Stellaris ship design: how to build and design ships
In Stellaris, ships are built at starbases that have a shipyard. Select a starbase, open its shipyard tab, choose a ship design and add it to the build queue. Science and construction ships can be built at any starbase with a shipyard, and your capital's starbase has one from the start. For custom builds, open the Ship Designer, pick a hull and fill its slots with weapons, defenses and utilities.
Step by step
- Select a starbase in one of your systems. Your home system's starbase is the easiest place to start.
- Make sure it has a shipyard. If not, build a shipyard module on the starbase. Larger starbases have more module slots and can hold several shipyards to build faster.
- Open the shipyard and choose what to build: science ship, construction ship or warships. Colony ships are built from planets instead.
- Pick a design. The game offers auto-generated designs that update as you research technology.
- Pay and wait. Ships cost alloys and take time to build; more shipyards let you build in parallel.
Designing your own ships
Open the Ship Designer to create custom designs. Choose a hull (corvette, destroyer, cruiser, battleship and, later, titan), pick sections and fill slots with weapons, armor, shields and utility components. Designs you create can then be selected in the shipyard.
Good designs match your enemy: shields against energy-heavy fleets (energy weapons are strong against armor), armor against kinetic weapons (which are strong against shields), and point defense against missiles and strike craft.
Fleet capacity
Your naval capacity is the size of fleet you can support without extra upkeep. You can go over it, but upkeep costs rise. You can raise it by building anchorages on starbases, researching relevant technologies and with certain policies, buildings and civics.
FAQ
How do I build science ships?
Open any starbase with a shipyard and choose a science ship from the build list. Science ships survey systems and investigate anomalies.
How many Titans can I have in Stellaris?
Titans are limited, and the limit depends on your game version and your fleet setup. The game shows the current limit when you try to build one.
How do I make transport ships in Stellaris?
You don't build them at a shipyard. Recruit assault armies from a planet's army menu; they come with their own transports and form a fleet you can move to invade.
What is the best ship design in Stellaris?
There is no single best design. The auto-generated designs are a solid default; custom designs pay off when you counter the weapons and defenses your enemy uses.
Can planets be destroyed in Stellaris?
Orbital bombardment damages planets and their pops but does not destroy them. Destroying planets requires special weapons from DLC content.