
What is a Grand Archive?
The Grand Archive is the cultural center for your empire, a place to house and display the story of your people through the greatest specimens of interest that you have collected over the years. This one-stage structure can be built over any colony with 25 or more pops, and will not block other improvements such as Orbital Rings. We expect that most empires will want to build them over their capital world, to keep their treasures close. The Galactic Archivism technology required for building a Grand Archive can appear as a tier 2 society tech, and as such building a Grand Archive does not require high tier technologies such as Mega-Engineering. Shortly after you have discovered your first Specimen worthy of display, you have the chance to invest in the concept of a Grand Archive - if you pass on this opportunity, it can show up later as normal in your Society research options.

Specimen Collection and Display
An Archive with nothing to display within it is simply a building. (And an expensive one at that.) Luckily, fascinating moments worth remembering occur all the time in Stellaris, so the Grand Archive Story Pack has added 151 unique Specimens to events, archaeology sites, and other content from across the base game and the new content added in the Story Pack. The team has gone through all of the other Stellaris content as well, giving us a final total of over 240 Specimens to collect, study, and appreciate. (Ancient Relics, Distant Stars, and Astral Planes, as our most exploration-focused releases, benefited the most from this pass.) The Specimen Collection system requires the Grand Archive Story Pack. A symbol is shown when you have acquired a Specimen of interest - occasionally these are tied to a specific choice in an event, while other times they may be linked to your Origin or actions that you have taken. Newly acquired Specimens appear in a toast to give you a quick look at what you’ve found.



How Else Can I Get Specimens?
Earlier I recommended building your Grand Archive close to the protected heart of your Empire. It’d be a terrible shame if something were to happen to it, after all.



Archivism Traditions and the Galactic Curator Civics
Once you’ve researched Galactic Archivism, the Archivism traditions become available. Empty shelves do not make for a wondrous attraction, but focusing on Archivism can help fill them up nicely.



The Curator Order
The Curator Order is dedicated to the protection of knowledge, and you can impress them with your collection should you share similar interests.



Meanwhile… A Little Something From the Custodians
The game setup screen has gotten a bit cumbersome over the years, with a huge number of options. We’re revisiting this screen in 3.14 “Circinus” to make things a little bit more understandable. Pictures speak louder than words, so:
