Research Institute

Must reach LV.30. If you have a second Research Institute, also take it to LV.30. Resources for the second institute are only about 1/8 of the first. ■ Why the Research Institute matters The Research Institute is both an HQ requirement and the gate to which technologies you can research. Many of the strongest techs, such as Unit Training and Military Theory, require a high-level institute. If the institute lags, your whole tech tree lags with it. ■ The second Research Institute A second institute lets you run two research projects at once, nearly doubling your tech progress. At only about 1/8 of the cost of the first institute, it is one of the most efficient investments if you have it. The article "Unit Training — badge costs" also mentions using 2 research institutes in Season 2. With two institutes, let one run a long-term project (for example Unit Training) and the other handle short research or whatever you need right now. ■ How to apply it 1. Put the Research Institute in the HQ chain and keep it level with HQ. 2. If you have a second institute, take it to LV.30 as early as possible, since it is very cheap for the benefit. 3. Never leave an institute idle. An empty institute is lost research time. 4. Start long research when your alliance is busy online so you get help quickly.