I have no idea on that. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, vassal state or tributary state, the dominant party is called a suzerain. Protectorates are actually there more for the shielded nation than the shielder. Toggle signature My Unofficial Patch to Stellaris 2. ago. 3] [9d15] What version do you use? Steam What expansions do you have installed? All Do you have mods enabled? No Please. Invading usually a better option. Fluffy-Tanuki • 21 days ago. You can just stack that up. Vassals are very bad. Protectorates get an 80% tech discount helping them catch up. Early in the game, to avoid being destroyed by a powerful fanatical purifier, I asked to become a protectorate of a nearby empire. In the folder Stellariscommonagreement_presets you can find the file 00_agreement_presets. Vassals can be everything, from tributary-like contracts, to specialist contracts, protectorates, offensive, defensive or no military allies at all. Toggle signature My Unofficial Patch to Stellaris 2. tributaries give you a significant portion of their economic output. 0 beta patch I was sad to discover that having a vassal now automatically establishes a defensive act…Eventually, they ask to be my protectorate. Except, the new fleet comes to their rescue, driving of their invaders, and offering you their protection. Vassals must spend influence to deny your contract negotiation request. ago. But okay. A vassal cannot colonize new planets. If a vassal falls under 50% tech of their overlord they will convert into a protectorate. Now we could change the research mechanic in stellaris so that every big invention consists of smaller one which you could outsource to vassals, but. If you protectorate somebody diplomaticly you can vassalise them for -90% infamy later on, e. They have an added benefit of reduced tech cost for the nation on the receiving end. This page was last edited on 7 June 2023, at 04:39. Note that the empire pledging secret fealty will NOT join your side if you use other CBs. I play tall and use tributaries. Make sure they're hemmed in. So, does Hegemony make feudalism obsolete? Does the Hegemony act as a feudal empire's friendzone? If I wanted a "velvet. ( I. Protectorates get an 80% tech discount helping them catch up. Once he becomes your vassal, all the other guys also become your vassals (or most certainly protectorates as their tech is pathetic). And, if they don't have the influence they are forced to accept. The new Vassal mechanics will introduce a slew of new systems that have clearly not b. ago. 4. They get a one sided defense pact with. Basically it lets all your subordinates expand (the main disadvantage of being a vassal), so long as they serve you, is the idea. But all in all it's just meh. Age of Wonders 4 Empire of Sin Cities: Skylines 2 Crusader Kings 3 Europa Universalis 4 Hearts of Iron 4 Hunter: The Reckoning Imperator: Rome Prison Architect Stellaris Surviving Mars Surviving the Aftermath Vampire: The Masquerade Victoria 3. 2. Mr-H-Saether • 5 mo. Also, in my policy thingy my default vassal thing is set to "oppressive" which implies in the description that integration is automatically on there, but on the diplomacy screen it says that I have integration off. So for someone like a Ming China or one of the American nations it is a way for them to get to tech faster. However, when they reach 40% of your technology, they are converted into vassal and can now be integrated. of. To answer myself: No, it isn't. To get them as protectorate you need high relations, customs union and an obligation and under 25 infamy (they have to be neutral opinion afterwards so start. 2 as they do not start with. There are 5 types of tributaries(if you are ming everyone is tributary)(But I will call the others vassal and protectorate for clarity). I've got an empire that I turned into a protectorate to the south of me, and I'd like to eventually vassalize them so I can just fully integrate them. Update: I think this would work except for the federation aspect, to make someone a protectorate/vassal they need to not already be in a federation, so every cycle of “leave independent during truce, subjugate for war to feed them their claims”, they would have to be kicked from the federation, which, that’s not sustainable, you get a -200 relations. Except maybe espionage that causes a political incident. As I mentioned, Stellaris is a game where the strong get stronger and the weak fall further and further behind, and this makes vassal-based play a very dubious proposition. If a vassal doesn't agree to the contract change, it doesn't reset the 10 year timer, letting you try again immediately. 25 monthly influence. 0 unless otherwise noted. An empire can become a subject willingly via diplomacy, the acceptance dependent on a number of. Tributaries offer easy access to base Ressources, vassals join your wars and can be used for carpet sieging if you need to keep your fleets together or to block strategic star bases,. The total number of holdings you are permitted, defaults to one on my recent war to make a vassal, is empire wide. Make sure the planets you are trying to release don't have culture shock or nerve stapled. 