Stellaris: What Is The Best Vassal Type

Vassals in Stellaris have changed significantly with updates, and now play a much bigger part in contributing to your galactic empire. With the Overlord DLC, the vassals have changed into specialized allies, or sometimes liabilities, depending on your management skills and objectives. Even if you don’t own the DLC, there are powerful vassal types worth using in any playthrough.

So, depending upon what your empire is lacking, like passive income, research bonuses or even direct war support, the right vassal type can make or break your mid-to-late game economy. Therefore, to help you choose the best vassal type in Stellaris, this guide breaks down each type to help you make a more informed choice.

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By Mehrdad Khayyat

Best Vassal Type In Stellaris

There are over five different types of vassals in Stellaris, each having their own pros and cons, making them unique for different situations. Moreover, some types even provide empire-wide modifiers, so here's a comprehensive breakdown of each vassal type and when you should consider creating them.

When building vassals, there is always a risk of insurrection. Make sure you have enough power and forces before you try making vassals across the galaxy.

Tributary / Subsidiary

Pros	Cons
No DLC required	Won’t assist in wars
Provides passive income	You need to defend them
Requires minimal management	No advanced bonuses
Can't force obligations on you	No military utility

Tributaries and subsidiaries are mechanically identical. The only difference is that subsidiaries are exclusive to Megacorps. These vassals are your empire’s piggy bank as they send you a steady income of energy credits and resources without demanding much in return.

Since you can't be forced into obligations, these vassals offer maximum control with minimal downside. Just don’t expect them to fight alongside you. They generally defend themselves in most conflicts, which is a small price to pay for essentially free resources.

Standard Vassal

Pros	Cons
Fully customizable contract	Requires micromanagement
DLC not required	Can cost you resources
Can be integrated into empire	Has risk of rebellion
Can copy traits of other vassal types	Bonuses are weaker overall

Standard vassals are the jack-of-all-trades. You can shape their contract to mimic other specialized types or integrate them peacefully into your empire. While they don't have the unique bonuses of specialized vassals, the flexibility is quite useful. The major downside is their unpredictability, as poor contract choices or harsh terms can sometimes backfire, leading to unrest or inefficiency.

Scholarium

Pros	Cons
Massive research bonuses	Weakened military strength
Exclusive overlord holdings	Needs constant protection
No tithe required	DLC required (Overlord)
Good for tall empires	Limited defensive utility

If you're focused on tech early on, Scholariums are an ideal choice. They funnel research straight to your empire, letting you outpace opponents technologically. As the overlord, you can even build special research holdings in their territory. However, they’re defenseless the higher their level climbs, so you'll need to commit to defending them long-term.

Satrapy

Pros	Cons
Large resource tithe	Very rare event trigger
Combines benefits of multiple vassal types	High setup difficulty
Strong economic partner	Limited strategic flexibility

Satrapies are exclusive to a rare mid-game crisis, namely the rise of the Great Khan. If you manage to convert a reborn Khanate into a Satrapy, you’ll gain an excellent economic ally that pays heavy tribute. The only problem is the setup is convoluted and relies on heavily RNG. If you manage it, though, it’s a powerful payoff that can snowball your empire's economy.

Prospectorium

Pros	Cons
Provides bonus minerals and resources	Reduced research output
Overlord can build mining holdings	Requires Overlord DLC
Great for wide empires	Vassal becomes tech-backward
Passive resource flow	Military is average at best

The Prospectorium is the ideal vassal type for raw materials. It’s especially useful in mineral-heavy playthroughs or wide empires that need more alloys. The downside is their poor scientific progression. They focus so heavily on minerals and alloys that their tech development suffers. Try to keep them for a short period to get the most economic benefit.

Bulwark

Pros	Cons
Heavily militarized defense vassal	No economic benefit
Fortifies your borders	Low research and economy
Great for chokepoints	Over-specialized
Overlord gets military bonuses	Needs Overlord DLC

The Bulwark is an ideal defensive vassal, great at repelling any incoming threat. They strengthen your military through strong fleets and fortified starbases, and you get defensive bonuses too. However, they provide nothing economically, and their narrow focus makes them poor long-term vassals.

Protectorate

Pros	Cons
Can be turned into a vassal later	No early-game benefit
Easy to advance civilizations	Very weak until upgraded
Good in late game	Poor resource or military support
Works as a stepping stone	Can take decades to evolve

Protectorates are a relic of older Stellaris systems. While they still exist, they serve little practical purpose beyond easing primitive species into the galactic community. They don't pay tribute, can’t fight, and usually take ages to develop into useful vassals. If you're trying to maximize power, skip them unless you're doing a pacifist or xenophile run.

Which Is the Best: Protectorate, Vassal, or Tributary?

Out of the three classic types, Protectorate, Standard Vassal, and Tributary, Tributaries (or Subsidiaries) are clearly the best overall. They provide consistent resource income, don’t require a DLC, and also don't burden you with contractual micromanagement. They're the easiest way to passively boost your empire’s economy with minimal oversight.

Best for Most Empires: Tributary/Subsidiary
Best for Customization: Standard Vassal
Best for Tall Builds: Scholarium

Standard vassals come second thanks to their flexibility, especially when you're playing a diplomatic or expansion-focused empire. Protectorates are by far the worst and that too, by a wide margin, as they're slow to develop, offer no benefits early on, and are mostly there for long-game uplift scenarios.

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