Stellaris: Willpower lets players win through ideology

Stellaris: Willpower, scheduled for Nov. 23, will add a victory path based on ideology, diplomacy and cultural influence. The expansion is being developed with Abrakam Entertainment for the space strategy game.

Its main system, the Force of Will ambition, lets empires build influence by spreading their beliefs across planets and factions. Players will earn and spend Willpower to gain abilities and perks that extend the reach of their ideology.

One ability, Cultural Envoys, adds ships that can pass through closed borders and begin converting a planet’s population. The ships let players spread their ideology directly without waiting for cultural influence to grow or securing diplomatic access.

“When we started working on Willpower, we knew we wanted to have a new ambition along the lines of Defenders of the Galaxy,” Gary Morris, Stellaris DLC director, explained. “We wanted it to be possible to win the game without conflict being a focus.”

Converting enough of a planet’s population can trigger an ideological revolt. If the revolt succeeds, the population may adopt the player’s ideology and potentially become a vassal state.

The expansion gives soft power a larger role, according to Game Designer Gabriel Brunet. “You’re going to be able to expand your empire without firing a single shot,” he said.

Willpower will add absolute ethics, a level above the existing fanatic ethics. Absolute ethics provide stronger effects and can add extra modifiers. Reaching one requires three ethic points, compared with two for a fanatic ethic and one for a standard ethic. Players must give up one of their secondary ethics to adopt an absolute ethic, which is required to reach the later stages of the Force of Will ambition.

The expansion will introduce eight paragon leaders linked to specific ethics. After an empire reaches an absolute ethic, structures including Galactic Halls and Galactic Cathedrals can attract one of the leaders.

The characters represent their associated ideologies. They include a bureaucrat devoted to serving an empire’s beliefs and a militarist leader driven toward battle, according to Narrative Content Designer Robert Brown.

Stellaris: Willpower will cost $24.99 or £20.99. It will be available separately and in the Stellaris Season 10 bundle, which costs $49.49 or £41.59. The expansion will launch alongside the free Stellaris 4.6 update, titled Corona Borealis.