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Types of Government in Distant Worlds 2 Explained

Distant Worlds 2

The variety of different options with Distant Worlds 2 is huge, and it’s going to take a while for new players to learn. The game has a seriously dizzying array of options, and we’re going to help you learn a few of them. The core of your choices when you make your empire is the government type. There are a multitude of types of governance within the game, offering modifiers both good and bad to your empire.

The various government types each have various bonuses. You can see these when you first make your empire. But we’re going to cover all of them below. Each form of government may influence a variety of factors either positively or negatively, including:

▶ Happiness – Empire approval rating in each colony you control
▶ Population growth rate at each colony
▶ War weariness
▶ Research speed
▶ Corruption levels
▶ Maintenance costs of ships, bases, and troops
▶ Troop recruitment and recovery rate at your colonies
▶ Trade and Tourism income

Each type of race and government has natural friends and enemies. Thus, you must choose their race and government wisely because it will affect diplomacy throughout the game.

Distant Worlds 2 Government Types

Type Name Friends & Rivals Perks & Penalties
All Races Democracy Friends: Way of the Ancients, Democracy, Republic, Mercantile Guild,

 

Rivals: Military Dictatorships, Way of Darkness, Feudalism.
  • Population Growth: +10%
  • War Weariness Reduction: -20%
  • Counter-Espionage: -20%
  • All Research: +10%
  • Colony Happiness: +5%
  • Troop Recruitment Rate: -20%
  • Troop Recovery Rate: -10%
  • Tourism Income: +20%
  • Trade Income: +10%
Feudalism Friends: Feudalism, Monarchy, Military Dictatorship, Mercantile Guild. 

Rivals: Hive Mind, Way of Darkness, Democracy, Way of the Ancients, Republic.
  • Population Growth: -5%
  • War Weariness Reduction: +35%
  • Diplomacy: -10%
  • All Research: -5%
  • Weapons Research: +10%
  • Troops Research: +20%
  • Colony Happiness: -15%
  • Troop Recruitment Rate: +20%
  • Troop Recovery Rate: +10%
  • Troop Maintenence Savings: +40%
  • Colony Corruption Reduction: -15%
  • Mining rate: -10%
  • Tourism Income: -20%
  • Ship Maintenence: +40%
Monarchy Friends: Monarchy, Feudalism, Technocracy, Military Dictatorship. 

Rivals: Hive Mind, Way of Darkness, Democracy, Republic, Way of the Ancients.
  • War Weariness Reduction: +25%
  • Counter-Espionage: +10%
  • Colony Happiness: -10%
  • Troop Recruitment Rate: +10%
  • Troop Recovery Rate: +10%
  • Troop Maintenence Savings: +10%
  • Colony Corruption Reduction: -10%
  • Tourism Income: +10%
  • Ship Maintenance Savings: +10%
  • Facility Maintenance Savings: +10%
Republic Friends: Way of the Ancients, Republic, Democracy, Mercantile Guild. 

Rivals: Way of Darkness, Military Dictatorship, Hive Mind, Feudalism, Monarchy, Technocracy.
  • Population Growth: +5%
  • War Weariness Reduction: -10%
  • Counter Espionage: -10%
  • Diplomacy: +10%
  • All Research: +5%
  • Colony Happiness: +10%
  • Troop Recruitment Rate: -20%
  • Troop Recovery Rate: -10%
  • Troops Maintenence Savings: -10%
  • Colony Corruption Reduction: +20%
  • Tourism Income: +10%
  • Trade Income: +15%
Military Dictatorship Friends: Military Dictatorship, Monarchy, Feudalism, Technocracy, Hive Mind 

Rivals: Republic, Democracy, Mercantile Guild, Way of the Ancients, Way of Darkness.
  • Population Growth: -5%
  • War Weariness Reduction: +40%
  • Counter Espionage: +20%
  • Diplomacy: -10%
  • Weapons Research: +20%
  • Troops Research: +10%
  • Colony Happiness: -15%
  • Troop Recruitment Rate: +30%
  • Troop Recovery Rate: +20%
  • Troop Maintenence Savings: +30%
  • Colony Corruption Reduction: -15%
  • Mining rate: +20%
  • Tourism Income: -30%
  • Ship Maintenance Savings: +30%
  • Facility Maintenence Savings: +10%
  • Trade Income: -10%
Specific Factions Hive Mind Friends: Hive Minds, Way of Darkness, Military Dictatorship. 

