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:

• Gnome
• Human
• Troll
• Icekin - highly recommended to Tech

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 (only 1 required)
Granaries	+2.5% food production	none
Planar Emissaries	+7.5% mana production	Granaries Green Thumb Bankers Friend
Green Thumb	+5% lumber production	Planar Emissaries Aquaponics
Aquaponics	+7.5% food production -10% enemy fireball damage	Green Thumb Midas's Bargain Miser's Grasp
Midas's Bargain	+2.5% platinum production	Aquaponics Master of Efficiency Sleeper Agents
Master of Efficiency	-2% military training cost	Midas's Bargain Explorer's Instinct
Explorer's Instinct	-5% exploring platinum cost	Master of Efficiency Sneaky Spies Industrial Machinery
Sneaky Spies	+10% resources gained from theft, -10% spies lost on failed operations	Explorer's Instinct, Frugal Foragers, Pastoral Planner
Frugal Foragers	-2.5% food consumption	Sneaky Spies, Mana Pools
Mana Pools	-10% cost of spells	Frugal Foragers, Explorer's Luck, Explorer's Intuition
Explorer's Luck	-2 draftee per acre explore cost (min 6)	none
Surplus Management	-12.5% food decay, lumber rot, mana drain	Granaries, Banker's Friend
Banker's Friend	+10% better exchange rates	Planar Emissaries, Surplus Management, Prefabrication
Prefabrication	-5% construction platinum cost	Banker's Friend, Miser's Grasp
Miser's Grasp	-20% resources lost to theft	Aquaponics, Prefabrication
Sleeper Agents	+1% max population, -12.5% spy losses on failed operations	Midas's Bargain, Dark Artistry
Industrial Machinery	+5% lumber production, ore production	Explorer's Instinct, Dark Artistry
Pastoral Planner	+1.5% maximum population	Sneaky Spies, Preservationist, Maelstrom
Preservationist	+25% food decay, lumber rot, mana drain	Pastoral Planner, Explorer's Intuition
Explorer's Intuition	-5% exploring platinum cost	Mana Pools, Preservationist, Architects Touch, Fearless Adventurers
Architects Touch	-2.5% construction platinum cost	Explorer's Luck, Explorer's Intuition, Arcane Bloodlines
Miner's Spirit	+5% ore production	Surplus Management, Shipwright's Ingenuity
Ancient Mines	+2.5% gem production	Banker's Friend, Trick of the Light
Urg Smash Technique	+5% refund when destroying buildings, +7.5% lumber production	Dark Pact
Dark Pact	+7.5% mana production, +5% wizard power	Urg Smash Technique, Miser's Grasp
Dark Artistry	+2 spy strength/wiz strength per hour	Sleeper Agents, Industrial Machinery
Maelstrom	+15% cyclone damage	Pastoral Planner, Master of Strategy
Explorer's Guile	-1 draftee per acre explore cost (min 6), -7.5% exploring platinum cost	Night Watch
Fearless Adventurers	-50% morale drop when exploring	Explorer's Intuition, Architect's Flourish
Arcane Bloodlines	-5% cost of spies, -15% cost of wizards	Architect's Touch, Wizard Nexus
Shipwright's Ingenuity	-7.5% boat production	Miner's Spirit, Trick of the Light, Lumberjack's Devotion
Trick of the Light	Fools Gold protects ore and lumber	Ancient Mines, Shipwright's Ingenuity, Opulence
Opulence	+2.5% gem production, +7.5% ore production	Trick of the Light, Midas's Fountain
Midas's Fountain	+5% platinum production	Opulence
Master of Strategy	-2% military training cost	Maelstrom
Night Watch	-20% draftees/wizards lost in assassination attempts, enemy disband spies damage	Explorer's Guile, Architect's Flourish
Architect's Flourish	-7.5% construction platinum cost	Fearless Adventurers, Wizard Nexus
Wizard Nexus	+1 wizard strength per hour	Arcane Bloodlines, Architect's Flourish, Ross' Benevolence
Lumberjack's Devotion	-5% construction lumber cost, -15% lumber rot	Shipwright's Ingenuity, Weather Manipulation, Urban Planner
Weather Manipulation	-10% enemy lightning bolt damage, +2.5% food production	Lumberjack's Devotion, Master of Resources
Master of Resources	-2% military training cost	Weather Manipulation, Jeweller's Delight
Avatar of Ares	+2.5% offensive power, +7.5% wizard power	Surveyor's Sense
Master of Discipline	-2% military training cost	Visionary Expansionist, Siege Weaponry
Visionary Expansionist	+1% max population, +15% population growth	Master of Discipline, Ross' Benevolence
Ross' Benevolence	-1% platinum tax from Royal Guard	Wizard Nexus, Visionary Expansionist, Survivalist Mentality
Urban Planner	+1.5% max population	Lumberjack's Devotion, Reinforced Bulwarks
Jeweller's Delight	+2.5% gem production, -5% cost of self spells	Master of Resources, Reinforced Bulwarks
Carpenter's Expertise	-5% construction platinum & lumber cost	Military Culture, Wavehacker
Surveyor's Sense	-12.5% rezoning platinum cost	Avatar of Ares, Ares' Favor
Siege Weaponry	+40% fewer casualties when attacking wonders	Master of Discipline, Rations
Survivalist Mentality	+5% fewer casualties, +5% increased prestige gains	Ross' Benevolence, Rations
Reinforced Bulwarks	+30% harbors and towers investment	Urban Planner, Jeweller's Delight, Spy Network
Military Culture	+10% increased prestige gains	Carpenter's Expertise, Spy Network, Battle Commanders
Wavehacker	+5 Boat Capacity, +5% fewer casualties	Carpenter's Expertise
Ares' Favor	+2.5% offensive power	Surveyor's Sense, Bunk Beds, Public Baths
Rations	+2 population from barren land, -2.5% food consumption	Siege Weaponry, Survivalist Mentality, Public Baths
Spy Network	+1 spy strength per hour	Reinforced Bulwarks, Military Culture, Centralized Intelligence
Battle Commanders	+7.5% fewer casualties	Military Culture, Carpenter's Knowhow
Bunk Beds	+2 barracks housing	Ares' Favor, Carpenter's Knowhow
Public Baths	+30% population growth	Ares' Favor, Rations, Ancestral Knowledge
Centralized Intelligence	-15% cost of spies, -5% cost of wizards	Spy Network, Surveyor's Insight
Carpenter's Knowhow	-2.5% construction platinum cost	Battle Commanders, Bunk Beds, Surveyor's Insight, Carpenter's Touch
Ancestral Knowledge	-15% cost of racial spell	Public Baths, Carpenter's Touch
Surveyor's Insight	-7.5% rezoning platinum cost	Centralized Intelligence, Carpenter's Knowhow, Battle Tactics
Carpenter's Touch	-5% construction lumber cost	Carpenter's Knowhow, Ancestral Knowledge, Battle Tactics
Battle Tactics	+5% fewer casualties	none

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