Academy is where research happens in Lordrush. The building text calls it an institute for new technologies, and tells you to upgrade it for access to more powerful tech. That second part is the whole point.
The research speed on the building itself stays small. The level is what opens the next studies.You get the Academy when Town Center hits level 9. It caps at 30.
What you get from it
Research is split into three trees: Growth, Economy, and Battle. Growth covers construction, training capacity, healing, and march count. Economy covers bread, wood, stone, and iron, both what your city produces and what you gather on the map. Battle covers squad attack, defense, health, and lethality.
Each Academy level also adds Research Speed. Level 1 is +0.10%. Every level after that adds another +0.10%, so level 30 is +3.00%. That is a nice extra, but Tool Enhancement in the Growth tree is where the bigger research speed comes from. You still upgrade the building, because those studies will not open until the Academy is high enough.
Research and construction block each other. If a study is running, the Academy will not upgrade. If the Academy is upgrading, new research waits. Plan the long ones so you are not stuck holding a speedup you cannot use.
Upgrade requirements
| Level | Time | Power | Research Speed | Bread | Wood | Stone | Iron | Requirements |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2s | 440 | +0.10% | – | 105 | – | – | Town Center Lv.9 |
| 2 | 9s | 836 | +0.20% | – | 160 | – | – | Town Center Lv.9 |
| 3 | 45s | 1,430 | +0.30% | – | 725 | – | – | Town Center Lv.9 |
| 4 | 2m 15s | 2,222 | +0.40% | – | 1,600 | 320 | – | Town Center Lv.9 |
| 5 | 4m 30s | 3,410 | +0.50% | – | 6,800 | 1,300 | – | Town Center Lv.9 |
| 6 | 9m | 5,192 | +0.60% | – | 17,000 | 3,400 | 860 | Town Center Lv.9 |
| 7 | 18m | 7,766 | +0.70% | – | 62,000 | 12,000 | 3,100 | Town Center Lv.9 |
| 8 | 27m | 10,340 | +0.80% | – | 110,000 | 22,000 | 5,600 | Town Center Lv.9 |
| 9 | 40m 30s | 12,914 | +0.90% | – | 230,000 | 47,000 | 11,000 | Town Center Lv.9 |
| 10 | 54m | 16,654 | +1.00% | – | 410,000 | 82,000 | 20,000 | Town Center Lv.10 |
| 11 | 1h 7m | 20,394 | +1.10% | 520,000 | 520,000 | 100,000 | 26,000 | Town Center Lv.11 |
| 12 | 1h 21m | 24,134 | +1.20% | 670,000 | 670,000 | 130,000 | 33,000 | Town Center Lv.12 |
| 13 | 1h 39m | 30,448 | +1.30% | 950,000 | 950,000 | 190,000 | 47,000 | Town Center Lv.13 |
| 14 | 2h 6m | 36,762 | +1.40% | 1.2M | 1.2M | 250,000 | 63,000 | Town Center Lv.14 |
| 15 | 2h 42m | 43,076 | +1.50% | 1.8M | 1.8M | 370,000 | 93,000 | Town Center Lv.15 |
| 16 | 4h 34m | 51,964 | +1.60% | 2.3M | 2.3M | 470,000 | 110,000 | Town Center Lv.16 |
| 17 | 5h 29m | 60,852 | +1.70% | 3.7M | 3.7M | 740,000 | 180,000 | Town Center Lv.17 |
| 18 | 6h 35m | 69,740 | +1.80% | 5M | 5M | 1M | 250,000 | Town Center Lv.18 |
| 19 | 9h 52m | 82,368 | +1.90% | 6.2M | 6.2M | 1.2M | 310,000 | Town Center Lv.19 |
| 20 | 12h 20m | 94,996 | +2.00% | 8.6M | 8.6M | 1.7M | 430,000 | Town Center Lv.20 |
| 21 | 16h 2m | 107,624 | +2.10% | 10M | 10M | 2.1M | 540,000 | Town Center Lv.21 |
| 22 | 1d 4m | 126,566 | +2.20% | 14M | 14M | 2.8M | 720,000 | Town Center Lv.22 |
| 23 | 1d 9h 42m | 145,508 | +2.30% | 17M | 17M | 3.5M | 890,000 | Town Center Lv.23 |
| 24 | 1d 23h 11m | 164,450 | +2.40% | 24M | 24M | 4.8M | 1.2M | Town Center Lv.24 |
| 25 | 2d 18h 3m | 183,392 | +2.50% | 32M | 32M | 6.5M | 1.6M | Town Center Lv.25 |
| 26 | 3d 3h 57m | 211,222 | +2.60% | 42M | 42M | 8.4M | 2.1M | Town Center Lv.26 |
| 27 | 3d 19h 9m | 239,052 | +2.70% | 59M | 59M | 11M | 2.9M | Town Center Lv.27 |
| 28 | 4d 8h 49m | 266,882 | +2.80% | 79M | 79M | 15M | 3.9M | Town Center Lv.28 |
| 29 | 5d 33m | 294,712 | +2.90% | 98M | 98M | 19M | 4.9M | Town Center Lv.29 |
| 30 | 6d 40m | 335,170 | +3.00% | 120M | 120M | 24M | 6M | Town Center Lv.30 |