Empire Plan
Every 20 turns (or 10 turns on Fast Speed) the player may configure the 
Empire Plan, a set of powerful empire-wide bonuses. These bonuses, divided into ministries and levels, last for the entire duration until the next empire plan and can greatly aid the development of the empire in one direction or another. All bonuses cost 
Influence scaling with the number of cities in the empire, and configuring the empire plan is primary way to spend in the game.
Mechanics
There are four ministries, or categories, of empire plan bonuses, corresponding to the four sections of the 
Research disk:
Each ministry is further divided into four levels, with increasing benefits for each level. Levels are configured individually for each ministry, and selecting one level of benefits will also include all preceding ones (for example selecting level 3 will include the benefits of levels 1 and 2).
Only level 1 bonuses are available at the beginning of the game, and a higher level is unlocked with each Era (from II to IV). One exception is the 
Drakken, who can select empire plan bonuses one level higher than their current era due to their "Advanced Diarchy" faction trait.
Each bonus costs influence based on its level as well as the number of cities in the empire.
Empire Plan Bonuses
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Notes
- For the
Broken Lords (or any faction with the "Appetite for Dust" trait), level 4 of the Empire and Expansion ministry is replaced with to "+50% Population Buyout Reduction on Cities".
- For the
Forgotten (or any faction with the "Science Phobic" trait), level 1 of the Science and Industry ministry is replaced with "+20% Cost Reduction on Researches", and level 3 is replaced with "+30% Research Cost Reduction in Past Eras".
Influence Cost
Each bonus costs Influence based on its level as well as the number of cities (C) in the empire. This cost also scales with Game Speed.
| Lvl. | Cost (Normal) | Cost (Fast) | Avg. / City / Turn |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 20 × C
|
10 × C
|
1
|
| 2 | 60 × C
|
30 × C
|
3
|
| 3 | 150 × C
|
75 × C
|
7.5
|
| 4 | 400 × C
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200 × C
|
20
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Notes
- For the
Cultists or any empire with the Conversion trait, each converted Minor Faction village counts as 20% of a city. - For the
Mykara or any empire with the Creeping Presence trait, each Fungal Bloom counts as 2% of a city. - With ELCP, the Era IV Legendary Building Throne of Emperors reduces the Influence cost of the Empire Plan by 30%.
Analysis
Empire plan bonuses can be extremely powerful: a 33% discount to building cost is functionally a 50% bonus to 
Industry. However, Influence is hard to generate relative to other 
FIDSI, so players have developed many tactics to maximise plan effects while minimising cost; for example, salting or trading away less useful cities. See the following pages for more information: