The Foundation of Empire: The Importance of Research

In Age of Empires Mobile, research is the backbone of your civilization’s progress. The “Age of Empires Mobile Research Guide” highlights that it’s not just about unlocking new units or buildings; research represents a continuous investment in your city’s capabilities, affecting everything from resource production to military might.

Navigating the Dual Research Trees

Unlike some strategy games, Age of Empires Mobile features two distinct research trees: Economic and Military. This division allows for specialized development, allowing you to focus on either bolstering your resource income or strengthening your armies.

The University

Your Center of Learning: All research in Age of Empires Mobile is conducted within the University. This building becomes your hub for technological advancement, and upgrading it unlocks higher-level technologies and reduces research times.

Understanding Technology Levels and Prerequisites

Within each research tree, individual technologies have multiple levels. Each level enhances the initial benefit, making continuous investment in key areas worthwhile. Keep in mind that some advanced technologies have prerequisites. This means you need to research specific lower-level technologies before unlocking access to the more potent advancements.

The Heart of Innovation: Navigating the Research Interface

Your journey towards technological supremacy begins within the hallowed halls of the University building. This is where you’ll unlock the true potential of your civilization by delving into the two main research trees: Military and Economic.

1️⃣Distinct Research Paths

The University interface provides clear separation between these two research branches. Dedicated tabs for Military and Economic research ensure easy navigation, allowing you to switch between the two trees and assess the various upgrade options available.

2️⃣Ascending the Ladder of Progress

Each technology within the research trees has multiple levels, offering increasingly powerful benefits as you invest in their advancement. For example, “Research Speed 1” provides a permanent speed boost to all your future research efforts. Upgrading it further to levels 2, 3, 4, and 5 amplifies this time-saving advantage.

3️⃣Unlocking the Gates of Advancement

Certain advanced technologies remain tantalizingly out of reach until you fulfill their prerequisites. These prerequisites often involve researching specific lower-level technologies, creating a logical progression path within each research tree. This system encourages a strategic approach to research, ensuring that you establish a strong foundation before venturing into more specialized areas.

4️⃣Overcoming Bottlenecks

As you progress through the research trees, you’ll encounter bottlenecks that temporarily halt your advancement. The most common bottleneck stems from the level of your University building itself. You may find yourself unable to research a specific technology because your University hasn’t reached the required level. This highlights the importance of continuously upgrading your University to unlock higher-level technologies and keep your research momentum flowing.

Understanding the layout and mechanics of the research interface is crucial for efficient and effective technological advancement. Familiarize yourself with the University building, its various tabs, technology levels, and prerequisites to make informed research decisions that propel your civilization towards greatness.

First Steps to Supremacy: Prioritizing Early Game Research

The early game in Age of Empires Mobile sets the stage for your civilization’s future success. During this crucial phase, wise research choices can significantly accelerate your growth and give you an edge over your rivals. Early research should primarily focus on bolstering your economic engine and establishing a solid military foundation.

Economic Research: Fueling Your Empire’s Rise

Research SpeedThe cornerstone of early-game research is maximizing your research efficiency. Prioritize “Research Speed 1” in the Economic research tree. This technology provides a permanent speed boost to all subsequent research, making it a high-impact investment that pays dividends throughout the game. The earlier you complete this research, the faster all other technologies will be completed, saving you valuable time and resources in the long run.Building SpeedClosely following “Research Speed” in importance is “Building Speed 1.” This technology expedites the construction of all buildings, from your essential Town Center to resource-generating structures and military facilities. Completing this research early ensures a steady stream of new buildings, allowing you to expand your city and unlock more advanced options quickly.Gathering BoostsA thriving economy requires a steady influx of resources. Focus on researching technologies that enhance the gathering rates of your villagers for wood, food, stone, and gold. Increasing gathering efficiency allows you to accumulate resources more rapidly, fueling further construction, troop training, and research endeavors.

Military Research: Forging Your First Line of Defense

While economic research takes precedence in the early game, you shouldn’t completely neglect your military advancement. Here’s what to prioritize:

✅Unlocking Unit Tiers: As you progress through the early game, prioritize researching technologies that unlock higher tiers of your chosen troop type. Higher-tier units boast superior stats and abilities, giving you a distinct advantage in battles against Barbarians and other players. For example, unlocking Tier 2 units early on will provide you with a substantial combat boost compared to relying solely on Tier 1 units.

✅Basic Troop Upgrades: Once you’ve unlocked higher-tier units, invest in fundamental upgrades that enhance the attack and defense of your primary military units. These upgrades might seem incremental, but they accumulate over time, providing your army with a significant edge in combat.

Balancing Act: Military vs. Economic

One of the keys to early-game success is striking a balance between economic and military research. Don’t rush military research at the expense of your economy. Invest in your economic foundations first to establish a strong resource base. Then, as your resource income grows, you can allocate more towards military advancements without hindering your overall progress.

Advancing Towards Dominance: Mid to Late Game Research Strategies

As your civilization matures and you transition into the mid and late game stages of Age of Empires Mobile, your research priorities will shift to accommodate the evolving challenges and opportunities that arise. While a strong economy remains crucial, your focus will increasingly turn towards specializing your military, maximizing your power, and excelling in events and alliances.

