Fast answer
The answer before the background
The best Infinitode 2 research priority is: first stabilize the opening with cheap economy and one main tower, then fund the second tower role that stops your repeated leak, then improve mining and modifiers when defense already survives. In mid game, concentrate on a roster of three to five towers instead of the whole tree. In late Endless, prioritize your carry's tower-specific nodes, sustainable difficulty, Bit Dust and farming efficiency, then Prestige quality-of-life. Save Research Tickets for expensive nodes you need now, not cheap early upgrades.
Research order
A stage-by-stage priority for the current research tree
| Stage | Priority order | Move on when | Delay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Early story | Cheap starting economy → practical damage/range for one main tower → the missing crowd, heavy-target, or air role | The first waves stabilize and the repeated enemy leak has a direct answer. | Prestige, broad item conversion, and expensive towers not used on the next map. |
| Early mining | Miner unlocks → mining speed/capacity needed for the next research costs → enough defense to protect the payback window | A farm reliably finishes with more of the target resource per minute. | Mining upgrades that cause earlier losses or produce resources you do not need. |
| Mid game | Three-to-five-tower roster → shared control/support → modifier efficiency → targeted economy and XP/PWR growth | Several story and farming maps use the same researched core. | Equal investment in all 16 towers. |
| Early Endless | Main carry's tower-specific nodes → difficulty you can sustain → Bit Dust and resource multipliers → map-specific support | Higher difficulty increases net output without making the run fragile. | Maximum selectable difficulty with poor clear speed. |
| Prestige and late Endless | LF/LR and loot quality → Prestige quality-of-life → costly final nodes with Research Tickets | The node changes a repeatable farm, high-difficulty run, or reset cycle. | Using rare tickets simply to make the tree look complete. |
Decision rule
Research the bottleneck that ended the last three runs
| Observed bottleneck | Research next | Evidence to check |
|---|---|---|
| Opening is too expensive | Starting economy, build or upgrade efficiency, and the first tower's low-cost power | Do you stabilize one wave earlier without selling or leaking? |
| One durable enemy escapes | Sniper, Minigun, Venom, or another effective single-target route plus targeting/range | Does damage land on the dangerous target rather than weak traffic? |
| Dense groups overwhelm the lane | Multishot, Splash, Flamethrower, and shared Freezing support | Does the tower keep hitting several useful targets inside one control zone? |
| Flying enemies cause the only leaks | A flexible air-capable tower or dedicated Antiair research | Can existing Multishot, Minigun, Splash, or Missile coverage solve it more cheaply? |
| Defense survives but resources are slow | Miner speed, capacity, mining modifiers, resource multiplier, and the relevant farm | Does target-resource output per minute rise after run costs? |
| High difficulty is unstable | Carry-specific damage, control, survivability margin, then smaller difficulty steps | Does a lower setting generate more Bit Dust or resources per minute? |
| Inventory is full of weak items | Loot frequency/rarity and Prestige conversion quality-of-life | Are you improving useful drops or only creating more sorting work? |
Version 1.9
Why old Infinitode 2 research orders are now misleading
| Version 1.9 change | What it means for priority |
|---|---|
| 96 free tower-specific nodes unlock through using each tower | Play and measure a tower before buying around it; tower use now contributes directly to its research path. |
| More than 100 research nodes were added overall | A completionist left-to-right order spreads scarce resources too thin. |
| Several global damage, attack-speed, range, and related upgrades were reduced | Tower-specific investment carries more of a build's final power than an old universal route suggests. |
| Tower-specific research was broadly strengthened | A small researched roster now beats shallow investment in every tower more decisively. |
| Starting XP research was removed and towers begin at level 1 | Use the replacement PWR-per-level path, XP gain, abilities, and good placement instead of searching for an obsolete starting-XP node. |
| Mining was accelerated and miner item capacity increased | Economy research is more attractive once the defense can protect it, but target-resource efficiency still matters. |
