- Tower Lab unlocks begin with the first lab at Tier 1, Wave 30.
- Five research slots are available, with later slots costing more gems.
- The total slot cost for all five labs is 4,900 gems.
- Auto Research queues the next level of the selected research automatically.
- Boosting several labs at a lower multiplier can be more efficient than one expensive boost.
Tower Lab unlocks by milestone
Tower Lab unlocks determine how many research projects can run at the same time. The first laboratory becomes available through Milestones at Tier 1, Wave 30. After that, additional slots can be purchased with gems, allowing your account to maintain more long-term upgrades without leaving research capacity idle.
The first slot is free once the laboratory system is unlocked. The remaining four slots require gems, and their prices increase sharply. This makes early planning important: unlocking every slot improves research throughput, but spending gems on the most expensive slot may compete with other progression priorities.
| Lab Slot | Unlock Method | Gem Cost | Strategic Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lab 1 | Tier 1, Wave 30 milestone | Free | Starts research progression |
| Lab 2 | Gem purchase | 100 | Low-cost second queue |
| Lab 3 | Gem purchase | 400 | Strong early throughput gain |
| Lab 4 | Gem purchase | 1,400 | Supports wider research coverage |
| Lab 5 | Gem purchase | 3,000 | Maximum research capacity |
| All five | Milestone plus purchases | 4,900 total | Full laboratory setup |
First Lab
Unlocks through the Tier 1, Wave 30 milestone. Use it immediately for permanent progression research.
Second Lab
Costs 100 gems and is usually the easiest capacity upgrade after the first slot.
Third Lab
Costs 400 gems and gives your account enough room to advance several core systems together.
Fourth and Fifth
Cost 1,400 and 3,000 gems. These slots provide maximum flexibility but require careful gem planning.
Unlocking additional labs increases your research capacity, but do not leave new slots inactive. Prepare affordable research projects before purchasing another slot.
How to unlock and configure research slots
The most reliable approach is to treat laboratory capacity as a progression system rather than a single purchase. First, reach the milestone that opens the laboratory feature. Then add slots according to your gem budget and the amount of research you can actively manage.
Reach the first laboratory milestone
Progress until Tier 1, Wave 30 is completed. This unlocks the initial lab slot and gives you access to laboratory research.
Start a permanent research project
Select a research upgrade that supports your current build. Game Speed, economy upgrades, and core combat research are useful starting categories.
Purchase the next available slot
Open the laboratory interface and compare the listed gem cost. The second and third slots require 100 and 400 gems respectively.
Fill every active queue
Assign research to each available lab. Avoid purchasing capacity that will remain unused because an empty slot delays your overall progression.
Enable quality-of-life tools
Use Auto Research when you want the current project to continue into its next level. Review Lab History when tracking completed projects or comparing your research priorities.
The laboratory interface also supports switching research. When a project is changed, the coins spent on that research are refunded and existing progress is preserved as green lab time. Continuing the paused research requires paying its coin cost again. This makes it possible to react to a changing build without losing accumulated time.
| Interface Feature | Function | Best Use |
|---|---|---|
| Switch Labs | Changes the selected research while preserving progress | Reprioritize during a build transition |
| Auto Research | Starts the next level after the current level finishes | Maintain uninterrupted queues |
| Lab History | Lists completed labs in chronological order | Review research progression |
| Speed Up | Applies a temporary laboratory multiplier | Spend Elite Cells when time matters |
| Green Lab Time | Displays preserved progress from a paused project | Resume a project without losing research time |
The strongest laboratory habit is simple: keep every available slot researching, check unfinished queues regularly, and use Auto Research for repeatable upgrades.
Best research priorities after Tower Lab unlocks
Once Tower Lab unlocks are available, research should follow the needs of your current account. There is no single order that fits every build, but several categories provide broad value because they improve wave consistency, economy, or the efficiency of later upgrades.
Game Speed is an important early consideration because it improves the pace of runs and research-related progression. Starting Cash can help establish a stronger opening, while Workshop Discount research reduces the long-term cost of developing core upgrades. Attack, defense, utility, ultimate weapon, perk, bot, enemy, and module research become more specialized as your account develops.
Core Progression
Game Speed, Starting Cash, Workshop Discounts, Lab Speed, and research-related quality-of-life upgrades.
Combat Scaling
Damage, Attack Speed, Critical Factor, Health, Health Regen, Defense%, and other build-defining statistics.
Utility and Economy
Cash Bonus, Cash per Wave, Coins per Kill, Coins per Wave, perk research, and module-related improvements.
| Research Category | Example Upgrades | General Priority |
|---|---|---|
| Main Research | Game Speed, Lab Speed, Target Priority, Card Presets | High for broad account growth |
| Attack Research | Damage, Attack Speed, Critical Factor, Range | Match to damage-focused builds |
| Defense Research | Health, Health Regen, Defense Absolute, Defense% | Useful for survival-focused builds |
| Utility Research | Cash Bonus, Cash per Wave, Coins per Kill | Supports economy and workshop growth |
| Ultimate Weapon Research | Missile, Chrono Field, Second Wind, Orb upgrades | Prioritize weapons in your active setup |
| Perk Research | Unlock Perks, Waves Required, Standard Perks Bonus | Strong after perk systems become central |
| Bot Research | Flame, Thunder, Golden, and Amplify Bot cooldowns | Focus on bots used in your current strategy |
| Module Research | Drop Chance, Reroll Shards, Daily Mission Shards | Valuable for module-focused progression |
A practical priority rule is to research the system that limits your next milestone. If runs fail because enemies survive too long, use attack or defense research. If upgrades are unaffordable, economy research may provide more value. If a major system is already central to your build, improving its supporting research can be more efficient than spreading resources across unrelated categories.
| Account Situation | Recommended Focus | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Early progression | Game Speed, economy, basic attack | Improves run pace and upgrade access |
| Weak opening | Starting Cash, Workshop Discounts | Strengthens early-wave setup |
| Damage bottleneck | Damage, Attack Speed, Critical Factor | Improves offensive scaling |
| Survival bottleneck | Health, Health Regen, Defense% | Extends wave consistency |
| Perk-heavy setup | Unlock Perks, Waves Required, Perk Bonus | Improves perk access and value |
| Module development | Drop Chance, Reroll Shards, Module Shard Costs | Supports module progression |
Do not place every lab into unrelated categories just to show variety. Concentrated research often solves the account’s current bottleneck faster than a scattered queue.
