Can you get psionics as materialist? (2024)

As the title says, in https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/foru...uide-to-ethics-traits-and-governments.926557/ the OP says materialists get locked out from psionics and on wiki it states that if you are materialist you need psionics scientist to be able to get it. So what is the real answer to it, if anyone knows?

I am trying to get Psionics as a Materialist ... and even if the wiki is correct the chance still seems to be ZERO, because all the choices for scientists are something other than a psionics specialist. Most of the choices are of the "light green variant" (generalist boni) which might be nice in general, but having three out of four scientist leaders to be generalists is not a good representation IMO. I managed to get the technology which shows the Zro substance in one playthrough, but that was only a few years before the invasion of the galaxy from outside started.

Compared to that I get other "red technologies" rather early ... like the +10% research "Sentient AI" one and even the stupid "Sentient Robot Army" one (no idea if that is the correct name because I have turned it down twice already in this playthrough).

I have been looking at which scientists are available every few years ... even if I didnt need a new one.

yes you can, but its essentially impossible because you would have to conquer spiritualists with psi tech, get them into leadership positions, and wait until you get a scientist with the very rare trait to show up (its purple and its about psionics) and after that, then you have a CHANCE to get it until they die.

realistically you wont see it, but maybe on a rare game you will if you try hard to get the conditions right

Hamof said:

I remember in one of the let's plays a surveying scientist gained psionics, but I'm not sure how common that is.

Click to expand...

See Also

Can materialist eventually do psionic ascension

I just had this happen in the game I'm playing right now.

BarskiPatzow said:

As the title says, in https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/foru...uide-to-ethics-traits-and-governments.926557/ the OP says materialists get locked out from psionics and on wiki it states that if you are materialist you need psionics scientist to be able to get it. So what is the real answer to it, if anyone knows?

Click to expand...

Yes you can, in one of Quill's videos in the early game his science ships scientist gained the Psionic trait even though Quill was materialist. If he puts that scientist in charge of research he stands a good chance of getting psi technology.

mikiencolor said:

I'm a fanatic materialist and I just got Zro Distillation.

Click to expand...

Zro Distilation is the odd one out; all other Psionic techs require you to have a Psionic specialist if you are Materialist. I converted my Fanatic Collectivist/Materialist empire to all synthetics, and I was able to get Zro Distilation but never any other psionic tech as the synth leaders (who now are the only ones to ever show up as a leader) are either incapable of gaining the psionic trait, or the trait itself is just so rare that I never saw it once, even into the 2500s.

I hit the point that I had researched everything and had hit repeating techs (and did those five or six times apiece), and never once saw anything psionic. Zro, by virtue of being in a different category, doesn't seem to follow the same rules.

It is possible for a materialist civ's scientist to aquire the Specialization; Psionics trait via surveying. It is exceedingly unlikely but there is a documanted instance in Quill18's stellaris LP.

Quill never used that scientist to research, though.

Uhlume said:

Unless you recruit a scientist with the "Expertise: Psionics" trait the chance is effectively zero if you're a materialist.
This is a rare trait, so if you spot one, recruit him ASAP and set him to research Sociology (or level him up through exploration), then you have a chance of getting the tech.
It's still rare tech, so you may not. If you're lucky and he becomes Maniacal as well the chance will go up even more.

Click to expand...

As I said above ... they basically NEVER show up as a recruitable scientist. Even "other specialists" are somewhat rare for me and at least half seem to be "generalists".

As for "rare tech" ... I currently get six choices whenever a new tech needs to be started. That would increase the odds somewhat (I have turned down the red "Robot Army" tech three times now).

Dalwin said:

I think the chance is effectively zero. Just like as fanatical spiritualists I was able to research robotics but the game would not actually allow me to build any. Would it have allowed me if my empire ruler lost the spiritualist trait?

Click to expand...

It would have allowed you if you had legalized artificial intelligence. Spiritualists have it illegal by default because spiritualist pops don't like having it enabled.

Since the thread is only a month old (not necromancy right? ) and since the thread was prominent when I searched google for how to get psionics as a materialist I'll just leave this here for anyone else who wants to know:

I just got the event chain to gain a Psionics expert as a materialist. I took screens:

As can be seen it's the same event chain that could otherwise have created a deal with a psionic godlike being called the "Ancient One", which aside from the flavor gives 5 society research to the planet. If you gain the psionics you don't get the deal.

On the other hand you can get the event multiple times, in my games I got it twice.

The first tech you need Psionic expertise, subsequent techs it is not needed.

Psionic expertise can be gained through either Echoes of the Deep anamoly (Which is very rare, I have never spotted it myself), or through random trait gain by levelling up in the field, which is highly RNGesus dependant. I have gained a Psionic expertise scientist through the latter.

It's rare? I think it's the same chance as many other anomalies. I got it twice in my current game. It can only happen on Ocean planets though.

Even if you get the anomaly you need to complete it with a paranoid scientist, otherwise you you'll get a different result.