Players in Stellaris will make many discoveries as they guide their fledgling civilization into the stars, some wondrous and some terrifying. The galaxy is full of dangers, but few creatures are deadlier to unwary science ships or overconfident fleets than Stellaris’ colossal Guardians, a colossal swarm of space entities each capable of destroying entire fleets.
While most Guardians are unique entities, the Tiyanki Matriarch are actually the oldest of the Tiyanki Space Whales, a passive species of space animal that can drift between systems in any of the Stellaris galaxies. However, unlike her younger relatives, Tiyanki Matriarch guards a galaxy carefully and will attack any ship that strays into her territory.
How to Defeat the Tiyanki Matriarch in Stellaris
Like most Guardians in Stellaris, the Tiyanki Matriarch can be safely defeated by any fleet of 40k+ Power. However, smaller fleets with the correct ship design will be able to take her down more quickly, allowing players to earn the reward earlier. The Matriarch has a ton of hull points and some armor, but no shields at all. This means players should exclusively equip energy weapons, of which laser and plasma weapons are most effective against hulls and armor. Also, a frigate or torpedo cruiser with proton or neutron launchers would be very effective, especially if the Matriarch is this big.
Despite only having two weapons, the Tiyanki Matriarch has one of the highest damage output of any Guardian, behind only the Infinity Machine and the Stellarite Devourer. Her first weapon is the slow-firing Tiyanki Bite, which deals double damage to armor and shields, but is hard against evasive targets. Her second weapon is the Tiyanki Siphon, which is more accurate and ignores armor, but only deals 25% damage to shields. This means that heavy shields and solid hulls are the best defensive components against the Tiyanki Matriarch, especially when using smaller fleets like frigates, which are difficult for the Matriarch to hit with its bite.
Rewards for defeating Tiyanki Matriarch in Stellaris
Unlike other Guardians in Stellaris, defeating the Tiyanki Matriarch has both rewards and penalties. If the player is a member of the Galactic Commonwealth and has passed the Tiyanki Protection Law, defeating the Matriarch will violate Galactic Law. This imposes an immediate penalty of 5000 Power Points and opens the player to the possibility of being sanctioned or reprimanded by the Galactic Community.
Regardless of being fined or not, players can still claim rewards for defeating Tiyanki Matriarch. Shortly after the Matriarch’s death, the battleship AH4B will burst from within, piloted by Senior Admiral Reth Unddol with the unique Hellheart trait. Non-Genocide Empire players will be able to recruit the Admiral and his ship, which has some top-tier components, while Zealous Purifiers, Devouring Swarms, and Driving Exterminators can kill him for a Unity boost.
Additionally, any empire that has completed the Genetics Tradition Tree and completed the Leviathan transgenic technology will be able to integrate the Matriarch’s DNA into the genetics of their species, unlocking new traits that increase the speed at which organic populations are assembled.
Stellaris is currently available on PC, macOS, PS4, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.