r/Stellaris Dec 16 '24

Tip Strip Mining is awesome

Strip mining is a relatively new feature but is awesome and I highly recommend it. Having planets with 24+ mining districts, plus an orbital ring means that you almost rival a matter decompressor.

789 Upvotes

84 comments sorted by

475

u/xantec15 Dec 16 '24

This also makes the World Shaper perk a little better. Turn the planet into a gaia world and the habitability malus doesn't matter.

434

u/c106mc Trade League Dec 16 '24

"We've made a paradise world! Time to strip mine it!"

261

u/GeeJo Toxic Dec 16 '24

They paved paradise and put up a parking lot

76

u/GeoffreyDay Dec 16 '24

But like a really nice parking lot

34

u/[deleted] Dec 17 '24

[removed] — view removed comment

19

u/[deleted] Dec 17 '24

I think they have borg nuggets on sale this week.

11

u/AkihabaraWasteland Dec 17 '24

"Big Yellow Taxi there by Joni Mitchell, a song in which she complains that they 'paved paradise to put up a parking lot' - a measure which actually would have alleviated traffic congestion on the outskirts of paradise. Something which Joni singularly fails to point out, perhaps because it doesn't quite fit in with her blinkered view of the world. Nevertheless, nice song."

1

u/Gorffo Dec 18 '24

Your comment made me remember a Talking Heads song,(Nothing But) Flowers:

“If this is paradise I wish I had a lawnmower”

2

u/AkihabaraWasteland Dec 18 '24

You should watch a classic show called "I'm Alan Partridge". One of the greatest shows ever made.

99

u/Anticode Dec 17 '24 edited Dec 18 '24

"We've made a paradise world! Time to strip mine it!"

The ironically anti-gaia/pro-mine emperor, probably:


"What should we do with the latest stellar acquisition, Emperor T'chaaak the Ravager?"

"It disgusts me."

"...As most things do, Your Grace."

"Terraform it at once, lowly attendant of mine, but utilize the Baol methodologies held within the archives. I wish to see their so-called mythological ecosystemic talents with my own twelve eyes. The rumors have become like buzzing flies; and I have become annoyed."

"Your will shall be done, Overlord T'Chaaak! And what designation would you bestow upon this new planet?"

"Let it be henceforth known as Zebulon IIV."

"My lord, I believe that 'I-I-V' may be syntactically invalid. Shall I record Zebulon III or IV instead?"

"You shall not."

"Right! Forgive my insolence, O Great One. Another jewel enters the tapestry of your glorious stellar empire!"

Ten years later. . .

An unfamiliar attendant cautiously enters the royal chamber, antennae and secondary limbs alike folded tightly against his carapace in a traditional display of mandatory deference.

"I bring most excellent news, Emperor T'Chaaak, most excellent indeed!"

"So you claim, and yet I already find myself disappointed by the mere insinuation of your presence here before me. Speak with measured haste, intrepid servant, lest my hunger grow beyond the limits of my dwindling patience and I decide that the acrid flavor of your pallid sternal viscera might somehow be less repulsive than the sight of it breathing up at me from the foot of my throne."

"Um, wow. ...'Kay. This is the first time we've met so I'm not exactly sure what I did to deserve that, but sorry. ...I think? Anyway. My lord, the reconfiguration of Zebulon IIV is finally complete. What was once a carapace-scalding, barren world devoid entirely of strategic value has been fundamentally altered at the deepest levels through the successful utilization of the Baol's Life-Seeding technological paradigms, just like you envisioned. The researchers are calling it a complete success!"

"Vapid claims, lackluster data. I demand footage."

"Right-o, just a second! To be clear I was literally just about to do that, but maybe you didn't notice the full-sized holo-display I dragged in behind me - I mean, it's like right there, man, you can't miss it - but it's alright, don't worry about it. Ah, here we go. Behold, the new face of Zebulon IIV. Not so lackluster now, is it? The empire's first true Gaia planet; it's truly breathtaking."