2. After a protectorate becomes a vassal, you must wait 10 years in order to annex them (the game says 3600 days) and THEN you get control of their planets and fleets. Copy. This page was last edited on 7 June 2023, at 11:13. The only thing I think that could cause it is that I have a 30% Basic tax. So it looks like vassals in Stellaris are more like protectorates in EU4. ago. I found a way to get around it by Declaring war on an empire, and setting a war goal for them to cede a planet or planet/s with. My vassal Megacorp wasn't even opening branch offices. Each protectorate gives you 0. Terran Protectorates. Other Features: - All of the subject interaction features of the mod are handled through a new edict: Manage Subject States. 4. I don't understand why vassals drain influence. 965. Before that, protectorate-turns-vassal happens with weak cordial empires, and I just play along my federation allies' claim wars. Vassal Protectorate Tributary Subsidiary Vassals join your wars and you join theirs. A place to share content, ask questions and/or talk about the 4X grand strategy game Stellaris by Paradox Development Studio. which likely won't happen unless you declare war on. This is more a parent/child relationship. It wen't horribly wrong. [deleted] • 2 yr. Releasing your own vassals works great too as long as you make sure they have a decent starting population of 20-40 pops to work with, assuming you. I don't understand why vassals drain influence. Slightly increased the weight of technologies to protectorate modifier, from 0. Prospectorium advantage is that they will get bonus on basic, advance and strategic rerources, has chance to find deposit in space and will never be downgrade to protectorate but get nerf on science production. A protectorate on the other hand is independent and doesn't need to join your wars and can't be integrated, but is protected by you. " Ironically, 'Dissolve this Alliance' option is also grayed out, it says "We are a subject, it's not up. Open it with a text editor and change the value of protectorate_tech_threshold from 0. Protectorate: usually a small empire asks you to protect them if you have superior tech power, and very often after being targeted by previous war(s) they lost. Maybe in multiplayer you can make it work, but in singleplayer you're wasting your time. Steps to reproduce the issue. Get +30 or more pop assembly on your capital from all the Splinter Hives. You can write that mod yourself, as all you need is just one single number at the right place. Yes, one vassal may be able to build a powerful enough laser, but. The file you need to copy and edit is 00_subjects. The new empire that's created as a result of Liberation has a large bonus to their opinion towards you because of the Liberation, so you should be able to vassalize immediately. Basically you need three things: You need to be on good terms with them. Go to Stellaris r/Stellaris. #3. Vassal, tributary and subsidiary don't have all those bonus but have risk of being turn to protectorate. You may decide to do this if; the size of your empire is becoming a bit difficult to manage or you have gained a sector too far. 5. What I don't understand are these issues: 1- Built a holding that default gives 2 loyalty and an additional up to 1. Check the Stellaris wiki for the basic setup. They still have their own government, they have their own borders, they manage their own economy and population, but they have no control over their foreign policy. Ideology wargoal and after winning and their government and ethics shift you might be able to convince them to be your vassal or protectorate if they're small enough of an empire. If you're trying to do it diplomatically, it should just be in the list of demands. It could even lead to things like the Three-Fifths Compromise in the United States. Federating and playing tall is a fine option as. If the target empire declines, you have 12 months to declare war. 0 unless otherwise noted. In addition, they have a huge +80% research speed to any technology their Overlord has. Stellaris. I have been thinking about this for a while and I think vassalisation is overpowered. sedmeister. Create a 1-planet sector. Modifying a Subject's Agreement is the second-easiest way to raise Loyalty in Stellaris, though it does come with a cost to the Overlord in both concessions and the vital Influence resource. The first strategy entails declaring war on a specific nation. They will automatically become a vassal when they have reached 40% of your tech level. Once they attain a certain % of your technology, they will become a vassal, and you will no longer get the +1 influence. • 1 yr. You have to have the Colossus already present in that system when you take it over and send it over to encase/crack/etc. However, I am still pulling further and. Not only does this bonus not display anywhere other than the building (so not in the subject agreement screen) but even with three stationed armies there is no bonus displayed anywhere. You can vassalize by liberating a group of systems, then vassalizing the resulting empire formed of those systems. 1. 1 game reach the point of enlightenments. 