There are now five new ways to begin a game of Stellaris, each of them unique and fitting to the themes of Overlord. It is a toss-up of pros and cons with a lot of utility. Thankfully, with some effort, a Quantum Catapult can be upgraded to increase its accuracy and make its drawbacks an acceptable, low-risk potential to be dealt with if necessary. They also can only be built or found around systems with pulsars, making them less flexible in placement, but more flexible in where they can send ships to. The caveat is that their accuracy leaves much to be desired the farther it is aimed, and it is a one-way trip. Unlike Gateways, Quantum Catapults do not need a start and end location, instead letting ships be launched across systems at high speeds. There are a lot of threats in Stellaris, and being able to get across the galaxy to run away or take the fight to the enemy will come in handy. They cost a ton of alloy to build and upgrade, but make up for their cost sink with utility and usability. Players will have to wait a long time to get their hands on this structure, permitting they do not select the 'Slingshot to the Stars' origin since that grants one from the start. Quantum Catapults are a brand-new way to get around systems without the need for gateways, but with a few drawbacks. Vassals can even be integrated into empires, but be careful: if a player is integrated, it's game over. Balancing diplomacy with subjects alongside the power and influence to keep them in line is now even more in-depth than before. All of these things can be tweaked or negotiated to increase gains at the price of loyalty, or vice versa. Whether vassals are allowed to be free, expand on their own, and the tithes asked of them are major factors in vassal attitudes towards their overlords. Vassals will operate willingly as long as the contract isn't one-sided or otherwise undesirable, and either side may have obligations to uphold. Now, subjects and overlords operate on a contract made between each other, called the Terms of Agreement. What once was simple is now a nuanced contractual agreement that can be fine-tuned in many ways. Good news too while the expansion does add a lot of depth and nuance to the system, a free update also brought some of Overlord over to all players with the 6th Anniversary 'Cepheus' update. Getting vassals is not new to Stellaris, but it has been very much overhauled in the Overlord expansion.

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