer you can create a save of your game to continue another time.

Theoretically, the concept of time is pretty simple in Stellaris. The developers have created a consistent time structure throughout the game, no matter if you wage a battle close to a far away star or work on your research.

But when we look deeper, we realize that time indeed is relative, but not for the reasons Einstein claimed. But first, let’s look how the Stellaris coders envisioned the concept of time to work:

How long is a day in Stellaris?

One day in Stellaris last one real-time second, theoretically. This is how the game is designed. You have the option to speed the game up 2x or 3x, in that case one real-time second would be 2 or 3 days in Stellaris.

This means a Stellaris month on normal speed takes 30 real-time seconds.

How long does a game of Stellaris last?

How long is a Year in Stellaris?

A year in Stellaris has 360 Stellaris days, or 12 Stellaris months. Since one game day last one real-time second, a year in Stellaris last 360 real-time seconds. If you speed up the game 2x, you will have to wait 180 seconds for a game year to pass, and only 120 seconds or two minutes if you speed up the game to 3x.

But, as with anything in real life, it’s not always that simple. Though we are not sealing with Einstein’s theory of relativity (well, in a way we are), the claims above are not always true.

Stellaris & Relative Time – The Problem of Lagging

Or better, the bigger the mass the slower time passes.

Huh? What are you talking about? Is this something about the technology and research tree in Stellaris?

Nope. It has to do with the weight Stellaris has on your CPU.

Since the game’s inception, Stellaris is plagued by complaints that the game slows down with each passing year.

With each year, you and your opponents expand their empires. The galaxy gets fuller and fuller, more and more fleets amass waiting for battle around some Starbase or circling a distant sun.

Your population is growing, your economy is growing, so are your rivals’.

All this means that with each passing year in Stellaris, your CPU has more and more workload, slowing it down to the point that time begins to pass noticeably slower. Some players even report that the game became unplayable.

So the “mass” of all the pops, fleets, economies reach such a level that they drag down the CPU’s performance, resulting in Stellaris days and years passing slower. Especially if you play with an already huge “mass” of a big galaxy.

So if you are on a slower machine, you might have to stick to playing in smaller galaxies and reduce the amount of rival empires.

Stellaris time in Multiplayer

In Multiplayer, the “synchronicity of time” becomes essential for a working gameplay.

The concept of one second = one Stellaris day and one Stellaris year = 360 seconds also applies to Multiplayer.

For Multiplayer to work, each PC has to be synchronized to all the other players. And if one player’s CPU is becoming slow, all other PCs have to slow down, too.

How does time pass during battles in Stellaris?

One area of criticism about the concept of time in Stellaris revolves around space battles. Some complain that since the one second = one day concept is upheld also during a space battle, these often in game take weeks or even months, which many says is not realistic.

And yes, while it is fun to watch your fleet decimate the enemy or battle with a Starbase, I am watching for say one minute hoping my fleet prevails… while in game the battle went on for 60 days … quite a battle.

This often even gives me time to send in reinforcements from the other side of my empire.

So some say that space battles should only take say one or max. two Stellaris days, not two months.

But would this really be more realistic?

Firstly, I understand why the developers did not change the time concept for the space battles. Changing how time flows for a specific event or area would have drastic consequences for the whole game. I mean, if a battle would be over in say two days there is no way i could send in any support troops.

Some say especially this would be more realistic, and I also see their point.

But in all the battles I have had so far, even though the animation shows a swirl of torpedoes and laser fire and ships circling each other or a Starbase.

But pretty quickly after a battle is won, all space stations (not the planets) also fall into my hands. I mean, the battle animation is just that, a battle animation for me to enjoy.

In reality, ships would take positions, try to hide behind planets or try to avoid direct conflict. This all would take time, and so I can imagine a “real” battle for a star system to take weeks, with the fleets trying to get an advantage over the enemy, before the real fight begins.

Parts of fleets would fight in different places than the main fleet, a fleeing fleet would still have to be chased down and take a stand. All this would take a lot of time.

As I said, after I won a battle, all space stations also fall into my – the victor’s – hands. In reality they would have to be boarded and probably conquered. This would also take some time.

So, we cannot know for sure because for now it’s all happening in our sci-fi literature and in our heads… but I would imagine that a real space-battle for a system could take a few weeks from my fleet entering the system until each space station has been conquered.

To come back to the animation, it only shows 2 fleets fighting each other. But that’s just what it is, an animation for our enjoyment. If we think about what really would take place in a life-or-death battle for a star system, two months seem more realistic to me than just a few hours of ships shooting at each other.

So I think the concept of time in Stellaris is absolutely great.

When I finally decided to jump into the Stellaris adventure, I did so without adding any additional content. I even had no idea what all these bundles and DLCs (DownLoadable Content – or add-on) and options meant and do, so I decided to just go for the vanilla game – out of pure information overload and also for budget reasons.

Read more: What is the Best Stellaris DLC?

