i'm still in my first game of stellaris (which is my first paradox game so this question might seem silly to experienced grand strategy buffs but i've just switched from civ:be to stellaris) and i wonder what might trigger a violent reaction from the fallen empire (except declaring war on them, obviously)… to avoid exactly that.
the fallen ones are fanatic xenophiles but neither pacifistic nor militaristic and a couple of smaller campaigns against other "regular" empires didn't seem to bother them (my standing with them remained pretty much unchanged).
but as the game progresses i'm getting worried that they might become hostile because i might do something stupid that sets them off, so any hints/experiences regarding diplomacy with fallen empire would be greatly appreciated.
Best Answer
There are four types of Fallen Empire, and each one has different things that anger them, based on their ethics.
Keepers of Knowledge (Fanatic Materialists): The Fallen Empire dedicates itself to the hoarding of technologies that it believes should be kept out of the hands of young and irresponsible races. Pursuing dangerous lines of research will draw their ire. (Technologies considered "dangerous" are marked in red)
Enigmatic Observers (Fanatic Xenophiles): Empires that use slaves, or purge populations may suffer the wrath of the Observers.
Holy Guardians (Fanatic Spiritualists): This fallen empire dedicates itself to the preservation and defense of its holy sites. Colonizing systems that they consider sacred is likely to incur their ire.
Militant Isolationists (Fanatic Xenophobe): The fallen empire dedicates itself to the defense of its borders against any intrusions. Colonizing systems that border them is likely to draw their ire.
Other things, such as insulting, rivalling them or declaring war (obviously) will anger them as well. Importantly, they will not declare war on you until relations drop below -75
Source: Stellaris Wiki