Expansion and midgame fleets move faster.
Makes cruisers and colony ships 20% faster per level.
Impulse Drive directly improves colonization speed and mobile mid-tier combat. Its prerequisite levels also open several ships that define early expansion.
Heavy Fighters, Cruisers, Colony Ships and the route toward Hyperspace Drive.
⚡ Cruisers and colony ships gain +{pct}% speed.
Research time depends on the Research Laboratory level, the Intergalactic Research Network and the universe speed.
Each level multiplies the previous cost by ×2, so each further level gets steadily more expensive the further you push it.
| To level | Metal | Crystal | Deuterium |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2,000 | 4,000 | 600 |
| 2 | 4,000 | 8,000 | 1,200 |
| 5 | 32,000 | 64,000 | 9,600 |
| 10 | 1,024,000 | 2,048,000 | 307,200 |
| 15 | 32,768,000 | 65,536,000 | 9,830,400 |
| Requirement | Type | Level |
|---|---|---|
| Combustion Drive | Research | 2 |
| Energy Technology | Research | 5 |
Every one of these must be met before Impulse Drive can be ordered.
| Unlocked | Type | At level |
|---|---|---|
| Heavy Fighter | Ship | 2 |
| Impulse Drive (module) | Ship module | 3 |
| Science Ship | Ship | 3 |
| Colony Ship | Ship | 4 |
| Cruiser | Ship | 4 |
| Hyperspace Drive | Research | 5 |
| Colonisation Doctrine | Research | 6 |
See the full technology list or return to the codex index.