Distant Worlds 2 – Research Paths, Bonuses & Initiation Costs

by Falagar / Articles, Misc. Guides / 10 Mar 2022

Research Paths, Bonuses & Initiation Costs

In Distant Worlds 2, you will often need a certain investment of credits and resources to initiate a research project. A project may also require certain pre-requisite projects, which if you are playing with the default randomized research, can vary. Projects are most likely to have pre-requisite paths from the projects in line with them at a lower tech level. However, in some cases where those lower paths do not generate, you may need to research parallel paths even beyond a project’s tech level to find a path back to it. For the most challenging projects, you may need more than one pre-requisite path before you can proceed, requiring you to complete multiple lower tech level branches to unlock a more advanced project.

Also, as you move up the technology tree, you will find that the Research Bonuses you gain from your research locations and stations, research facilities, and characters become more important. If you are below the required bonus level to unlock a project, you will
not be able to research it until you find a way to increase your bonus in that area. Additional exploration to find new research locations, or conquest of existing ones from another empire, or building and funding additional specialized research facilities, or recruiting new
scientists in the hopes of finding one with a matching bonus can all get you closer to that threshold.

Here’s a quick reference as to how some of the bonuses you can find correlate to the various components and facilities you can research and build:

Research Bonus	Applies to Components	Applies to Facilities
Weapons	Weapons Assault Pods Tractor Beams	Planetary Weapons
Shields	Shields	Planetary Shields
Armor	Armor Damage Control Ion Defense
Reactor	Reactor Energy Collector Energy to Fuel
Enginers	Engine Maneuvering Thruster
HyperDrive	HyperDrive HyperDeny HyperBlock	Gravity Well
Sensors	Countermeasures Targeting Scanner Jammer Short Range Sensor Long Range Sensor Stealth
Industrial	Colonization Cargo Bays Crew Systems Docking Bays Mining Engines Passenger Compartments Fuel Cells Troop Compartments	Mining Terraforming
Construction	Construction Yard Starfighter Bay Remove Fuel Transfer	Starfighter Base Shipyard
High Tech	Research Command Center Commerce Center Medical Bay Recreation Center	Trade Medical Administration Research Recreation

You can also check out our other Distant Worlds 2 guides.

Distant Worlds 2: 5 Tips for Beginners

Distant Worlds 2: The Ultimate Guide to Troops

Distant Worlds 2 – Government Guide

Falagar

He is the founder and editor of Magic Game World. He loved gaming from the moment he got a PlayStation 1 with Gran Turismo on his 7th birthday.
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