Research opens things: a structure you could not build, or a specialist you could not hire. Every node is bought once and kept for the rest of the match — there are no levels to climb and nothing to upgrade.
It is paid for in research points, which are a flow rather than a balance. Points are spent on whatever you have selected as they arrive, so a branch nobody has chosen is production going nowhere.
Specialists
This branch unlocks WHO you may hire. Each node buys the right to spend materials on one specialist — a wave that flies twice as fast, one that clears a tenth of the garrison before the first volley, one radar cannot see. Three are available from the first minute without any research at all. Nothing here raises a number: it buys options, and materials buy the option.
| Technology | Unlocks | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Breaching Charges | Breaker | 80 research |
| Forward Observation | Watcher | 60 research |
| Signal Discipline | Ghost | 90 research |
| Requisition | Thief | 70 research |
| Subversion | Saboteur | 100 research |
| Pirate Crews | Pirate | 90 research |
| Counter-Intelligence | Neutraliser | 90 research |
Intel
Intel unlocks Radar and Jammer — seeing enemy fleets beyond your own vision, and hiding yours from theirs. They are direct opposites, and overlapping coverage cancels out.
| Technology | Unlocks | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Radar Network | Radar | 80 research |
| Signal Jamming | Jammer | 110 research |
Defense
Defense unlocks the Turret: a static weapon that fires on enemy fleets crossing its range, doing damage nothing shoots back at.
| Technology | Unlocks | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Automated Defenses | Turret | 100 research |
| Deflector Screens | Shield | 100 research |