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title: Research
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## Contents {#mw-toc-heading}

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-   [[ 1 ]{.tocnumber} [ Research Basics ]{.toctext}](#Research_Basics)
-   [[ 2 ]{.tocnumber} [ Examples ]{.toctext}](#Examples)
-   [[ 3 ]{.tocnumber} [ General things to learn
    ]{.toctext}](#General_things_to_learn)
-   [[ 4 ]{.tocnumber} [ Researching ahead of time
    ]{.toctext}](#Researching_ahead_of_time)
-   [[ 5 ]{.tocnumber} [ Effect of Rocket Test Sites
    ]{.toctext}](#Effect_of_Rocket_Test_Sites)
-   [[ 6 ]{.tocnumber} [ Effect of Nuclear Reactors
    ]{.toctext}](#Effect_of_Nuclear_Reactors)
-   [[ 7 ]{.tocnumber} [ Research Strategy
    ]{.toctext}](#Research_Strategy)
-   [[ 8 ]{.tocnumber} [ Research Assistant Time Calculator
    ]{.toctext}](#Research_Assistant_Time_Calculator)
:::

## [ Research Basics ]{#Research_Basics .mw-headline}

Each technology consists of 5 parts which have to be researched one
after the other. Each of these parts is linked to a certain field of
science (chemistry, electronics, rocketry, etc.) and has a difficulty
(usually from 3 to 10). Sometimes the last of the 5 parts is called
"....Test" or "....Process Development" or something similar. This will
often have a very high difficulty number, double that of the other
components. (In 1.1 and earlier, the doubled number shows as being the
same as all the other components, leaving you to guess whether it is
there or not).

Each tech team has a skill level and one or more fields of expertise
matching the fields of science from the technologies. Both (skill level
and matching fields of expertise) have an influence on the speed of
research.

**Matching fields of expertise:** Each match halves the research time
for this particular part of the technology.

**Blueprints:** Each blueprint halves the research time for the whole
technology (standard setting, moddable via misc.txt). If you have
matched fields of expertise AND blueprints, the research time for the
parts having a match is quartered.

Researching a Technology is displayed as having five partial techs
accounting for 20% each. The game engine internally counts each part
separately with 100% (or 200% if *double_time = yes* is specified in the
tech file). Each part of the technology is first fully completed before
the next part starts. So any excess research progress in the day which
finishes a part (to 20%, 40%, 60%, 80% and of course 100%) is lost. This
is important to mention, since it is the cause of rounding errors and
probably some mismatch between the formula (which I don't know) and the
effective research time. It is also the cause for some minor
inconsistencies in the tables below. If anybody has the time to come up
with something more precise, he/she is highly welcome. However I believe
for the normal gaming the tables below should give enough info.

Research time (in days) with matching skill level (i.e. a skill level 5
team researches a part of a technology with difficulty 5) And WITHOUT
matching field of expertise.

Lvl 3: 37 Lvl 4: 40 Lvl 5: 42 Lvl 6: 44 Lvl 7: 46 Lvl 8: 47 Lvl 9: 49 Lvl10: 50

This base time is modified by the difference between difficulty and
skill level (=skill level-difficulty) as follows in cumulative days (so
-3 would be an effective +12); (I'm pretty sure there is a formula
behind it with some integers, so there are rounding errors when giving
full days, but as already mentioned it should suffice for planning
research):

-7: +9 -6: +8 -5: +7 -4: +6 -3: +5 -2: +4 -1: +3 0: 0 +1: -3 +2: -3 +3: -2 +4: -2 +5: -2 +6: -2

Research efficiency modifier due to techs is a corresponding time
modifier (i.e.: + 5% means each part takes 5% less time to research, so
a part of a tech which really takes 30 days without the 5%, takes 29
days with the modifier (since the 0,5 days are lost, however it is not
very exact with my table, so it can be +/- 1 day). The modifier applies
to each part separately. Btw. I didn't find an effect for the ministers
giving research bonus (I just checked Todt of Germany).

## [ Examples ]{#Examples .mw-headline}

An example calculation for Germany in '36 (they have a +5% Research
modifier due to tech) and Basic Machine tools (a '36 tech):

Chemistry 5 Industrial Engineering 5 Industrial Engineering 5 Industrial Engineering 6 Industrial Engineering 7 (doubled)

Now let's IG Farben do the job: Skill 9 and all fields of expertise
match:

1.Part: 42 days base, --10 days for higher skill level = 32 days, halved
for matching fields = 16 days, -5% = 15 days (could also be 16 for other
cases, depends on the rounding)

2.Part: 42 days base, --10 days for higher skill level = 32 days, halved
for matching fields = 16 days, -5% = 15 days (could also be 16 for other
cases, depends on the rounding)

3.Part: 42 days base, --10 days for higher skill level = 32 days, halved
for matching fields = 16 days, -5% = 15 days (could also be 16 for other
cases, depends on the rounding)

