Laboratories give the whole alliance up to 150 % more special resources
Laboratories are capturable structures on the world map that boost production of a kingdom's special resource — iron ore in the Great Empire, charcoal in the Everwinter Glacier, olive oil in the Burning Sands and glass in the Fire Peaks — for every alliance member at once. Each level adds +10 %, and in the Sands and the Peaks they can be levelled all the way to +150 %. They are also cheap to take: a laboratory is defended by just 26 guards regardless of anything else. This article brings the complete cost tables for all four kingdoms plus the tactics of holding laboratories.
What a laboratory does and why it is cheap loot
Laboratories are places on the world map that you can capture, spy on and raid. Depending on their level and kingdom they boost production of that kingdom's special resource for every alliance member. The formula is straightforward: each level adds +10 %, so level 1 gives +10 %, level 5 a flat +50 % and so on.
Then there is the detail that makes laboratories the cheapest capturable alliance structure in the game: a laboratory is always defended by only 26 guards — regardless of whether its owner has built guardhouses in their main castle. While a monument or a royal tower can be fortified with your own army, a laboratory has its defence hard-capped. For the attacker that means certainty; for the holder it is a warning: you cannot defend a laboratory, you can only take it back quickly.
Laboratories exist in all four main kingdoms and their number is limited — first come, first served. Like monuments they relocate every month and reset to level 1, so other players get a chance each month. Levelling up does not change a laboratory's appearance, so from the map you cannot tell whether you are attacking a fresh level 1 or a maxed level 10.
The last rule, and the one that decides strategy: only the alliance's strongest laboratory in each kingdom is active. Bonuses do not stack — exactly as with monuments, only the highest one counts. An alliance therefore wants one well-levelled laboratory per kingdom, not five level ones.
Great Empire and Everwinter Glacier pave the road to +100 %
In the green kingdom the laboratory boosts iron ore, in the Everwinter Glacier charcoal. Both cap at level 10, meaning +100 %, but the ice laboratory is roughly two and a half times cheaper:
| Level | Bonus | Great Empire (iron ore) | Everwinter Glacier (charcoal) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | +10 % | 30,000 | 12,000 |
| 2 | +20 % | 90,000 | 38,000 |
| 3 | +30 % | 150,000 | 60,000 |
| 4 | +40 % | 210,000 | 90,000 |
| 5 | +50 % | 270,000 | 100,000 |
| 6 | +60 % | 330,000 | 140,000 |
| 7 | +70 % | 390,000 | 150,000 |
| 8 | +80 % | 450,000 | 180,000 |
| 9 | +90 % | 510,000 | 210,000 |
| 10 | +100 % | maximum | maximum |
Maxing the green laboratory costs 2,430,000 resources in total, the ice one only 980,000. For an alliance just starting with laboratories the Everwinter Glacier is therefore the ideal first target: for under a million resources it doubles charcoal production for every member.
Burning Sands and Fire Peaks reach a cap of up to +150 %
In the desert and fire kingdoms laboratories have 15 levels instead of ten — and therefore a +150 % cap instead of +100 %. They boost olive oil and glass respectively:
| Level | Bonus | Burning Sands (olive oil) | Fire Peaks (glass) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | +10 % | 15,000 | 18,000 |
| 2 | +20 % | 45,000 | 62,000 |
| 3 | +30 % | 80,000 | 90,000 |
| 4 | +40 % | 100,000 | 120,000 |
| 5 | +50 % | 140,000 | 160,000 |
| 6 | +60 % | 160,000 | 200,000 |
| 7 | +70 % | 200,000 | 240,000 |
| 8 | +80 % | 220,000 | 270,000 |
| 9 | +90 % | 260,000 | 300,000 |
| 10 | +100 % | 280,000 | 340,000 |
| 11 | +110 % | 320,000 | 380,000 |
| 12 | +120 % | 340,000 | 420,000 |
| 13 | +130 % | 380,000 | 450,000 |
| 14 | +140 % | 400,000 | 480,000 |
| 15 | +150 % | maximum | maximum |
Fully levelling the desert laboratory costs 2,940,000 resources, the fire one 3,530,000. That is considerably more expensive than the Glacier, but also more lucrative: oil and glass are the resources whose own production is hardest in those kingdoms (only one woodcutter and one quarry run at 100 %), so +150 % to their output solves precisely the biggest bottleneck of the late game.
Tactics runs on a monthly cycle and division of labour
Act immediately after the monthly reset. Laboratories relocate every month and drop back to level 1. Whoever occupies a laboratory in each kingdom on day one has a month to level it — and because defence is capped at 26 guards, speed decides, not strength.
Upgrades travel by marketplace cart. Alliance members send resources by market cart exactly as with monuments. Just under a million resources to max the ice laboratory is roughly 33,000 per head in a thirty-member alliance — a few hours of production.
One laboratory per kingdom, not five. Only the alliance's strongest laboratory in a given kingdom counts. Contributions split between two laboratories in the same kingdom are half wasted — exactly as with monuments.
Prioritise by what the alliance lacks. The Everwinter Glacier is the cheapest entry and everyone uses charcoal. The Fire Peaks are the most expensive, but from level 70 glass is critical for the Relicus and glassworks. The green laboratory (iron ore) makes sense for an alliance whose core is already on legendary levels.
Expect to lose it. A laboratory with 26 guards can barely be defended — a rival alliance will take it whenever it wants. Do not treat that as failure: the monthly cycle resets everything anyway and recapture costs are low. Watching who holds the laboratory and taking it back quickly matters more than defending it.