Diplomacy is Not an Option Research & Tech Tree Guide

In this Diplomacy is Not an Option Research & Tech Tree Guide, I'll explain how research and the tech tree work in this RTS game from Door 407.

How Diplomacy is Not an Option Research Works

Diplomacy is Not an Option research is a little unusual. While some RTS games require you to research at a specific building, everything is taken care of at one universal interface. Here are the key points you need to know:

You Can Only Research One Thing at a Time (And You Can't Cancel It)

You can only research one thing at a time, and most research takes between 1-3 minutes. Considering the short length of an in-game day, you should always make an effort to prioritize the most useful research first.

Additionally, there are no takesie-backsies with research; once you start it, you cannot cancel it. You can't get a refund for the resources you've spent, either. Make sure you're certain about starting research before you do something irreversible.

Research Requires Buildings (and Sometimes, Buildings of a Higher Level)

Research is tied to specific buildings. In most cases, you'll be able to research everything right away, but there are a few research items that require you to research something else first.

You do not actually need to keep a building around to access its research. If the associated building is destroyed, you'll still have access to that research.

Research Has Trade-Offs

The vast majority of research in the game is beneficial. However, that isn't always the case.

Currently, the only major examples are tied to the Hammerguy, a high-end melee unit. You can unlock a special ability that increases the Hammerguy's damage, but it also increases the chance of him taking damage. Similarly, you can permanently increase the damage of all of your Hammerguys, but they'll also move slower as a result.

Aside from these tradeoffs, you'll also have to spend resources and time to do it. Use the spare resources to improve your units if you can, but remember: research alone can't fight off an invading horde.

Diplomacy is Not an Option Research List

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Townhall I

• Comfortable Shoes
  • X
  • X
  • Lumberjacks, Miners, Berry pickers, Fishermen, and Farmers get +10% movement speed.
• Advanced Toolkits I
  • 40 Wood
  • 1 minute, 30 seconds
  • Builder gets +10% building and repair speed.
• Stained Wood
  • 140 Wood
  • 2 minutes, 30 seconds
  • Wooden Wall, Wooden Tower, Wooden Gates, and Watchtower get +30% durability.

Townhall II

• Sport Shoes
  • 15 Iron
  • 2 minutes, 30 seconds
  • Lumberjacks, Miners, Berry pickers, Fishermen, and Farmers get +10% movement speed.
• Advanced Toolkits II
  • 30 Stone
  • 1 minute, 30 seconds
  • Builder gets +10% building and repair speed.
• Sturdy Concrete I
  • X
  • X
  • Stone Walls I & II, Stone Towers I & II, Massive towers I & II, and Stone Gates I & II get +30% durability.

Townhall III

• Sturdy Concrete II
  • 60 Iron
  • 3 minutes, 30 seconds
  • Stone Walls I & II, Stone Towers I & II, Massive towers I & II, and Stone Gates I & II get +30% durability.
• Enhanced Foundations
  • Requires "Sturdy Concrete II" research.
  • 50 Wood, 50 Stone
  • 2 minutes
  • House I, House II, and House III get +40% durability.
• Blue Suede Shoes
  • 2 Gold
  • 3 minutes
  • Lumberjacks, Miners, Berry pickers, Fishermen, and Farmers get +10% movement speed.
• Personal Toolkits
  • 25 Iron
  • 2 minutes
  • Builder gets +10% building and repair speed.

Barracks I

• Mongoose Reflexes
  • 20 Stone
  • 1 minute
  • Swordsmen get a 15% chance to avoid damage from single target attacks.
• Sharpshooter
  • 20 Stone
  • 1 minute, 30 seconds
  • Archers get a 20% chance to deal double damage.

Barracks II

• Quad Cure
  • 30 Wood
  • 2 minutes
  • Healers get +50% healing power.
• Harsh Training
  • 20 Iron
  • 1 minute
  • Spearmen get +40% health.
• Quick Reload
  • 20 Iron
  • 3 minutes
  • Crossbowmen get +30% attack speed.

Barracks III

• Blacksmith Guild
  • 25 Stone
  • 3 minutes, 30 seconds
  • Hammerguys get +30% training speed.
• Infected Mushroom
  • Requires "Blacksmith Guild" research.
  • 3 Gold
  • 2 minutes, 30 seconds
  • Hammerguys get a new active ability with the following stats:
    • +50% damage
    • +50% movement speed
    • +30% damage taken
    • 10-second duration
    • 300-second cooldown
• Cast-Iron Hammer
  • Requires "Blacksmith Guild" research.
  • 25 Iron
  • 1 minute, 30 seconds
  • Hammerguys get +25% damage and -15% movement speed.