Since I had no idea what I wanted, I decided against all the DLCs and at the moment just love the game the way it is.

Out-of-the-box, Stellaris comes as a complete, stand-alone, full-featured 4X, grand-strategy game. It misses nothing in its plain vanilla status and gives any player interested in this genre hours upon hours of immersive gameplay. The DLCs are a great addition to the game, but neither necessary to enjoy the game nor recommended for the beginner.

Stellaris without any additional content

From my personal experience, I can say that the game feels complete without any DLC, and I see no need for any additional content for a beginner like me. To the contrary, while I absolutely suggest you enhance the game later with mods, packs and DLCs once you can really value the improvement in the game from knowing where it is coming from, I suggest you first get to know and play the game in its vanilla status.

At the moment, I still have my hands full understanding all the different aspects and dependencies within the game in its pure form. And I wouldn’t even recognize the improved gameplay, I wouldn’t see what this or that DLC did to the game.

And I haven’t looked back: Stellaris in its vanilla version delivers hours upon hours of intriguing gameplay while the game like a good game of chess only gets more and more interesting over time, when the fog of war begins to clear, and you start to rub elbows with your rivals for galaxy domination.

Should you play Stellaris without a DLC first?

So I would say, absolutely yes, start Stellaris without bothering about the DLCs etc. Save the fun of new options and graphics for a later moment. I believe this approach will also make Stellaris a better invest if you ramp up the content whenever you feel that you have seen enough of the game. Buying the packs and DLCs one by one ensures more time you enjoy Stellaris.

Note that I am not saying that buying the DLCs is not worth it, to the contrary. But the vanilla game comes with everything you – especially as a beginner -could wish for, and you will need at least 70+ hours to be even able to learn how to get around and build your empire.

I do say that only after these 70+ hours, you will begin to even understand what these DLCs could do for you. And only if you have played Stellaris without any DLCs, especially the late Endgame scenarios, will you be able to then appreciate how much the DLCs improve Stellaris even further.

Is vanilla Stellaris worth playing?

So I believe that you absolutely should start without any add-ons and DLCs in the beginning and learn Stellaris in its vanilla version, because this way you can really focus on the game. And while many of the Stellaris DLCs are great game enhancements, they are not mandatory for experiencing great gameplay.

Do Stellaris DLCs go on sale?

Now, there is one caveat to my argumentation above: Stellaris and its DLCs often go on sale on Steam and elsewhere.

If you already feel or know that you will enjoy Stellaris, buying a bundle on a super deal would absolutely make sense. I myself refrained from buying a bundle because I was not sure if I wanted to invest much more into the game before having tested it.

But in the future, this approach will make buying a bundle uninteresting for me, since I already own Stellaris. So would then wait until the DLC I want goes on sale.

Now that I have – partly – learned Stellaris and enjoy it a lot, I know I want to dig deeper later and invest into some DLCs. But for now vanilla Stellaris does absolutely satisfy me and I will stick to the plain game and keep experimenting until I feel the need for adding something new to Stellaris.

Can you play Stellaris Multiplayer without DLC?

If you are into multiplayer, you will like this: Playing Stellaris on multiplayer and with one or more DLCs requires only one of your friends to own the DLCs. This friend would then open the server, and you could enjoy the DLCs in the multiplayer game without owning them.

This is also a good way to test if you would spend money on these particular DLCs.

The same goes for open multiplayer games on the Paradox servers hosted by someone on the planet: Whoever hosts the game adds his or her DLCs to the whole multiplayer-galaxy, so you can test playing different DLCs by joining the servers offering these DLCs.

So my suggestion is not to abstain from the DLCs at all. My suggestion is to start with the vanilla game, learn and enjoy it for many hundreds of hours until you feel that it is time for something new. Then adding one or more DLCs (I still would argue for adding them one by one, so each time you have a new experience with Stellaris)

But if you know you will enjoy the game and get a great deal… well, by any means, grab it. Still, I would start with the plain game, though.

How many Stellaris DLC are there?

At the time of this writing, you can choose from six existing DLCs, with the newest addition being Nemesis.

But some are more worth than others, so you should make up your mind what DLCs you really need and want and which you skip or only buy on absolute garage-sale pricing.

Also there is no order to them, you can mix them anyway you want.

We will evaluate each Stellaris DLC in another post.

Suggestion: Read all about Stellaris Multiplayer

Stellaris is a beautiful but pretty complex 4X (eXplore, eXpand, eXploit, eXterminate) game and a mixture of real-time and turn based strategy game. And its studio Paradox Interactive is known for its complex products. Playing Stellaris takes time.

One of the questions I had before buying the game was how long a typical game in Stellaris lasts. I mean, who has time to play for 3 days on end. We all have a life and a family.

