Hey all,

I was wondering if you guys have any advice on where and what to go for in research.

Right now, I'm Rank 31 and have 220 RP's per hour. Here's my tech levels:

Weapons: 4th tier unlocked (Ion Channeling)
Energy: 6th tier unlocked (Quantum Capacitors)
Shield: 1st tier (no research)
Stealth: 1st tier (no research)
Armor: 1st tier (no research)
Defense: 3rd tier unlocked (Motion Compensation)
Sensors: 4rd tier unlocked (Multiwave Sensors)
Planetary: 5th tier unlocked (Deep Extraction)

I'm currently working on getting the first level of Deep Extraction, and I'm hoping to get all the level 4 buildings unlocked. However, I'm not sure where to go after that. The level 4 buildings cost 500,000 credits per building, then the level 5 buildings cost 2 million credits each. Where is the point of diminishing returns for Planetary buildings? Level 4? 5? 6?

Should I research more energy, or should I catch up in weapons tech or more sensors? I have like 3 or 4 extra planets waiting for me to colonize as I rank up at Rank 32, 36, 40, etc. Or should I go for defenses instead to deter attackers?

Go for sensors, or planetary, youll need more production if you want to build higher tiers.Here is my research(currently rank 43)
Weapons:4th tier(Ion Channeling)
Energy:5th tier(Plasma Relays)
Shields:4th tier(Inverse Graviton Fields)
Stealth:4th tier(Negative Refraction)
Armor:4th tier(Durtanium Alloy)
Defense:4th tier(Inertial Dampening)
Sensors:4th tier(Multiwave Sensors, current research)
Planetary:5th tier(Deep Extraction)

I would catch up on shields for the planetary defense structures. You don't really need to research production buildings if you can't afford to build them yet. Those credits are better for settling more planets IMO. I would just keep plugging away on energy without letting offense/defense fall too far behind. Ranking up will get you more credits.

I build level 2 buildings on all my planets. I don't think its worth it to build level 3 buildings if I can just build level 4 ones and double my production in everything. Although it is pricey at 500,000 credits.

How much should I keep up the weapons and shield researches in comparison to energy? 1 tier? 2 tiers?