6 comments. Communicate with the vassal and select the option; it should be the bottom most option available. Your protectorate gets a bonus to researching your techs which may catch them up enough at some point. Conquest is better, but vassals are fun for role playing. immediately, before your vassal has. Stellaris lacks the broad spectrum of victory conditions which could recognise the validity of the many different ways to play the game. My vassals have half of the power of the galaxy. Subjugation war type will automatically create vassals from the territories captured. YobaiYamete • Nihilistic Acquisition • 1 yr. The limits on the Vassal system exist so that the game remains fun when playing as both an overlord OR a vassal. However, while their Overlord will protect them if they're attacked they do NOT have to follow their Overlord into war. I checked my new vassal and there's nothing specifying said influence input. Vassals must spend influence to deny your contract negotiation request. 4. Once that has happened you should then be able to choose a specialisation. If the sky is the limit, and you have tons of influence, you can constantly make single system vassals. The leader of the vassal state used to act as vice roy, subedar or jagirdar of the main state. In the default galaxy map mode, subjects have the same color as their overlord. Megacorp yes, but I think I didn't get the casus belli because they're my subsidiary. you will be stuck in a defense pact which you can't cancel (since you aren't independent), so you can never break free again, i guess. you always have Subjugation CB if they refuse. They get 80% reduced tech costs on every tech you've researched. It's supposed to be a catchup mechanic since they will have -80% cost to all techs. You don't need them to survive, but it's a less "threatening" way to expand your empire. I will agree the diplomacy system is horribly basic but to be honest it took me 31 years to get a nation to become my vassal and allow integration, that was a lot of energy, minerals, food and trade agreements and a lot of diplomatic dancing with other empires to curry favour high enough to achieve a protectorate despite only being slightly. It is a safe relation for getting value out of other empires without having to conquer them, thus enabling you to conquer others with the resources and influence you otherwise would be using against Vassal A. Once you've filled out your specialist roles, this is where most of your vassals end up. Protectorate: usually a small empire asks you to protect them if you have superior tech power, and very often after being targeted by previous war(s) they lost. Note that if either of your existing ethics is fanatic it will downgrade to make place for authoritarian as a third ethic. The Greater Terran Union annexed, reorganized and subjugated most of its neighboring nations by the time of the War In Heaven. I wanted them to expand. Yet still they wont agree to it under these terms. We slowly, methodically, build up our infrastructure. Wether you consider it to be decent or not - is more of an opinion. [1] [2] While the subordinate party is called a vassal, vassal state or tributary state, the dominant party is. Correction: Only voluntary protectorates. I think, at. 2. 4, but the quick trust growth means you can turn them into a protectorate/vassal pretty quickly. Vassal builds own fleet and with domination increases your fleet cap. I don't really use the espionage system to know enough though. There is a 60 months timer after vassalization. Vassels rarely creating any meaningfull fleets. #3. 3. I was roleplaying a caretaker species but vassals don't expand. Well it depends. Tributaries pay another nation for their autonomy. 2][e91f] Game Version 3. A vassal is probably overall more "useful" than actually own their territory (due to conquest or integration), even if they currently pretty dumb in terms of military. ago. The likelihood of them accepting my independence is currently . You should try, I said 10 from the top of my head but as they grew (slowly, but they did) I got some 70 energy and 30 minerals before makng them protectorates. Correction: Only voluntary protectorates give you influence. . As far as I can tell, the only benefit you get from having vassals are: - You keep your Empire Sprawl down, keeping your research cheap so you can get up the tech tree faster. Vassal two researches a way to contain the plasma. It was fun seeing Sorann attack his ex-federation member. A look at the Prospectorium specialist vassal empire and a glance at new origin icons with their names: 2022-03-31 5: New Friends: Reveal of three new enclaves (Salvagers, Shroudwalkers, and Mercenary), the Bulwark specialist vassal empire, more Overlord holdings, the Imperial Fiefdom civic: 2022-04-07 6: Elevating CivilizationSo apparently there is a dead zone with respect to the size empire you are allowed to vassalize vs. 25 influence. 2. FC - A protectorate becomes a vassal at 60%, a vassal becomes a protectorate (automatically) at 50%. All other new vassal mechanics from Overlord become obsolete though. I believe that as a xenophile empire a way to peacefully incorporate aliens should be to enlighten them, wait until they become vassals and then annex them (a slower but more morally acceptable alternative to infiltration). 