Research

Knowledge from your guilds pays for research: lasting bonuses to farming, building, defence, trade, learning and heritage.

Build a guild (it unlocks at town-centre level 4) and tap Research. Each guild works on one technology at a time, so a second guild doubles your pace. A technology costs Knowledge up front and then takes time.

Technologies open by age. Each city names them after its own history (Benin’s are shown below), but the effects are the same everywhere.

Two signature technologies are unique to each city, and both are needed for town-centre level 10.

Technology (Benin)	Branch	Age	Effect	Knowledge	Takes
Yam mounds	Farming	First	+10% Food	150	10 min
Yam barns	Farming	Second	+15% Food storage, Health +3	900	2 h
Plantain and palm groves	Farming	Third	+15% Food, Health +3	4,000	6 h
Cassava and maize	Farming	Fourth	+20% Food	16,000	12 h
Laterite walls	Building	First	builds 8% faster	200	15 min
Polished walls	Building	Second	buildings +10% sturdier	1,200	3 h
Carpenters’ guild	Building	Third	builds cost 8% less	5,000	8 h
Master builders	Building	Fourth	builds 10% faster	18,000	14 h
Iron spearheads	Defence	First	+8% soldier damage	200	15 min
Crossbow drill	Defence	Second	+12% tower damage, Peace +3	1,000	2 h
Hide shields	Defence	Third	+12% soldier health	5,000	8 h
Guns from the coast	Defence	Fourth	+12% soldier damage, +10% tower damage	20,000	16 h
Cowrie standard	Trade	First	+10% Wealth	180	15 min
Trade roads	Trade	Second	+12% Wealth, Unity +3	1,100	3 h
Ughoton trade	Trade	Fourth	+20% Wealth	9,000	10 h
Palace societies	Learning	Second	+15% Knowledge	600	1 h
Apprentices	Learning	Third	research 15% faster, Progress +4	3,500	6 h
Chroniclers of the court	Learning	Fourth	+20% Knowledge	14,000	12 h
Festival calendar	Heritage	Second	Faith +4, Unity +3	800	2 h
Commemorative heads	Heritage	Third	+40 Heritage, Unity +4	4,500	8 h
Coral regalia	Heritage	Fourth	+60 Heritage	16,000	12 h
Igun Eronmwon lost-wax casting signature	Heritage	Second	+50 Heritage, Progress +3	1,500	4 h
Iya earthworks signature	Defence	Second	walls +25% stronger	1,500	4 h