Research
The ten disciplines and the four branches of the tech tree.
Research runs on two tracks. The ten disciplines are the continuous ones: every level makes ships faster, tougher or cheaper, up to level 24. The tech tree is the discrete one: nodes that unlock a hull, a building or a rule change, gated by tier and by the level of your Laboratory.
Disciplines
| Discipline | Laboratory | Level 1 | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|
| Propulsion | 1 | 200 Ferrolite · 400 Xenogas · 150 Data | ×1.7 |
| Energy Weapons | 2 | 400 Ferrolite · 150 Xenogas · 200 Data | ×1.7 |
| Armor Plating | 2 | 500 Ferrolite · 100 Xenogas · 150 Data | ×1.7 |
| Shields | 3 | 300 Ferrolite · 300 Xenogas · 200 Data | ×1.7 |
| Espionage | 2 | 150 Ferrolite · 250 Xenogas · 300 Data | ×1.65 |
| Colonization | 3 | 800 Ferrolite · 600 Xenogas · 400 Data | ×1.8 |
| Logistics | 1 | 300 Ferrolite · 200 Xenogas · 150 Data | ×1.65 |
| Astrometrics | 1 | 200 Ferrolite · 200 Xenogas · 250 Data | ×1.65 |
| Cybernetics | 2 | 350 Ferrolite · 350 Xenogas · 300 Data | ×1.7 |
| Galactic Economy | 2 | 600 Ferrolite · 400 Xenogas · 300 Data | ×1.75 |
The tech tree
Four branches, each with its own character. A node is bought once; a repeatable node keeps taking levels.
The Laboratory column is the level your Laboratory network must reach — but it is only one of the gates. A node can also require other nodes and a minimum level in one or two disciplines, so reaching the Laboratory level is necessary and not always sufficient. The tech tree in the game shows you which gate is the one still holding a node shut.
War
| Node | Tier | Laboratory | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Piercing Calibers | 1 | 1 | +1.5%/lvl fleet attack |
| Piercing Warheads | 1 | 1 | bomber vs cruisers 1.5→2.0, battleship vs cruisers 2.0→2.5 |
| Composite Plating | 2 | 2 | +1.5%/lvl hull strength |
| Monitor Frigate | 2 | 2 | SHIP Monitor (anti-corvette/anti-interceptor/anti-bomber screen) |
| Active Deflectors | 3 | 4 | +2%/lvl shield power |
| Orbital Scythe | 3 | 4 | SHIP Scythe (capital killer) |
| Splinter Lance | 4 | 6 | SHIP Splinter (mass light anti-capital) |
| Fusion Calibers | 5 | 8 | +2%/lvl fleet attack |
| Orbital Fortress | 5 | 8 | Heavy planetary defense: +1 platform per Fortress level. Each starts with 4500 hull and 400 full-power attack; levels 16–30 multiply both by 1.30 per upgrade. Power shortages reduce attack only. Destroyed platforms rebuild free, one every 2 hours. |
| Adaptive Armor | 6 | 10 | +2%/lvl hull strength |
| Dark Matter Aegis | 7 | 12 | +3%/lvl shield power |
| Dark Matter Lances | 7 | 12 | +1.5%/lvl SHIELD PENETRATION |
| Doctrine of Annihilation | 7 | 12 | +1.5%/lvl fleet attack, multiplying what your Disciplines and Calibers already give instead of adding to it, NO cap — each resource stops climbing at its own ceiling, and once all three have, every further level costs 100 more Dark Matter than the last |
| Titan Dreadnought | 7 | 12 | SHIP Titan (apex; held back only by cost and by scythe/splinter counters) |
| Admiralty | 8 | 15 | battle stances, each with a cost: Assault, Rampart or Pursuit when you fly at the enemy, Assault alone where a fleet defends the ground it stands on |
| The Bastion Codex | 8 | 15 | faction sorties against you leave 6 hours later, so you get 6 more hours of notice before they land; a repelled sortie pays the next step of the defence ladder |
| The Battery | 8 | 15 | +2%/lvl to the attack of every Defense Batteries emplacement you hold |
| The Breach | 8 | 15 | +2%/lvl damage from your ships against a colony’s Emplacements and its Fortress |
| The Gunnery | 8 | 15 | +2%/lvl to the opening damage of every Orbital Cannon you hold |
| The Keep | 8 | 15 | +2%/lvl to the attack of every Orbital Fortress platform you hold |
| The Mantle | 8 | 15 | +2%/lvl to the Bubble of every Planetary Shield you hold |
| The Phalanx | 8 | 15 | +2%/lvl hull on your ships while they are defending a colony |
| The Vanguard | 8 | 15 | +2%/lvl damage from your ships in the first two rounds of a battle |
| The Ward | 8 | 15 | +2%/lvl shields |
| War Crucible | 9 | 18 | +10% attack on every fleet, multiplying everything your Disciplines, Calibers and Annihilation already give |
| Doctrine of Escalation | 10 | 22 | total war: your fleets' counters above 1x gain +0.5 (cap 3.5, naval only), and your Batteries and Fortresses fire and shield at ten times strength (hull unchanged) |
Frontier
| Node | Tier | Laboratory | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Colonial Outpost | 1 | 1 | budget colony hub; halves the trait malus of any world that has one (a higher Terraformer relief supersedes it), and every level adds +2% to that colony's production of all three resources |
