shipbuilding Tech Comparison
Plasma Weapon Mk1 vs Rapid Fabrication
Comparing the Plasma Weapon Mk1 (Tier 1) and Rapid Fabrication (Tier 2), 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 | Plasma Weapon Mk1 | Rapid Fabrication |
|---|---|---|
| Tier | T1 | T2 |
| Research time | 2▼ | 9 |
| metal cost | 1,500▼ | 12,000 |
| crystal cost | 900▼ | 6,000 |
| Effect | unlock ship: solar-blade | +20% -ship build time |
▼ marks the lower resource / time cost. Cheaper isn't always better — weigh it against the effect each tech unlocks.
Plasma Weapon Mk1
Unlocks construction of the solar-blade (fighter class).
Unlocks ships: solar blade
Rapid Fabrication
Parallel nanofab bays reduce all ship build times by an additional 20%.
Unlocks buildings: nanofab bay
Requires: shipbuilding 1
Which Should You Research First?
The Plasma Weapon Mk1 is the lower-tier prerequisite step and typically comes first in the shipbuilding branch, opening the path toward Rapid Fabrication.