Military Specialization: Shaping Your War Machine

✅Choosing Your Path: By the mid game, you should have a clear idea of which military specialty best suits your playstyle and strategic goals. Three primary army compositions are highlighted: Warrior Swordsman, Warrior Pikemen, and Warrior Archers. Each composition requires a dedicated set of heroes and technology investments to reach its full potential.

For example, if you’ve chosen to specialize in Warrior Swordsman, your mid to late game research should prioritize technologies that boost their attack, defense, health, and march speed. This could include researching upgrades such as “Swordsmanship” for increased attack power, “Chainmail Armor” for enhanced defense, and “Logistics” for faster march speed.

Similarly, if you’re focusing on Warrior Pikemen, prioritize technologies that enhance their anti-cavalry capabilities and overall survivability. This might involve researching “Pike Square” formation for increased defense against cavalry charges, “Discipline” for higher troop morale, and “Engineering” for siege bonuses.

✅Skill Investment: Effective military specialization also extends to your heroes’ skills. Focus your skill point investments on skills that directly benefit your chosen army composition. For instance, if you’re running a Warrior Swordsman composition, prioritize upgrading skills that boost their damage output or provide defensive benefits.

✅Equipment Enhancement: The Smithy building, unlocked at Town Hall 15, becomes a key asset in the mid to late game. Use it to craft and upgrade equipment for your heroes, further bolstering their stats and enhancing your chosen army composition. Focus on acquiring and upgrading purple and legendary equipment for the most significant stat boosts. Obtain equipment blueprints and crafting materials through Island Tactics, or purchase them in the VIP Shop or through in-game packs.

Power Projection: Climbing the Rankings

⚔️Mightiest Governor Event: The “Mightiest Governor” event is a crucial avenue for power progression in Age of Empires Mobile. The event’s final stage (Stage 7) offers a diverse range of tasks that contribute to increasing your power score. These tasks include defeating tribes, gathering resources, constructing buildings, researching technologies, training units, and using hero medals and skill advancement items. Focus on completing these tasks efficiently to maximize your power score gains and climb the event rankings, securing valuable rewards.

⚔️Alliances and Kingdom Control: Joining a powerful alliance unlocks new avenues for research advancement and power projection. Alliances provide assistance with construction and research, speeding up your progress. They also play a crucial role in kingdom-level events, which can grant significant rewards and influence.

⚔️Beyond the Basics: As you progress into the later stages of the game, consider researching technologies that enhance your civilization’s overall functionality and resilience. This could include:

Advanced Economic UpgradesMaximize your resource production with technologies that increase resource yield, storage capacity, and trading efficiency.Defensive StructuresReinforce your city’s defenses with technologies that strengthen walls, towers, and other defensive structures, making you a less attractive target for attackers.Espionage and Counter-EspionageInvest in technologies that enhance your espionage capabilities, allowing you to gather intelligence on rivals and sabotage their efforts. At the same time, research counter-espionage measures to protect your city from enemy spies.

Sustaining Momentum: Late Game Research and Beyond

➡️Continuous Advancement: In the late game, research becomes a continuous process of refinement and adaptation. Stay informed about new technologies and emerging strategies within your alliance and the broader player community.

➡️Strategic Resource Management: Late-game research can be incredibly resource-intensive. Ensure you have a robust and diversified economy to sustain your research endeavors without hindering other crucial aspects of your civilization’s development.

➡️Event Participation: Actively participating in events provides opportunities to acquire unique resources, blueprints, and other rewards that can further enhance your research capabilities. Prioritize events that offer rewards relevant to your chosen army composition or specific research goals.

Accelerated Advancement: Optimizing Research Speed and Efficiency

In the fast-paced world of Age of Empires Mobile, time is a precious commodity. Optimizing your research speed and efficiency is paramount to staying ahead of the curve and achieving your strategic goals. Valuable insights are available for maximizing your research output and minimizing wasted time and resources.

Prioritize “Research Speed” Technologies

The most impactful way to accelerate your research is by prioritizing the “Research Speed” technologies within the Economic research tree. These technologies provide a permanent percentage-based reduction to all research times, making them a cornerstone of efficient research.

Early Game Focus

In the early game, prioritize reaching level 5 in “Research Speed 1” as quickly as possible. This initial investment will significantly reduce research times for all subsequent technologies, saving you countless hours as you progress.

Sustained Investment

As you advance through the game, continue to invest in the “Research Speed” technology line, reaching higher levels (2, 3, 4, and 5) to further amplify the speed boost. While the percentage gains may seem incremental, their cumulative effect over time is substantial.

Maximize Alliance Help

Alliances are a powerful tool for accelerating research in Age of Empires Mobile. Each time an alliance member contributes “help” to a research project, it reduces the remaining research time by 1%. While this may seem like a small amount, it scales significantly, especially with longer research times in the later stages of the game.

✅Maximize Assistance

Before using speedups to complete research, wait until you’ve received the maximum number of “helps” from your alliance members. This will drastically reduce the time (and speedups) required to finish the research.