| Solar Sails | 1 | 1 | +3%/lvl fleet speed |
| Hypergate | 2 | 2 | your own hypergate NETWORK: a gate makes its whole system a network endpoint — one gated end = −2%/lvl (cap −30%) on logistics launched from its system toward your own or empty worlds (never toward allies or enemies); gates at BOTH ends collapse the route to a single hop, shortened by the weaker effective gate (−5%/lvl past 1, floor 50% through level 15; commissioned cores at levels 16–30 cut the remaining hop by 6% each); advanced cores cost resources and Dark Matter in addition to physical construction; every gate is also a guild jump-gate endpoint — and that guild network runs WITHOUT this node: a guildmate's gate at each end already bridges your routes, so this buys your OWN network |
| Modular Holds | 2 | 2 | +3%/lvl cargo capacity |
| Deep Computing | 3 | 4 | +4%/lvl Data production |
| Terraformer | 3 | 4 | relieves a planet malus, where there is one, through level 10; every level through 30 adds 1% to native specialty output: Ferrolite on Rocky worlds, Xenogas on Gaseous worlds, Data on Ice worlds, energy on Lava worlds |
| Deep Observatory | 4 | 6 | per-colony DETAIL on inbound attacks — origin, attacker, size, composition, one more piece per level from L2 to L8 — plus counter-espionage up to its detection cap; every building level through 30 cuts Spy and Explore travel from this colony by one percentage point; the bare alert is free for everyone |
| Quantum Computers | 4 | 6 | −2.5%/lvl research time on Tech Tree nodes — never on Disciplines |
| Colonial Ark | 5 | 8 | SHIP Ark (14,000 hold, 10,000 hull) — FOUNDS COLONIES like a Colony Ship, and is dismantled into the new world as a level 3 Warehouse, raising the new colony’s ceiling from 5,000 to 20,480 per resource |
| Warp Drives | 5 | 8 | +3%/lvl fleet speed |
| Dimensional Holds | 6 | 10 | +4%/lvl cargo capacity |
| Hyperspace Relay | 6 | 10 | Cuts travel time from its colony: 50% at level 1, deeper with each level, competing with Hypergate routes. Also removes 1% of logistics travel time per level through 30, including when a Hypergate route wins; applies to new supplies, transfers, pickups, harvests, colonization, reinforcements and supply lanes. |
| Beyond the Horizon | 7 | 12 | +0.5%/lvl fleet speed, NO cap — each resource stops climbing at its own ceiling, and once all three have, every further level costs 100 more Dark Matter than the last |
| Planetary Mandates | 8 | 15 | each colony adopts one mandate: Industrial, Scientific or Transit, changeable every 72h |
| Resource Concord | 9 | 18 | links every colony into one research treasury: research pays from the summed stockpiles of your whole empire, capital first |
| Boundless Reserve | 10 | 22 | empire-wide Warehouse capacity x1.5, and unlocks the Requisition Surge: x3 total storage ceiling for 24 hours, once every 5 days |
Forge
| Node | Tier | Laboratory | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deep Drills | 1 | 1 | +4%/lvl Ferrolite production |
| Mining Automation | 1 | 1 | +20% Ferrolite and Xenogas production |
| Superconducting Grid | 1 | 1 | +8%/lvl energy production on every colony. Power yield is capped at 100%, so it is only felt while a colony is short of power: where power already covers the draw it buys room to build rather than more output |
| Catalysts | 2 | 2 | +4%/lvl Xenogas production |
| Nanoforge | 2 | 2 | Shorter ship build time on that colony, scaled by hull mass: heavy hulls (Battleship and up) gain −2% per level through 20, then −1.5 percentage points per level to −55% at level 30. Lighter hulls gain a smaller reduction. Every level improves assembly. |
| Recycler | 3 | 4 | Unlocks harvest missions and local defensive auto-salvage. Each building level after 1 adds one percentage point of wreck recovery through level 30; harvest uses your best Recycler, local auto-salvage uses the defending colony’s plant. |
| Robotic Shipyards | 3 | 4 | −3%/lvl ship build time |
| Prefabs | 4 | 6 | −3%/lvl building build time |
| Shielded Silo | 4 | 6 | Unlocks the Shielded Silo: protects 20% of local resources at building level 1, rising every level to about 43.7% at 30. Each upgrade adds at least 0.3 percentage points of protection. |
| Active Salvage | 5 | 8 | +4 percentage points per level to debris recovery; 30% base, up to 99% with Recycler level 30 and Active Salvage level 10. This is a share of available wreck material, not the destroyed ship’s full price. |
| Compressed Depots | 5 | 8 | +8%/lvl warehouse capacity |
| Autonomous Factory | 6 | 10 | Unlocks the Autonomous Factory: a second shipyard slot at building level 1, then 0.5 percentage points less ship resource cost per effective level through 30. Levels 16–30 require paid industrial cores; the saving applies only to new orders on that colony. |
