Codex — Tech
Three research branches — military, economic, and science — five levels each.
Military branch
Reach and reaction speed institutionalized: doctrine reform unlocks mobile formations and mountain corridors; mid tiers add armor, suppression, and amphibious tools; apex systems strike faster than defenders can respond.
- Military L1 — Infantry improvement — Formalized infantry doctrine yields faster, deadlier mobile formations; select factions unlock first regional specialists.
- Military L2 — Mountain access & heavy ground — Engineering clears mountain movement while heavy armor and support weapons reach the line.
- Military L3 — Siege technology — Precision long-range fire and assault breakers make fortified cities vulnerable to organized pushes.
- Military L4 — Elite warfare — Air, autonomous drone swarms, and cyber enter doctrine together — every fight becomes multi-domain.
- Military L5 — Military doctrine — Full-spectrum mastery: harder-hitting units plus hypersonic strike — a one-use strategic reach to any map point.
Economic branch
Infrastructure won the Fracture: roads feed armies, ports turn coasts into nodes, logistics extracts value from territory others merely occupy.
- Economic L1 — Roads I — First paved corridors connect cities and seed the highway network that decides real income.
- Economic L2 — Ports — Coastal cities gain port infrastructure, maritime trade, and first naval scouts over open water.
- Economic L3 — Roads II — Second-generation roads widen capacity and returns on connected territory.
- Economic L4 — Logistics — Centralized supply chains and predictive routing yield a measurable economy-wide income multiplier.
- Economic L5 — Infrastructure maximum — Road and port networks reach their Red Age ceiling — physical throughput is optimized.
Science branch
Slowest, least forgiving path: few combat unlocks early, but compounding science, Recon Drone vision, and the non-military win condition reward sustained investment.
- Science L1 — Research center — Dedicated lab infrastructure in integrated cities scales base science with territory held.
- Science L2 — Science boost I — Better methodology lifts facility output; first autonomous recon drone enters production.
- Science L3 — Science boost II — A second methodology wave compresses timelines so remaining tiers cost fewer real turns.
- Science L4 — Tech acceleration — Science integrated into command logistics grants an extra action point each turn.
- Science L5 — Tech breakthrough — Foundational breakthrough declared — the tech-victory countdown begins if you can hold integrated cities through it.