Best Research Order

The best RimWorld research order is not fixed; it is a survival priority list that changes with biome, scenario, pawn skills, map resources, and current threats.

01Overview

There is no single perfect research order for every RimWorld colony. A desert colony with no wood, a tribal colony without electricity, a mountain base fighting infestations, and a crashlanded colony rushing fabrication all have different needs. The best order solves the problem that will kill you soonest.

Experienced players usually think in phases: early survival, mid-game stability, industrial independence, and late-game power. Research that looks strong on paper is a trap if it does not solve the colony's current bottleneck.

02Why It Matters

Research is time, and time is danger. Every project delays every other project. If your researcher is chasing luxury furniture while food rots, medicine is weak, and power fails every eclipse, the colony is spending intellectual labor in the wrong place.

Good research order also controls wealth. Research unlocks expensive buildings and gear; if you build them before defenses and supply chains can support them, you may accelerate raid difficulty without improving survival enough.

03Practical Uses

For a typical crashlanded start, prioritize batteries if power is unreliable, then defensive and food-supporting technologies as needed. Microelectronics is a major strategic unlock because it opens comms, orbital trade, better benches, and stronger long-term choices. Hospital beds and sterile improvements become important once injuries and disease threaten skilled pawns.

Geothermal is excellent when geysers are defensible and components are available. Fabrication is a long-term independence goal, not an emergency button. It matters because components eventually become the spine of advanced colonies.

04Strengths

04A flexible research plan adapts to biome, scenario, and current threats.

05Survival-first research prevents flashy but useless tech rushes.

01Microelectronics and fabrication create strong long-term economic options.

02Medical and power research reduce disaster cascades.

05Weaknesses

05Strict research lists can be wrong for unusual maps or challenge runs.

01Tribal starts need a different timeline because early research is slower.

02Rushing advanced projects can create expensive buildings you cannot maintain.

03Ignoring mood or food tech because it seems boring can cost more than military delays.

06Community Opinions

Community advice on research order is varied, but the pattern is consistent: solve immediate survival first, then unlock trade and infrastructure, then chase advanced production. Players debate batteries versus passive coolers, geothermal timing, and how early to rush microelectronics, but few veterans recommend luxury research while food, medicine, and defense are weak.

Many players also warn against treating research as a universal checklist. Biome, storyteller, difficulty, and DLC systems change priorities. An ice sheet colony values power and food security differently than a temperate forest colony.

07Common Mistakes

02Researching impressive luxury projects while the freezer, hospital, and defenses are unfinished.

03Rushing geothermal without components, construction skill, or a defensible geyser.

04Delaying microelectronics so long that trade and comms stay underdeveloped.

05Ignoring medicine and hospital upgrades until the first plague or bad surgery chain.

01Building every unlocked technology immediately, even when it bloats wealth.

02Using one fixed order for every biome and scenario.

08Recommendations

For most crashlanded colonies, think in this order: stabilize food and power, unlock trade and communication, improve medical reliability, secure stable power, then move toward fabrication and advanced gear. If the map is cold, hot, tribal, mountain-based, or resource-poor, adjust the order around the actual bottleneck.

My practical rule: research the thing that removes the most dangerous dependency. Batteries remove weather dependence from early power. Microelectronics removes isolation. Hospital beds reduce medical risk. Fabrication reduces component dependence. Geothermal reduces fuel and sunlight dependence.

09Related Articles

Use this with Research Tree, Research Benches, Power Grid Design, Hospital Design, and Wealth Control Guide.