Research Tips The most important trick to research is to break it down to the primals. Say you have to connect Telum to Herba, how can you do this as cheaply and efficienctly as possible? You could go Telum -> Intrumentum -> Messis -> Herba, but this use of compound aspects is, in theory if not in practice, expensive Another solution is Telum -> Ignis -> Potentia -> Ordo -> Vitreus -> Terra -> Herba. “But that’s a much longer chain”? Yes, but it cost 7 primal aspects worth of reseach points, which are very easy and cheap to replace. Instrumentum costs 11 primal aspects alone, so the short path spends a ton more points
Of course there’s a reason why “Ordo and Intrumentum spam” is the meta research solution. GT machines, of which you will craft literal dozens upon dozens, are all super rich in Instrumentum, Ordo, and some closely related essentias. Why bother counting primals if you’ve got an endless supply anyway? As such the next tip is draw a path to Ordo. Once everything is connected to Ordo the rest of the research falls into place. This can be complicated, but every aspect has a path even if it’s a silly one For example Venenum -> Perditio -> Permutatio -> Ordo, Arbor -> Aer -> Motus -> Ordo, Gula -> Vacuos -> Perditio -> Permutatio -> Ordo, or Infernus -> Ignis -> Potentia -> Ordo
Of course if you find yourself short on Ordo and with an abundant source of another two aspects you could spam (Herba/Arbor, in my experience, ends up being a common one) you can also try that path. For the sake of variety of nothing else. Same principle, just draw a path to a different primal instead
Getting more Research points First off, scan everything. The entire idea behind Ordo/Instrumentum spam being viable at all, let stand the meta solution, is because the overabundant GT machines are full of those aspects. You’re not going to get them unless you remember to scan those machines, though, so keep a Thaumometer on you Research points can also be grown. Rosa Mysteria grown on Mixed Crystal Clusters produce Mixed Fragments, which can be popped to give 2 research points for all primal aspects. Regular Knowledge Fragments can also be popped for points, but they’re hard to find, useful, and don’t yield as much
In addition to this there’s also a way to prevent yourself from running out of points altogether, although it involves RNG. Bookshelves placed near a research table will give each aspect a chance to not be consumed when it otherwise would empty out. Aspects that have a light to the top-left have this effect active Blocks that are rich with a given aspect can give the same effect to specific aspects, I.E. building a pool will probably yield the same for Aqua, but bookshelves can apply this effect to all research points. And they are easy to get if you “borrow” a few from your (un)friendly neighbourhood Twilight Lich
Choosing the right tools The default scribing tools that Thaumcraft provides are notoriously quick to run out of ink, and while easier ways to acquire black ink than killing squids exist it’s still obnoxious to constantly have to take out your scribing tools, grab ink, refill, put it back in the table, and continue researching. This is where it pays off to invest in better scribing tools, and the various add-on mods for Thaumcraft that GTNH has have a few on offer:
| Scribing Tools | Uses | Refill/Recharge | Thaumic Restorer Repairable? | Special | Thaumonomicon tab | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Default Scribing Tools | 100 | Black Dye | Y, +8 durability per Instrumentum | Basic Information | |||||
| Illuminated Scribing Tools | 1000 | Small gold dust/Glowstone dust | Y, +8 durability per Instrumentum | Witching Gadgets | |||||
| Electric Scribing Tools | 399 | ~400 EU at HV tier | No | Electro-Magic Tools | |||||
| Crystal Scribing Tools | 100 | Shards/Black dye | Can’t be right-clicked inside | Can break to gain reseach points | Apocrypha | ||||
| Bloody Scrivener’s Tools | “Infinite” | Consumes 25 LP per use | No | Thaumonomicon text is incorrect | Apocrypha | ||||
| Bound Scribing Tools | 100 | Consumes 10K LP to refill | Can’t be right-clicked inside | Gives research points on refill | |||||
| Primal Scribing Tools | Infinite | Apocrypha |
Note that crafting a set of Primal Scribing Tools will not consume the Primordial Pearl, so it’s definitely a worthwhile detour once you get your first pearl
Turning off the minigame One thing that some players are likely to do is turn off the research minigame altogether, and instead switch over to every research being purchased with research points. This, without proper preparation, is arguably more obnoxious than dealing with the research minigame however! The problem is that point buy research consumes crazy amounts of aspects you’re simply not going to get in large quantities. GT machines drown you in Instrumentum and other aspects to finish research easily. But when every other research requires a half dozen Praecantio, well, where do you get that from?