| Particle Accelerator | 6 | 10 | unlocks the Particle Accelerator: 0.75 Dark Matter/day per level at full power, with +10% compounding confinement efficiency per level from 16 through 30; high energy demand |
| Synergistic Extraction | 6 | 10 | +5%/lvl Ferrolite and Xenogas production |
| Dark Matter Forge | 7 | 12 | +2%/lvl to ALL production |
| Orbital Arsenal | 7 | 12 | Unlocks the Orbital Arsenal: an extra shipyard slot at level 1, then 1 percentage point less military build time per effective level through 30, including the Aegis Bastion. Levels 16–30 require paid arsenal cores. Upgrades accelerate remaining military work; civilian ships and legendary repairs are excluded. |
| Production Singularity | 7 | 12 | +0.5%/lvl to ALL production, NO cap — each resource stops climbing at its own ceiling, and once all three have, every further level costs 100 more Dark Matter than the last |
| Deep Vaults | 8 | 15 | x2 storage capacity on every colony, stacking with the Compressed Depots bonus |
| Industrial Edicts | 8 | 15 | one empire-wide edict: Construction, Shipbuilding or Throughput, changeable every 72h |
| Precursor Schematics | 8 | 15 | unlocks the Precursor district — Zero-Point Reactor, Singularity Vault, Stellar Forge — in ONE 150 DM purchase |
| The Dynamo | 8 | 15 | +2%/lvl to energy PRODUCTION on every colony |
| The Loom | 8 | 15 | −1%/lvl research time on Disciplines AND Tech Tree orders |
| The Sigil | 8 | 15 | name one complete Doctrine as yours: its scaling effect reads level 22 instead of 20 |
| Industrial Confluence | 9 | 18 | +10% production of all three resources on every colony, Data included |
| Accretion Engine | 10 | 22 | Particle Accelerator Dark Matter output x3; every Accelerator's energy draw x2, throttling the whole colony until the grid catches up |
Specter
| Node | Tier | Laboratory | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Orbital Obfuscation | 1 | 1 | −2.5%/lvl loot suffered |
| Planetary Shield II | 1 | 1 | raises the Shield max level and grants +15% shield power on defense |
| Data Networks | 2 | 2 | +4%/lvl Data production |
| Shroudrunner | 2 | 2 | SHIP Shroudrunner (stealth light, economy raider) |
| Deep Sensor Grid | 3 | 4 | sees through the enemy Veil (sensor strength 10/lvl), reveals cloaked hulls inside the inbound warning, and unmasks spy probes — the warning itself is free for everyone, and its detail is the Observatory |
| Raider Protocols | 3 | 4 | +2.5%/lvl loot inflicted |
| Orbital Cannon | 4 | 6 | each Cannon level adds 300 opening damage (up to 40% more with the Gunnery Rampart), 1 percentage point of shield penetration and 0.5 points of battle-long shield suppression at full energy, through level 30; the salvo is capped at 25% of attacking hull and Breachhead halves the cap and both shield effects; the Gunnery Rampart’s Ranging Shot (L5) raises the penetration to 1.5 points a level, up to 30%, its Second Volley (L10) fires again before round 3 at half damage, under the opening shot’s cap on the hull then left, its Counter-Battery (L15) voids the Breachhead’s halving, and its Broadside (L20) lands each salvo under the cap rear row first without adding damage |
| Active Camouflage | 5 | 8 | −2%/lvl loot suffered |
| Spectral Corsair | 5 | 8 | SHIP Corsair (stealth combat medium) |
| Eschaton Veil | 6 | 10 | cloaks a colony from enemy eyes: hidden from anyone whose Sensors are below your Veil; +3 flight concealment per level through 30 for all-stealth fleets, reduced by mass and return exposure; a successful active spy mission still gets through, and any fleet you send out can carry the colony's coordinates with it — an attack can show its origin to the defender from launch, and everyone who fights in a battle sees where every fleet came from, garrisons included |
| Abyss | 7 | 12 | −0.3%/lvl loot suffered, asymptotic to the floor and NO cap — each resource stops climbing at its own ceiling, and once all three have, every further level costs 100 more Dark Matter than the last |
| Dark Matter Veil | 7 | 12 | −1.5%/lvl travel time on every mission |
| The Cipher | 8 | 15 | +2%/lvl on the chance your spy probe goes unnoticed — a 15% chance becomes 21% at L20. The Cipher Ascendancy scales the odds, it never removes the roll: a probe is still caught at least 5% of the time |
| The Fold | 8 | 15 | −2%/lvl on the distance a warp jump is priced on |
| Veilsight | 9 | 18 | +10% shields when defending, and your spy reports reveal the target's empire-wide summed stockpiles |
| Nightfall Protocol | 10 | 22 | your attacks reach the defender's screens only minutes before impact (never fewer than ten); a Deep Sensor Grid at level 8 anywhere in their empire sees them from launch |