Research is the permanent unlock layer. Choose the next node by the building or system your settlement needs, not by an unverified universal order.
Research is Hearth and Hamlet’s permanent expansion layer. The official release page says the tree unlocks technologies, advanced buildings, policies, magic, and upgrades. The building range runs from tents and taverns through castles, defensive fortifications, alchemical labs, and magical academies. That confirms the direction of progression without proving a single best node order.
Choose an unlock by what it changes
Before spending a research reward, identify the system that is currently blocked. A production or storage bottleneck calls for the building or upgrade that directly expands that capacity. A policy bottleneck calls for the research branch that exposes the needed rule. Magic, alchemy, trade, and soldiers are later system directions confirmed by the store, but they should not displace an opening upgrade that keeps food, wood, stone, gold, or workers functioning.
The visible live description is the decision source. Record what the node unlocks, what it costs, and which existing building or resource it depends on. Do not infer that a visually adjacent node is required unless the current tree shows that connection.
Separate release facts from demo history
The official Steam Next Fest patch added several buildings, new research options, Advisor research in the Leader’s Hut or Manor, and access to gold. It also rebalanced research rewards. Those notes are useful for recognizing system names and for understanding that quality-of-life research existed during development. They are not a current cost table.
The same patch invalidated older demo saves because of backend changes. That makes a strict boundary necessary: use demo notes to identify what changed, and use the release build to verify what now unlocks where.
A practical research sequence
- Read the requirement for the next settlement objective.
- Identify whether resources, storage, workers, policy access, trade, magic, or defense blocks it.
- Compare only the research nodes that affect that blocker.
- Buy one node and confirm the promised building or system appears.
- Reassign workers with the workers and resources guide if the new building changes demand.
This sequence stays useful even when balance values change. It also prevents a common incremental-game mistake: buying the most visually exciting branch while the settlement’s basic production cannot support it.
Sources
QUICK ANSWERS
Questions players ask next
Is research permanent in Hearth and Hamlet?
The official release listing describes research as permanently unlocking technologies, buildings, policies, magic, and upgrades.
Which Hearth and Hamlet building should I unlock first?
Choose the building that removes the current resource, storage, worker, policy, or defense bottleneck. The official sources do not establish one universal release-build order.