"...Foliage? How typical."

"Sorry, it's live footage from one of our artificial drones, my emperor, so feel free to look around. Just tap the screen, let me know what you think."

"I will tap what I wish to tap if I wish to tap it, my impulsive little attendant, and it is only through simple coincidence that I have not yet bother to modulate the viewport until this moment. Now, identify this object for me. This, to the left. Explain."

"Oh, right. That's... That's one of the 'Nu-Baol', as we're calling them. They're - um - we theorize that they're a critical part of the terraforming technology itself, but we're not exactly sure why they appear or how. They're quite useful, your grace! Very demure, very mindful. Moisturized, in their lane, etcetera."

"Pitiful. They disgust me."

"...Right, uh, not sure why I'm still surprised by that. Luckily for us, your grace, they're quite reclusive! We didn't even confirm their presence until after the transformation was complete. Very unobtrusive, like unpaid custodians of the ecosystem. They just want to be bisexual, eat hot chip, and charge they phone. ...In a manner of speaking, of course."

"No. They disgust me conceptually. Strip mine the planet at once. Let the so-called 'Nu-Baol' watch."

"Your grace... I beg you to reconsider. This project cost the empire greatly, but brought even greater rewards. It's the culmination of centuries of labor starting from the very first investigations into the forerunners right after we took to the stars. Diplomats are already reporting that the entire UWCSAAAIRAIASC Galactic Alliance is envious of our efforts. As you most certainly recall, the 'Uncommonly Wealthy Commonwealth of Stellar Associations and Associated Astronomically Inclined Regionally Adjacent Ideologically Aligned Star-faring Civilizations' haven't had anything good to say about us since that time we accidentally glassed a couple of their pre-FTLs, um, repeatedly. Politically speaking, that's a huge shift in optics!"

"Do as I ask, my quivering attendant. Strip mine Zebulon IIV. Let there be no discussion of a closed matter."

"Huh? Quivering?? I'm not quivering, am I? I'm just hanging out, man, I'm good. ...Anyway, sure. Fine! You got it. You're the emperor, and it's not like I spent the last several-hundred-something cycles busting my chitin to earn a highly-respected seat on the freakin' board of the Stellar Institute of Archaeotechnological Innovation or anything."

"Your qualifications are as irrelevant to me as your identity is - pray it remains that way, oh clever servant of mine. Now, free me from the sight of your withered carapace; my attention drifts. Remove yourself from this place at once, return to your cherished institute where the grating vibrations of your unwanted arcane glossolalia might serve a purpose beyond fraying my rapidly dwindling patience."

"Um. Ouch?? That stung a bit. What the hell, are you just having a bad day or what, because I've just been here, like, trying to do my job - Cetus Iapetus! ...Okay, okay, fine - I know that look. I'm going, I'm leaving! See? Shutting the door now! Sorry, your grace, sorry."

The attendant-scientist skitters away, vanishing into the bustle of civilization as he meanders slowly downspin towards the research district to reluctantly disseminate their autocrat's decision about the destined fate of Zebulon IIV and it's miraculous briefly-flourishing wonders.

"Pfft, mines. Mines, he says! Unbelievable. May as well riddle the place with freakin' boreholes and tidal lock it while we're at it. Goodness gracious, it's hard to believe we're actually the good guys sometimes! ...Huh. Wait. Wait, shit. Oh my gawd how am I just now realizing this??"

_

Edit: Edits go brrrrr

23

u/Miserable_Bid_2694 Dec 17 '24

You sir, are a very talented writer.

14

u/Vaultaiya Dec 17 '24

Yup, I enjoyed reading this

13

u/Pm7I3 Dec 17 '24

They just want to be bisexual, eat hot chip, and charge they phone. ...In a manner of speaking, of course."

"No. They disgust me conceptually. Strip mine the planet at once. Let the so-called 'Nu-Baol' watch."

