Dungeon Settlers Research Guide: What to Unlock First
Research should solve your current bottleneck, not follow a universal list. Prioritize survival infrastructure first, then production that unlocks the next equipment tier, then comfort or specialization. The best “next tech” depends on whether food, housing, gear, or dungeon progress is currently blocking you.
Use bottlenecks, not a rigid tier list
Pre-release research branches into processing, housing, cuisine and equipment-enabling technologies.
Because the developer has said the Early Access build differs substantially from the old demo, a fixed demo research order is likely to age badly. A bottleneck framework survives version changes better.
Decision framework
If settlers are starving → research food/cuisine chain improvements.
If production is blocked → research the processing node that unlocks the missing workstation or ingredient.
If expeditions are failing → prioritize equipment and combat-support production.
If recruitment is outpacing shelter → housing and comfort come before another weapon tier.
If everything is stable → research the branch that opens the next dungeon objective or resource conversion.
Known pre-release branches
Pre-release branches include metal processing, stone housing, leather processing, bone processing and improved cuisine.
Treat those names as pre-release examples, not fixed priorities or exact prerequisites.
Update after launch
After launch, this page will be updated with current nodes, prerequisites, costs and unlocks while keeping the bottleneck-first approach.