Research Routing
MENACE Research Priority Guide
Research priority only makes sense in relation to the campaign blocker you are actually facing. Survivability, control, anti-armor, and support all matter, but not at the same moment and not for the same reason.
Research Tracks That Matter
| Track | When to Move Here | What to Delay |
|---|---|---|
| Stability and survivability | Start here when ordinary missions are still expensive and the roster cannot absorb average attrition cleanly. | Delay prestige branches that only matter once the campaign is already under control. |
| Information and control | Prioritize when bad reads, messy contact, or weak suppression value are costing more than missing damage. | Delay narrow payoff upgrades that assume you already own tempo and sightlines. |
| Anti-armor and breach | Move here when hard targets become a repeating tax instead of a one-off annoyance. | Delay extra generalist comfort if the campaign keeps stalling on one durable obstacle. |
| OCI support and force projection | Best when the ground plan is already coherent enough to convert ship-side support into cleaner wins. | Delay big support dreams if the roster still fails for simpler reasons on the ground. |
Phase-Based Research Decisions
| Campaign Phase | Focus | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Early campaign | Stability, recovery, and one clean way to control ordinary fights | Late-game prestige branches before the roster can survive normal pressure cheaply |
| Mid campaign | The exact bottleneck now repeating in briefings: armor, range, control, or mission read | Researching broadly in every direction and arriving everywhere half-prepared |
| Late campaign | Tight upgrades that strengthen proven packages and support final mission demands | Major experimentation that resets focus too late to pay back |
Research should remove the current blocker
The strongest-looking node is not automatically the best node. The best research is the one that changes what the next several briefings feel like.
Do not confuse late power with urgent power
This page is not a fake node spreadsheet. Some branches look amazing once complete but are wrong when the roster still dies to ordinary pressure.
Focused research beats polite diversification
Half-funding every idea often creates a campaign that is underprepared for the exact problem already on the table.
FAQ
What should I research first in MENACE?
Research the branch that makes your core squads more stable in average missions. If ordinary operations are still too expensive, bigger tech dreams are premature.
When should I pivot into specialist research?
When a problem has become a repeated campaign tax rather than a one-off panic moment. Specialization should answer a pattern.
What is the most common research mistake?
Buying the coolest branch instead of the branch that changes the next several decisions. Research quality is measured by campaign relief, not by headline glamour.
Last updated: July 11, 2026.