Teching
Teching is the term used for researching Technological Advancements in order to gain any number of bonuses that affect your Dominion. Teching is often used for Converting strategies although can also be utilized well by Explorers, rarely by Attackers, and is the hallmark of Land Drop Attacking. By building Schools, your Dominion will produce Research Points which can be traded in for a new tech once you have enough points. Teching is a slow strategy that enables your Dominion to have increased efficiency later in the round. It is very difficult to keep up with the top players if you decide to tech but by the end of the round, you should be able to grow more effectively than other Dominions around you that have not teched. An important thing to note is that most techers will only research a handful of Techs and will then R/R their Schools to another building (often Diamond Mines or Homes).
Race Selection
Any race can be used to Tech although it is generally more efficient Races that will benefit most from Teching. The recommended races that benefit in the Base and Imp rulesets are:
Building Selection
Teching requires the construction of Schools. The number of Research Points produced is calculated by a formula:
Produces EITHER Schools/2 research points OR Schools * (1 - (Schools / Total Land)), whichever is HIGHER.
The formula basically shows that up to 50% Schools, the fewer you have, the more they produce each (but less in total) meaning that you will gain a larger benefit in increasing the number of Schools from 10% to 20% than you will from 40% to 50%. The optimum percentage of Schools/Total Land is generally considered to be 40%. There are however some players who will build percentages as high as 80-90% as the formula changes to a static amount of Research Points produced once the Schools/Total Land goes above 50%.
The Techs
| Advancement | Bonus | Prerequisites |
|---|---|---|
| Commander's Insight | -10% offensive casualties | none |
| Tactician | -10% defensive casualties | none |
| Military Genius | +5% attack power | Commander's Insight, Tactician |
| Caravan Leader | -5% exploring platinum cost | none |
| Explorer's Intuition | -1 draftee per acre explore cost (minimum 3) | none |
| Explorer's Luck | -10% exploring platinum cost, -2 draftee per acre explore cost (minimum 3) | Caravan Leader, Explorer's Intuition |
| Sleight of Hand | -10% spy losses on failed operations | none |
| Darkness Walker | -20% cost of spies | none |
| Spy Master | +1 spy strength recover per hour | Sleight of Hand, Darkness Walker |
| Magician's Apprentice | -10% cost of spells | none |
| Magician's Awe | -20% cost of wizards | none |
| Master of Magi | +1 wizard strength recovery per hour | Magician's Apprentice, Magician's Awe |
| Farmer's Growth | +10% food production | none |
| Miner's Refining | +5% gem production | none |
| Banker's Foresight | +5% platinum production | Farmer's Growth, Miner's Refining |
| Mason's Art | -10% construction platinum costs | none |
| Forester's Touch | -10% rezoning costs | none |
| Urban Planner | +2% population maximum | Mason's Art, Forester's Touch |
| Fruits of Labor | +20% lumber, +20% ore and +10% gem production | Banker's Foresight, Urban Planner |
| Dark Artistry | +3 recovery of both wizard and spy strengths per hour | Spy Master, Master of Magi |
| Urban Mastery | +6% population maximum | Urban Planner, Explorer's Luck |
| Treasure Hunt | +12.5% platinum production | Spy Master, Banker's Foresight |
| Magical Weaponry | +10% attack power, +15% wizard strength | Master of Magi, Military Genius |
| Conqueror's Crafts | -30% construction and rezoning platinum costs | Military Genius, Urban Planner |
| Master of Resources | -10% military training cost (no ore reduction for Gnomes) | Explorer's Luck, Banker's Foresight |
| Tactical Battle | -25% offensive and defensive casualties | Spy Master, Military Genius |
| Enchanted Lands | -20% exploring cost, +15% mana production | Master of Magi, Explorer's Luck |
The full tech tree looks like this:
General Information
Teching is a very slow strategy. It almost always coincides with a Converting strategy as many of the Techs are geared towards attacking. Teching can be very useful for players who do not have much time to invest into the game early in the round but wish to compete later on. New or inexperienced players may also benefit from teching. Also note that only the largest bonus you have attained counts: picking up Treasure Hunt (+12.5 % platinum production) adds an effective 7.5 % bonus because the prerequisite Banker's Foresight already gave you 5 %.
Formulas
Tech Cost
Research points must be spent to obtain techs. The formula for tech cost is as follows:
MAX(3780, ([maximum acres achieved] * 6.4))
Essentially this means that there is a minimum cost of 3,780 research points, which will be the cost until you are above 590 acres. Additionally, a second minimum is in place, based on the highest acreage you have reached during the round. This means that, if you were 800 acres and then were successfully invaded and reduced to 730, you would still need 5141 Research Points to gain an additional tech.
Invasion RPs
Players may also obtain research points by attacking. The formula for gaining research points through invasion is as follows:
Conquered Acres * 17
This includes both acres that you directly take from your target and the generated acres.
Pros
- Great efficiency can be enjoyed late round
- Allows less experienced players to compete effectively late round
Cons
- Very few, if any winners from teching
- Slow; Techers make very little impact throughout the round
Recommendations
- Great for Converters
- Inexperienced players