25 influence a month, and you can integrate them if you want. Protectorates for the influence. Eventually you incorporate them and badda-bing, you grow. Protectorates can do stupid things like claim fallen empire systems, but sometimes it is more important to accept the request if it denies your enemies an easy target to conquer. If you want to change the subject type, you'll have to release and then subjugate them as vassal. Unless they're at war in which the option will be greyed out, or they're already someone else's. This page was last edited on 7 June 2023, at 11:13. If you drop a 600 influence cost vassalage negotiation on current vassal that has only 400 influence in their stockpile, they won't be able to refuse. srlapo • 6 yr. Vassals can be absorbed into empire after 10 years. I immediately got the "Ask them to be a protectorate" option. >> << Vassal is the most controlled type of subject-Empire. ; About Stellaris Wiki; Mobile view Puppet is a modern term, and usually is just a state with teh same goverment as yours, and that is completly complient to you vassal is a medieval term and usually allows alot of autonomy, depending on the type of vassal it may be, some consider a tributary as a vassal, and some other consider the King of England (also the duke of normandy) as a vassal (he was, but he also wasnt) the term is. Once you've got everything right, hit the Copy button and paste it into the console in Stellaris. Saves you escalating costs of consumer goods, research and unity. ) One option you may not have considered: if they're not Decadent, liberate! Liberation creates a new empire of the native species that shares your ethics and is initially friendly toward you. It should be the same way in Stellaris: I should be able to cash in my loyalty, or influence, or whatever to modify contracts if I have the dough to spend. However if they are a specialized vassal already they will never demote, although you can’t change their type to a different other than protectorate if they fall. Originally posted by Danny: Yet, you can have a federation with just your vassals XD. Yeah that makes sense, thanks a lot. r/Stellaris. ) Protectorates are great, you get +1 influence for each one. It would solve the issue of vassal targets being too weak to be worth it, and it should be naturally balanced as a successful war against an equal requires significant investment. 3. your master with the goal to release you. Don't tax them into poverty, causing shortage situations. Depending on how strong you are relatively to either of them. As far as I can tell, player cannot construct the hyper-relays or whatever they are called, thingies that greatly speed up travel between systems, where those things are built. XBOX • 3 yr. Best. Best. I checked my new vassal and there's nothing specifying said influence input. This is - in my eyes - pretty useless, because a nation which has just "inferior" values would never or at least hardly catch up to 40% of my tech, right? What exactly blocks the vassallization-option?Go to Stellaris r/Stellaris. ; About Stellaris Wiki; Mobile viewLike Vassal 1 focuses all its invention on making a laser which can heat plasma up. 2x probably). • 7 yr. 5. The new vassal system lets you specialise subject empires, which then develop handy traits as they level up within the greater empire they're a part of, making that 30% research tax an easy pill. You can't fulfill your half of the deal if there's too much distance (or especially enemy territory) between you and the target. As nouns the difference between protectorate and vassal. ; About Stellaris Wiki; Mobile viewIf there are small empires in the areas, like rump states and pre-FTL planets that recently got FTL tech I'll make a protectorate/vassal rather than tributary. But yeah, the moment vassals get involved half the tree becomes utterly useless and the other half gets reduced in value. Puppet is a modern term, and usually is just a state with teh same goverment as yours, and that is completly complient to you vassal is a medieval term and usually allows alot of autonomy, depending on the type of vassal it may be, some consider a tributary as a vassal, and some other consider the King of England (also the duke of. You can let them be autonomous, but ultimate control of the sector still belongs to the player. 1 This mod expands how vassals work. Protectorate: Can be sponsored in various ways as part of the contract for influence. #2. x. Also, when the rebellions happen, if I win the war, I own the systems directly instead of them going back to my vassal. ago. Content is available under Attribution-ShareAlike 3. I turned a strong neighbor into a prospectorium, I'm in charge of a strong federation and about to synthetically ascend. If you are ok micromanaging, you can incorporate them, gene mod and fix their planets, then release as a vassal again. Vassals quickly allow you to reach a good naval capacity with the good tradition and their fleets can reach pretty nice values while you still gain massive sciencefor having a small number of. Could even do its own federation type and give more of a reason to use the feudal civic outside of roleplay if it was a requirement When it reach 60% of techs of its master, it turns into vassal. In the default galaxy map mode, subjects have the same color as their overlord. Heck if they like you enough they may even be amicable to becoming a tributary. When everyone is "inferior" or "pathetic" and fallen empires are "equivalent. Plus, if you've gotten said protectorate by doing something like. Meaning oyu have to declare your goal within X number of days. honta Apr 7, 2018 @ 6:50am. Plus they'll get to your technological level so that you get the scientist relay bonus if make them. Tributaries themselves are kinda meh and supposedly pretty bugged in 1. And maybe a vassal could be made to give you some tribute. I want to break free from being a subject but 'Declare War' option is closed; when I move the cursor over, it says "You cannot declare war on an allied country, break the alliance first. ago. How to expel a corporate branch from my planet? Specifically, a criminal syndicate. force_integrate <Empire ID>. Tributaries are much better imo. by Yaddah_1. For everything else, you can manually change the terms of an agreement, but the other party has to accept those terms before. The federation system in Stellaris has much more potential for more. ago. Pacificism has some trade offs but I really like the paradise dome building. I generally leave vassals as vassals unless I need the land or they are completely opposed to me. They cannot be incorporated into your empire (a true vassal with a complete technological mismatch would be very difficult to incorporate into a multi-planet empire), will not join in your wars (though are protected by your guarantee), and receive 80% reduced tech costs (I believe that is the current number). So I'm playing an egalitarian materialist trade empire. Sorann, Haspalv, Oviir. (So in case as humans you move your capital to alpha centauri and. Tehnomaag • 6 yr. Description Stellaris - Player's Protectorate becomes AI empire's vassal WITHOUT war [3. Protectorates. They get a significant (i think 80%) boost to research if you already have the tech. 3. Suzerainty (/ ˈ s uː z ər ə n t i,-r ɛ n t i /) includes the rights and obligations of a person, state or other polity which controls the foreign policy and relations of a tributary state, but allows the tributary state internal autonomy. Presets have a list of default terms and can have additional unique effects tied to them, like how Protectorates gain a massive bonus to research until they catch up to their overlord. If your vassal has under a certain percentage of the tech you have, they're considered a protectorate. It can be useful to give land to vassals in war declarations. RS players, do you invade, uplift, or protectorate/vassalize and later integrate? R5 - Been a few versions since I last played RS, curious what the communities players prefer to do with primitives given recent changes. Can not transfer a system to protectorate. Borders touching theirs (because distance gives a MASSIVE modifier against acceptance) Send an Envoy to improve relations. As well as encouraging the spectrum of playstyles Stellaris is otherwise. Use your huge federation fleet to crush the filthy xeno fallen empires. . Reply. lordxanon. Take away the war and you're just. Well, in all my games (started in 1. They do lose the difficuilty bonus, yes. Provided, of course, you have enough influence to push it through. I get the mechanic from the defensive agreement causing it. You probably only need to do a few of those. I too remember the wiki stating they'd become protectorates, but they never did for me. Tributaries are also nice if they have good economy. I don't really use the espionage system to know enough though. I'd only use liberation if you plan as retaining them as a vassal, although do note that empires will. ; About Stellaris Wiki; Mobile view If anything being in a federation should increase the willingness to become a protectorate if not a vassal if you have positive relations. A place to share content, ask questions and/or talk about the 4X grand strategy game Stellaris by Paradox Development Studio. And, if they don't have the influence they are forced to accept. Maybe a research agreement if it's possible, but they already receive a bonus to tech just from being your protectorate. 4 Cepheus update. They will protect your lance battleships with their bodies, your vassals throwing corvettes and cruisers into the line of fire while your battleships open up with the big guns. efficiency. ; About Stellaris Wiki; Mobile viewA vassal is probably overall more "useful" than actually own their territory (due to conquest or integration), even if they currently pretty dumb in terms of military actions (which is probably fixed at some time). 0 unless otherwise noted. Once they attain a certain % of your technology, they will become a vassal, and you will no longer get the +1 influence. I only demand holdings and possible future integration. You can't integrate Tributaries until you vassalize them, which likely won't happen unless you declare war on them with the Demand of vassalization. Making them exponentially stronger. With Feudal Society the overlord-protectorate relationship is a genuine symbiosis, they get tech and a big sibling, I get some extra influence. It does not get refunded, because the Vassal needs to use THEIR influence to be able to refuse the offer. If a vassal doesn't agree to the contract change, it doesn't reset the 10 year timer, letting you try again immediately. VolusVagabond • 3 yr. Two ways to get a vassal. Reply. Also