Engineer Guild I

• Conveyor Method
  • 40 Wood
  • 3 minutes, 30 seconds
  • Catapults get +40% training speed.
• Big Rocks
  • 30 Stone
  • 2 minutes
  • Catapults get +25% hit area.

Engineer Guild II

• Manufacturing Production
  • 25 Stone
  • 4 minutes
  • Trebuchets get +30% training speed.
• Shrapnel Projectiles
  • 25 Iron
  • 3 minutes, 30 seconds
  • Trebuchets get +15% hit area.
• Foolproof Charge
  • 25 Iron
  • 3 minutes, 30 seconds
  • Ballistae get +30% attack speed.

Hospital

• Hygiene
  • 25 Stone
  • 1 minute, 30 seconds
  • Disease has -25% spread change.
• Urgency Bonus
  • 25 Stone
  • 3 minutes
  • Gravediggers get +20% movement speed.
• General Wards
  • 30 Wood
  • 2 minutes, 30 seconds
  • Hospitals have +5 beds.

Market

• Market Regulations
  • 6 Gold
  • 3 minutes
  • Markets get a better exchange rate.
• Greased Propeller
  • 3 Gold
  • 3 minutes
  • Zeppelins get +40$ movement speed.

University

• Dietetics
  • 3 Gold
  • 3 minutes, 30 seconds
  • Citizens and troops consume 20% less food.
• Urban Planning I
  • 35 Wood
  • 3 minutes
  • Townhall generates +10 citizens/day
• Urban Planning II
  • Requires "Urban Planning I" research.
  • 35 Stone
  • 3 minutes
  • Townhall generates +10 citizens/day

How the Diplomacy is Not an Option Tech Tree Works

The Diplomacy is Not an Option tech tree is a little different than what you might be used to, especially when it comes to buildings.

Troops and siege weapons are built at the Barracks and Engineer Guild, respectively. Making a troop or a siege engine permanently converts a Free Worker into that unit. Conversely, civilian buildings like the Lumbermill I or the Iron Mine I will assign jobs to Free Workers, but you can unassign them from the task or destroy the building and get those Free Workers back.

There are only two dedicated buildings for producing specialized units: the Barracks (for troops) and the Engineer Guild (for siege engines).

Certain buildings have multiple tiers such as House I, House II, and House III. You cannot build a higher-tier building without advancing the Townhall to a higher level. For example, you cannot build a Market or a Lumbermill II without upgrading to a Townhall II first. From there, you can opt to upgrade your other buildings individually or build new ones.

How to Upgrade Buildings in Diplomacy is Not an Option

You have two options for upgrading buildings in Diplomacy is Not an Option.

1. You can build a higher-level building for its full cost. For example, a House I costs 25 Wood, but a House II costs 25 Wood and 14 Stone.
2. You can upgrade an existing building for the difference in its full cost. For example, you can upgrade a House I to a House II for only 14 Stone; the 25 Wood was already covered when you first built the House I.

Diplomacy is Not an Option Tech Tree

Diplomacy is Not an Option Units List

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Barracks I

• Swordsman
  • 1 Food
  • 1 Free Worker
• Archer
  • 3 Wood
  • 1 Food
  • 1 Free Worker

Barracks II

• Spearman
  • 1 Iron
  • 2 Food
  • 1 Free Worker
• Healer
  • 2 Wood
  • 2 Food
  • 1 Free Worker
• Crossbowman
  • 4 Wood
  • 1 Iron
  • 2 Food
  • 1 Free Worker

Barracks III

• Hammerguy
  • 2 Wood
  • 2 Iron
  • 3 Food
  • 1 Gold
  • 1 Free Worker
• Horseman
  • 1 Iron
  • 5 Food
  • 1 Gold
  • 1 Free Worker

Engineer Guild I

• Catapult
  • 5 Wood
  • 2 Stone
  • 2 Food
  • 1 Free Worker

Engineer Guild II

• Ballista
  • 5 Wood
  • 2 Iron
  • 2 Food
  • 1 Free Worker
• Trebuchet
  • 30 Wood
  • 6 Stone
  • 6 Iron
  • 10 Food
  • 1 Gold
  • 1 Free Worker