shipbuilding Tech Comparison
Armed Merchant Cruiser III vs Iron Titan Heavy Assault IV
Comparing the Armed Merchant Cruiser III (Tier 3) and Iron Titan Heavy Assault IV (Tier 4), both shipbuilding technologies in Starforge MMO. Use this to decide which to queue first when your research lab can only run one project at a time.
Research Comparison
| Attribute | Armed Merchant Cruiser III | Iron Titan Heavy Assault IV |
|---|---|---|
| Tier | T3 | T4 |
| Research time | 6▼ | 30 |
| metal cost | 6,000▼ | 95,000 |
| crystal cost | 3,600▼ | 48,000 |
| gas cost | — | 12,000▼ |
| rare elements cost | — | 30▼ |
| Effect | unlock ship: merchant-galleon | +25% battleship armor; +20% siege damage |
▼ marks the lower resource / time cost. Cheaper isn't always better — weigh it against the effect each tech unlocks.
Armed Merchant Cruiser III
Unlocks construction of the merchant-galleon (cruiser class).
Unlocks ships: merchant galleon
Iron Titan Heavy Assault IV
Reinforced spinal-mount battleship doctrine pairing layered ablative plating with siege-grade fire control. Unlocks the Iron Titan heavy-assault battleship.
Unlocks ships: iron titan
Requires: shipbuilding 7, heavy battleship frame iv
Which Should You Research First?
The Armed Merchant Cruiser III is the lower-tier prerequisite step and typically comes first in the shipbuilding branch, opening the path toward Iron Titan Heavy Assault IV.