Academy and research

Quick answer: the Academy gives you permanent upgrades called research. Research never expires. You can research one thing at a time to start with, and research cannot be started while the Academy itself is being upgraded.

What research gives you

Open the Academy and pick a tree. Each node shows Current: and Next Level: so you can see what the next level adds, plus its requirements, cost and time.

Tree	What it improves (examples from the game)
Economy	Construction speed, food, stone, timber and metal harvesting, gathering speed for all resource tiles, protected resources in the Vault
Military	Troop training speed, scouting report accuracy, march speed, troop attack, defense and HP, and tier-2 troop unlocks
Army Leadership	Army capacity, gathering speed, gathering march speed, training speed, Ranged Phalanx and Cavalry Phalanx formations, Troop Presets (each level adds one preset slot, up to 5)
Upgrade Military	Cheaper training and healing for each troop type (for example “Footman Subsidy”, “Archer Subsidy”)
Defense	Trap research: unlocks Spikes, Archer Tower, Spiked Boulders, Metal Spikes, Sniper Tower, Rolling Logs; trap defense, damage and durability; wall strength
Upgrade Defense	Wall defense, wall repair rate and durability, trap durability, and a share of destroyed traps returned after a defense
Hunting	Monster-hunt bonuses (damage, loot, stamina). This tree only appears when the Hunting feature is switched on for your account.

A higher Academy level researches faster (“Upgrade to reduce research time”) and opens deeper nodes. The bonus of a research level starts when its timer ends.

Unlock tier-2 troops

Tier-2 troops are unlocked in the Military tree. There is one unlock node per troop type, and each has a single level:

Troop type	Research node	Tier-2 troop you can then train
Infantry	Unlock T2 Infantry	Footman
Siege	Unlock T2 Siege	Catapult
Ranged	Unlock T2 Ranged	Crossbow
Cavalry	Unlock T2 Cavalry	Heavy Cavalry

Each node needs Academy level 9 and the matching defense research of that troop type at level 5. The node’s own requirements list is always the final word, so check it before you plan. After the research finishes, the troop appears in the Barracks. See Troops and training.

Start, speed up and cancel research

1. Open the Academy, choose a tree, tap a node and check its requirements and cost.
2. Start the research. The Academy shows “Researching…” until the timer ends, then you get “The research process is complete.”
3. To shorten the timer, use Speed Up with Bag items. Research speed up (…) items work, and so do plain Speed up (…) items. Constructing and Training speed-ups do not work on research.
4. To stop it, choose Cancel Upgrade. You only get part of the resources back (“You’ll only recover 50% of the resources spent on this” is the warning shown). You cannot cancel once the timer has ended (“This research has already finished.”).

Check the item name before you use it: Research speed up (30 minutes) and Research speed up (30 days) are different items, and the speed-up window uses the whole item you pick.

Limits to know

• One research at a time to start with. If you try to start a second one you see “Research in progress! Please wait to start another.” The Academy gives you one research slot. You can only get more from Workshop gear that shows a Research Capacity stat: the game adds the bonus to your one slot and rounds down, so a second slot appears only once the combined bonus is big enough to reach a whole extra slot. You never have fewer than one slot.
• The Academy must not be upgrading. You see “The Academy is upgrading. Research will be available once the upgrade is complete.” Wait for the upgrade to finish, or speed it up (see Castle, buildings and speed-ups).
• A node at its top level says “Research maxed! No further upgrades possible.”

If something goes wrong

What you see	What to try
Research finished, but the game still says “Research in progress! Please wait to start another.”	A research slot is counted until the game finishes closing the research. Wait a minute after the timer ends, then close and reopen the game.
“Too many requests. Please wait.”	You tapped start more than once. Wait a few seconds and tap once.
“You don’t meet the requirements for this research yet.”	Open the node and read its requirements. Tier-2 unlocks need Academy level 9 and the matching defense research at level 5.
You used the wrong speed-up item	Items are used up when you confirm. Open a ticket with the time and the item name.

If research is still stuck after you reopen the game, open a ticket from Setting → More → Support (see Contact support). Include the research name and level, the message you saw, and when the timer should have ended.