Lifeform Research Guide

---

Which Lifeform for Your Class?

The three non-Human lifeforms each sync with a player class. The table below gives the primary recommendation; the notes cover edge cases.

Class	Primary LF	When to consider an alternative
Collector	Rock'tal	Always — perfect synergy with production bonuses
General	Mecha	Default for combat-focused accounts and slot 15 planets
General	Humans	If you have a solid economy and slot 8 planets; lab + fleet support scales better
Discoverer	Kaelesh	Pure expo focus — all 18 slots synergise with expeditions
Discoverer	Rock'tal (hybrid)	Any expo volume — pick Kaelesh expedition techs in slots 4, 5, 10, 11, 18; Rock'tal production techs everywhere else. Production funds your fleet and fuel costs
Discoverer	Humans	Also viable — research speed + production; weaker expo synergy than Kaelesh or Rock'tal hybrid

Multi-planet strategy: You can run different lifeforms on different planets. A common approach is one production-focused planet (Rock'tal) and the rest matching your class lifeform.

---

Recommended Research Priority

Rock'tal (Collector / low-expo Discoverer)

Focus on percentage-based production bonuses — they compound with mine levels and speed upgrades.

Priority	Slot	Research	Why
1	1	Volcanic Batteries	Energy production — enables higher mine levels
2	6	Geothermal Power Plants	Second energy boost, same tier
3	2	Acoustic Scanning	Crystal production
4	3	High Energy Pump Systems	Deuterium production
5	5	Magma-Powered Production	Boosts all three resources
6	10	Hardened Diamond Drill Heads	Metal production
7	11	Seismic Mining Technology	Crystal production
8	12	Magma-Powered Pump Systems	Deuterium production
9	13	Ion Crystal Modules	Large production factor bonus
10	18	Rock'tal Collector Enhancement	Collector class amplifier

---

Mecha (General / combat-focused)

Prioritise ship overhauls for your main fleet composition, then cost reducers.

Priority	Slot	Research	Why
1	2	Plasma Drive	Fleet speed empire-wide
2	1	Catalyser Technology	Deuterium savings on all flights
3	3	Efficiency Module	Flight cost reduction
4	5	Gen. Overhaul: Light Fighter	If you use LF in fleet compositions
5	9	Gen. Overhaul: Cruiser	Cruiser is a core General ship
6	12	Gen. Overhaul: Battleship	Battleship is a staple fleet ship
7	14	Gen. Overhaul: Battlecruiser	Strong for combat efficiency
8	16	Gen. Overhaul: Destroyer	High-level combat
9	8	Experimental Recycling Technology	Recycler efficiency — excellent ROI
10	18	Mechan General Enhancement	General class amplifier

---

Kaelesh (Discoverer, 100+ expos/day)

Stack expedition bonuses — resource finds, DM finds, fleet finds, and phalanx range compound.

Priority	Slot	Research	Why
1	4	Telekinetic Tractor Beam	Expo fleet finds +0.2%/lvl
2	5	Enhanced Sensor Technology	Expo resource finds +0.2%/lvl
3	11	Sixth Sense	More expo resource finds
4	8	Interplanetary Analysis Network	Phalanx range — great for active players
5	15	Gravitation Sensors	Expo DM finds +0.1%/lvl
6	10	Telekinetic Drive	Shorter expo round-trips = more expos
7	1	Heat Recovery	Passive flight cost reduction
8	7	Neuro-Interface	Research time reduction
9	14	Overclocking: Large Cargo	+1%/lvl — if you use LC in expos
10	18	Kaelesh Discoverer Enhancement	Discoverer class amplifier

---

Humans (utility / alternative General / heavy-expo Discoverer)

Humans shine for research speed, civil fleet support, and storage. Their empire-wide research bonus scales well into the late game.

