Starforge MMO — Patch 0.9.5
Best Research Order in Starforge MMO (2026)
A tier list of which technologies to research first. Get the economy snowball going, then power up your fleet — the fastest path to a dominant empire.
Why Research Order Matters
With 18 branches and 147 total technologies, you can never research everything early. The winners pick a path: economy first, because production and power bonuses compound every tick, then military to stay competitive. Below, every branch is sorted into a priority tier with the first tech you should unlock in it.
Research Priority Tier List
Production and power compound every minute they are active. Researching extraction and energy techs early pays for everything that follows — always your first investment.
Start with Improved Extraction — Increases all mine production by 10%.
Start with Solar Collectors — Solar panels increase energy output by 15%.
Once your economy snowballs, weapons and shipbuilding keep your fleet relevant while colonization grows your resource base. Prioritize these before luxury branches.
Start with Improved Kinetics — Kinetic weapon damage +15%.
Start with Assembly Lines — Ship construction time -15%.
Start with Terraforming I — Allows colonizing planets with mild conditions.
High value in the right strategy — defense for turtle players, propulsion and logistics for aggressive raiders. Research to taste once the core is in place.
Start with Reinforced Hulls — All ships gain +10% armor.
Start with Improved Engines — Fleet travel speed +20%.
Start with Trade Routes — Reduce market fee by 1% (from 5% to 4%).
Start with Research Labs — Establishes a research infrastructure. All tech research times -10%.
Powerful but specialized endgame branches. Pursue these only after your economy and core military trees are mature, or to support a specific doctrine.
Start with Intelligence Network — Unlocks spy missions. +10% spy mission success rate.
Start with Trade Protocols — Formal interstellar trade agreements reduce all marketplace transaction fees by 2%.
Start with Shared Research — Alliance members can contribute to shared tech projects.
Start with Drone Command — Advanced command software increases the maximum drone count per fleet by 50%.
Start with Bio-Material Synthesis — Bioreactors synthesize raw bio_material resource, used in advanced hull and crew augmentations.
Start with Siege Weaponry — Massive siege cannons crack planetary defense shields and fortified orbital stations, unlocking the siege-cannon-4 module.
Start with Component Fabrication — Establishes the Component Factory and unlocks the basic crafting tree, letting you fabricate ship modules from raw resources instead of buying them.
Start with Module Retrofitting — Standardised upgrade bays let you retrofit installed modules in the field, unlocking access to tier IV module variants across all categories.
Start with Quantum Entanglement Comms — Instantaneous command and control using entangled particle pairs. Removes fleet command delay and grants +15% reaction speed in combat.
Research Order FAQ
What should I research first in Starforge MMO?
Rush the economy branches first — Mining and Energy. Production and power compound over time, so every early point in extraction and energy techs pays for all your later research, ships and buildings. Only then move to weapons and shipbuilding.
Is there an optimal research order?
Yes. The most efficient path is Economy (mining, energy) → Core Military and Expansion (weapons, shipbuilding, colonization) → Situational specialists (defense, propulsion, logistics) → niche endgame branches. Follow the tier list above for the full breakdown.
How many tech branches are there?
Starforge MMO has 18 technology branches spanning economy, military, expansion and endgame specializations. You cannot max them all early — focus on a few branches that match your strategy rather than spreading research thin.