Master of Orion II: Battle at Antares/Recommended research paths

Summary of techs by level showed how expensive it is to research the top-level military techs and why you have to balance military research with researching civilian techs that enable you to build advanced research and industrial buildings and to pay for their maintenance. So it's vital to know in which order to research the set of techs you're aiming for.

The recommendations on this page are only general guidelines, because you will have to adjust to the information you gather about what your opponents are doing. For example if they are following a more militaristic research path than usual, you should at least prepare to defend your empire; and if you can do just enough military research to survive in good shape you'll be ahead in research and / or industrial and / or financial and / or farming techs, and that's probably a long-lasting advantage that should win you the game.

Most guides focus on production-oriented races, because these are generally thought to be the strongest. This guide will cover these, and also research-oriented and Creative races. The only races not covered here are blitz races, because they do as little research as possible and because blitz races vary more than other types since they must try to catch their victims by surprise.

It also says far more than most guides about what's built where at each stage, because research is not an end in itself, its objective is provide the tools to build a strong economy and then win wars.

Production-oriented races
These races colonize fastest, but are usually rather weak in research early in the game; this is especially true of UniTol races (Unification + Tolerant) as their production is not limited by pollution and they will often put all their non-farming population into building Colony Bases and Colony Ships. The only way they can get any research at all in this period is from the flat-rate 5 RPs that Research Labs produce without any scientists, so Research Labs are their first priority. A typical sequence is: Meanwhile have 1 worker stockpiling production for the Research Lab. Build the Research Lab immediately. After researching and building Freighters they may colonize any usable planets in their home system and use them as Housing colonies. Now build 1 or 2 Scout ships to look for system to colonize. Then design the most expensive possible Battleship and stockpile production fast - Colony Ships are expensive at this stage. If the Scout ships find a few good systems, the homeworld now builds 2 to 4 Colony Ships flat out, relying on the 5 RP from the Research Lab to keep their research moving. Build the Auto Factory immediately. Now they can move some workers into research. Not actually needed yet, but a prerequisite for Soil Enrichment or Cloning Centers, which they need as soon as possible in order to have more scientists. Build Biospheres on the homeworld when 1 short of full, to maintain its population growth for a few more turns. Build whichever. Build one on the homeworld immediately. Build one on the homeworld immediately. Build one on the homeworld immediately. They can move a few more workers into research when they want.
 * 1) Electronics -> Electronic Computer
 * 1) Optronics -> Research Laboratory
 * 1) Nuclear Fission -> Freighters, Nuclear Drive
 * 1) Chemistry -> Standard Fuel Cells, Extended Fuel Tanks, Nuclear Missile.
 * 1) Cold Fusion -> Colony Ship
 * 1) Advanced Engineering ->Reinforced Hull
 * 2) Advanced Construction -> Auto Factories
 * 1) Astro Biology -> Biospheres
 * 1) Advanced Biology -> Soil Enrichment or Cloning Center.
 * 1) Artificial Intelligence -> Neural Scanners
 * 2) Positronics -> Supercomputer
 * 1) Capsule Construction -> Battle Pods
 * 2) Astro Engineering -> Spaceports
 * 1) Robotics ->Robo Miners
 * 1) Physics -> Laser Cannon, Space Scanner, etc.
 * 2) Advanced Metallurgy ->Tritanium Armor if Tolerant, otherwise Deuterium Fuel Cells
 * 3) Advanced Fusion -> Augmented Engines
 * 4) Fusion Physics -> Fusion Beam
 * 5) Advanced Chemistry -> Merculite Missile
 * 6) Molecular Compression -> If Tolerant, Iridium Fuel Cells; otherwise Atmospheric Renewer
 * 7) Nano Technology -> Zortrium Armor.

The largest colonies will be following the same development sequence as the homeworld, but a few turns behind. This race's economy is now growing well and its production capacity means it can build a fairly powerful fleet - when it does, it should research Ion Drives.