Priority	Slot	Research	Why
1	6	Research AI	Research time reduction starts compounding early
2	3	Fusion Drives	Civil ship speed — faster coloniser, crawler, recycler
3	11	Improved Lab Technology	Further research time reduction (cap 99%)
4	17	Robot Assistants	−0.2%/lvl research time; biggest reduction in the tree
5	2	High-Performance Extractors	Production boost on all resources
6	8	Enhanced Production Technologies	More production boost
7	5	Orbital Den	Storage +4%/lvl — relevant for active traders
8	1	Intergalactic Envoys	Required to discover other lifeforms — level 1 early
9	18	Supercomputer	Astrophysics time reduction
10	7	High-Performance Terraformer	Terraformer cost reduction — useful mid-game expansion

---

General Rules

• Percentage bonuses beat flat bonuses — they scale with your mines, speed upgrades, and existing tech levels.
• Research time reducers compound — at high levels, −0.2%/lvl from Robot Assistants saves weeks per year.
• Only overhaul ships you use — Mecha's General Overhaul chain is excellent, but only for ships in your fleet.
• Slot 18 is the class amplifier — always path toward it eventually; it multiplies your class officer bonus.
• You get to choose your slot — use artefacts to guarantee the specific tech you want (see artefacts).

---

All Research Slots — Reference Table

Tier 1 (Slots 1–6)

#	Humans	Rock'tal	Mecha	Kaelesh
1	Intergalactic Envoys Discover species & gain EXP	Volcanic Batteries Energy Prod. +0.25%/lvl	Catalyser Technology Deut. Prod. +0.08%/lvl	Heat Recovery Flight costs −0.03%/lvl
2	High-Performance Extractors All Prod. +0.06%/lvl	Acoustic Scanning Crystal Prod. +0.08%/lvl	Plasma Drive All ship speed +0.2%/lvl	Sulphide Process Deut. Prod. +0.08%/lvl
3	Fusion Drives Civil ship speed +0.5%/lvl	High Energy Pump Systems Deut. Prod. +0.08%/lvl	Efficiency Module Flight costs −0.03%/lvl	Psionic Network Black Hole chance −0.05%/lvl
4	Stealth Field Generator Spy costs −0.1% / time −0.2%	Cargo Hold Expansion Civil ship cap. +0.4%/lvl	Depot AI Alliance Depot costs −0.1% / time −0.2%	Telekinetic Tractor Beam Expo fleet finds +0.2%/lvl
5	Orbital Den Storage capacity +4%/lvl	Magma-Powered Production All Prod. +0.08%/lvl	Gen. Overhaul: Light Fighter K-Tech/Speed/Cap. +0.3%/lvl	Enhanced Sensor Technology Expo resource finds +0.2%/lvl
6	Research AI Research time −0.1%/lvl	Geothermal Power Plants Energy Prod. +0.25%/lvl	Automated Transport Lines All Prod. +0.06%/lvl	Neuromodal Compressor Civil ship cap. +0.4%/lvl

Tier 2 (Slots 7–12)

#	Humans	Rock'tal	Mecha	Kaelesh
7	High-Performance Terraformer Costs −0.1% / time −0.2%	Depth Sounding Metal Prod. +0.06%/lvl	Improved Drone AI Spy costs −0.1% / time −0.2%	Neuro-Interface Research time −0.1%/lvl
8	Enhanced Production Technologies All Prod. +0.06%/lvl	Ion Crystal Enhancement K-Tech/Speed/Cap. +0.3%/lvl	Experimental Recycling Technology Recycler K-Tech/Speed/Cap. +1%/lvl	Interplanetary Analysis Network Phalanx range +0.6%/lvl
9	Light Fighter Mk II K-Tech/Speed/Cap. +0.3%/lvl	Improved Stellarator Plasma tech costs −0.15% / time −0.3%	Gen. Overhaul: Cruiser K-Tech/Speed/Cap. +0.3%/lvl	Overclocking: Heavy Fighter K-Tech/Speed/Cap. +0.3%/lvl
10	Cruiser Mk II K-Tech/Speed/Cap. +0.3%/lvl	Hardened Diamond Drill Heads Metal Prod. +0.08%/lvl	Slingshot Autopilot Return flight deut. −0.15%/lvl	Telekinetic Drive Expo round-trip −0.1%/lvl
11	Improved Lab Technology Research time −0.1%/lvl (cap 99%)	Seismic Mining Technology Crystal Prod. +0.08%/lvl	High-Temperature Superconductors Energy tech costs −0.1% / time −0.2%	Sixth Sense Expo resource finds +0.2%/lvl
12	Plasma Terraformer Costs −0.1% / time −0.2%	Magma-Powered Pump Systems Deut. Prod. +0.08%/lvl	Gen. Overhaul: Battleship K-Tech/Speed/Cap. +0.3%/lvl	Psychoharmoniser Production bonus +0.06%/lvl