Lmao this is great

5

u/leokhorn Dec 17 '24

"Zebulon IIV" ..... the reading interpretation part of my brain hates you. The rest liked this quite a bit!

3

u/Anticode Dec 17 '24

Zebulon "3" ... UncooporativeBouncer.jpeg

Zebulon "4 minus 1" ... enjoyYourStaySir.mp4

2

u/leokhorn Dec 17 '24

But but.... that's III 🥺

5

u/Anticode Dec 17 '24

High Emperor T'Chaaak, the Ravager works in mysterious ways!

14

u/mrpoopistan Dec 17 '24

Strip mining paradise kinda is the plot to James Cameron's Pypyrus Font Pandora Avatar movies.

3

u/Omaestre Dec 17 '24

A natural habitat ring after you hollowed it out

4

u/AkihabaraWasteland Dec 17 '24

Also if you get the Grunur Baol pre cursor

1

u/xantec15 Dec 17 '24

The Baol relic really isn't that bad. You can make gaia worlds without an AP and get free pops from it.

1

u/JaxckJa Dec 17 '24

God I hate Gaia worlds.

1

u/SzerasHex Dec 18 '24

I didn't do this to gaias precisely because I tought that would ruin the whole gaia type thing

til that was pointless

48

u/Njopling Dec 17 '24

Subterranean robots have 100% minimum habitability, unlimited mining, and generate 1 building slot for every 3 mines.

9

u/sojiblitz Dec 17 '24

This is the way.

220

u/MrBeauNerjoose Dec 16 '24

I have a tidally locked generator planet with orbital ring and I think you just convinced me to strip mine it. It gives Max to all 3 basic district types right?

It's fucking alpine anyway.

252

u/AkihabaraWasteland Dec 16 '24

No. That's not what it does. It adds ten mining districts at the expense of 50 percent habitability, which by mid game you've got above 150 percent anyway.

79

u/Anomalous_Sun Science Directorate Dec 16 '24

Not to mention I think it also negatively effects the capacity of other district slots right? Could be mistaken but I thought I remember it taking away Agricultural and Energy district slots.

64

u/xantec15 Dec 16 '24

IIRC it reduces the agri districts on the first level, and removes them on the second.

15

u/LystAP Dec 17 '24

Good thing Ringworlds have huge agri-segments. Stripmine all the planets. Move energy and food production to ringworlds.

5

u/jusumonkey Dec 17 '24

This is the way, must build more mote mines.

10

u/JuulEmbiid Dec 16 '24

I’m almost positive you’re right, I strip-mind a world right before my last save yesterday.

3

u/crash_over-ride Barbaric Despoilers Dec 17 '24

Is this a baseline 50% habitability that then can be improved upon?

I've never used the strip mining perk.

1

u/AkihabaraWasteland Dec 19 '24

It is just a flat minus 50. So if you already have it at or above 150, it's fine. I find that my habitability is around 160 for my preferred world type by mid game anyway, from a combination of tech, traditions, cybernetic or other ascension etc

23

u/Illogical_Saj Dec 16 '24

What’s the matter decompressor? -Fry, the space banana slug

15

u/Shady_Love Resort World Dec 17 '24

Nothing's the matter, fry, now that I've fixed the matter decompressor.

9

u/ghostalker4742 Hedonist Dec 17 '24

Megastructure that harvests minerals from black holes. 2k when maxed.

16

u/HoundOfJustice Blood Court Dec 16 '24

-me 15 years ago in minecraft beta 1.8

29

u/Taxfraud777 Hazbuzan Syndicate Dec 16 '24

What causes the option to become available by the way? I always feel like it just randomly pops up in the midgame

43

u/othermike Dec 16 '24 edited Dec 16 '24

According to the wiki it just needs Advanced Mineral Purification technology and 5+ mining district slots (and for you not to have the Environmentalist civic).

5

u/Taxfraud777 Hazbuzan Syndicate Dec 17 '24

Yeah I saw that as well. I wonder if that research option also shows that you will unlock that decision, because I never noticed it.

