Stellaris Mega Art Installation: Short Guide

Vuk Radulovic
Mega Art Installation

Mega Art Installation is a multi-phase Stellaris Megastructure. It was added in MegaCorp DLC but in order to perfect it (final built stage) you will need Ancient Relics DLC as well. When fully upgraded, Mega Art Installation will provide your empire with additional 400 Unity as well as a 20% Amenities output increase. As you can see, this Unity increase, although it is significant, is not game-changing – the same goes for Amenities. There are some ways in which you can utilize this megastructure, so without further ado, let’s see how. 

The Technology Required for Stellaris Mega Art Installation

mega art instalation near a red star
Picture credits: Paradox Interactive, Stellaris

The good thing is that it’s not super-hard to achieve the required tech for this megastructure. Namely, it doesn’t require the infamous Galactic Wonders Ascension Perk. However, it requires Mega-Engineering, a rare tier 5 tech. Go down the Battleship tech tree engineering part (Destroyer-Cruiser-Battleship tech) and build as many Starholds and Citadels as you can to increase your chances of getting Mega-Engineering. Once you get it, you still need to acquire Mega Art Installation tech which is rare, but you can increase your chances by taking various ascension perks related to megastructures, such as Master Builders. 

Building Phases 

Part of mega art instalation megastructure
Picture credits: Paradox Interactive, Stellaris

As this is a multi-stage megastructure, the building of a complete Stellaris Mega Art Installation will take some time – 45 years in total if you are building it from scratch. Note that you can also restore it if you have a Ruined Mega Art Installation in your Empire. Take a look at the building stages, cost breakdown, and bonus that Mega Art Installation gives: 

  • Phase 1: Mega Art Installation Site (2500 Unity, 5000 Alloys); Effect: None
  • Phase 2: Art Installation Nascency (2500 Unity, 15 000 Alloys); Effect: +100 Unity, 5% Amenities increase
  • Phase 3: Art Installation Maturity (2500 Unity, 15 000 Alloys); Effect: +200 Unity, 10% Amenities increase
  • Phase 4: Mega Art Installation Completed (2500 Unity, 15 000 Alloys); Effect: +300 Unity, 15% Amenities increase
  • Phase 5: (optional) Mega Art Installation Perfected (2500 Unity, 100 Minor Artifacts); Effect: +400 Unity, 20% Amenities increase

To sum it up, the total cost will be 12 500 Unity, 30 000 Alloys, and 100 Minor Artifacts. Note that Phase 5 is only available if you have Ancient Relics DLC. Also, note that Mega Art Installation can’t be built if there are anomalies present in the world upon which you are building it. You can only build one but you can restore a ruined Mega Art Installation if you want to make two. 

Mega Art Installation Discussion – Is It Worth It? 

Mega Art Installation and a planet behind it
Picture credits: Paradox Interactive, Stellaris

The short answer is – it is a decent boost to your Unity and Amenities output but phase 5, in which you need to invest 100 Minor Artifacts, is simply not worth it. It is important to note that you only get +100 unity and +5% Amenities for 100 minor artifacts in the final stage. Those 100 artifacts can be put to better use, that’s for sure. So let’s analyze the basic upgrades and see if at least those 4 initial phases are worth Alloys and Unity invested. 

In total, the first 4 phases cost 10 000 unity and 50 000 Alloys. When it comes to Unity cost, those will be regained quickly so that leaves us with Alloy cost. The real question here is – why are you building Mega Art Installation and what is your current game stage? If you are early on and got access to it, this can be a great initial megastructure if you wish to build others that require one previously built – like Dyson Sphere or Ring World. That being said, even if it’s your first megastructure, one might argue that a Mega Shipyard will have more reliable effects, especially when dealing with immediate danger. In our opinion, if you don’t have any megastructures and are somewhere in the mid-game phase, you should go for Mega Art Installation. However, if you are in the late-game phase, there’s really not much point in building one. 

Secondary benefits 

If you decide to build Mega Art Installation, besides the obvious effects of Unity and Amenities, there will be other, secondary benefits to your empire. You will be able to replace some of the entertainer jobs and thus put those to better use as you will get extra amenities. Furthermore, extra amenities will increase your pop efficiency empire-wide meaning that you will be getting your overall output of resources by a little bit more. So, yes, Mega Art Installation is useful but so are the other megastructures. 

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