The solution is, once again, Rosa Mysteria. A large enough farm of this crop can yield enough research points, either of all primal aspects (Mixed Crystal Clusters) or targeted primal aspects (the other non-Tainted Crystal Cluster) to make point buy research viable Both the sprouts and the clusters are basic crucible recipes, doable with just your first wand, so using point buy research from the start is viable. That said I make no promises about it being less obnoxious early on. Early research is simple enough, and doesn’t require rushing a (for now) manually farmed plant
Automating Research There are ways to do research automatically, albeit very few. One way is the Gadomancy Book of Knowledge, which consumes Cognitio essentia and an ungodly amount of time to finish a research note by itself. However this process can be sped up by “placing any form of booster that will effect an enchanting table nearby”. This is patantly false: Only actual bookcases seem to work - fortunately your (un)friendly neighbourhood Lich has, eh, no use for their old collection after…assisting them with their permanent retirement. As for “nearby”, this seems to mean “a 9x9x9 cube centred on the Arcane Pedestal” So how fast does it work, given infinite Cognitio and as many bookshelves as one can cram in a 9x9x9 space without rendering the thing inaccessible? As it turns out…not all that fast, still. Manual research is definitely faster unless the sight of a Professor Layton game would disintegrate you on an atomic level, but automated research is still automated research. And you’re sure to find other things to spend time on anyway, GTNH is like that, so perhaps investing in some assitance is worth it? Honestly, up to you. Manual research is just faster, but perhaps the dance of automation works out better for you
Another option is the Research Completer multi from Electro-Magic Tools. These things consume nodes too quickly in order to complete research automatically within a reasonable amount of time. Unless you’ve got Empowering Bees to produce “supernova” nodes easily and quickly this multi isn’t practical to use
Listed below are key researches in their respective Thaumonomicon tabs. A more thorough explanation of why particular researches are useful or details mentioned might be found on some of the other TC tabs on this spreadsheet For a list of what prerequisites a given research has I recommend https://gtnh.miraheze.org/wiki/Thaumcraft_Research_Cheatsheet Listing every prerequisite here as well would only take up unnecessary space
Basic Information Research Expertise Research Mastery Node Preserver
Thaumaturgy (Material) Wand Core (Material) Wand Caps Crafting Scepters Harnessing Vis Wand Focus: Equal Trade Wand Focus: Warding Focus Pouch
Alchemy Magical Metallurgy Metal Transmutation Shard Recrystallization Ethereal Bloom Sanitizing Soap Alumentum
Artifice Goggles of Revealing Enchanted Fabric Alchemical Grate Warded Arcana Paving Stone of Warding Arcane Bellows Arcane Lamps Arcane Ear Infusion Boots of the Traveller Runic Shielding Mirror Magic Essentia Mirrors
Golemancy Thaumium Golems Golem Core: Alchemy
Eldritch Eldritch Epiphany/Revelation Void Metal Advanced Alchemical Furnace
Automagy Advanced Node Jarring Redcrystal Remote Comparator Tally Box Hungry Hand Mirror Melding Mirror Thirsty Tank Wand Focus: Crafting
Apimancy Thaumium/Void tools (Type) Frame
Thaumic Bases Thaumic Nature Primal Shrooms Rosa Mysteria Redlon Glieonia Briar Rainbow Cacti Ender Tree Bracelets Thaumic Relocation Thaumium Alchemical Furnace Thaumium/Void Metal Anvil Overchanting Node Manipulation/Linking Wand Focus: Flux Scrubber
Thaumic Tinkering Thaumic Restorer Essentia Funnel Tome of Knowledge Sharing Wand Focus: Uprising Wand Focus: Ender Rift Wand Focus: Dislocation Transvector Interface Transvector Dislocator Dynamism Tablet
