Stellaris: How to Form a Shroud Covenant (2024)

Seven years after its launch, the grand strategy title Stellaris has grown into one of the most complex sci-fi sandboxes ever made. Starting from the discovery of faster-than-light travel, players can guide their Stellaris Empire down hundreds of unique paths, from the formation of a pan-galactic democracy to the development of psionic powers.

One of the game's features that was massively expanded in both the Utopia and Overlord DLCs is access to the Shroud, the mysterious dimension of psychic energy from which psionic species draw their powers. Psychically-gifted Empires can enter the Shroud for bonuses and events, and even form a Covenant with one of the five indescribably powerful entities that make the Shroud their home.

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How to Enter the Shroud in Stellaris

Before players can enter the Shroud, they'll first need to complete the Breach the Shroud Tradition in the Psionic Ascension Path. This isn't an easy Stellaris Tradition to reach, as it in turn requires players to have completed the Mind Over Matter Ascension Perk or Psionic Theory Technology.

Once they've completed Breach the Shroud, players will gain access to a Special Project called Breaching the Shroud, which costs Society Research to perform. Once the Project is completed, the Shroud will be added as a Contact on the player's Contact menu, and can be interacted with like any AI or player Empire in Stellaris. It costs 1,000 Energy Credits to enter the Shroud, and an Empire can only do so once every five years, unless they have the Psionic Archive Relic.

How to Form a Shroud Covenant in Stellaris

There are three ways to form a Shroud Covenant in Stellaris once players have gained access to the Shroud through the Psionic Ascension Path. The first is by completing the Special Project Commune with the Ineffable, which will become available the first time players enter the Shroud. The Project costs Society Research and will cause a patron to offer a Covenant based on its own preferences.

The second method is to pay a special price of 2,000 Energy Credits and 500 Zro to enter the Shroud and approach a patron of the player's choice. Finally, players may be given the chance to form a Covenant during a random Vision event in the Shroud, especially if a patron prefers their Ethics or Traditions. As well as their preferences, each patron offers different bonuses to players who form a Covenant with them:

Composer of Strands

• Bonuses to Pop Growth and Leader Lifespan.
• Prefers Xenophilic Empires that live in harmony with nature, using Civics like Environmentalist or Idyllic Bloom. Dislikes Xenophobes, Industrialists, and gene modification.

Eater of Worlds

• Bonuses to Army and Fleet damage, encourages permanent war.
• Prefers Militaristic Empires that are use Civics like Distinguished Admiralty or Barbaric Despoilers. Dislikes Pacifists and Civics that require Pacifism.

Instrument of Desire

• Bonuses to productivity and Amenities, but at the cost of Pop Upkeep.
• Prefers Authoritarian Empires with hedonistic or feudal Civics like Pleasure Seekers or Aristocratic Elite. Dislikes Egalitarians and Civics that require Egalitarianism.

Whisperers in the Void

• Bonuses to Research, Codebreaking, and the all-important Influence resource, at the cost of Unity and Stability.
• Prefers Materialist Empires with ruthless or science-driven Civics like Technocracy, Shadow Council, or Cutthroat Politics. Dislikes Spiritualists and the Inward Perfection Civic.

The fifth patron in the Shroud offers significantly more powerful bonuses than the other four, but at a terrible cost. The End of the Cycle has only a 2% chance to appear when a player is looking for a Patron, and offers incredible bonuses including +100% resources from Jobs. However, 50 years after joining the Covenant, the day of Reckoning will arrive, aiming to destroy all planets and species in the galaxy. The player's Empire will be allowed to live on as an Exiled colony while the Reckoning systematically wipes out the remaining life in the galaxy, though they will be its final victim.

Stellaris is available on PC, PS4, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.

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