Rock'tal Build Path (Discoverer)

8 min read#ogame #lifeforms #rocktal #discoverer #guide #builds

Why Rock'tal as Discoverer?

Rock'tal is viable at any expedition volume — even 150+ per day. The production bonuses fund your expedition fleet and deuterium costs. The key is using a hybrid research strategy: take Rock'tal native production techs in most slots, but pick Kaelesh expedition techs whenever they appear in the four specific slots below. This gives you production infrastructure and expedition multipliers on the same planet.

Slot 18 — use artefacts to get Discoverer Enhancement

When you unlock slot 18, the Rock'tal native tech Rock'tal Collector Enhancement (Collector class bonus) will always appear as an option — but you can also get Kaelesh Discoverer Enhancement (+0.2%/lvl to Discoverer class bonus). Use 600 artefacts on slot 18 to guarantee the Kaelesh option. This makes slot 18 one of the highest priority slots for a Discoverer — it's the only slot in the entire Rock'tal tree that directly amplifies your class.

Optimal Research per Slot

Each slot offers a tech from all four lifeforms — native Rock'tal is guaranteed; the others appear randomly. Use artefacts to guarantee any non-native pick.

Priority rule: expo finds > all-resource production > metal > deut > crystal

Slot	Pick	Lifeform	Category	Why this beats the alternatives
1	Catalyser Technology	Mecha	Deut	Deut prod +0.08%/lvl. Rock'tal native gives energy +0.25% — deut ranks above energy per priority.
2	High-Performance Extractors	Humans	All-res	All-prod +0.06%/lvl (metal + crystal + deut). Rock'tal native gives crystal +0.08% only — less total value.
3	High Energy Pump Systems	Rock'tal	Deut	Only production option in this slot. Kaelesh gives flight cost reduction, Humans gives civil ship speed — both irrelevant.
4	Telekinetic Tractor Beam	Kaelesh	Expo	Expo fleet finds +0.2%/lvl. Alternative: Rock'tal Cargo Hold Expansion — bigger cargo = more loot per expedition, valid if you don't have artefacts.
5	Enhanced Sensor Technology	Kaelesh	Expo	Expo resource finds +0.2%/lvl. Rock'tal native is all-res +0.08% — expo beats all-res per priority.
6	Automated Transport Lines	Mecha	All-res	All-prod +0.06%/lvl (metal + crystal + deut). Rock'tal native is energy +0.25% — all-res ranks above energy per priority.
7	Depth Sounding	Rock'tal	Metal	Only production option in this slot. Metal +0.06%/lvl. All other lifeforms offer non-production techs here.
8	Enhanced Production Technologies	Humans	All-res	All-prod +0.06%/lvl. Rock'tal native is Heavy Fighter stats — useless for Discoverer.
9	Improved Stellarator	Rock'tal	Low value	No production in this slot for any lifeform. Plasma tech cost reduction is the least useless option.
10	Hardened Diamond Drill Heads	Rock'tal	Metal	Metal +0.08%/lvl. Kaelesh offers round-trip speed reduction — speed upgrades not worth it over production.
11	Sixth Sense	Kaelesh	Expo	Expo resource finds +0.2%/lvl. Rock'tal native is crystal +0.08% only.
12	Psychoharmoniser	Kaelesh	All-res	All-prod +0.06%/lvl (all three resources). Rock'tal native is deut +0.08% only — all-res beats single-resource per priority.
13	Artificial Swarm Intelligence	Mecha	All-res	All-resource prod +0.06%/lvl (metal + crystal + deut) directly. Rock'tal Ion Crystal Modules only helps if running Crawlers — indirect and conditional.
14	Overclocking: Large Cargo	Kaelesh	Low value	No production options in this slot. LC stats useful if running Large Cargo on expos. Otherwise pick based on fleet.
15	Gravitation Sensors	Kaelesh	Expo	Expo DM finds +0.1%/lvl. DM is more valuable per unit than metal/crystal/deut. All other lifeforms offer tech cost reductions or ship stats.
16	Obsidian Shield Reinforcement	Rock'tal	Low value	No production options. Defense +0.5%/lvl is marginally useful for staying alive.
17	Robot Assistants	Humans	Research time	Research time −0.2%/lvl (cap 99%) — fastest way to progress remaining research. Rock'tal/Mecha/Kaelesh all offer tech cost reductions that are far less impactful.
18	Kaelesh Discoverer Enhancement	Kaelesh	Expo (class)	Discoverer class bonus +0.2%/lvl. Rock'tal native amplifies Collector class only — zero benefit as Discoverer.

