Research
The Research tab unlocks at level 7. Research items are permanent, stacking upgrades. Each item has multiple levels; you buy one level at a time, it takes real time (game ticks) to complete, and only one research project can be active at once across the whole tree.
How it works
- Each level of an item costs money (DWC) and hacking XP — both are deducted immediately on start, whether or not you let it finish.
- Costs and refunds: non-refundable. Canceling a research forfeits the money and XP already spent.
- Each level takes
durationTicksgame-seconds to complete once started. - While research is in progress, its effect isn't active yet — it applies the moment the timer completes.
- Research still progresses while the game is closed, up to your offline-progress cap (see Offline Progress).
- Some items are locked behind a hacking level requirement (
requiredLevel) on top of the level-7 tab unlock.
Server Reload Time
Reduces the server money-regen interval by 1 minute (60 ticks) per level, from a 30-minute base down to a 10-minute floor: max(600, 1800 - 60*level) ticks. No level requirement beyond the tab itself.
| Level | DWC cost | Hack XP cost | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 500 | 4,000 | 5m |
| 2 | 800 | 9,000 | 8m |
| 3 | 1,100 | 18,000 | 12m |
| 4 | 2,200 | 35,000 | 18m |
| 5 | 5,050 | 65,000 | 25m |
| 6 | 10,150 | 110,000 | 35m |
| 7 | 28,000 | 175,000 | 45m |
| 8 | 65,000 | 270,000 | 1h |
| 9 | 150,000 | 400,000 | 1h30m |
| 10 | 350,000 | 600,000 | 2h |
Increase Resource Multiplier
Boosts total passive hacking-XP gain from hackers + machines by +10% per level (stacks additively: level 2 = +20%, not +21%).
| Level | DWC cost | Hack XP cost | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2,000 | 8,000 | 7m |
| 2 | 4,500 | 16,000 | 14m30s |
Unlock AI
One-time unlock, no level requirement beyond the tab. Completing it grants the ai feature flag, which unlocks the AI Tools tab (see Network Map).
| Level | DWC cost | Hack XP cost | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10,000 | 20,000 | 10m |
Hack Cooldown Reduction
*Requires hacking level 20.* Reduces the base 4-second hack cooldown by 20% per level (multiplicative: 4000ms * 0.8^level), down to a 500ms floor — reached around level 9-10.
| Level | DWC cost | Hack XP cost | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 72,000 | 225,000 | 1h30m |
| 2 | 135,000 | 405,000 | 3h |
| 3 | 252,000 | 720,000 | 5h15m |
| 4 | 468,000 | 1,260,000 | 9h |
| 5 | 855,000 | 2,160,000 | 13h30m |
| 6 | 1,575,000 | 3,600,000 | 18h |
| 7 | 2,880,000 | 5,850,000 | 22h30m |
| 8 | 5,220,000 | 9,000,000 | 27h |
| 9 | 9,450,000 | 14,400,000 | 31h30m |
| 10 | 17,100,000 | 22,500,000 | 36h |
Upgrade Firewall
*Requires hacking level 12.* Each level adds +2% defense against PvP attackers targeting you (subtracted from their win chance — see PvP).
| Level | DWC cost | Hack XP cost | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 40,000 | 225,000 | 50m |
| 2 | 63,000 | 405,000 | 1h30m |
| 3 | 137,000 | 720,000 | ~2h17m |
| 4 | 225,000 | 1,260,000 | ~2h55m |
| 5 | 375,000 | 2,160,000 | ~23m |
Note the level-5 duration is intentionally short relative to the others in the live data — treat it as a quirk of the current tuning, not a formula.