I'm a bit confused on research points. It seems I am limited to a total of 150 points per level (ie: I max out at 7500 RP at level 50) but I have found other players on the Battle tab with phase cannons at level 35-40. How is this possible? The 9000 RP for the phase cannon shouldn't be accessible until level 60. What am I missing here

Research points can be spent at any time - you do not need to wait until you have 100% of the required points before you research a topic.

oh, ok, guess i was missing something...

thanx

Is this on FAQ? It should be, a lot of people are asking this and it is hindering their progress.

Yes, its been in the FAQ for quite a while, and is mentioned in the tutorial.

It may also be good to mention that some players go all out on weapons research, ignoring other technologies. They put the bulk of their RP into the one technology, and very little into others such as scanning or shields.

It can be done, but is huge trade off, and probably not entirely adviseable. IMHO anyway.

I've noticed a few players like this, same level as me when I was 35, but they had multiple graviton shearers, while I only was just beginning researching Ion weaponry.

I have seen the opposite too.. players putting the bulk of their research into defense, hull, and shielding.

Its just the perticular strategy the [layers choose.