Thaumic Tinkering (Kami) Ichor Wand Core/Caps Ichor Cloth Robes
Apocrypha Wand Focus: Blink Shovel of the Purifier Umbral Rose
Electro-Magic Tools Compressed Solar Panels Tiny Uranium UUMatter Infusion Electrical Boots/Goggles
Botania
Gadomancy Book of Knowledge Armor Disguise Mirrored Jars Sticky Jars Gate of the Voidwalkers
Maleficia Cloth/Shadow/Crimson Caps Warpwood Wand Rod/Staff Core Voidmetal Goggles of Revealing Shadowmetal
Thaumic Exploration Transmutative Wand Core Thaumic Replicator Oblivion Jar Everfull/Everburn Urn Think Tank
Thaumic Machina
Energistics Basically everything
Thaumic Horizons Lenses Vis/Essentia Dynamo Alchemite Wand Focus: Disintegration Wand Focus: Illumination Blood Alchemy Inspiratron Reincarnation Self-Reincarnation/Self-Infusion Vortex Attenuation New Horizons/Pocket Planes
Thaumic Insurgence
Warp Theory Impure Tear
Witching Gadgets Advanced Inscription Bewitched Fleece Mantle of the Raven Witching Wearables Gem Cutting Primordeal Gauntlet Arcane Abacus Metallurgic Perfection Thaumic Sauna Stove Thaumic Stone Extruder Aspect Library
Blood Magic The vast majority of Blood Magic research is just required progression behind a research gate, and the rest isn’t particularly useful since Blood Magic in GTNH very much encourages (if not outright requires) a mad beeline to Well of Suffering, unlocking only what is required to reach that goal ASAP Consequently everything that has an alternative to what Blood Magic provides naturally pushes you to use that alternative, lest you make your bloody journey any longer (and more painful) than it needs to be. The Air Sigil can be replaced with Witching Gadgets gem cutting, for example Of course that’s not to say that everything in Blood Magic is replaced by something else, for lack of early/convenient enough accessibility. At least one thing in Blood Magic itself is very worth making a detour for, and once the rush is finally over it’s a complete free-for-all in terms of gadgets, gizmos and goodies
New Horizons (Color) Heart (Canister) Ender Chest/Tank/Pouch Angel Block Disenchanting Table Brewing Stand
Witchery Like Blood Magic most of the Witchery tab is just regular Witchery items behind a research gate. There’s really nothing much else to say about this page, just unlock items as you need them, eat the Warp and move on
Tips and tricks: Despite showing up in the Thaumonomicon the recipe to “wash” Rosa Mysteria fragments into Knowledge Fragments is disabled in GTNH and does not work Infusion Claws add tons of instability to an infusion unless the wand/staff used is of very high quality. Vis Discount also matters, since activating the claw will consume some Vis, and not having enough will cause problems. A Satin Entwined Silverwood Staff is a (reasonably) safe staff to use You can use conduits with item filters to extract a non-full staff from the infusion claw, and extract a full staff from a wand recharge pedestal. The Infusion Claw innately will not allow a wand/staff to be extracted when it’s in use. As of 2.4.0 wands inside a Claw can be refilled directly through supplied Centi-vis The Thaumonomicon page for Paving Stones of Warding is full of outdated information (is my guess): The blocks will emit particles to signifiy they’ve been turned off instead of changing color, and also will not change color based on their status Despite the listed blast resistance of 599.4 Warded Glass is able to withstand the blast of an IC2 nuclear reactor filled to the brim with 54 The Core fuel cells. For all intends and purposes it’s fully explosion proof, barring an even more insane blast than one that would send half a continent to the Shadow Realm