Traits

*This page is about species traits. For leader traits see leader traits.*

Version

This article has been verified for the current PC version (3.10) of the game.

**Traits** represents a species' innate functions, abilities, and personality. A species's traits are selected at the start of a new game, but a species or certain pops of a species can adapt new traits through genetic engineering or rare events. Traits affect a wide variety of areas, from  population growth rate to  resource output to  leader lifespan or even how pops are viewed by each other. Most traits come in mutually exclusive groups that affect the same aspect of the species, such as  Nomadic and  Sedentary, and each species template can only have one such trait from the group at any given time. These groups include traits with opposite effects, as well as stronger variants of a trait. Though traits are initially decided at a species level, individual *pops* of the same species can end up with different traits with genetic modification, producing new subspecies or variants. This rarely happens without player intervention.

Traits are mostly fixed at the start of the game. Altering traits during the game is generally possible only later in the game through some select events or by using genetic engineering. Certain  Biology (for Biological species) and  Industry (for Robotic species) technologies and Ascension Perks add additional  Trait Points that can be used to alter all or some of a species'  Pops; modifications can range from altering their planet  Habitability to adding an additional positive trait or removing a negative one.

Some traits affect how strongly a pop is  attracted to certain factions.

## Biological traits

Traits are purchased from a points pool, with 2 points being available at the start of the game. Some traits are negative and have a negative cost, refunding points into the pool. Each species is limited to a maximum of 5 traits; traits that cost 0 points do not count against this limit but can only be acquired from certain origins, events, or ascension perks.

### Initial traits

Initial traits are available when first creating a species. They can all be changed later via genetic modification. Initial traits can be both positive and negative, with the two being mutually exclusive. Traits that affect  Happiness cannot be added to species with the  Hive-Minded trait.

The  Adaptive and  Rapid Breeders traits are not normally available to species with the  Lithoid trait but can be added with the  Genetic Resequencing tradition.

#### Botanical traits

Botanical traits are only available to species with the Fungoid or Plantoid archetype or empires that researched the  Botanical Transgenesis technology. Radiotrophic is also available to species with the Lithoid archetype, or for all empires that completed the Radioactive Flora terraforming event.

#### Silicate traits

Silicate traits are only available to species with the Lithoid archetype or empires that researched the  Silicate Transgenesis technology. The Lithoid trait is always present on Lithoid species.

### Origin traits

Origin traits can only be given by certain empire Origins.

#### Overtuned traits

Overtuned traits can only be added or removed by empires with the  Overtuned origin. Empires with the  Genetic Resequencing tradition can also remove them. Overtuned traits provide bonuses similar to initial traits for less points but also reduce leader lifespan.

### Pre-sapient traits

Pre-sapient species have exclusive traits that cannot otherwise be chosen when creating or modifying a species. They retain these traits after being uplifted as a sapient species and do not cost any trait points. The Forcefully Devolved trait can only be added to species that were turned pre-sapient with the  Devolving Beam colossus weapon.

### Special traits

These traits are required for special cases of species and cannot be removed from the creation menu.

The  Hive-Minded trait can only be added by hive mind empires and can only be removed by empires that are not hive minds. Pops with this trait in an non-Hive Mind empire will slowly die while pops without the Hive-Minded trait in a Hive Mind empire can only be displaced, purged or used as livestock.

Special traits that cost trait points can be removed via the  Genetic Resequencing tradition. Special traits that do not cost trait points have a fixed chance of being inherited by hybrid species.

### Cyborg traits

Cyborg traits can only be added to species with the  Cybernetic trait if the empire has the  Integrated Anatomy tradition.

### Biological ascension traits

Those advanced traits are made available for genetic modification with the  Genetic Resequencing tradition. Biological ascension traits are only half as likely as standard traits to be inherited by hybrid species. The  Exotic Metabolism trait also requires the  Toxoids DLC.

#### Leviathan traits

Leviathan traits can only be added by empires that researched the  Leviathan Transgenesis technology and defeated certain guardians.

### Climate preference traits

Each organic species has a climate preference trait that determines their base  Habitability on the various types of planets, usually that corresponding to the type of their homeworld. Habitability traits can be changed through genetic modification, but a pop can never have more than one Habitability trait. The Habitability of other celestial body types is unaffected by these traits. Habitability cannot be changed if the species has the  Aquatic trait.

#### Exotic climate preferences

Exotic climate preferences can only be obtained through Origins, conquest of a unique species, the A New Species event on a matching celestial body or when the  Omnicodex relic creates a species on a matching celestial body.

## Robot traits

All robot species have either the  Mechanical or the  Machine trait.  Mechanical Pops can exist within  Machine Intelligence empires via conquest but  Machine Pops cannot exist outside  Machine Intelligence empires. All such species can then be given new traits through Robomodding once the  Machine Template System technology is researched, a few of them being restricted to  Mechanical or  Machine species. Robotic traits can be both positive and negative, which are mutually exclusive with each other, and both of them can be added and removed at will once the technology to enable Robomodding becomes available.

Empires that are not  Machine Intelligence must research higher tiers of robot technologies before they can add some of the more powerful traits to  Mechanical Pops.