Conquer The World WW2 Research Planner

This planner turns the research priorities from Research & Nukes into a checklist you can follow directly in your research panel. It is written as a general-purpose sequence — adjust the order slightly based on your nation’s starting resources and whether you are playing a major power or a small nation, but the underlying logic (industry first, then a focused branch, then optionally nukes) holds for almost every nation.

How to use this checklist

Treat each section below as a phase rather than a strict queue — within a phase, order individual techs based on what your economy (see Economy & Factories) can currently afford, and do not move to the next phase until the current one is substantially complete. Use the interactive checklist at the top of this page to track unlocks in your browser, and keep the markdown list below as your written reference.

Phase 1 — Foundation (first priority, every match)

• Industry I
• Industry II
• At least one infantry equipment upgrade
• Confirm your resource map so you know what industry to expect (see Economy & Factories)

Industry research reduces factory construction time and increases output per factory, and this compounds throughout the entire match — delaying it to chase military tech early is one of the most common mistakes new players make.

Phase 2 — Pick a military focus

Once Phase 1 is underway, choose one primary military branch to invest in based on your defensive needs and your nation’s tier list position:

• Additional infantry equipment tiers, if you expect to fight primarily defensive, manpower-heavy wars
• Early armor research, if your economy can support the higher resource cost
• Early air research, if you want reconnaissance or air support before committing to armor

Avoid splitting research evenly across all three at this stage — a small nation especially cannot afford to spread this thin, per Small Nation Tips.

Phase 3 — Decide on the nuclear chain

Before investing further, honestly assess whether your economy can support the full nuclear research chain. This phase is realistic mainly for major powers or small nations that have grown significantly:

• Uranium Mining (confirm your territory has accessible uranium first, or plan a trade deal / puppet arrangement per Diplomacy)
• Uranium Enrichment
• Bomber I
• Bomber II
• Nuke research

If your economy cannot comfortably support this chain without starving your conventional military, skip it for now and revisit once your industry (Phase 1) has grown further.

Phase 4 — Round out your military tech

Once your primary focus from Phase 2 is solid and you have made a decision on Phase 3, fill in the remaining branches so you are not caught with an outdated army in any single category:

• Remaining infantry equipment tiers
• Armor research, if not already prioritized in Phase 2
• Air research, if not already prioritized in Phase 2
• Naval research, if your nation has meaningful coastline or overseas territory

When to deviate from this order

This checklist assumes a fairly standard match. Deviate from it if:

• You are under immediate military threat — pause the plan and prioritize whatever conventional tech directly addresses the threat, per Warfare.
• You are playing a resource-poor small nation without realistic access to uranium even through trade — skip Phase 3 entirely and focus your research budget on Phases 1, 2, and 4.
• A recent balance update (see Updates) has changed research costs significantly enough that this order no longer reflects the most efficient path.

Related reading

For the reasoning behind each phase, read the full Research & Nukes guide. For how your economy determines how fast you move through these phases, see Economy & Factories, and for how diplomacy can substitute for missing resources like uranium, read Diplomacy.