Research Priorities

Quick answers

Is Iron Realms free to play?

Yes. Iron Realms is free to play in any browser with no download. Play offline with no account, or sign in to join the live realm. Nothing is for sale during the Alpha; when purchases open they will buy speed and cosmetics, never a higher ceiling.

Does spending money make you stronger in Iron Realms?

No. Nothing purchasable raises your power ceiling. A charter audit runs on every build and fails it if any offer would sell power. During the Alpha nothing is for sale at all — better than that, the store gives its goods away: everything in it is free to take, once a day per item, while the realm is being built. When payments do open, spending will compress time only: it clears timers, it never raises the summit.

How long does it take to max a keep in Iron Realms?

Keeps cap at level 45 and troops at tier 13 — the same summit for everyone, and it is a campaign: about seven months of steady play at half an hour a day, counting keep 45 and the nineteen plots that gate it. The Fair Play ledger inside the game reads that figure straight out of the shipped constants, so it is never a month behind the build.

Research compounds. A study finished early pays its bonus for the rest of the season. Getting the order right is one of the highest-leverage decisions you make.

The five disciplines

The Academy is not one list. It is five branches with different shapes, and knowing the shape tells you where to spend:

Discipline	Studies	What it moves
Economy	21	Production, gathering, build speed
Military	24	Attack, defense, training speed, march size
Defence	18	Keep defense, and siege attack
Dominion	18	March speed, production, gathering
Dragon Lore	16	Dragon-gated attack, march, gathering

The rule that decides the whole order

Every discipline opens with a small number of root studies that pay 2–3% per level over 20 levels, and then broadens into a long tail of specialisations that pay 1–1.5% per level over 5–15 levels. The roots are worth roughly double per level and go twice as deep.

So the priority is not "economy then military" — it is every root first, every tail second:

• Agriculture — +3%/level to production over 20 levels. The single best study in the game, and it has no prerequisites. Start here on day one.
• Drilling — +2.5%/level to training speed over 20.
• Dragon Fire — +2.5%/level to attack over 10.
• Weaponry / Armor / Logistics / Statecraft / Fortification — +2%/level, 10–20 levels each.

Agriculture alone is +60% production at max. Every 1.2% specialisation in the economy branch put together does not change your realm as much as finishing that one study early does.

Economy before war — for a reason

Economy studies accelerate everything else, including your military research. A build-speed point compounds; an attack point does not. Front-load the economy roots, and the military roots will finish sooner than if you had rushed them.

Where the tails are still worth it

The 1.2% specialisations are not filler — they are simply later. Two exceptions worth pulling forward:

• Siege Craft (+1.5%/level attack) — you cannot take a Seat of Power without siege, and trap losses are permanent.
• Dracarys Doctrine and Fire and Blood Doctrine (+1.5% and +2%/level) — the deepest dragon studies pay root-tier rates despite being tail studies. If you have a grown dragon, they are underrated.

Advanced research

The advanced tier unlocks at level 10, and advanced levels consume Valyrian steel — one bar per level past ten — on top of the food, wood, stone and iron every study now costs. Until then the tree is deliberately shallow — do not stall your keep trying to force studies you cannot reach yet.

Use both study slots

Unlock and keep both research desks busy. The second one opens at VIP 2 or 800 prestige — 800 sits between Banneret (700) and Lord (1,500) on the prestige ladder, so it is a real mid-game milestone rather than something you simply have. A second desk doubles your research throughput and is one of the best investments in the game. Never leave the Academy idle — and remember the Maesters' Conclave world event pays +30% research speed, the largest single event multiplier there is. Bank a long study and start it when the Conclave opens.