roleplaying. Branch Offices can be constructed by empires with Corporate authority and give the Corporate empire energy equal to 50% of the world's trade value; the Free Traders civic and the Imperial Charter modifier each increase Branch Office value by 10%. Forced submission: You automatically get a subjugation Casus Beli on any empire that is overall "inferior" to you in fleet, tech, and economic power. My ally on the other side of the Galaxy declared a war and then ran his ships all the way across to join up with me whilst his worlds were sieged and occupied. Yeah. ago. Integration takes decades and (more importantly) costs a lot of precious influence. " If you're REALLY strong, you may even see fallen empires as "inferior". Both lose research power for their own research (your cut you get from them) while they are themself not any closer to the stuff you research. Tributaries do have a benefit to them. Alloy foundries are a good way to stopping being a vassal. Yeah, having had a protectorate of my own swallowed by another empire, I'd actually like to see this changed, so that protectorates have the same restrictions vassals do. Vassal Contracts are a massive new feature of the Stellaris 3. I've tried looking this up, but either the situation's changed, or there's a lot of bad information out there, because the information out there suggests that Vassals can't expand and don't pay tribute; neither of which appears to be true, given the Vassal options I'm looking at. They'll like you a lot after the war so it will really come down to size/power difference between your empire and theirs. •. What I find works best is to determine what vassal it is then determine what role suits them best. Content is available under Attribution-ShareAlike 3. Less than the 10% it looks like, and requires you to spend the influence to get them up to 75% in the first place, and you can't just get consumer goods without spending effort and influence to tax a second. It adds 9 new types of subject empires for default countries (1 for each ethics + 1 for hives), 9 new types of subject empires for megacorporations (1 for each. In cases where the vassal in question is large and rebellious, integration and re-releasing might be prudent. Conquering directly just gives you the planets and populations directly, and will generally be strongest. Never rely on them for anything. Progenitor is best for late game, since you can do vassal silliness. You can only make an empire into a protectorate if they are much weaker than you. Protectorates are tricky because usually the technology gap doesn't exist to create them but I've had luck doing it with newly self-enlightened races. Vassal rebalance ideas. Learn more about Vassalization Rebalance at GameJunkie. Broke Tributary is useless. What I don't understand are these issues: 1- Built a holding that default gives 2 loyalty and an additional up to 1. I currently share a trade league with 6 other empires, and all of them have to vote with me. Stellaris. Content is available under Attribution-ShareAlike 3. If the vassal doesn't like it they should get help from another empire and rebel. Gain enough tech to turn them into a protectorate. If there are significant technological differences between both empires, this option is replaced by the Protectorate status. willldebeast • 4 yr. Technically loyal vassals could be useful in war, but in practice you never get loyal vassals that are powerful enough, and so far the AI wasn't very helpful. (AIs consider going to war when [disloyal vassal power > overlord + loyal vassal power], over some multiple (1. For Stellaris 2. 4. ”. They right away asked me if they can become my protectorate because they are so weak. Rord64 Mar 18, 2018 @ 6:06am. 0. GazOCee. Tributary vs Vassals Stellaris DebateProtectorates are like vassals, except: 1. I have no idea on that. Release the sector as a Vassal, then free it. 2Tripled the max stored influence amount due to the above change (now. Protectorate an uplifted pre-FTL species for an increase in monthly influence and a potentially powerful ally at the end of it all, or Vassalise an empire for some. However they will also be very disloyal because you will have like -350 opinion "relative power of vassals" with all of them, but this is basically only your former overlord. This list was initiated with 2. My stability and anti-crime is more than enough to deal with the. Fluffy-Tanuki • 21 days ago. You didn't accept my offer of protectorate. That's it. My biggest gripe is that empires in the "protectorate zone" are ineligible for bastion, prospectorium, and scholarium. If you want to just get them as a vassal all you need is. So to be made a protectorate they need greater than a 50% tech difference. Vassals that have already been specialized do not automatically demote even if their tech falls way behind. They established a branch on one of my planets, despite the fact that I have no pacts with them and recently closed my borders as a result of them doing this to several other worlds. usually protectorates never become vassals, since they need 50% of your tech and you can usually out-tech them. Have your vassals all follow your doomstack. Then (to test) I let them both go. You mainly get them by releasing empires from other empires.