shipbuilding Tech Comparison
Armed Merchant Cruiser III vs Dreadnought Engineering
Comparing the Armed Merchant Cruiser III (Tier 3) and Dreadnought Engineering (Tier 4), both shipbuilding technologies in Starforge MMO. Use this to decide which to queue first when your research lab can only run one project at a time.
Research Comparison
| Attribute | Armed Merchant Cruiser III | Dreadnought Engineering |
|---|---|---|
| Tier | T3 | T4 |
| Research time | 6▼ | 80 |
| metal cost | 6,000▼ | 180,000 |
| crystal cost | 3,600▼ | 90,000 |
| antimatter cost | — | 1,200▼ |
| dark matter cost | — | 600▼ |
| Effect | unlock ship: merchant-galleon | enables dreadnought class: true; enables capital class: true |
▼ marks the lower resource / time cost. Cheaper isn't always better — weigh it against the effect each tech unlocks.
Armed Merchant Cruiser III
Unlocks construction of the merchant-galleon (cruiser class).
Unlocks ships: merchant galleon
Dreadnought Engineering
Multi-segment superstructure design and redundant reactor cradles unlock the Dreadnought — a Capital hull rivaling the Titan in mass.
Unlocks buildings: dreadnought foundry
Unlocks ships: titan dreadnought, hammerfist battleship
Requires: shipbuilding 7, shipbuilding 8, shipbuilding 5
Which Should You Research First?
The Armed Merchant Cruiser III is the lower-tier prerequisite step and typically comes first in the shipbuilding branch, opening the path toward Dreadnought Engineering.