If you played a few games of Stellaris, you most likely encountered one of the most common events, Stellaris Space Amoeba. The little space creature roams around in a gas giant planet type and is relatively easy to find it. The Space Amoeba event needs to be triggered by the Anomaly called Movement in the Clouds. The Anomaly is found only on gas-giant planets. It is a Level 2 Anomaly, so you don’t have to waste too much time investigating it.
Once you investigate it, you basically have three very choices, you can:
- Study the Amoeba
- Befriend the Amoeba
- Kill the Amoeba
Lost Amoeba Decision Tree
Option 1: Lost Juvenile Amoeba (Study)
Printscreen Stellaris: Lost Juvenile Amoeba event
This is probably the best option since it gives you the best bonus of all three, +5% empire-wide Evasion. This is really important since stacking up Evasion can be a key component in defeating enemy fleets. Choosing this option will trigger a Project that you will need to complete in order to get the bonus.
Moreover, you will unlock the Amoeba Breeding Program tech (shoot Amoebas from the fleets) and if for some reason it’s already unlocked, you will get an 80% research boost to it. Moreover, if you already researched it beforehand, you will get 90-10000 Society Research depending on the stage of the game. If you are considering going for a warmongering empire, this trait is probably the best because the Evasion on ships is a good modifier to have.
Option 2: Fully Fledged (Befriend it)
Did anyone befriend a Space Amoeba yet? How did you name it? 🙂 https://t.co/x2qmpaSWi7
— Stellaris (@StellarisGame) May 26, 2018
Printscreen Stellaris: Centenarian event
Depending on how long it lives, it can grow into a Centenarian. To trigger this event, your Amoeba must be 100 years old. This won’t give you any special bonuses except the fact that you have a giant Amoeba in your galaxy. It will continue to grow as time goes on and can reach some colossal sizes. The main downside with this path is that in the later stages of the game, the Amoeba fleet power isn’t that good.
It will have fleet power equal to a more powerful ship, which is pretty underwhelming. Nevertheless, there are stages in the game in which this extra fleet power can be very useful, especially if you are focused on the economy and politics, rather than waging wars and building fleets.
Option 3: Stellaris Space Amoeba Dissection (…you monster)
Printscreen Stellaris: Juvenile Amoeba Dissection event
This option is a bit complicated because the bonus it gives you will depend on your empire. Furthermore, you will get a chain quest that will require you to kill enemy Amoeba fleets in the galaxy. Sometimes, the fleets are hard to find and you might end up not finishing the quest for some time. If you are Xenophone or Militarist, the bonus will be +20% Damage vs Amoeba Fleets, which is kind of useless. If you are another type of empire, you will get +5% Energy, which is arguably very good. Keep in mind that if you are on the “good side” (Spiritualist, Xenophile, or Pacifist), you won’t be able to pick this option.
Like the first option, the same concept applies here. You will unlock the Regenerative Hull Tissue tech, which can be used in ship armor design, and if for some reason it’s already unlocked, you will get a 50% research boost to it. And like before, if you already researched it, you will get 90-10000 Society Research depending on game time. If you have an Empire focused on the Economy (for example, a Megacrop), this option will suit you the most because the +5% Energy modifier can give you that edge you need to snowball further in the game.
Death and Reanimation
Printscreen Stellaris: Death of an Amoeba event
Usually, when your Amoeba dies, you will just get a prompt that it’s dead. The scientist who discovered it will gain the Substance Abuse trait. This is the cause unless you have the Reanimation or Permanent Employment Civic. In that case, you will get a special project: Reanimate the Space Amoeba.
Upon finishing this, you will get a prompt Rise Again, which will respawn the Lost Amoeba and continue its reign throughout the galaxy.
Conclusion on the Stellaris Space Amoeba
All in all, this is not considered a rare event in Stellaris. Basically, you decide between three bonuses: +5% Energy and Amoeba missiles, +5% Evasion and ship armor, and have a galactic pet that will be there throughout the whole game.
One interesting theory we saw on Reddit was that when naming the Amoeba, you have a choice to name it “Boomer”. This can be a reference to the popular sci-fi TV show, Battlestar Galactica. One of the 12 Cyclons (named “Number Eight”) had a code name “Boomer”, which is a name you can give the Amoeba. Is this an intentional easter egg that Paradox implemented? We will never know.
