Disclaimer
Keep in mind that I don't think I'm amazing at the game, and I rarely have time to get to the end-game of a playthrough, so there might be cracks in these strategies.
Also note that I don't hate the Megacorp DLC, I just know that there are a lot of people who do. This guide is just a fun RP alternative to the DLC, whose main draw is playing as a megacorporation. If you're willing to give the DLC a chance, I think you should go ahead and try it.
If you have any tips to help improve these strategies, then leave them in the comments (I may make edits and attribute them to comments).
This guide also assumes you have most of the DLC that isn't Megacorp (Leviathans, Utopia, Synthetic Dawn, and Distant Stars, all of which I think are decent at least).
Finally, note that this isn't meant to be a true alternative to an entire DLC (I know what the title says, and bear with me for a moment). This is more meant to be a fun little way to play Stellaris a bit differently.
The Mission
The goal of a Corporation is and has always been one thing: PROFIT.
Knowing this, you have to make as many energy credits as possible, which can be achieved through the (from what I've heard) commonly ignored trade route feature. It makes sense, not only from a gameplay standpoint but also a roleplaying one, to generate as much trade value as possible, since 1 trade value = 1 energy credit per month.
We have to design an empire and/or species based around maximizing trade value while.
"But why focus so much on credits? Wouldn't that mean you're ignoring other stuff like minerals, consumer goods, alloys, and food?"
When I mean maximizing trade value, I don't necessarily mean doing it at the cost of your other resources, even though you can technically do that. If you have a monthly deficit of any of those other resources, energy credits are a good thing to have to keep you afloat. In fact, it's probably better to also produce a lot of minerals or food, since that's easy to do and you can sell your reserves on the galactic market.
Since energy credits also act as the galaxy's universal currency, it has a lot of other uses that could help a business empire:
Buying colony ships (I'll explain in a little while).
Buying off the galactic market.
Buying from other empires (assuming you're friendly with them).
Funding the Curator Order to get an extra 10% boost to research for a few years.
Curators also sell level 5 scientists for 1k a pop.
Paying monthly for a monthly flow of strategic resources from a Trade Enclave.
They also sell a governor for a one time payment.
And much more!
But enough chitchat, we have a business to make!
Setting Up Your Capitalist Empire
-Government-
-Species-
Step 1:
Pick the Oligarchy government type.
Step 2:
Pick Fanatic Materialist as your primary ethic.
Step 3:
Pick either Egalitarian or Authoritarian as your secondary ethic (depends on which of the two playstyles that I'll explain later you want to do).
Step 4:
Pick the Corporate Dominion Civic. It allows you to build the Private Colony Ship mentioned earlier and gives you the technology to build off-world trading companies.
It has an extra bonus, however.
+1 energy credit per trading hub doesn't sound like that much of a diffference, right? Well put into consideration that you'll be building a lot of trade hubs.
The second civic will also depend on which of the two playstyles you want to play.
You really only need to pick Thrifty for a trait.
For your other positive 2-point trait, you can do Industrious or Intelligent. Everything else is up to you.
Congrats! You now have the empire setup of a bonafide galactic business!
Two Ways To Play
Not every Galactic Corporation is the same.
Corporations today fall into 2 types depending on how they make the most of their market, so we will categorize our galactic corporations like this too.
-Horizontal Integration (AKA The Rockefeller Strategy)-
Time for a quick history lesson.
John D. Rockefeller was considered one of the most successful and equally ruthless businessman of his time. He founded the Standard Oil Company in 1870 and quickly used a strategy he liked to call "rule or ruin."
This was essentially a shorter way of saying "violently monopolizing the Oil Industry by either forcing smaller business to bankruptcy or outright buying them out," a strategy that would later be dubbed as "horizontal integration."
His plan worked, and Standard Oil Company achieved a near total control of the international oil market. He had a large monopoly in the Industry... a bit to large for the US government's fancy. On May 15, 1911, the Supreme Court ruled that SOC had an "unreasonable monopoly," which violated Section II of the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890, and thus ordered SOC to cease operations and be split into 34 companies.
Fortunately for you, you can't be voted out of existence by the government if you are the government!
You'll be taking "horizontal integration" in a more literal sense, as you will be playing a more wide empire. Because of this, you'll have your second ethic be Authoritarian and have Efficient Bureaucracy as your second civic to maximize your base Administrative Capacity. Functional Architecture can also work, as it helps minimize upkeep costs.