Tier 3 (Slots 13–18)

#	Humans	Rock'tal	Mecha	Kaelesh
13	Low-Temperature Drives Spy probe costs −0.1% / time −0.2%	Ion Crystal Modules Prod. factor boost / Energy −0.1%/lvl	Artificial Swarm Intelligence All Prod. +0.06%/lvl	Efficient Swarm Intelligence Research time −0.1%/lvl
14	Bomber Mk II K-Tech/Speed/Cap. +0.3%/lvl	Optimised Silo Construction Silo costs −0.1% / time −0.2%	Gen. Overhaul: Battlecruiser K-Tech/Speed/Cap. +0.3%/lvl	Overclocking: Large Cargo K-Tech/Speed/Cap. +1%/lvl
15	Destroyer Mk II K-Tech/Speed/Cap. +0.3%/lvl	Diamond Energy Transmitter Energy tech costs −0.1% / time −0.2%	Gen. Overhaul: Bomber K-Tech/Speed/Cap. +0.3%/lvl	Gravitation Sensors Expo DM finds +0.1%/lvl
16	Battlecruiser Mk II K-Tech/Speed/Cap. +0.3%/lvl	Obsidian Shield Reinforcement Shield tech +0.5%/lvl	Gen. Overhaul: Destroyer K-Tech/Speed/Cap. +0.3%/lvl	Overclocking: Battleship K-Tech/Speed/Cap. +0.3%/lvl
17	Robot Assistants Research time −0.2%/lvl (cap 99%)	Rune Shields Shield tech costs −0.2% / time −0.2%	Experimental Weapons Technology Weapons tech costs −0.2% / time −0.2%	Psionic Shield Matrix Shield tech costs −0.2% / time −0.2%
18	Supercomputer Astro time −0.1%/lvl	Rock'tal Collector Enhancement Collector class bonus +0.2%/lvl	Mechan General Enhancement General class bonus +0.2%/lvl	Kaelesh Discoverer Enhancement Discoverer class bonus +0.2%/lvl

---

Required Buildings to Unlock All Slots

Minimum building levels needed to have all 18 slots available. Costs from ogamehelper.wordpress.com.

Humans — 8,924,970,882 MSU

Building	Level
Residential Sector	74
Biosphere Farm	68
Food Silo	42
Skyscraper	29
Biotech Lab	27
Academy of Sciences	15
Neuro-Calibration Centre	10

Rock'tal — 10,649,887,816 MSU

Building	Level
Crystal Farm	78
Meditation Enclave	75
Rune Forge	16
Oriktorium	11
Megalith	10
Mineral Research Centre	5

Mecha — 7,700,685,543 MSU

Building	Level
Fusion Cell Factory	83
Assembly Line	72
Chip Mass Production	30
Production Assembly Hall	22
Update Network	14
Quantum Computer Centre	9

Kaelesh — 7,271,131,512 MSU

Building	Level
Antimatter Condenser	74
Sanctuary	72
Chrysalis Accelerator	40
Psionic Modulator	11
Halls of Realisation	13
Antimatter Convector	22
Forum of Transcendence	9

---

Detailed Build Paths

• Rock'tal Discoverer Build Path — phase-by-phase guide with population milestones and research order

---

See Also

Lifeforms Overview · Humans · Rock'tal · Mecha · Kaelesh · Formulas