Editing Welcome to the Relay Network (section)

=== The research tree ===

The research tree is account-wide. Once a node is unlocked, every bay benefits. Unlocks cost Salvage plus a basket of items, and they cannot be undone.

There are 18 nodes plus one completionist apex.

The four cosmetic apex titles (<strong>Thermal Master, Economic Engineer, Status Watchdog, Relay Architect</strong>) each require finishing their full branch. Each one gives you a trophy and a research-themed title you can set.

<strong>Network Sovereign</strong> sits on top of all four apexes. It also requires every bay upgrade maxed out across your bays. It is free to unlock once you qualify and is the ultimate “you have done everything” flex.

Nodes worth knowing about up front:

* <strong>Capacity Foundations</strong> unlocks the Refinery output buffer and the Mint fuel buffer. Without it, the Mint will not accept fuel and your Refinery only earns into a tiny starter pool.
* <strong>Batch Operations</strong> lets you claim every bay in one click and unlocks bulk pause/resume and bulk module level-ups.
* <strong>Bay Telemetry</strong> reveals all the heat readouts, time-to-shutdown projections, and mode comparison rows.
* <strong>Auto Deposit</strong> lets you pre-allocate up to three slots of items into your Refinery’s auto-refill list. When a committed basket empties, the next basket gets queued up automatically.
* <strong>Overflow Cutoff</strong> stops your Refinery from burning items when the Salvage buffer is full.