When playing as a Rockefeller business, you will essentially be the playground bully. If there's an asset (planet, sector, you name it) you want, you will get it by any means you deem necessary.
If there are any Megacorporations, Executive Committees, or Trade Leagues in the galaxy, you can't let them just stand there and make the money you should be making. Declare a rivalry with all of them (unless you feel that a temporary partnership is in your best interests).
Do some other underhanded actions like Inciting barbarians to attack your competitors, or fund their enemies in wars.
The majority of your trade value will come from internal trade routes. Planets are ripe with trade value, so be sure that a planet is always connected to the trade network. This large internal network may eventually entice some individuals to plunder your trade routes, but you won't let any pirates damage your "well earned" profit margins! A few small squads of your finest corvettes patrolling the routes should be enough to keep the scum in line.
If you end up getting a vassal, incorporate them into your empire as quickly as possible. You don't want them hogging all the trade value, now do you?
Other than that, play however you would normally play as a wide empire.
-Vertical Integration (AKA The Carnegie Strategy)-
Time for another history lesson.
Andrew Carnegie was essentially the Rockefeller of the steel industry. He founded the Carnegie Steel Company in 1892, and quickly became so rich that his humble beginnings as a Scottish immigrant got the better of him and he sold his company to Wall Street Banker J.P. Morgan in 1901 for $429 million ($14.8 billion by today's inflation rate), who would later turn it into the United States Steel Corporation. Carnegie primarily used the money he got from the purchase as donations to charity and other such organizations (what a loser, amirite?).
The big difference between Carnegie (and later Morgan) and Rockefeller is that Carnegie pioneered a tactic known as "vertical integration." Instead of monopolizing a specific industry, Carnegie opted to have his influence in as many parts of the production line of his primary product as possible. His miners would collect steel and coal, which would be shipped to his factories on his railroads, and the steel from those factories would be shipped internationally on his steam ships.
This strategy proved lucrative, as it allowed Carnegie to control the quality of the steel and not have to deal with middleman fees, allowing him to naturally sell the steel at lower prices while still turning a fat profit. This tactic, when later used by Morgan, turned United States Steel into the first ever billion dollar corporation in the world. Not specifically going for a monopoly is also good for staying off the radar of governments.
While you can't entirely mimic Carnegie's tactics, you can still make bank while being close enough.
This time around, if you couldn't guess from the name "vertical integration," you will play as a tall empire instead of a wide one.
Pick Egalitarian as your secondary ethic (for the bonus relations with other empires) and honestly whatever you want as your secondary civic.
As a Carnegie, you will focus on your relations with other empires and assure that you get as best of a deal as possible while making them think it's even. While you shouldn't be openly hostile to other business empires, a little competition never hurts anybody.
You can still show your corporate teeth, however. Wars are still a possibility, but they should only be reserved for "non-compliant" empires. Just because you're egalitarian doesn't mean you aren't indulging in some ruthlessness.
Your money will mostly come through commercial pacts, rather than internal trade (since there isn't much of that in a smaller empire). This is why you want to buddy up with as many people as you can. Even then, don't let them forget that you're the one in charge. You can even streamline the process by either vassalizing them or creating a federation with them in it.
Vassals are a great way of getting a guaranteed commercial pact. Empires with their own will may suddenly stop their agreements with you or leave your federation, but a vassal will always be on your side. Invest a lot of your resources into your vassals.
You want to make them into little Rockefellers (see the previous segment), taking up land and making a lot of trade value from their internal trade, which will translate into more money for you through the commercial pact. This allows you invest more into them, bringing in more trade value. This feedback loop of profit can go on until the entire galaxy is under your control. Your investments will also keep the vassals in your good graces, making them less likely to try to break away.
Other than that, play however you would a usual tall empire.
Conclusion
I get that this was a bit of a mouthful, and I'm glad you read through it (or you could've just skipped to here, in which case I'll retract that statement).
This stuff is (for the most part) in theory, which means I easily could've made some mistakes while writing this. If so, point them out in the comments and I'll try to correct them.
This is also just something to do for fun. I'm not expecting this to be a game-winning strategy. You could honestly play the "business empire" you've made however you want, since this guide is just a set of restrictions for the sake of rp.
Other than that, thank you for reading and go make some money!
Source: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1988943891
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