4.Part: 44 days base, --8 days for higher skill level = 36 days, halved
for matching fields = 19 days, -5% = 17 days (could also be 18 for other
cases, depends on the rounding)

5.Part: 46 days base, --6 days for higher skill level = 40 days, doubled
for being a "...Process" tech and than again halved for matching fields
= 40 days, -5% = 38 days (could also be 39 for other cases, depends on
the rounding)

Total time: 100 days (so when starting on 01.01.36, you will be finished
on 11.04.36

Now let's have this done by Rheinmetal: Skill 7, only chemistry matches:
1.Part: 42 days base, --6 days for higher skill level = 36 days, halved
for matching fields = 18 days, -5% = 17 days (could also be 18 for other
cases, depends on the rounding)

2.Part: 42 days base, --6 days for higher skill level = 36 days, -5% =
34 days (could also be 35 for other cases, depends on the rounding)

3.Part: 42 days base, --6 days for higher skill level = 36 days, -5% =
34 days (could also be 35 for other cases, depends on the rounding)

4.Part: 44 days base, --3 days for higher skill level = 41 days, -5% =
39 days

5.Part: 46 days base, +/--0 days for matching skill level = 46 days,
doubled for being a "...Process" tech = 92 days, -5% = 87 days (could
also be 88 for other cases, depends on the rounding)

Total time: 211 days (so when starting on 01.01.36, you will be finished
on 02.08.36

## [ General things to learn ]{#General_things_to_learn .mw-headline}

1.) First look for as many matching fields as possible. It\'s usually
better to have more matching fields than to have high skill level (but
not always - a Skill-8 team with 4 matching fields is usually faster
than a Skill-6 team with 5 fields, for example).

2.) Consider that sometimes the last part of a tech counts double when
looking for the absolute number of matching fields.

3.) Then look at skill levels; the higher the better.

4.) It is always nice to have
[blueprints](/wiki/Blueprints "Blueprints") .

## [ Researching ahead of time ]{#Researching_ahead_of_time .mw-headline}

You get a cumulative 0.15% or 0.125% penalty (the latter is correct in
Doomsday V. 1.3a) penalty per day for researching ahead of time. The
relevant time for a tech is always January 1 of the corresponding year.
So a 1938 technology started at 01.01.37 would get a 360\*0.15% = 54%
penalty for the first day, a 53.85% penalty for the second day and so on
until you reach 01.01.38 when you don't get any penalty for the
remaining research of this tech anymore. The cap for the penalty is at
90%. This cap is reached by researching 600 days ahead of time if the
penalty is 0.15%, 720 (or exactly two years, HoI years being exactly 360
days) if the penalty is 0.125%. Thus, starting to research a 1938
technology in April of 1936 would have the maximum 90% penalty. For
these reasons, it is generally recommended not to \"tech rush\" more
than 1 year early, and wherever possible to stay with current year
technologies. There is no bonus for researching old technologies.

## [ Effect of Rocket Test Sites ]{#Effect_of_Rocket_Test_Sites .mw-headline}

Rocket test sites dramatically reduce the research times for any tech
that has a rocket component. This would include the rocketry component
of an inf div tech such as the Tube-launched Rocket for the advanced
1943 inf div as well as the rocket techs themselves.

The size of the test site has an influence at the reduction. It also
reduces considerably the effects of skills (in the below example, at
site size 6, a skill level 3 team only takes 1 day longer than a lvl. 8
team) and also the effect of the rocketry field of expertise. As an
example, I have researched a difficulty 8 tech (without any other
research modifiers) with skill lvl. 8 teams (results in days):

rocketry site size / without rocketry field of expertise / with rocketry
field of expertise

size 0 / 47d / 24d size 1 / 28d / 18d size 2 / 20d / 14d size 3 / 16d / 12d size 4 / 13d / 10d size 5 / 11d / 9d size 6 / 9d / 8d size 7 / 8d / 7d

What we can see is, that starting from size 5 onwards, the differences
are rather small. Blueprints will further cut these reduced times in
half.

## [ Effect of Nuclear Reactors ]{#Effect_of_Nuclear_Reactors .mw-headline}

Nuclear Reactors also dramatically reduce the research times for the
nuclear techs (both). The size of the reactor has an influence at the
reduction. It also reduces considerably the effects of skills (in the
example below, at site size 5, a skill level 3 team only takes 1 day
longer than a lvl. 9 team) and also the effect of the nuclear fields of
expertise. As an example, I have researched a difficulty 10 tech
(without any other research modifiers) with skill lvl. 9 teams (results
in days):

nuclear reactor size / without nuclear field of expertise / with nuclear
field of expertise

size 0 / 53d / 27d size 1 / 32d / 20d size 2 / 23d / 16d size 3 / 18d / 14d size 4 / 15d / 12d size 5 / 13d / 10d size 6 / 11d / 9d size 7 / 10d / 8d

What we can see is the same as for rocketry test sites, that starting
from size 5 onwards, the differences are rather small. Blueprints will
again halve the time.