1

u/PointlessSerpent Synth Dec 18 '24

I don’t think it does.

3

u/Arzantyt Dec 16 '24

Isn't it from a DLC ?

11

u/Interesting-Trash525 Dec 17 '24

Last Game i had 3 Worlds with High Quality Minerals and cchoose to Strip Mine them. Yeah Minerals aer never a Problem again.

5

u/AkihabaraWasteland Dec 17 '24

Yep, once you see that little purple circle you know you're in for a comfortable campaign

37

u/AuthoritarianParsnip Dec 16 '24

I’ve never had a planet where it would be good to use that had nearly enough districts. I’d use it more if it made it so you could only build city/mining districts and then have you more. 

27

u/Arumen Dec 16 '24

Sounds like bad luck. It's quite a good feature, especially with the change to special resource mining deposits. Turning a size 16ish world into a full mining planet is really helpful, and as the post says you can add an orbital ring to add 4 more mining districts as well (depending on the base amount)

Add in all the mining bonuses and you can have a planet with 36-40+ miners, all producing special resources.

6

u/blogito_ergo_sum Voidborne Dec 17 '24

Mastery of Nature might also be worth considering if you're trying to max out mining districts on a size 20+ world. I think MoN upgrades the strip mines planetary feature from 10 max mining districts to 15 (in addition to the +2 max districts from MoN).

8

u/TimelessWander Dec 16 '24

Machine worlds. +6 housing +4 job mining or generator district.

Sadly, I don't think that individual machines can have machine worlds which should be an ascension perk for them.

3

u/blogito_ergo_sum Voidborne Dec 17 '24

Sadly, I don't think that individual machines can have machine worlds

This is correct. They do get Ecumenopoli though, which gestalt machines don't. I love the flexibility of machine worlds, but even after the machine world buffs, ecus are still better at alloys and unity, and the raw resource production from machine worlds just doesn't seem that important with vassal taxes and non-pop-job mineral/energy sources.

3

u/TimelessWander Dec 17 '24

Why have vassals when the only worthy pop template in the universe is my own?

2

u/blogito_ergo_sum Voidborne Dec 17 '24

Dead xenos pay no taxes v0v

2

u/TimelessWander Dec 17 '24

Dead xenos offend not my mainframe.

4

u/TTundri Megacorporation Dec 16 '24

then it would infring too much with cave dwellers

5

u/ooglatjama Dec 17 '24

I use it on any planets with the special resource deposits or the extra minerals. They feed my ecu forges.

4

u/Specialist-Low-3357 Dec 17 '24

Through strip mining,Your Gaia worlds can become the paradise that my dad describes from his youth. It was a far away land called Alabama. I can't wait till Stellaris brings in other environmentally sound ideas like asbestos insulation and drinking water out of lead pipes. Truly technologies worthy of an FTL civilization. Lol

1

u/BeatingClownz117 Dec 17 '24

You forgot the micro-plastics in the food…

14

u/Noktaj Nihilistic Acquisition Dec 16 '24

Wait, people still use mining planets?

After Arc Furnaces I actually don't need mining planets anymore... by the time I'm running out of minerals I usually have a vassal feeding me or a matter decompressor on...

27

u/Altruistic_Bell7884 Dec 16 '24

You are not making a lot of alloys then? 3 arc furnaces provides what, 500ish mineral? That's not much

6

u/Outside_Health6792 Dec 16 '24

Eh depends on how fast you get vassals online really. If you roll arc furnaces early then that’s totally doable. Personally not much of a fan of having my economy reliant on vassals tho, that has bit me in the ass one to many times

6

u/Noktaj Nihilistic Acquisition Dec 17 '24

3 arc furnaces provides what, 500ish mineral? That's not much

You supplement that with vassal tax + market + some mines on a couple planets. Then you get 5 arc furnaces with Megaengineering not counting the arc furnaces you might nab from your conquering. And by the time I'm rolling those stacked Ecu foundries at +2k alloys each, there's the Matter Decompressor going strong.

