Research

The lab is the only place on the island where smoke does not signal an enemy attack.

TL;DR: Research improves your troops and economy.

- Technologies are researched at the lab and apply globally to all your islands

- Military research strengthens attack and defense of your units

- Economy research specializes your island for a particular resource

---

How Research Works #

To research, you need a lab. The higher its level, the more technologies become available and the faster research completes.

Small empires research faster: with up to four islands your research runs twice as fast, with ten islands still 1.25 times as fast, and from 20 islands on at normal speed -- more on this in the chapter "Your Island".

Important: Research is global — what you research on one island benefits every island you own. How strongly the bonus lands on a specific island still depends on the lab there. See the chapter "Laboratory Efficiency" for details. With a higher laboratory level you can run several researches in parallel — see "Research Trees" for the slot rules. The same research can't run twice at once.

As with building, costs and times increase with each level. Canceling does not refund the invested resources.

Military Technologies #

Five technologies strengthen your forces:

• Spear -- Improves the attack power of your spearmen with each level
• Shield -- Increases the defense of all land units
• Bow -- Makes your archers more effective
• Catapult -- Enables training catapults for siege warfare
• Sailing -- Increases the speed of your ships and unlocks advanced ship types

Each technology has its own prerequisites. Bow research, for instance, requires a higher lab than Spear research. Sailing is particularly important because it not only shortens travel times but also grants access to larger ships.

Economy Research #

In addition to military technologies, three economy research options boost your resource production:

• Metallurgy -- Increases Gold production
• Masonry -- Increases Stone production
• Forestry -- Increases Wood production

The catch: Only one economy research can be active per island at a time. Starting a different one already switches the island to it. The previous bonus ends immediately. If the new research has no level yet, it gives no bonus until it is completed. Researched levels are preserved. You can reactivate a completed economy research for free; cancelling restores the previous choice.

This enables deliberate specialization: one island can focus on Gold, another on Wood. The balance is restored through trade with alliance partners or the trading post.

Once your Quarry is well developed, the economy tree also offers Advanced Masonry — the stone counterpart to Deep Drilling (Gold) and Advanced Forestry (Wood): a small extra bonus on stone production that only takes effect from Quarry level 15 and applies no matter which economy research is currently active.

Strategy #

• Research Sailing early -- It speeds up all fleet movements and is a prerequisite for many ship types
• Shield as a priority -- It improves the defense of all units, not just one type
• Choose economy research deliberately -- Often Metallurgy (Gold) on your main island, others as needed
• Do not spread thin -- Focus on the technologies that match your current strategy