As a summary for both, we can say, that the biggest differences are
until lvl.3, effectively removing two thirds of the research time
without matching fields of expertise or halve the research time with
matching fields of expertise.

## [ Research Strategy ]{#Research_Strategy .mw-headline}

-   The number of tech teams you can use at once is determined by your
    IC. You get one extra at each of 20, 40, 60 and 80 base IC.

```{=html}

```
-   Many technologies, particularly Industrial techs, give immediate
    bonuses across your entire economy. The sooner you research them the
    more you will be able to produce before war breaks out and you
    should have no hesitation in trying to push them before their
    historical years.

```{=html}

```
-   Try to match your tech advances with your current spare IC. If you
    have spare IC (in times of relative peace), you can consider
    researching new and improved weapons, because you have the IC for
    the upgrades. If you are in a costly war that chews up IC in
    re-inforcements, consider researching doctrines or unit types you
    don\'t have yet because there is nothing to upgrade. Look at the
    unit charts to see which upgrades are most worthwhile for your
    situation.

```{=html}

```
-   Doctrine techs give instant combat bonuses with no IC cost. If you
    are currently at war, these are very high priority. If you are at
    peace, you might consider developing new units that require time to
    build, and then move on to the doctrines later - just in time for
    the war to start.

```{=html}

```
-   Some ministers give bonuses to some research areas. For instance,
    Resource Industrialist Armamanents ministers give a bonus to
    Industrial research as well as to IC. At the start of a campaign you
    may well be investing heavily in Industrial research and find this
    worthwhile.

```{=html}

```
-   Plan. This is one of the areas where really long term thinking pays
    off.
    -   If you need to project power overseas (even in the far future),
        you need aircraft carriers, marines and paratroopers and you
        have to research them before you can build them (which will also
        take time).
    -   Control of the skies started important and became more important
        as the war went on, so consider air research whatever your
        situation; in particular the Air Doctrine tree requires you to
        research many easy techs, and to develop your bombers\'
        organisation and morale before your fighters.
    -   If you are likely to have land conflicts, pay close attention to
        your Land Doctrine Tree and its attributes. Your doctrine will
        give you discounts on production of some units; do you want to
        research these first to maximise the advantages?

```{=html}

```
-   Consider what you have. This has been mentioned elsewhere, but you
    will probably start with a bunch of vanilla infantry, and you won\'t
    be able to replace them overnight with mechanised infantry. If you
    are heading for war quickly you you really don\'t want to be
    fighting with 1918-model infantry and upgrading is your best bet. If
    war is further away, your best bet may be to replace the divisions
    entirely rather than upgrade.

```{=html}

```
-   Plan your construction to match your tech level. If you are about to
    advance to a new level of tanks, wait until you get them before
    putting in that monster tank order to make the most of the [gearing
    bonus](/wiki/Gearing_Bonus "Gearing Bonus") ; however if major
    operations are around the corner you may not be able to wait.

```{=html}

```
-   If you need cash for research, and have no dissent, trade for cash.
    It is often more economical to spend a few ICs on making supplies
    and trading those for cash than to put IC into excess consumer goods
    to make cash. However, if you have dissent, you\'re pouring IC into
    consumer goods anyway, so it\'s not really an issue. As with other
    resources, make friends and trade early for a stockpile of cash
    before the shooting war starts and then stop worring about it.

```{=html}

```
-   A potential approach to planning your research strategy is to use a
    process of elimination. For instance, few nations will build large
    numbers of Battleships AND Carriers, or Strat Bombers AND Close Air
    Support. If you make such decisions early on you can remove whole
    chunks of research that would be pointless and lets you focus on
    what is most important for your forces.

```{=html}

```
-   Consider holding off upgrades if you have the time. Upgrading twice
    obsolete units is 1/2 the time and 1/2 the cost for the first
    upgrade. Upgrading Inf \'18 once you have researched Inf \'39 will
    cost you 1.25 the normal cost. Upgrading immediately twice will cost
    the full upgrade amount twice. This is especially apparent with
    really obsolete [artillery
    brigades](/wiki/Artillery_brigade "Artillery brigade"){.mw-redirect}
    . Wait until you have researched the models you want to upgrade the
    units you have.

## [ Research Assistant Time Calculator ]{#Research_Assistant_Time_Calculator .mw-headline}

Executor made an excellent program to calculate research times, best
team for tech etc. An updated version for Armageddon and Doomsday is
available in [this
thread](http://www.europa-universalis.com/forum/showthread.php?t=355277&page=1&pp=20){.external
.text rel="nofollow"} . It can be made to work with Arsenal of Democracy
if you create a file called HoI2.exe in the AoD install directory and
point the program to that folder.
:::