Build and Conquer research
How research works in Build and Conquer: research offices, the drone chain that needs a medium office, quest-gated unlocks like the nuclear power plant
Build a research office early and keep something researching at all times. The second drone needs a medium research office plus the first drone. Some unlocks, like the nuclear power plant, are quests rather than tech.
Research is the quiet system in Build and Conquer: it does not fight, it does not earn, and it unlocks nearly everything else. If your research queue sits idle you will hit a wall at city level 3 or 4 wondering why nothing new appears.
What research gets you
- Better buildings — upgraded housing, stronger factories, higher-tier commercial.
- Drones — the second drone requires researching the first drone plus building a medium research office; a recent patch added two new drones for three in total.
- Missile support — the resource and industrial tech behind steel, fuel and storage.
- Quest unlocks — a few headline items are gated behind map objectives rather than tech, such as the nuclear power plant.
Research offices
There are at least two tiers of research building, and the difference is real: the medium office is the minimum for the second drone, and larger offices let you run more research at once. Community guides are unanimous that the bigger office is worth the money — parallel research compounds, and the office itself is not that expensive compared to what it unlocks.
The nuclear power plant quest
The nuclear power plant is the big power unlock, and it is not bought — it is captured:
- Reach city level 4. The quest will not appear before that.
- Find the nuclear power plant capture point on the map.
- Deploy troops to it and hold the point. Community video guidance says the hold is 60 minutes — long enough that you should pick a quiet server, because stationary troops are an easy target.
Research priorities
| Phase | Research | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Early | Economy and building tiers | More population and income per plot |
| Early-mid | First drone | The cheapest way to see the mainland safely |
| Mid | Resource and industrial tech | Steel and fuel gate every missile |
| Mid | Second drone + medium office | Better raiding, and the drone line is a ladder |
| Late | Power and storage tech | Nuclear power and bigger reserves |