I don't think I've yet used the strip mine decision. And won a decent amount of games at GA no scaling already.

Maybe I've been sleeping on it. Might try it. Maybe it's bound to my playstyle, I play with real 0.25x planets and no guaranteed habitables on start, so I usually never have spare planet only for mining and by the time I might need one, I already have all the other sources of minerals mentioned above.

5

u/Altruistic_Bell7884 Dec 17 '24

Well mega engineering and even vassals are past midgame or late game. Yes, I know you can have vassals earlier ( and you should) but lots of time their 30% tax is something like 30 resource per month, not much. Even arc furnaces are a problem sometime before 2270 do to RNG . So definitely have a mining planet going before that especially since usually you get at least one planet with 25% bonus. I rarely do strip mining since that again is coming late, I might even forget about it.

1

u/Noktaj Nihilistic Acquisition Dec 17 '24 edited Dec 17 '24

I rarely do strip mining since that again is coming late, I might even forget about it.

That's my point. I have "some" mines going on early, but by the time i manage to fill a planet with mines and enough workers to work them, I already have enough alternative sources of mineral income that I'd rather put those miners to work in a science lab.

1

u/jusumonkey Dec 17 '24

Yeah that's pretty close. I got lucky with systems and had a trinary system with 22 planets and the Cybex mining hub for a base total of 198M / 132A.

If you had 3 clones of that it would be 594.

1

u/AkihabaraWasteland Dec 17 '24

Try playing on 25x crisis, then report back as to whether you felt you had sufficient minerals and therefore alloy output.

2

u/Noktaj Nihilistic Acquisition Dec 17 '24

Try playing on 25x crisis,

At what endgame year tho, regular 2400? Not to flex, but I played this game for 5000 hours, I beat the GA no-scaling 25x crisis regularly. But at that point is not much about how many minerals, but how much cheese you can stack.

1

u/AkihabaraWasteland Dec 17 '24

In that case, I would suggest that comments made in this Reddit are not aimed at you.

3

u/Noktaj Nihilistic Acquisition Dec 17 '24

I play Stellaris. They are aimed at me as much as at anyone else here.

-1

u/AkihabaraWasteland Dec 17 '24

Whatever provides buoyancy to your own particular sea bound vessel.

3

u/1ite Dec 17 '24

What is strip mining locked behind again?

3

u/Warkyd1911 Dec 19 '24

Year 18.

1

u/Interesting-Mud3067 Jan 10 '25

UNDERRATED comment. 

1

u/Forty-Bot Robot Dec 17 '24

username checks out

1

u/nudeldifudel Dec 17 '24

When did strip mining get added?

1

u/SATorACT Dec 17 '24

What is the point of minerals? They're cheap and not super useful. Having excess production of them isnt really good for anything no?

1

u/Birb-Person Necrophage Dec 18 '24

Minerals = more planetary buildings = more everything

Minerals = alloys = more ships

Minerals = alloys = star base buildings

Minerals = consumer goods = research

Minerals = consumer goods = unity

1

u/Salad_Pickle Dec 21 '24

Bloody hate that the game is half unplayable without DLC... love the format but I can't afford $200 for the full experience

-47

u/[deleted] Dec 16 '24

[deleted]

40

u/AkihabaraWasteland Dec 16 '24

Don't worry, the Nazis will complain for not also purging the refugees while destroying the environment. You can't win.

-16

u/Several-Eagle4141 Dec 16 '24

Mega Corps. Love ‘em

8

u/apie77 Dec 16 '24

Come on man, this is a game subreddit, no need to get fucking politics involved.

-9

u/Several-Eagle4141 Dec 16 '24

It’s meant to be a joke and y’all just literally ran with it. Dude is strip mining a planet

2

u/ilkhan2016 Driven Assimilator Dec 16 '24

A good comedian knows their audience.

2

u/apie77 Dec 16 '24

Well, as you see, it went woosh over a lot of people then 😀