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Stellaris
Stellaris
4.3|Feb 12, 2026
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Stellaris 4.3 "Cetus" Open Beta Updated (2026-02-12)

3/5 Moderate

Ship combat behavior receives a major overhaul alongside significant buffs to Lithoid starts and the Police State and Aristocratic Elite civics.

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Key Changes

  • 1Ship combat logic overhauled: ships now target 90% max range and charge attackers from 200% distance.
  • 2Artillery combat computers fixed to prioritize maximum range instead of median range.
  • 3Lithoid Empires now start with one additional Mining district for a stronger early economy.
  • 4Martial Law stability bonus now applies to all planets controlled by a Commander governor.
  • 5Police State and Aristocratic Elite civics buffed with +10% job efficiency for Enforcers and Elites.
  • 6Fixed a critical bug where leaders in 'Doom of the Eater' fleets would die upon new fleet spawns.
  • 7Angler food bonus removal finally implemented, bringing them in line with regular farmers.
  • 8Fixed command_limit_mult bug that caused incorrect fleet capacity calculations.
  • 9Civics affecting base leader levels are now properly functioning.
  • 10Exotic Gas Capture district specialization cost reduced to match other specializations.

All Changes

🏛️Civics & Government(6)

  • changeAristocratic Elite: Aristocratic Elite now grants +10% Elite Job Efficiency and +10% Leader Upkeep.
  • buffPolice State: Police State now grants +10% Enforcer Job Efficiency.
  • changeChief of Secret Police: Chief of Secret Police council position changed from 5% Governing Ethics Attraction per level to 2% Governing Ethics Attraction and 1% Enforcer Job Efficiency per level.
  • buffMartial Law: Martial Law now increases Stability on any planet a Commander governor is controlling, rather than just their home planet.
  • fixLeaders: Fixed an issue where civics affecting the base level of leaders were not functioning.
  • fixGenesis Guides: Reforming government to invalidate Genesis Guides now correctly removes Genesis Preserves from colonies.

🚀Ship Combat(5)

  • changeShips: Ships basing range on weapons now target 90% of max range instead of 100% to improve reliability.
  • fixArtillery Combat Computer: Artillery combat computers now correctly attempt to stay at maximum range instead of median range.
  • buffShips: Ships under fire from outside their range will now charge attackers if within 200% of desired max range (increased from 110%).
  • fixFleets: Fleets of a single ship exceeding Command Limit will no longer attempt to split daily.
  • fixCommand Limit: Fixed command_limit_mult bug where the modifier applied to itself before the command limit.

💎Economy & Districts(5)

  • buffLithoid Empires: Lithoid Empires now start the game with one additional Mining district.
  • buffExotic Gas Capture: Exotic Gas Capture district specialization cost has been reduced (no longer costs twice as much as others).
  • fixArchives: Spiritualist and Materialist empires now prioritize placing starting Temples or Research Labs in the Archives district specialization.
  • nerfAnglers: Angler's bonus food output has been removed; they now produce the same as regular farmers while keeping trade production.
  • fixDeluge Colossus: The Deluge colossus now properly terraforms targets and creates appropriate deposits.

👥Pops & Species(2)

  • fixPops: Non-enslaved pops and mindless robots no longer demand Battle Thrall status for Limited military service.
  • fixWilderness Species: Wilderness species can no longer receive forbidden traits from Fallen Empire interactions.

👤Leaders & Traits(2)

  • fixOpportunist Trait: The Opportunist 3 leader trait now functions as intended.
  • fixDoom of the Eater: Leaders assigned to a 'Doom of the Eater' fleet no longer die when a new fleet is spawned.

🖥️UI & UX(8)

  • fixFallen Empire Buildings: Fallen Empire building notifications now specify which building has been unlocked.
  • fixClustered Capacity: Clustered Capacity tradition tooltip updated to reflect current values.
  • fixImperial Fiefdom: Adjusted Polish names for Imperial Fiefdom AI vassals.
  • fixSupremacist Faction: Fixed missing title in supremacist faction demands for Hard Reset.
  • fixCosmogenesis: Materialist FE warning for Cosmogenesis now only triggers if a Materialist FE exists in the galaxy.
  • fixSubterranean Origin: Subterranean origin tooltip now mentions the Subterranean Urbanization zone.
  • fixExistential Iteroparity: Existential Iteroparity tooltip adjusted to match in-game values.
  • fixTutorial: Tutorial settings can now be adjusted again.

⚙️Performance(2)

  • changePerformance: Implemented additional string optimizations.
  • fixCosmic Storms: Fixed an issue where cosmic storms would spam the error log.

Summary

Combat & Ship Behavior

This update focuses heavily on ship AI logic. Ships now aim for 90% of their maximum weapon range to prevent falling out of range, while Artillery combat computers have been restored to prioritize maximum range over median range. Additionally, ships being attacked from beyond their range will now aggressively charge attackers from much further away (200% of desired range).

Civic & Empire Balance

Several civics have been tuned for better efficiency. Aristocratic Elite and Police State now provide job efficiency bonuses for Elite and Enforcer roles, respectively. Lithoid empires receive a slight economic boost with an additional starting Mining district, and Martial Law now provides stability across all planets controlled by a Commander governor.

Bug Fixes & Performance

Numerous technical issues have been addressed, including a fix for leaders dying unexpectedly in 'Doom of the Eater' fleets and a correction to the Angler civic's food output. Performance has also been improved through further string optimizations.

← OlderStellaris 4.3 "Cetus" Open Beta Updated (2026-02-06) [Checksum 2e59]Feb 6, 2026Newer →Stellaris 4.3 "Cetus" Open Beta Updated (2026-02-19)Feb 19, 2026

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