Stellaris details its Apocalypse expansion ahead of launch next week

For every action there's a reaction. And for every planet-shielding impenetrable barrier, there's a globe-shattering world cracker. At least that's the case in Stellaris' incoming Apocalypse expansion, which caters to both aggressive and pacifist playstyles.

It's out next week, and developer Paradox has now sent the following feature breakdown video into orbit. Observe:

Falling smack bang (quite literally, it appears) on the opposite side of pacifism, the above outlines how players will utilise Apocalypse's Titan weapons. "The Titan is a massive warship that can be equipped with a titan-sized weapon capable of destroying a battleship in one shot," says game designer Daniel Moregård above. "Titans also get access to auras that can boost your fleet or debuff enemy fleets."

Moregård explains that in order to counter the Titan, the Ion Cannon is a defensive platform that also get access to "weapons of titanic size."

One of my biggest criticisms of Stellaris at launch was how undercooked its mid-game felt—a sentiment which Phil shared in his review. With this in mind, Apocalypse's Marauders hope to combat that halfway lull.

"To make the mid-game more interesting, we've added a feature called Marauders," adds Moregård. "Imagine that they are like space Mongols, a squabbling and war-like society with powerful fleets. From the Marauders you can hire admirals, generals, fleets and even pay them to attack your rivals. A Marauder empire spends most of its time in-fighting but sometimes a Great Khan can emerge.

"Under the leadership of a Great Khan, a Marauder will start to expand and attack its neighbours. Should you not have the power nor the will to fight the Great Khan, there's always the option to pay tribute and be left alone."

Elsewhere, Moregård explores the expansion's Unity Ambitions, and Wormholes and Gateways. The latter in particular sounds neat.

Stellaris: Apocalypse is due February 22. More information can be found via its Steam page.