Research — the Circle of Knowledge

“Every research node is a piece of how the world was meant to be made, re-learned.” — The Seamkeeper’s Codex, Words of the World

The Circle of Knowledge runs one study at a time. The tree holds 64 nodes in seven branches — four core branches you’ll work from your first day, and three Elite branches whose effects reach alliance scale. Nodes have levels (many go to 5); prerequisites chain within each branch.

The four core branches

🌿 Verdant (13 nodes) — economy

Production, storage, construction speed, gathering. Home of your first studies (Verdant Abundance, Resonant Wells) and two gathering keystones: Laden Carts (march carry capacity) and March Capacity (troops per march). If your economy feels slow, the answer is usually here.

🛡 Warden (12 nodes) — troops

Troop attack/HP/defence — both across the board (Sharpened Steel, Iron Will) and per Strand (Shield of the Ancient for Earth, Biolume Agility for Water, Stalker’s Edge for Fire). Also the healing economy: Battle Medic (recovery rate & healing cost) and Font of Mercy (Healing Font capacity). Work this branch as you start fighting monster nodes.

🗺 Overseer (12 nodes) — marches & the map

The logistics branch, and home of the two most important nodes in the tree:

• Second March and Third March — unlock march slots 2 and 3. One march means choosing between gathering and fighting; two means doing both. Rush Second March.
• March speed (Fleet Feet, Forced March), scouting, and map intelligence fill out the branch.

📜 Scholar (12 nodes) — Guardians & research itself

Guardian attack/HP, guardian XP gain (Scholar’s Legacy), crit chance (Critical Resonance), synergy amplification (Primal Bond) — plus Accelerated Learning and Arcane Focus, which speed up all your future research. Scholar pays off most once you’re fighting regularly and leveling your Guardians.

The Elite branches (5 nodes each)

Develop Elite, Combat Elite, and Reign Elite sit past the core branches. Their effects are bigger and several operate at alliance scale (alliance-wide production, alliance healing capacity, member caps). A few reference systems that arrive in future updates — the nodes exist, and their bonuses will matter more as the world grows.

Priorities cheat-sheet

When	Study
Day 1	Verdant production nodes
Early	Second March (Overseer) — as soon as prerequisites allow
Starting to fight	Warden stat nodes + Battle Medic
Guardians leveling	Scholar branch
Never	Nothing. An idle Circle is the only true research mistake.

Note

Research costs scale with node and level — mostly Essence and Astral Ore, which is one of the two reasons gathering marches matter. (The other is everything else.)