Lab speed, gem rushing, and temporary boosts
Laboratory time can be reduced in two main ways: rushing remaining time with gems or applying temporary speed boosts with Elite Cells. These systems serve different purposes and should be used according to the value of the research and the resources available.
Gem rushing skips the entire remaining research time rather than a selected portion. Longer remaining durations include better gem efficiency, so rushing a very short project is generally less attractive than rushing a longer queue when the research is important. Fully maxed, or “gold-boxed,” laboratory research can also improve gem rush efficiency, with each fully gold-boxed lab adding a 0.015x efficiency increase.
| Remaining Time | Gem Cost | Gems per Day | Listed Discount |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 hour | 7.5 | 180 | 0% |
| 1 day | 163 | 163 | 9% |
| 1 week | 1,000 | 142.9 | 21% |
| 30 days | 3,550 | 118.3 | 34% |
| 90 days | 8,000 | 88.9 | 51% |
| 360 days | 25,000 | 69.4 | 61% |
| More than 360 days | 25,000 | Not listed | Not listed |
Elite Cell boosts can speed a lab at 1.5x, 2x, 3x, 4x, 5x, 6x, 7x, or 8x. Durations include 1 hour, 8 hours, and 24 hours. To apply one, select Speed Up, choose a duration, select a multiplier, and confirm the displayed Elite Cell cost.
| Multiplier | 1 Hour | 8 Hours | 24 Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.5x | 15 | 120 | 360 |
| 2x | 100 | 800 | 2,400 |
| 3x | 840 | 6,720 | 20,160 |
| 4x | 3,360 | 26,880 | 80,640 |
| 5x | 11,900 | 95,200 | 285,600 |
| 6x | 60,000 | 480,000 | 1,440,000 |
| 7x | 250,000 | 2,000,000 | 6,000,000 |
| 8x | 1,000,000 | 8,000,000 | 24,000,000 |
Because boost costs rise faster than the multiplier, several lower-level boosts across multiple laboratories can offer better value than one high multiplier. A 1.5x boost is particularly useful when applied to several active labs at once. Boosts can also be configured to queue automatically after the current boost ends.
Use lower multipliers across several active labs when your goal is broad time savings. Reserve high multipliers for research that directly supports an important milestone.
Tower Lab unlocks checklist and long-term management
Laboratory management becomes easier when each slot has a clear purpose. Keep one or more slots on broad progression research, then dedicate the remaining queues to the combat, economy, or system upgrades that match your current build.
Laboratory Progress Checklist:
- Reach Tier 1, Wave 30 to unlock the first lab
- Purchase the second lab for 100 gems
- Purchase the third lab for 400 gems
- Keep every unlocked laboratory slot active
- Review research priorities before using gem rushes or Elite Cells
Use the following management routine whenever you unlock a new slot:
- Check whether your current research supports the next milestone.
- Assign at least one queue to a broad account upgrade.
- Keep specialized research aligned with your active build.
- Enable Auto Research for repeatable levels when appropriate.
- Review Lab History to identify neglected categories.
- Compare the value of rushing time against saving gems for additional capacity.
The fifth laboratory is expensive, so it should be evaluated against your actual research usage. Players who maintain several active queues will gain more value from the extra capacity than players who frequently leave laboratories idle. The purchase is most effective when you already have a stable supply of coins for research and a plan for filling every queue.
| Management Goal | Recommended Action | Common Mistake |
|---|---|---|
| Maximize research uptime | Keep every lab assigned | Leaving a slot empty |
| Improve early progress | Prioritize broad upgrades | Chasing narrow bonuses too soon |
| Save premium resources | Compare slot costs and rush costs | Spending gems without a plan |
| Support a specialized build | Match research to active systems | Copying priorities from another build |
| Reduce maintenance | Enable Auto Research | Forgetting to verify the next queued level |
Laboratories are a compounding progression system. A research slot provides the most value when it remains active across many runs, not only when it is used for occasional emergency upgrades.
Tower Lab unlocks FAQ
Q: When do Tower Lab unlocks begin?
The first lab unlocks through the Milestones system at Tier 1, Wave 30. This initial slot does not require gems.
Q: How many laboratories can be unlocked?
You can unlock up to five labs. The four additional slots cost 100, 400, 1,400, and 3,000 gems, for 4,900 gems beyond the milestone progression.
Q: Should I buy every lab slot immediately?
Buy additional capacity when you can keep the new queue active. The first several slots are relatively affordable, while the fourth and fifth require more deliberate gem planning.
Q: What is the most efficient way to boost multiple labs?
Lower multipliers across several labs are generally more resource-efficient than using one expensive high multiplier. Compare the displayed Elite Cell cost before confirming a boost.
Unlock the first lab through Tier 1, Wave 30, expand toward five slots when your gem budget allows, and keep every queue focused on your next progression goal.