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Hi! Have you ever wondered the best way to beat out your friends in Magical Research? Are you playing with that obscure victory condition where you need a certain amount of Research Points to win? Do you simply wish to know how to budget your gold so you can find that spell you need sooner versus later, while also having enough non-Researchers to keep your libraries from being torched by those uncivilized brutes around you?
← This is the Research ability icon. There will be a number to the right of it; that number is how many Research Points (RP) the guy generates each turn, while conducting Research in a Laboratory. Research happens before battles and recruitment, and has your guy sitting around and doing nothing after he's finished for the turn, unless his Lab gets attacked by those uncivilized brutes.
Only some Commanders (those guys on the top row of your recruitment options) have Research ability, and only they can Research; if you want anyone else to Research, simply have them Defend, and they'll probably doodle on a page somewhere while wondering why you didn't give them a productive order.
Because everyone else is doing it!
Most Researchers that are worth anything are in your nation's recruitment roster, and the vast majority of them require a Fort to be available. For most nations, one of these costs 600 Gold.
Unfortunately, you can only recruit so many Commanders (and therefore only so many Researchers) at a time from your provinces, thanks to something called Commander Points, and the fact that virtually everyone who can research requires at least two of these Points. Your recruitment places have only one Commander Point per turn at base, so it'll take you two turns to get one Researcher. You need a level two fort, typically called a Fortress, to get two Commander Points per turn; upgrading a fort into a Fortress typically costs 300 Gold. Some primitive nations don't even get this opportunity. You need a level four fort, typically called a Citadel, to get three Commander Points per turn; only a few nations get those before the Late Ages, however, and upgrading a Fortress into a Citadel costs 750 Gold. Unspent Commander Points are wasted, by the way!
I need the pic for the Laboratory
All but a few Researchers have guaranteed Arcane Magic levels, so they need a Laboratory to be recruited, even if they appear in recruitment rosters without a fort. Labs cost 500 Gold, for most places. The upside of building a Lab is that you then don't have to move your Researcher to your capital for Research purposes; that's nice. The downside, of course, is that uncivilized brutes will take them for themselves and use them for dastardly non-Research purposes.
An annoying amount of Researchers are Sacred, and therefore require a Temple to be recruited. Now, Temples have their other uses, and Sacred Researchers don't expect much of a salary after their sign-on bonus, but a Temple still costs 400 Gold to set up. This is lower for some places, but it's higher for others. Uncivilized brutes will set fire to it if they touch it, too, but at least they won't use it for non-Research purposes.
Here's an example of the dilemma posed by infrastructure: ignoring Scales and pre-existing architecture, who is the most cost-effective Researcher for Gath?
The Iassacharite Sage costs only 45 Gold up front and 1.5 Gold per turn for, on average, 6.2 Research Points per turn per Sage. He also costs only one Commander Point, for some reason. But there's a catch! He's also Sacred, and Gath has to pay 800 Gold for each of its Temples. The Sage is also virtually useless outside of Researching; not that that's a bad thing, but still.
The Iassacharite Sibyl costs 65 Gold up front and 4.33 Gold per turn for 9 Research Points per turn. She isn't Sacred, but she is a guaranteed Mage, so you end up paying for a 500-gold Lab instead of the Temple. The Sibyl unfortunately costs two Commander Points, since she's useful outside of Researching (compared to her Sage brothers).
Note that, when you divide their hiring cost by their average Research ability, the Sybil is more cost-effective (7.22 Gold-per-point, vs. 7.26), but not by a lot. If you absolutely need the Research at any cost, the Sage is your way to go, since you can get two of them per turn. On the other hand, the Sibyl is the better option if you're worried about saving money currently; it'll take about nineteen turns for the extra salary to offset the 25 Gold saved over hiring two Sages, and a lot longer to offset the 300 Gold in infrastructure savings.
Magic is the reason you Research to begin with, but it has a way of making Research less… efficient. Yes, powerful Mages have a high Research ability, but:
If your Mage can help in any way other than through Research, it should probably be doing that instead of Researching. They could be using Spells you already know, or searching for Sites that give you Gems that you can convert into Items that boost your Research. Most Research Monkeys have Magic levels as a formality, to explain why they can Research Magic in the first place.
