Distant Worlds 2 – Diplomacy

by Falagar / Distant Worlds 2, Game Guides / 11 Feb 2022

Each Empire in Distant Worlds 2 has its own diplomatic strategy preference. Diplomacy is a long-term investment, and by combining consistent diplomatic effort, diplomatic research, and the use of your ambassadors, you can go a lot further with another Empire than by attempting a one-time deal.

Diplomacy

Effective diplomacy can help you avoid conflict or, at the very least, gain allies on your side if war is unavoidable. For the most part, diplomacy is about patience and long-term investment in diplomatic relationships.

Each race and government has natural allies and adversaries. As a result, you must choose their race and government carefully because they will have an impact on diplomacy throughout the game. While race and government type are not everything in diplomacy, they are important factors that can make diplomatic relations significantly easier or more difficult.

The diplomacy screen allows you to communicate with other empires, independent worlds, and pirates. Gifts and diplomacy can be used to determine how an opposing Empire perceives you and your strategy.

If you see an opportunity, send a good Ambassador to that Empire to improve your chances and start giving them regular gifts and favorable deals. This may cause them to change their strategy and become more positive toward you over time.

If you don’t want to bother them, don’t attack their holdings, attack their friends, or colonize or conquer independent worlds within their borders.

Try to persuade them to sign more advanced treaties with you. The majority of these agreements include long-term relationship trust bonuses. These can take several years to develop, but they can open the door to previously unavailable treaties.

While research pacts, defense pacts, and intelligence-sharing treaties are all advantageous to your Empire (and theirs), lower-level treaties such as trade, exploration, and mining can also be beneficial.

There’s always the quick deal, and you should check to see if another empire or pirate faction has something valuable that they’re willing to trade for a price you’ll like.

When diplomacy fails to deliver what you want, or if you don’t want to be friends, espionage is always an option. If you’re being targeted for espionage, keep your spies on counter-intelligence missions and consider building an Espionage Academy planetary facility (available through the Sensors research tree) to strengthen your defenses.

Please keep in mind that in Distant Worlds 2, the Independent Factions will not become empires in their own right, but they will be open to diplomacy, trade, and conquest.

Diplomacy Settings

By default, your Diplomatic Strategy is automated, but you can change it to manual control and tailor it to your preferences for that target. Your advisors, as well as any diplomatic automation, will adhere to that strategy and adjust their advice and actions accordingly.

If you see actions or advice from a faction that you don’t like, double-check your Diplomatic Strategy settings for that faction to make sure the strategy matches your preferences.

You can also check out our other Distant Worlds 2 guides.

A Complete Distant Worlds 2 Economy Guide

Falagar

He is the founder and editor of Magic Game World. He loved gaming from the moment he got a PlayStation 1 with Gran Turismo on his 7th birthday.
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