With a game as complex as Stellaris this naturally depends on your settings and play style, but :

A Stellaris game on default settings lasts 300 in-game years (about 30 hours real-time on normal speed). It ends faster if one player exterminates all rivals or controls 40+ % of the galaxy before that. Especially in the beginning, it makes sense to speed up the game time 3x (1 real second = 3 Stellaris days). So games on default settings last about 15 hrs, if you do not pause the game a lot, i.e. to micro-manage the economies.

Since you can save the game anytime and continue from where you left later, many games last real-world days or even a week, like a good game of chess.

But also: If you dominate the galaxy and eliminate all competition quickly, a Stellaris game can end long before the game reaches its Victory year. And so be over much quicker.

How long does a Stellaris Multiplayer game last?

Multiplayer games will take significantly longer than single-player games. Some take over 120+ hours. This is the case because now there is not only one human player who pauses the game to micro-manage his/her empire, but two or more. Also, if only one of the Multiplayer has issues with 3xing the time, all players are forced to stay on 1x speed, by that making the game take much longer.

What are Stellaris’ victory conditions?

The game finds its winner once a (AI-)player owns over 40% of the galaxy or exterminates all rivals, then the game declares the winner. Or if none of these conditions are met on “Victory year, the player with the highest score wins and Stellaris shows a matter-of-fact alert.

Pretty unceremoniously if you ask me.

In this case the Victory year was reached, no one had eliminated the other players nor conquered more than 40% of the galaxy. So the winner was the player with the then highest score – which wasn’t me :(.

Stellaris Quick Game Settings

But I do not always have a few days for a game. Between writing for this website and living my life, I want to have some fun in the few hours I have right now. So is it possible to have some quick fun with Stellaris?

Today I tried to play a much quicker game to find out.

Since Stellaris comes with many setting options for you to choose from, you actually do have some influence on the game and its duration.

If you are instead looking for an answer to “How long does it take to learn Stellaris?“, go here.

On the screenshot above, you can see the Stellaris 3.0 vanilla game settings. We find:

• “Galaxy Size” is set to “Medium (600 Stars)”
• Mid-Game Start Year is set to 2300
• End-Game Start Year is 2400
• Victory Year is set to 2500.

How do you play Stellaris fast?

In order to speed up the game, I played with the settings and reduced the game duration years to the absolute minimum:

I changed the default settings to:

• “Galaxy Size” set to “Small (400 Stars)”
• Mid-Game Start Year is set to 2225
• End-Game Start Year is 2250
• Victory Year is set to 2300.

So from the onset the game would last max. 100 in-game years or 10 hours on 1x speed. If I played on 3x the whole time and deactivate auto-pause, the game would be finished in 3.3 hrs.

The game would end after 100 years or if one player conquered 40% of the galaxy or extinguished all opponents. Not very likely though with only 100 years to go.

100 game-years is not much time to build my empire and battle my rivals. To have a chance to rub elbows with other empires at all, I reduced the galaxy size to its bare minimum of 400 stars. Possibilities here range from a minimum of 400 stars with a maximum of 12 AI opponents up to playing in a huge galaxy with 1000 stars and 30 opposing AI empires. It goes without saying that a 1000-star galaxy will take much longer to explore than a 400-star galaxy.

My experiences with Stellaris on fast settings

With some family breaks, the game took me about 6, 7 hours still. And when I finally reached the “Victory year” 2300, all I saw was the alert above (screenshot)… some other empire had won solely by score.

I had saved some hours, yes, but yikes, playing Stellaris this way was absolutely no fun. I did not experience any End-game fun, the endgame just did not show up.

I let you in on a secret: To be able to build my Navy quickly enough to have some war-fun in the short time, I even cheated, big time. I had a huge Navy. And still I lost the decisive battles and finished last. No idea how that can be even possible (with me cheating that much).

So the game for me stopped just when my Empire started to take some form and I was in the middle of my first campaign.

And I do not know why the “classic” Endgame – some species appearing from nowhere to eliminate everything and everyone in our galaxy – did not appear. So I mostly played the sometimes dull early game phase with all the Empire building tasks … and missed the fun part when you can become the Guardian of the Galaxy.

I feel a bit robbed of that experience. So … I do not think that I will again play with these settings.

Now, sure, I could have played on, after the winner was announced, because technically Stellaris does not end with the Victory year. There is no in-game year when the game comes to a stop.

But without a decent Endgame, I was not interested.

[When] Does Stellaris end?

Stellaris has no end date based on time. The game ends when the winning conditions are met:

• Someone eliminates you
• someone conquers 40% of all habitable planets
• you eliminate all adversaries

By default, a victory year is set. When you reach that year, Stellaris will proclaim a winner by points on that certain date.

But in game settings, you can as well switch off the Victory year completely, so that the game runs without proclaiming a winner.

With or without a victor proclaimed, you can play on until you quit or one of the above winning conditions are met.

Theoretically, Stellaris can be played indefinitely.

FAQ

How long is a day in Stellaris?

On normal speed, one Stellaris day lasts one real-world second, On 3x speed one real-world second is 3 Stellaris days.