As for how Magic can boost your Research:
← This is a point of Magic on a province's Scales. Researchers who are Mages get +1 to their Research ability for each of these in the province they're Researching in, making quantity of Researchers over quality favorable. Picking Magic when creating your Pretender also gives you 50 extra Research Points, per Magic point. You can have up to 3 when building your own scales.
← This is a point of Drain; Researchers who are Mages get -1 to their Research ability for each of these in the province they're Researching in, making quality of Researchers over quantity favorable. Picking Drain when creating your Pretender also subtracts 50 Research Points from what you start with, per point of Drain, but it also gives you Design points that let you do more with other Scales. You can have up to 3 when building your scales.
If you care about Research, you probably shouldn't take Drain, with three exceptions:
← This is an Experience level. Your Researchers get a +1 bonus to their Research ability for each of these that they have. Experience is typically accrued through doing stuff, but it's also accrued through simply being alive; with that in mind, your Research Monkeys will get Experience levels eventually. These things are another point in favor of quantity over quality.
Who has the best Research payout for their dollar? The results may surprise you. They probably won't, though. These lists are better-used as guides for comparison. They list the best Gold-per-Research-ability (GPR) value for each nation, the best Research-ability-per-Commander-point (RPC) value for each nation (in case you're in a rush), and some notes. Values are averaged with Random paths in mind; the given values are under the best possible scales (e.g. 3), neutral scales, and the worst possible scales (e.g. 3) respectively.
GPR and RPC are calculated the opposite way! I flipped them to avoid decimals.
Nation | Best GPR Value | Best RPC Value | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Arcoscephale | Philosopher* (4.06,6.5,16.25) Mystic (8.44,10.38,13.5) | Mystic (8,6.5,5) Philosopher* (8,5,2) | Philosophers doubly scale with Sloth, an otherwise-bad scale for the nation, and are capital-only. Mystics, on the other hand, are decent Mages who scale with Magic. |
Ermor | Augur (5.42,7.22,10.83) Off-Fort: Pontifex (10,14.29,25) Flamen (11.25,15,22.5) | Augur (6,4.5,3) Augur Elder (5.05,4.3,3.55) | Pontifices and Flamines require a Temple instead of a Fort, so the start-up costs are 200 gold less. Gathering them is pretty slow, though. |
Ulm | Warrior Smith (8.46,10.1,15.71) Off-Fort: Shaman* (11.82,16.25,26) | Warrior Smith (6.5,5,3.5) | Shamans require a Temple instead of a Fort, but only in Forested and/or Mountainous provinces. They're also not very bright. |
Marverni | Sequani Stargazer (4.5,6.43,11.25) | Druid (7,5.5,4) | Druids are Mage-Priests, meaning they need a Temple alongside a Lab and Fort. Marverni's Temples are cheap, though, so that's fine. Sequani Stargazers are about as cost-effective as researchers get in a neutral environment, by the way. |
Sauromatia | Spirit Guide (4.5,6.43,11.25) Off-Lab: Soothsayer (6.11,8.73,15.28) | Enarie (8,6.5,5) | Yes, Sauromatia has Researchers that you can buy without a Lab. They still have to go to a Lab to study, though. |
T'ien Ch'i | Master of the Dead (7,10,17.5) Off-Fort: Master of the Way (11.25,15,22.5) | Master of the Five Elements (10,8.5,7) Off-Capital: Master of the Way (6,4.5,3) | All of your Researchers are Sacred, and need Temples to be recruited. Masters of the Way require a Temple instead of a Fort, so their start-up costs are 600 gold less than the others. On the other hand, their performance outside of Magic scales is shameful; heck, Masters of the Five Elements have the same GPR in neutral scales. |
Machaka | Spider Clan Witch Doctor* (8,11.43,20) Spider Clan Sorcerer (9.62,11.51,14.34) | Bouda (10,8.5,7) Hyena Clan Witch Doctor (8,6.5,5) Lion Queen (5.05,4.3,3.55) | Spider Clan Witch Doctors have the same GPR as the Voice of Lion; that guy requires a Temple, but he asks for exactly half as much Gold each month as a salary. Pick the Voice of Lion if you need Research Monkeys in your capital, or if you're going to be building Temples anyway. As for why so many "suboptimal" options are listed here, it's less than ideal to have a Bouda sitting in one place if that place is your realm, and the Hyena Clan Witch Doctors are only a little better in that regard. |