Artefact costs (non-native picks)

Non-native picks that may need artefacts to guarantee: slots 1, 2, 4, 5 (T1 = 200 each), slots 6, 8, 11, 12 (T2 = 400 each), slots 13, 14, 15, 18 (T3 = 600 each).
Maximum artefact cost if none appear randomly: 4,800. In practice most will appear as random offers eventually — save artefacts for the slots that don't cooperate.

Never spend artefacts on a tech that appeared randomly. Accept it and save the artefacts for slots still showing the wrong tech.

Population Thresholds

Each research slot requires a minimum population of that tier. All 6 slots of the previous tier must be unlocked before any slot of the next tier opens, regardless of population.

Slot	Tier	Population required
1	T1	200,000
2	T1	300,000
3	T1	400,000
4	T1	500,000
5	T1	750,000
6	T1	1,000,000
7	T2	1,200,000
8	T2	3,000,000
9	T2	5,000,000
10	T2	7,000,000
11	T2	9,000,000
12	T2	11,000,000
13	T3	13,000,000
14	T3	26,000,000
15	T3	56,000,000
16	T3	112,000,000
17	T3	224,000,000
18	T3	448,000,000

Phase 0 — Foundation (before first research slot)

Goal: reach 200,000 T1 Rock'tal

Buildings to build first

Building	Target	Why
Meditation Enclave	~21	T1 housing — the main population driver. Essentially free (9 Metal/3 Crystal at lvl 1, ×1.20)
Crystal Farm	~23	Food supply for the population. Also nearly free (7 Metal/2 Crystal at lvl 1, ×1.20)
Rune Technologium	1	Required to unlock the research tree at all
Megalith	3–5	−1%/level building cost reduction; self-improving, so build it early
Disruption Chamber	5–10	Provides energy for the Rune Forge later; ×1.20 factor so cheap to scale

Spam Meditation Enclave and Crystal Farm

Both buildings have a ×1.20 cost factor and absurdly cheap base costs. Level them together and keep food slightly ahead of population capacity. They are the only thing standing between you and all 18 research slots.

Phase 1 — T1 Research (Slots 1–6, 200k → 1M T1)

Goal: unlock and assign all 6 T1 slots

Building milestones

Research slot	T1 pop required	Approx. ME level	Approx. CF level
1	200,000	~21	~23
2	300,000	~25	~27
3	400,000	~28	~30
4	500,000	~31	~33
5	750,000	~37	~39
6	1,000,000	~42	~44

(ME/CF levels are estimates — verify in-game; the growth is roughly L^1.2)

Research investment priority

Slot	Research	Lifeform	Category	Prio
1	Catalyser Technology	Mecha	Deut	6
2	High-Performance Extractors	Humans	All-res	3
3	High Energy Pump Systems	Rock'tal	Deut	5
4	Telekinetic Tractor Beam	Kaelesh	Expo	2
5	Enhanced Sensor Technology	Kaelesh	Expo	1
6	Automated Transport Lines	Mecha	All-res	4

Parallel building work during Phase 1

While pushing ME/CF:

Rune Technologium → level 5–10 (each level saves 2% research time)
Megalith → level 5 (−5% Rock'tal building cost)
Begin Disruption Chamber → level 10

Phase 2 — T1→T2 Transition

Goal: accumulate 200,000 T2 Rock'tal (needed to unlock slot 7)

Prerequisite: all 6 T1 slots must be unlocked first.