Non-Creative research-oriented races
Research-oriented races have the opposite problem to that of production-oriented races: their research is faster but their production is slower. In particular research-oriented races are seldom Tolerant, so they urgently need the production boost provided by Auto Factories, especially the pollution-free 5 PP that an Auto Factory produces on its own. Then they stockpile production while researching the techs needed to build Colony ships. Research races are usually Lithovores, and can colonize without needing Freighters to feed the new colonies. So a typical starting sequence for them would be: Make 1 worker stockpile production for the Auto Factory. Build the Auto Factory immediately. Possibly build Housing colonies in the home system - assuming this race are Lithovores, and do not have to wait until they have Freighters in order to feed their new colonies. Stockpile production for Scout ships. Now build 1 or 2 Scout ships to look for systems to colonize, then use a dummy Battleship design as a production stockpile to speed up the building of Colony Ships. If the Scout ships find a few good systems, the homeworld now builds 2 to 4 Colony Ships as fast as possible, probably having to put up with 10 PP lost to pollution. That still leaves 2 or 3 scientists carrying on research (but they're enough, because this is a research race, with Democratic government and / or Artifacts Homeworld). Build the Research Lab as soon as the last Colony Ship is finished. Then build Freighters to move spare people from remote Housing colonies to the homeworld. Then switch some of the homeworld's workers into research, until pollution drops to a tolerable level. But keep stockpiling production; most research races are Democracies, and need to build several Spies very quickly when they make contact with another race. Build one on the homeworld immediately. Although most research races are Democracies, they need more cash to buy things when half built. Later than for production races as a Lithovore research race does not need Soil Enrichment. Build Biospheres on the homeworld when 1 short of full, to maintain its population growth for a few more turns. Build one on the homeworld immediately, and move a few more workers into research until pollution ceases to be serious. Later than in the production race's sequence, which is risky if the government is Democracy (weak in counter-intelligence). But research races usually need Robo Miners first in order to build a Supercomputer quickly - and the objective is to build one, not just to research it. Build one on the homeworld immediately. The rest of the sequence is similar to the production race's. The largest colonies will be following the same development sequence as the homeworld, but a few turns behind. This race's economy is now growing well. It cannot build ships as fast as the production race, but its greater cash income means it can buy ships when about 75% built (50% of a Battleship is rather expensive even for a Democracy at this stage). It should usually research and build Stock Exchanges to improve its ability to buy warships; and when it starts producing a real fleet it should research Ion Drives.
 * 1) Advanced Engineering ->Reinforced Hull
 * 1) Advanced Construction -> Auto Factories
 * 1) Nuclear Fission ->
 * 1) Chemistry -> Standard Fuel Cells, Extended Fuel Tanks, Nuclear Missile.
 * 1) Cold Fusion -> Colony Ship
 * 1) Electronics -> Electronic Computer
 * 2) Optronics -> Research Laboratory
 * 1) Capsule Construction -> Battle Pods. Design a more expensive Battleship as a production stockpile.
 * 2) Astro Engineering -> Spaceports
 * 1) Astro Biology -> Biospheres
 * 1) Robotics ->Robo Miners
 * 1) Artificial Intelligence -> Neural Scanners
 * 1) Positronics -> Supercomputer

Creative races
These are really a special type of research race: they go though tech levels more slowly than non-Creative research-oriented races because being Creative cost them some research-enhancing race design picks; but they get all the techs at each level, and their research strategy must maximize the number of directly useful "bonus techs" that they get at each stage, especially in the early game.

The most effective Creative races are probably Lithovores, because their freedom from farming maximizes their early research rate and allows them to build useful populations on "dry" planets and to use no-farming planets as  Housing colonies. But Creative + Lithovore is such an expensive race design combination (18 Picks) that the best government they can have is Dictatorship, which means their new colonies are slowed down by a 20% morale penalty until they build Marine Barracks.