✅Upgrade Your Embassy

Upgrading the Embassy building increases the number of “help” chances you have for each research project. The higher the level of your Embassy, the more assistance you can receive from alliance members, further reducing research times.

Upgrade Your University

The level of your University building directly impacts research speed. Higher-level Universities have inherently faster research rates, meaning that the same research project will be completed more quickly at a higher University level.

⬆️Continuous Upgrading: Continuously upgrading your University should be a priority throughout the game. Each level unlocks access to new and more powerful technologies and speeds up the research process for all technologies.

⬆️Breaking Bottlenecks: Upgrading your University is essential for breaking through research bottlenecks. Many technologies have prerequisites that require a specific University level. Keeping your University at the highest possible level ensures that you can consistently access and research new technologies without delays.

LevelPowerResearch Speed 1+41.00% 2+122.00% 3+283.00% 4+604.00% 5+1215.00% 6+2366.00% 7+4427.00% 8+7958.00% 9+13799.00% 10+230110.00% 11+369311.00% 12+569812.00% 13+844513.00% 14+1201514.00% 15+1658615.00% 16+2243616.00% 17+2992417.00% 18+3950918.00% 19+5177819.00% 20+6748120.00% 21+8758221.00% 22+11331222.00% 23+14624523.00% 24+18840024.00% 25+24235825.00% 26+31142427.00% 27+39982929.00% 28+51298731.00% 29+65782933.00% 30+84322735.00%

Strategic Use of Speedups

Speedups are a valuable resource for accelerating research, but they should be used strategically to maximize their impact. Avoid using universal speedups for actions like healing, training, or building, especially in the early and mid-game.

✅Prioritize Research

Prioritize using your universal speedups on University research, particularly for Military and Economic technologies. The time investment required to reach maximum research levels is substantial, and speedups can significantly reduce this time.

✅Late Game Flexibility

Once your essential research is complete, you can use universal speedups for other purposes, such as training or healing troops. However, in the earlier stages of the game, prioritize using them for research to maximize your long-term progress.

Understand Research Prerequisites

Navigating the research trees effectively requires understanding the prerequisites for each technology. Many technologies have prerequisites in the form of specific lower-level technologies that must be completed before you can access them.

✅Plan Your Path

Before initiating a research project, carefully examine the research tree and identify any prerequisite technologies. Plan your research path strategically to avoid delays and ensure a smooth progression towards your desired technologies.

✅Unlocking Higher Tiers

Prioritize researching technologies that unlock higher-tier units. Higher-tier units have superior stats and abilities, giving you a significant advantage in battles. Focus on researching the prerequisites necessary to access these advanced units as quickly as possible.

By implementing these strategies, you can optimize your research speed and efficiency, accelerating your civilization’s technological advancement and gaining a competitive edge in the world of Age of Empires Mobile.

Thinking Beyond the Horizon: Advanced Research Considerations

As your civilization in Age of Empires Mobile flourishes, and you navigate the complexities of the mid to late game, a deeper understanding of research dynamics becomes essential. Subtle yet crucial insights are available for optimizing your research endeavors for maximum impact.

Balancing Economic and Military Investments:

Early “Research Speed” and “Building Speed” upgrades are important for a robust foundation, but don’t neglect military research. Finding the optimal balance between economic and military advancements is key to maintaining a competitive edge.

Early Game Foundation: Initially, prioritize economic upgrades, particularly “Research Speed” and “Building Speed,” to establish a solid economic base and accelerate future research.

Mid Game Transition: As you transition into the mid game, gradually shift your focus towards military research. Prioritize technologies that enhance your chosen army composition’s strengths, such as attack, defense, health, or specific unit upgrades.

Strategic Adaptation: Continuously assess the evolving game landscape and adapt your research priorities accordingly. If facing a particularly aggressive opponent, prioritize defensive technologies. If preparing for a resource-intensive event, focus on economic upgrades.

Frequently Asked Questions (F.A.Q)

❓What is Research in Age of Empires Mobile?

Research allows you to unlock permanent upgrades that enhance your economy, military, development, and overall power. It’s conducted in the Academy building within your city.

❓Where do I conduct research?

All research takes place in the Academy building. Upgrading your Academy unlocks more advanced research options and reduces research time.

❓What are the main research categories?

Research is divided into four trees: Economy, Military, Defense, and Development. Each category focuses on different aspects like gathering, training speed, troop strength, building upgrades, and more.

❓How important is research for progression?

Research is critical for long-term growth. It boosts resource efficiency, increases troop power, unlocks higher-tier units, and enhances building and healing speed. Ignoring research will severely slow your progression.

❓What resources are needed for research?

Research typically costs food, wood, stone, and gold. Higher-tier upgrades require large amounts of resources and time, often taking hours or days to complete without speed-ups.

❓Can I speed up research times?

Yes, you can use speed-up items, increase VIP levels, assign heroes with research buffs, and join alliances that offer research bonuses to reduce time.

❓Are there specific heroes or skills that help with research?

Some heroes have skills that reduce research time. Look for talents and equipment that enhance development or city-building efficiency to further reduce time and cost.