Tech Research
Research is the background process that makes everything else work. More resources, faster troop training, more PvP wins — all of it traces back to research you started and forgot about. The one rule that matters most: never let the research queue sit empty.
The short version¶
- Always have something researching. Idle queue time is unrecoverable.
- Start with Progression and Economy. Build the foundation first.
- Shift to Combat once power-reward events start appearing on your server.
- When the alliance duel unlocks, prioritize the Duel branch — especially the double reward chest node.
- Combined Arms, Beast, and Combat Strategy unlock late but are cheap. Push them when they open.
- Get a second research queue via the monthly card or VIP.
How it works¶
Research happens in the research lab. You start a research and it runs in the background with no further input — you do not need to manage it, only to restart it when it finishes.
You begin with one research queue. The Super Monthly Card or the VIP system unlocks a second queue — a permanent structural improvement rather than a one-off reward pile, and the strongest single argument for that purchase. See Spending Guide.
Research is never instant. The only way to shorten it is alliance help, speed-ups, or Hermione's passive, which reduces research times substantially. If you are going to be research-heavy early, Hermione is a strong hero to build — see Heroes, Factions and Queues.
Progression within a branch is gated. You cannot simply run down a branch top to bottom; each node has prerequisites. Plan around the path, not the list.
Resources required go beyond wood and iron: gold, alchemical elixir, and beast crystals all appear as research costs. Gold and elixir come mainly from the Ultimate Alliance Duel battle pass, which is a large part of why that event matters (Ultimate Alliance Duel).
Research buffs apply only to you. Unlike alliance research, nothing here benefits your alliance mates.
Costs and times rise steeply as you go deeper, while the buffs also get stronger. Eventually you will face nodes where the buff genuinely may not justify the wait — at that point, compare against what else you could do with the resources.
The seven branches¶
Progression — building speed, healing speed, research speed, training speed. Compounding quality-of-life; everything else gets faster.
Economy — resource gathering speed, food production, gathering tile levels. Your income.
Combat — attack, defense, and HP for each faction and for all troops. The core power branch, and the most expensive.
Duel — raises your point generation across every area of the Ultimate Alliance Duel. Contains the double chest node (below).
Combat Strategy — marching queue speed, damage and defense in battles worldwide, overall troop stats.
Beast — additional hatching slots and extra crystal mine cave slots. See Beasts.
Combined Arms — stats for all factions and all troops. Unlocks at Basecamp 30 (added May 14, 2026).
Not all branches are available immediately. You start with Progression and Economy. Others unlock on base camp level, research level, or server age — so some branches simply will not exist on a young server no matter what you do.
What to research, in order¶
There is no single correct answer — it depends on whether you are playing as a farmer or a fighter. But there is a sequence that works for most accounts.
Phase 1 — your first days and weeks: Progression and Economy¶
Your goal at the start is not power. It is resource income. You cannot fund heroes, gear, troops, or later research without it, and every hour of weak income compounds against you.
Pair this with building your left-side economy buildings. See New Player Roadmap.
Early on you will not have every branch unlocked anyway, so work with what you have and keep the queue full.
Phase 2 — when power-reward events appear: Combat¶
A few weeks after a server opens, events start rewarding you for increasing power — the Regal Medal event is one example. That is the signal to shift into Combat, and to start pushing heroes and troops in earnest.
The timing matters: pushing power before those events means doing the work and collecting none of the rewards. See Events Overview and Priorities.
Phase 3 — when the alliance duel unlocks: the Duel branch¶
Prioritize this branch, and inside it, find the double reward chest node.
Once completed, every duel chest you ever open pays double. The Ultimate Alliance Duel runs every week indefinitely, and it is the game's best reward source. Nothing else in the research tree compounds like that.
The rest of the branch raises your duel point generation, which raises your personal rewards and helps your alliance win days.
Phase 4 — late game: Combined Arms, Beast, Combat Strategy¶
These unlock late, but their nodes are significantly cheaper than the Combat branch's. That makes them unusually efficient once available — you buy more stats per unit of resource here than in Combat.
When they open, prioritize them. A common late-game regret is having a weak Combined Arms branch while grinding expensive Combat nodes.
If you are a pure farmer or a pure PvP player¶
Farming play style: Progression and Economy, indefinitely.
PvP play style: Combined Arms, Combat, Progression, Duel, Beast, Combat Strategy.
Most players should sit between the two, which is what the four-phase sequence above describes.
Common mistakes¶
Letting the queue run empty. The most common and most expensive research mistake. Start something before you log off, always.
Spending gems to finish a research. Never. That is what speed-ups and alliance help are for, and gems belong in the Lucky Wheel — see Lucky Wheel.
Chasing Combat too early. Without economy research behind it you will not be able to afford the nodes, let alone the troops they buff.
Skipping the duel branch. The double chest node pays back indefinitely and most players never look for it.
Grinding expensive Combat nodes while Combined Arms sits untouched. Cheaper stats are sitting right there.