Rivals: Democracy, Republic, Feudalism, Way of the Ancients, Mercantile Guild, Technocracy
  • Population Growth: +10%
  • War Weariness Reduction: +20%
  • Counter Espionage: +20%
  • Diplomacy: -20%
  • All Research: -20%
  • Colony Happiness: +10%
  • Troop Recruitment Rate: +20%
  • Troop Recovery Rate: +10%
  • Troop Maintenance Savings: +10%
  • Colony Corruption Reduction: +40%
  • Tourism Income: -20%
  • Ship Maintenance Savings: +10%
  • Facility Maintenance Savings; +10%
  • Trade Income: -20%
Mercantile Guild Friends: Mercantile Guild, Way of the Ancients, Democracy, Republic, Technocracy. 

Rivals: Way of Darkness, Military Dictatorship, Hive Mind, Feudalism.
  • Counter-Espionage: -10%
  • Diplomacy: +20%
  • All Research: +5%
  • Construction Research: 20%
  • Colony Happiness: -5%
  • Colony Corruption Reduction: -20%
  • Mining Rate: +10%
  • Ship Maintenance Savings: +10%
  • Facility Maintenance Savings: +10%
  • Trade Income: +30%
  • Colony Income: +5%
Technocracy Friends: Technocracy, Way of the Ancients, Republic, Democracy, Mercantile Guild 

Rivals: Way of Darkness, Hive Mind, Feudalism, Military Dictatorship
  • Population Growth: -10%
  • Counter-Espionage: +10%
  • All Research: +20%
  • Colony Happiness: -10%
  • Colony Corruption Reduction: +10%
  • Mining Rate: -10%
Has to be unlocked Way of the Ancients Friends: Democracy, Republic, Mercantile Guild, Technocracy. 

Rivals: Feudalism, Monarchy, Military Dictatorship, Hive Mind.
  • Population Growth: +10%
  • War Weariness Reduction: +10%
  • Diplomacy: +30%
  • All Research: +20%
  • Colony Happiness: +15%
  • Colony Corruption Reduction: +15%
  • Tourism Income: +25%
  • Ship Maintenance Savings: +10%
  • Facility Maintenance Savings: +10%
  • Trade Income: +15%
  • Colony Income: +10%
Way of Darkness Friends: Hive Mind.

 

Rivals: Democracy, Feudalism, Monarchy, Republic, Military Dictatorship, Mercantile Guild, Technocracy.
  • Population Growth: +10%
  • War Weariness Reduction: +50%
  • Counter Espionage: +30%
  • All Research: +10%
  • Colony Happiness: +5%
  • Troop Recruitment Rate: +30%
  • Troop Recovery Rate: +20%
  • Troop Maintenance Savings: +20%
  • Ship Maintenance Savings: +20%
  • Colony Corruption Reduction: +15%
  • Facility Maintenance Savings: +10%
  • Tourism Income: +40%
  • Colony Income: +5%

The Way of the Ancients and Way of Darkness are two governments that you must discover while playing the game. These are special modifiers, and are beyond the scope of this guide. But there’s one thing you might want to know about—and that’s how to change your government. The process is simple, but the impact can be massive.

How to change your government in Distant Worlds 2

During the game, you can change governments at any time by accessing the Empire Government tab.

Each time you change your government type, expect some issues. The shift to a new set of rivalries and bonuses will apply across your entire empire. Keep an eye on your finances and your diplomacy screen. Look for any shifts that drastically change the values of your allies as well. A diplomatic relationship can turn on a dime if your reputation in the galaxy takes a big hit. As one example, a shift from Republic to Military Dictatorship will cause a ton of both internal and external factions to be very upset.

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