| Regular levels gained rotating resource, Green Papers, and Bit Dust bonuses | The research plan should follow the current bottleneck and live farming opportunity rather than one permanent map. |
Branch guide
Normal, Endless, and Prestige branches solve different problems
| Branch | Prioritize it when | Good investment | Common trap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Normal and global | Story unlocks and cheap shared upgrades still produce the largest immediate change | Economy, necessary unlocks, modifier utility, and affordable stats used every run | Buying every visible global node before funding the tower that actually carries. |
| Tower-specific | One tower appears in most successful runs | Its practical damage, range, ability, farming, and free-use nodes | Maxing a tower because a tier list said S without checking mode or enemy coverage. |
| Miner and resource | Defense survives and the next account wall is a repeatable material cost | Mining speed, source capacity, useful modifiers, and target-resource multipliers | Producing low-tier excess while Tensor, Infiar, or Bit Dust remains the bottleneck. |
| Endless | Normal progress is secure and higher difficulty or caps improve a real farm | Carry scaling, sustainable difficulty, Bit Dust, and map-specific support | Raising difficulty faster than clear speed and stability can support. |
| Prestige | Quest resets, map sales, loot quality, or conversion are now part of the repeatable loop | LF/LR, sale/conversion quality-of-life, and reset efficiency | Prestiging assets without previewing the return or protecting a working farm. |
Research Tickets
Use tickets on price, urgency, and impact—not rarity alone
- Open the node and compare its full resource cost with the expensive nodes reachable soon.
- Use a ticket when the node is both costly and immediately changes your main carry, farming rate, difficulty ceiling, or Prestige loop.
- Buy cheap early nodes normally; a rare ticket should not replace resources you can earn in one short run.
- Do not spend a ticket only because the node is the next visible prerequisite. Map the branch to the actual goal first.
- Community routes mention late repeatable ticket opportunities, but confirm the current 5.b2, 6.4, quest, and Prestige UI before planning around a reward.
Community guides describe reset options for much of the tree, but costs, exclusions, and returned resources can change. Read the current reset preview before confirming; this guide does not promise a free or complete refund.
One-page plan
The low-regret research checklist
- Name the next goal: story clear, one resource, Bit Dust, a boss, or Prestige.
- Identify the repeated failure or cost that blocks that goal.
- Choose one carry and at most two supporting tower roles for the next set of runs.
- Buy the cheapest node that changes that bottleneck, then test it before buying sideways.
- Use tower statistics and net farming output per minute to validate the result.
- Save enough resources for the next known unlock instead of emptying inventory into convenient low-impact nodes.
FAQ
Common questions
What should I research first in Infinitode 2?
Start with cheap economy and the practical damage, range, or upgrade efficiency of one main tower. Then research the second role that directly stops your repeated crowd, durable-target, or air leak.
Should I research every tower in Infinitode 2?
No. Use different towers enough to unlock and understand their free nodes, but concentrate paid resources on a three-to-five-tower roster that covers your current modes and enemy types.
What changed in the Infinitode 2 version 1.9 research tree?
Prineside added more than 100 nodes, including 96 free tower-specific nodes unlocked through tower use, reduced parts of the global tree, strengthened tower-specific research, and replaced starting-XP research with PWR-per-level progression.
When should I start Endless research?
Start when Normal progression is stable and an Endless node raises a real carry, difficulty ceiling, Bit Dust rate, or repeatable farm. Do not fund it only because the branch is visible.
What should I spend Research Tickets on?
Use them on expensive, high-impact nodes that immediately improve your main build or farming loop. Buy cheap nodes with normal resources and inspect future branch costs before confirming.
Sources
What we checked
Official listings establish current availability and product facts. Community pages are used for mechanics and build history, then labeled separately.
- OfficialOfficial version 1.9 research notes
- CommunityCommunity research-tree reference
- CommunityVersion 1.9.2 community walkthrough
- CommunityCurrent community research discussion
- CommunityCommunity Prestige reference