Top Lords research guide: trees and prerequisites

Check what the research improves

Open the Scholar Tower, choose a tree and tap a technology. The useful questions are simple: what does this improve, which part of my account benefits, and what must I finish before I can research it?

Construction speed, research speed, production, troop capacity and battle bonuses solve different problems. A technology with a bigger power increase is not automatically the better choice for the account you are playing.

Check which squad or faction receives the bonus. A technology for one garage will not necessarily help another. Lord’s formation wildcard does not make every faction-only research effect apply to Lord.

What the requirements actually mean

A locked node may require earlier research, a Scholar Tower level, or both. Requirements joined by AND all need to be met. An explicit OR gives you alternatives. Do not pay for both alternatives just because both icons appear in the panel.

If a node requires level 6 of an earlier technology, reaching 6 can be enough to move on. It does not mean every technology above it must be maxed. On the other hand, a later node may eventually require the missing levels, so read the actual route before deciding they are unnecessary forever.

A progress percentage is a summary of the tree. It cannot tell you which prerequisites remain between your account and a particular unlock. Two players at the same percentage can have very different work left.

T10 & research calculatorCalculate your remaining T10 resources and research time from your completed levels, bonuses and inventory.

Choose the research you need now

If useful construction is always running, compare the construction-speed and cost technologies on your available route. If research time is your bottleneck, inspect research-speed technologies and their prerequisite cost. Rapid Construction, Research Upgrade and Supreme Builder are named examples in the reference catalogue.

For your main squad, follow the branch that actually improves the formation you deploy. Funding every squad evenly can leave the one you fight with short of useful upgrades. Gathering or another squad can still deserve research when you use that benefit regularly.

Do not turn “focus on growth” into a rule to ignore every other tree. An event reward unlock or a specific battle improvement can be worth more now. Compare what the next completed technology enables.

A research decision you can make in the game
What is holding you back?	Inspect this first	Then check
Construction takes too long	Construction-speed technologies	Prerequisite cost and how busy your builders are
Main squad loses reliable fights	Bonuses affecting that squad and its heroes	Survival, damage type and the battle report
Alliance Duel reward chests are locked	The relevant reward-unlock research	Its exact chest and prerequisite levels
You want T10 soldiers	Soldier X and the complete Royal Guard route	Cross-tree requirements, Scholar Tower and Barracks gates
Research constantly waits for coins	The next affordable useful node	A coin reserve shared with buildings and gear

Alliance Duel chests are a useful early detour

When Alliance Duel research is available, inspect the technologies that unlock additional personal reward chests. More reward access can matter over many event days, not only the day you complete the technology.

Move toward the next usable chest unlock rather than filling the tree from the top just to make every counter look complete. Check the required levels on the route. The required level is specific to the node; “everything needs 6/10” is not a safe rule.

Keep useful research moving outside the weekly Tech Research day. When Race to Ace offers a suitable theme, needed research can also contribute there. Do not leave the queue idle for days waiting to make every upgrade score in the same event.

Speed bonuses, reductions and speedups

A +10% research-speed bonus divides base time by 1.10. One base hour becomes about 54 minutes 33 seconds. At +100% speed the hour becomes 30 minutes. Adding ten speed points to an already boosted account does not remove another ten percent of the current timer.

A resource-cost reduction changes eligible resource costs separately. It does not automatically discount research medals. A speedup removes queue time; it does not pay the resource bill or complete an unmet prerequisite.

Check Royal title or Favor benefits before starting the job when the benefit affects its starting timer. Add only bonuses that apply together. When the job finishes, have the materials for the next useful research ready.

T10 is a route through several systems

Soldier X is the unlock at the end of the T10 route. The recorded final research gate needs Advanced Armor X, Weapon Training X and Defense Training X at level 20 plus an eligible Scholar Tower at 30. Earlier cross-tree research is part of that route too.

Barracks 30 is the separate requirement for training the unlocked T10 soldiers. Reaching Castle 30 alone is not the full unlock. The full research bill is also separate from the supporting buildings and the cost of training the soldiers afterwards.

Treat T10 as a long-term goal while keeping the account usable. A complete route from zero is a benchmark, not a demand to stop all hero, Griffin or equipment development until the final node is done.

Research access and the training building are separate requirements

Before you commit

Read the effect and who receives it.
Follow the actual prerequisite levels.
Choose explicit alternatives once.
Keep the next useful research affordable.
Separate speed, resource discounts and research medals.

Common questions

Do I need to max every technology before moving down the tree?

No. Meet the levels named in the next technology’s requirements. Some branches need all listed prerequisites; others offer alternatives. Read the requirement instead of assuming every earlier node needs its maximum level.

Should I research growth bonuses or combat first?

Choose the upgrade that helps the work you are doing now. Queue speed and reward access can help a growing account; combat research matters when your main squad needs it. Price the required path before committing.