Managing your fleets optimally is a crucial gameplay element in Stellaris. However, it can get overwhelming when the number of fleets becomes large. Merging fleets can help in such situations. Speed is a crucial element in the game, and with a smaller number of fleets, you could make that quick, timely winning move!
There are a couple of ways in Stellaris with which you can merge your fleets. And there are also some subtle nuances involved. You could get excellent results by combining the “merge” command with the powerful “transfer” and “split” commands. Let’s find out how to combine fleets in Stellaris.
Simple and Straightforward Method
How to merge fleets in Stellaris the standard way? It is actually quite simple. All you need to do is first select multiple fleets that you intend to merge. Just hold down the Shift key while selecting the various fleets to have them selecting all at once.
Next, hit the “merge” button to merge all the selected fleets into one. You could also use the “G” keyboard shortcut key.
Your fleets can only merge when they meet together. This means that if you selected multiple fleets across several systems, it will take some time for them to meet, only after which they will merge.
And that’s it! Quite simple, isn’t it? But, as you will see, there are some subtleties involved. With a complex 4D grand strategy game like Stellaris, things are seldom as straightforward as they seem!
Also read: How To Expand Borders In Stellaris For Your Empire?
1. Watch your tooltips closely
The issue arises when sometimes your fleets do not merge even after following the steps in 1 above.
That is where the beauty of tooltips comes into the picture! Most of the time, if you read the valuable information that they flash, you would instantly figure out what’s wrong.
For example, there are some specialized ships, and they can not merge with the other kinds of ships. Another problem could be with the drive systems. You can not merge ships with different drive systems into one fleet.
Also, ships that are held up because they are either repairing or upgrading can not merge right away. Also, if merging takes your fleet size above the Command Limit, the operation will not be completed. Your tooltip will also warn you if you have pressed some wrong keys in your merge command. For instance, if you give the merge command but have only one fleet selected!
Sadly, there would be some errors even the tooltips won’t be able to spot. For instance, if you give transfer instead of the merge command, the game has no way of knowing your real intention.
Fleets will also not merge if there are empires between them with whom you have no open border treaties.
2. You cannot overstep the Command Limit during a merge operation
The Command Limit sets an upper bound on the number of vessels you can have in your fleet. Please note, this is not purely based on the number of vessels alone. It also depends on which type of ships you have in your fleet. Certain ships contribute higher weights in making calculations about the Command Limit. For example, for a Command Limit of 20, you could have only 10 destroyers but could go up to 20 corvettes.
If a merge operation takes your fleet size above the Command Limit, then it will not be completed. This is where the magic of transferring ships between fleets helps. Also, strategically splitting fleets is another way of smartly optimizing your fleets.
3. Transfer ships between fleets strategically
Transferring ships between fleets can help you arm your fleets with just the right amount of firepower for a particular task or battle.
To transfer ships between fleets in Stellaris, select a particular fleet and press the transfer command button. Now, you can select any ship from this fleet and transfer it into another fleet of your choice. You could also select multiple ships from the same fleet and merge this new “mini-fleet” into any existing fleet that you like.
Transferring ships is one of the best fleet micromanaging strategies in Stellaris. As a large 4X grand strategy game, Stellaris is quite complex. Every situation in the gameplay is new, and no one fleet assembly can help you maneuver through all battles. The essence of strategy also involves making smart tactical moves, like transferring ships between fleets, that help you wade past any tough storms in the Stellaris galactic ocean!
Also read: The Best Weapons in Stellaris
4. Fast Fleet Management with the Magic of “Split”
Stellaris is a fast-paced game, and sometimes a mediocre quick action trumps a comprehensive but slow action. So too for fleet management.
You could get the most optimal fleet configurations through careful “transfer” and “merge” operations. But sometimes, you just want to prune a large fleet quickly into smaller manageable units without putting much thought into it.
You can do this easily with the powerful “split “command. Simply select a fleet that is growing too large, and hit the “split” command. The AI would do its best to split the large fleet into two smaller ones of approximately equal size optimally.
“Split” works best when you have a relatively homogenous fleet made up of similar ships. That way the AI does not have to bother with ship variations and can simply split the large fleet into two smaller ones purely by numeric count.
Splitting can be a quick and easy way to manage ever-growing fleets.
That just about completes this guide about the Stellaris merge fleets function. You would get the best results in managing your fleets optimally with clever combinations of all the three “merge”, “transfer,” and “split” operations. The commands per se are easy and straightforward to use. Using them strategically to get the optimum game outcome is a whole different ball game, though. That is the crux of strategic games, and it could take years to reach an expert level in mastering this craft!