They are also as slow at production as research races, but have less cash than DemoLith research races to buy things when half built, so their early colonization is the slowest of all (Feudalisms are faster because they get ships at 67% of standard cost).

That means their colonies may come under attack before ships can be built to defend them, and in any case Creative Lithovores have no spare Picks for low-tech combat bonuses. So their early research must include planetary defenses, and their new colonies must stockpile production for defenses - but only build them when enemies appear, as the slow start means the empire cannot afford to waste money on maintenance of unnecessary buildings. The lack of early warships also means this race is more likely than most to have its colonies blockaded - but that's not too serious for Lithovores, as the blockaded colonies don't need food and, instead of laboring under the production penalty that blockades cause, can afford to move their entire populations into research and leave production to the Auto Factories and Robo-Miners, which on their own produce 15 PP altogether with no blockade penalty. But they can't let blockades go on forever, and if necessary should design and build a small ship when they have the techs - a Destroyer with level-2 armor, level-3 shields (Class 3) and all a Creative's bonus techs will usually be a non-Creative level-1 Battleship! If you're feeling nasty, you can then use the Destroyer to blockade an enemy-occupied system.

There's no need to spell out every single tech in a Creative race's research path as they get them all, so this sequence lists the key techs and takes the prerequisite ones for granted:
 * Auto Factory and Missile Base - the first bonus tech. And the first decision: whether to build Colony Bases immediately if there are decent planets in the home system, or wait until there are colonies in other systems (probably 1 or 2; this race must not over-expand). It's often better to colonize other systems first, especially those nearer the galaxy's center and therefore most likely to be attacked; that gives them more time to stockpile production for defenses.
 * Nuclear Drive + Freighters then Standard Fuel Cells + Titanium Armor - Build 1 or 2 Scouts and use a dummy Battleship as a stockpile for Colony Ships.
 * Colony Ship - build as fast as possible, accepting a 10 PP pollution penalty; this leaves 2 to 3 scientists. Housing colonies that are not too near the galactic center should build 1 Freighter each right after an Automated Factory, to move spare population from Housing colonies to the ones you are developing; new colonies in more vulnerable positions should stockpile production for a Missile Base first.
 * Research Lab - with Dauntless Guidance for missiles as a bonus.
 * Spaceport - build one immediately on the homeworld as this race needs cash, and on non-Housing colonies when their populations make Spaceport profitable.
 * Biospheres - the homeworld is likely to become full while researching Robo-Miners.
 * Robo-Miners - build immediately on the homeworld and on the colonies in the most vulnerable positions, nearer the center of the galaxy than the home system. These colonies should return to stockpiling - without Star Bases the most expensive stockpile item they can build is a Battlestation, a tech which Creatives get for free with Robo-Miners.
 * Supercomputer and Holo Simulator - build Supercomputers immediately on all planets that are going to be used for research, followed by Holo Simulators. Build Holo Simulators after Research Labs and Spaceports on colonies that are going to be shipyards - without pollution-control techs they cannot build flat out and have to move some workers into research, but Supercomputers are not always a good investment for shipyard colonies.
 * Tritanium Armor and Deuterium Fuel Cells - this race probably has the best armor of all the empires in the galaxy at this stage.
 * Merculite Missile and Pollution Processor - another important bonus. Build Pollution Processors at shipyard colonies (and increase the numbers of workers there to stockpile production for a real Battleship when the empire gets the techs), and at others when they are needed and finances allow it.
 * Research up the Physics tree to Battle Scanner, which is essential for effective use of "beam" weapons. Creative races usually have the best computers, as other races forgo ship's computers in order to get research buildings. Having better computers allows Creative races to rely on "beam" weapons from the start and they should usually do so, because missile shoot-outs generally involve significant losses on both sides, which Creative races cannot afford.
 * Research up the Force Fields tree to Class 3 Shield and Radiation Shield. The route to this Force Fields tech level provides decent shields and AF Mass Drivers for Star Bases and warships, Radiation Shields to protect Missile Bases, and several other useful techs such as Inertial Stabilizer, which makes its ships hard to hit. Non-Creative races' early military techs usually come from the Physics tech tree because that leads to Subspace Communications (more Command Points and hence bigger fleets) and the most powerful late-game beam weapons, or from the Chemistry tree (for missiles). But Force Fields gives Creatives more bonus techs that are specifically combated-related, which Creatives need because they are still going through the tech levels relatively slowly and they build ships slowly.
 * Cyber Security Link followed by Cybertronic Computer + Autolab + Structural Analyzer - these 2 levels change the balance of the game for Creatives! It's now very hard to spy on them, and the higher level provides 2 powerful combat techs plus Autolab. All colonies, even the smallest, should stockpile production at the start of research on Autolabs etc. in order to build Autolabs as fast as possible, since these usually increase the research rate by about 50% at this stage.
 * Stealth Field + Personal Shield + Stealth Suit - Personal Shield and Stealth Suit will be useful in their own right, but this research order also exploits a quirk of miniaturization: it allows the empire to design a Battleship with Class 3 Shield, Inertial Stabilizer, Battle Scanner, Cybertronic Computer, Structural Analyzer and a lot of AF Mass Drivers, and then to make it cheaper by researching up to Zortrium Armor. The military sections of this guide will explain why this is a very effective design, possibly the most powerful in the galaxy at this time.
 * Research the Chemistry tech tree to Zortrium Armor, Nano Disassemblers and Microlite Construction (good armor plus 2 good techs that boost industrial production, especially for shipyard colonies), picking up Pulson Missile, Atmospheric Renewer and Iridium Fuel Cells on the way - two successive levels provide 6 good and immediately useful techs!
 * Research the Sociology tech tree to Stock Exchange, build Stock Exchanges wherever they are profitable (except on shipyard colonies), to provide cash for a possible invasion campaign.