Mictlan | Mictlan Priest (6.37,9.03,15.48) Nahualli (8.8,11.16,15.24) | High Priest of the Sun (9,7.5,6) Off-Capital: Nahualli (7.1,5.6,4.1) | Mictlan Priests are Sacred, so they need a Temple to go with their Lab and Fort. At least Nahualli don't need a Temple. |
Abysia | Warlock Apprentice (5.5,7.86,13.75) Off-Capital: Anathemant Salamander (14.58,19.44,29.17) Anathemant Dragon (16.25,20,26) | Warlock (7.1,5.6,4.1) Off-Capital: Anathemant Salamander (6,4.5,3) | The Anathemants are Mage-Priests (and therefore need a Temple to go with their other infrastructure): you can tell by how ridiculous their GPRs are. At least Abysia has tailor-made Research Monkeys, even though they're capital-only for some reason. Even with Lightless Lanterns, Abysia might get in some trouble Magic-wise, unless it flattens its neighbors first. |
Caelum | Spire Horn Seraph (4.5,6.43,11.25) | Harab Seraph (7,5.5,4) | It's nice to have another straightforward nation for Research. You'll notice that Caelum's Researchers are like Marverni's; Marverni doesn't get Owl Quills, however! |
C'tis | Shaman (7.5,10,15) | Shaman (6,4.5,3) | You know the Sauromancers have a problem when their slaves' Shamans are better than them at Researching. On the other hand, the Shamans need a Temple. The Sauromancers' alternative, the 'Reborn', has a slightly-higher GPR and demands a much-higher salary for the same work. |
Pangaea | Centaur Hierophant (12,17.14,30) Pan (14.64,16.67,20.06) | Dryad Mother (9.1,7.6,6.1) | The Panii are Pangaea's only Researchers who don't need a Temple; Temples are cheap in Pangaea's Forests, but still. Research will be costly for Pangaea, even in fully-beneficial scales. |
Agartha | Engraver (5.83,7.78,15) | Olm Sage (7,5.5,4) Out-of-Cave: Earth Reader (7,5.5,4) | All of Agartha's Researchers are Sacred, so they all need Temples. Agartha can recruit Engravers and Olm Sages without Forts, saving you 600 Gold in infrastructure; but the former requires a Cave if you're not going to build a Fort, and the latter requires a Cave if it's outside of Agartha's capital. |
Tir na n'Og | Fir Bolg Druid (5.83,7.78,15) | Bean Sidhe (8,6.5,5) | Elves and efficient Researchers typically don't go together, so there's that. The Bean Sidhe require Temples; if you don't want to build Temples, then the Fir Bolg Druid will also have your best RPC value off-capital. |
Fomoria | Fir Bolg Druid (5.83,7.78,15) | Nemedian Sorceress (9.1,7.6,6.1) Off-Capital: Fomorian Druid (7,5.5,4) | As terrible Mages, the Fir Bolg are quite-decent Researchers. Fomorian Druids require a Temple; if you don't want to build Temples, then the Fir Bolg Druid will also have your best RPC value off-capital. |
Vanheim | Dwarven Smith (9.86,12.5,17.07) Off-Capital: Vanherse (14,20,35) Vanjarl (19.64,25,34.38) | Dwarven Smith (7.1,5.6,4.1) Off-Capital: Vanjarl (7, 5.5, 4) | The Vanherses and Vanjarls are Mage-Commander-Priests, as evidenced by their price tags. Without the Dwarves, the Van Elves would still be banging rocks together, as opposed to the electrically-charged bits of metal they're banging together as-is. The Dwarves can also get them every Research booster except for the Imp Familiar (which the Vanjarls can get for themselves). |
Helheim | Svartalf (10.83,13,16.25) Off-Capital: Vanherse (12,17.14,30) | Vanjarl (7,5.5,4) | Research was so expensive for Helheim, even in the capital, that the Hangadrotts made the Vanherses and Vanjarls sell their yachts to cut costs. You probably think I'm joking, but that explains why Helheim's Vanherses and Vanjarls (while still ludicrously-expensive as Researchers) are cheaper than Vanheim's. |
Rus | Rusian Wizard (7.81,9.62,12.5) | Daughter of the Sun (8.1,6.6,5.1) Off-Capital: Rusian Wizard (8,6.5,5) | Having dedicated researchers is great, even if you're Rus and your Mages are weird. Rusian Wizards don't even need Forts, if you have a good Cave for them! |