Have you recently started up a new Empire in Stellaris, playing a spiritualist or fanatic spiritualist society, and are considering your first Ascension perk pick? Consecrated Worlds is a little bit enigmatic, as it isn’t entirely obvious how the perk works and how the bonuses apply. On top of that, the 4.5 “Cygnus” update reworked it completely, so most of what you read about it online is now outdated. Find out in this article how it works now and whether it is worth it to pick the perk.
In short: you need the Spiritualist or Fanatic Spiritualist ethic (and you cannot be a Nomad empire). Since 4.5 you can only consecrate specific worlds: Gaia worlds for everyone, plus extra planet types that depend on your origin, civics and species. Every consecrated world counts the same, and three of them give you +40% Unity, +20% empire-wide Amenities and +40% Spiritualist attraction. If you can reach three, it is one of the strongest early perks for a spiritualist empire.
Consecrated Worlds
First of all, in case you stumbled upon the perk and are simply wondering how to get it. You need to either have the spiritualist, or fanatic spiritualist ethic. Nomadic empires cannot pick it at all. The text, once you can pick it up reads like this:
The galaxy is home to many holy places, some more obvious than others. As mortals, we still struggle to divine the true nature of the universe.
The perk unlocks the Consecrate World decision, and the tooltip lists exactly which celestial bodies your empire is allowed to consecrate. That list is the important part, because it is different for almost every empire.
What changed in 4.5
If you played the perk before, forget the old tier system. There are no more Profane, Respected, Venerated or Holy worlds, and there is no random roll when you consecrate a planet. In exchange, you can no longer consecrate any barren rock you find in your territory.
- Only certain planet types can be consecrated, and which ones depends on your empire (see the list below).
- Every consecrated world counts the same. The bonus only depends on how many you have (1, 2 or 3).
- The cost goes up with each world: 500 Unity for the first, 1,000 for the second and 1,500 for the third.
- Your Spiritualist factions now care about it. They like it when you have a consecrated world and get quite upset when you lose one.
Which worlds you can consecrate
Gaia worlds are the only type every empire can consecrate. Everything else is tied to your origin, a civic or your species:
| World type | Who can consecrate it |
|---|---|
| Gaia World | Everyone |
| Ocean World | Aquatic species (or the robotic Waterproof trait) |
| Relic World | Remnants origin, Memorialists civic, Scavengers civic |
| Tomb World | Post-Apocalyptic or Radioactive Rovers origin, Memorialists civic |
| Black Hole | Dark Consortium civic, or after finishing the Horizon Signal event chain (the Worm-in-Waiting) |
| Astral Scar | Riftworld origin, Dimensional Worship civic |
| Toxic World and the Viridescent Lightbringer | Knights of the Toxic God origin |
| Habitat | Void Dwellers or Voidforged origin |
| Ring World segment | Shattered Ring origin |
| Shrouded World | Teachers of the Shroud origin, Chosen civic, or a Covenant with a Shroud patron |
| Molten World | Arc Welders or Cybernetic Creed origin, Thermophile species, Fire Cult civic |
| Volcanic World | Fire Cult civic |
| Nanite World | Finished Nanotech tradition tree |
| World with a Sea of Consciousness | Psionic or Latent Psionic species (also Shroud-Forged) |
The civics also count in their corporate, hive or machine versions where those exist (Refurbishment Division for Scavengers, Shadow Corporation for Dark Consortium, and so on).
On top of the type, the world has to be inside your borders and it cannot be colonized. As such, you are always choosing between living on a world and worshipping it.
The bonus
The empire-wide modifier (Consecrated World Worship) scales with the number of worlds, nothing else:
| Consecrated worlds | Unity | Amenities (empire-wide) | Spiritualist attraction | Cost of that world |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | +10% | +5% | +10% | 500 Unity |
| 2 | +20% | +10% | +20% | 1,000 Unity |
| 3 | +40% | +20% | +40% | 1,500 Unity |
Mind the jump from two to three worlds. The third world doubles the bonus, so the perk really only pays off once you have all three.
Additionally, having at least one consecrated world gives your Spiritualist factions a small approval boost (the “Hallowed World” demand).
Revoking and losing a consecrated world
You can revoke a consecration with a second decision, which also costs Unity (500 to 1,500 depending on how many worlds you have). Your Spiritualist factions will not like it, though: revoking a world gives them an approval penalty for 15 years.
Losing one is worse. If a consecrated world is destroyed or you lose the system, your Spiritualist factions take a much bigger approval hit for 15 years, followed by a smaller “Defilement Remembered” penalty for another 15. Losing the system also puts your empire in 5 years of mourning (-10% happiness for all pops).
Make sure you do not accidentally trigger this yourself. Colonizing or terraforming a consecrated world clears the consecration, and the game treats that like the world being lost, not like revoking it. The same goes for building a megastructure that removes the planet. If you want to use the world after all, revoke it first.
Fallen Empire holy worlds
The Holy Guardians (the Spiritualist Fallen Empire) have Gaia worlds scattered around their home, and those are still fair game. If one of them ends up inside your borders, you can consecrate it and get a +30 opinion bonus with the Holy Guardians on top. Since it is a Gaia world, every empire can do this, no matter the origin.
Is Consecrated Worlds good?
Before 4.5, the honest answer was “it depends”, and it was often overshadowed by One Vision. That is no longer the case. One Vision gives +10% Unity and more attraction for your government ethics. Three consecrated worlds give you +40% Unity, +20% Amenities and +40% Spiritualist attraction. If you can get to three, Consecrated Worlds wins comfortably.
The whole question now is whether you can get to three, and that depends almost entirely on how you built your empire:
- Easy: empires whose consecration target is common or starts right next to them. Knights of the Toxic God (toxic worlds are everywhere), Fire Cult (molten and volcanic worlds), Thermophiles and Arc Welders (molten worlds), Aquatic species (ocean worlds). For these, it is a strong first pick.
- Possible: Void Dwellers (you can build your own habitats), Shattered Ring, Post-Apocalyptic and Memorialists (tomb and relic worlds), Riftworld. You usually get your first one fast, the other two take some expanding.
- Hard: a plain spiritualist empire that can only consecrate Gaia worlds. These are rare and you would usually rather colonize them. Unless a Holy Guardian Fallen Empire sits next to you, take it later or skip it.
That being said, the old trick of consecrating three random barren planets is gone. If your only targets are Gaia worlds, the perk is a lot weaker than it used to be for you.
One use case that is not gameplay-dependent is the roleplay aspect. If you are into roleplaying your empires, Consecrated Worlds is a really nice touch. Consecrated planets still get the glowing holy aura, making them look extra, well, holy. And since the targets now come from your origin (a Knights empire worshipping toxic worlds, a Fire Cult worshipping volcanoes), it fits your empire’s story a lot better than before.
Conclusion
The 4.5 rework turned Consecrated Worlds from a luck-based perk into a very strong one for the right empire. Before picking it, open the perk tooltip and check your list of valid worlds. If three of them are in reach, it is one of the best first picks a spiritualist empire can make. If you only have Gaia worlds, I would advise waiting with the perk until you actually own three of them.
Mind that perks are not the only long term pick with a catch, and our guide to dangerous technology goes through the research options that come with strings attached.