This has covered more tech levels than the previous examples, because: Creatives have to be very careful about the early research order; it shows how Creatives get useful bonus techs at an accelerating rate; it shows their unusual military tech route, and its economic consequences. If they come through the next 10 turns in good shape, they are in a very strong position, and it is already very dangerous for any other empire to attack them.

What happens next depends on the situation:
 * If there has been contact (more likely), prepare to launch an invasion campaign by researching Force Fields up to Class 5 Shields and Gauss Cannon, a combination that is usually deadly (as the military sections will explain); this research costs a total of  4750 RP, so the Autolabs are needed! Then research Power up to Ion Drives - this comes after Class 5 Shields and Gauss Cannon because drive upgrades are immediate and free. Then attack! This race must exploit the advantages it has at this stage, otherwise opponents will simply outgrow it.
 * If there's no contact with other races (unlikely), this race needs to grow its economy by:
 * Colonizing new systems. Probably the only good ones left are guarded by Space Monsters, but this race is now building Battleships that can beat any "normal" Space Monster single-handed and then defend the new colony until it's strong enough to take care of itself. But this race must be careful that a Battleship doesn't blunder into Orion and get destroyed by the Guardian; it should send expendable Scouts to unexplored systems first. If a system gained in this way contains a large rich planet (or better), it should colonize the rich planet and that should build an Auto Factory, Marine Barracks, Colony Bases, and then a Warp Interdictor (if allowed) to protect the less rich colonies while they are still too weak to make their own defenses; then the rich planet develops itself into a shipyard. Usually gaining just 1 system in this way will cause contact with another race. Attack! The Creative's fleet is small but its ships are deceptively powerful - 1 or 2 Battleships are enough to conquer a system at this stage ( Diplomacy is scouting gives an example of how dangerous they can be, and that's not even a military page).
 * Research Biology up to Terraforming and terraform colonies where 1 terraforming project gives a big gain in population capacity. Of course this goes on hold if colonization leads to contact: shipyards build warships, the rest build Stock Exchanges then Troop Transports.

Perhaps Creative really is "mainly a war pick".