Buildings

Building	Target	Why
Rune Forge	6–8	Converts T1 → T2. ×1.70 factor so it gets expensive fast — level just enough to generate T2 pop
Meditation Enclave	continue	T1 pop feeds the Rune Forge conversion
Crystal Farm	continue	food
Disruption Chamber	10–15	Rune Forge needs energy; Disruption Chamber is the cheapest source

Rune Forge costs scale aggressively

At ×1.70, level 10 costs ~6M Metal equivalent. Don't over-invest early — level it to generate T2 pop at the rate you need, not to max it out.

Phase 3 — T2 Research (Slots 7–12, 200k → 1M T2)

Goal: unlock and assign all 6 T2 slots

Building milestones

Same population pattern as T1, but now in T2 Rock'tal generated by the Rune Forge.

Research slot	T2 pop required
7	200,000
8	300,000
9	400,000
10	500,000
11	750,000
12	1,000,000

Research investment priority

Slot	Research	Lifeform	Category	Prio
7	Depth Sounding	Rock'tal	Metal	5
8	Enhanced Production Technologies	Humans	All-res	2
9	Improved Stellarator	Rock'tal	Low value	6
10	Hardened Diamond Drill Heads	Rock'tal	Metal	4
11	Sixth Sense	Kaelesh	Expo	1
12	Psychoharmoniser	Kaelesh	All-res	3

Phase 4 — T2→T3 Transition

Goal: accumulate 200,000 T3 Rock'tal

Prerequisite: all 6 T2 slots must be unlocked first.

Buildings

Building	Target	Why
Oriktorium	3–5	Converts T2 → T3. ×1.65 factor — expensive, level minimally at first
Rune Forge	10–12	Needs to generate enough T2 to feed the Oriktorium
Megalith	8–10	−8–10% on all Rock'tal buildings helps with Oriktorium costs
Rune Technologium	15+	−30% research time speeds up assigning T3 slots

Megalith before Oriktorium

Push Megalith to ~8–10 before seriously investing in the Oriktorium. The cost reduction directly applies to Oriktorium upgrades.

Phase 5 — T3 Research (Slots 13–18, 200k → 1M T3)

Goal: unlock all 6 T3 slots

Research investment priority

Slot	Research	Lifeform	Category	Prio
13	Artificial Swarm Intelligence	Mecha	All-res	2
14	Overclocking: Large Cargo	Kaelesh	Low (LC stats)	3
15	Gravitation Sensors	Kaelesh	Expo (DM finds)	4
16	Obsidian Shield Reinforcement	Rock'tal	Low (defense)	6
17	Robot Assistants	Humans	Research time	5
18	Kaelesh Discoverer Enhancement	Kaelesh	Expo (class)	1

Phase 6 — Long-Term Optimisation

Final building targets (to have all 18 slots available)

Building	Level	MSU cost to reach
Crystal Farm	78	—
Meditation Enclave	75	—
Rune Forge	16	—
Oriktorium	11	—
Megalith	10	—
Mineral Research Centre	5	—
Total		~10,649,887,816 MSU

Additional buildings worth investing in

Building	Recommended level	Effect
Rune Technologium	20+	−40% research time at lvl 20; stacks with Robot Assistants
Disruption Chamber	15–20	Energy production + consumption reduction; ×1.20 so cheap to level
Magma Forge	20+	Metal +2%/lvl; direct production building
Crystal Refinery	20+	Crystal +2%/lvl
Deuterium Synthesiser	20+	Deuterium +2%/lvl — high value for expedition fuel

Rock'tal Build Path (Discoverer)

Optimal Research per Slot

Artefact costs (non-native picks)

Population Thresholds

Phase 0 — Foundation (before first research slot)

Buildings to build first

Phase 1 — T1 Research (Slots 1–6, 200k → 1M T1)

Building milestones

Research investment priority

Parallel building work during Phase 1

Phase 2 — T1→T2 Transition

Buildings

Phase 3 — T2 Research (Slots 7–12, 200k → 1M T2)

Building milestones

Research investment priority

Phase 4 — T2→T3 Transition

Buildings

Phase 5 — T3 Research (Slots 13–18, 200k → 1M T3)

Research investment priority

Phase 6 — Long-Term Optimisation

Final building targets (to have all 18 slots available)

Additional buildings worth investing in

See Also