Running a university in Two Point Campus is very similar to being a student — you will always be learning and improving to make your campus better. Everything you buy and upgrade will cost you money or the more premium Kudosh, which you will need to make strategic choices about what to spend it on first. While you will have access to a good number of choices when starting out your higher-education adventure, the really good stuff is locked behind research projects.
The delicate balance between managing students, staff, facilities, income, and everything else that comes with running a thriving campus is already a lot to keep track of. Especially early on, you won’t know what the most important things to upgrade and research are, which can set you back both in terms of time and cash. To avoid having to repeat your freshman year, copy our notes on the best campus upgrades and research projects to get first in Two Point Campus.
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How research works and what to research
Research is how you unlock the ability to actually buy the upgrades that will make your campus better in one way or another. Your basic set of tools is OK to start with, but if you want to make your campus the highest rated it can be, researching improvements is the only way to make the cut.
Researching upgrades will require, appropriately enough, a Research Lab. To unlock this, though, you will first need to reach the Mitton University level. Once you gain access to it, build it immediately. Once built, you will need to assign a teacher to the lab in the same way you assign them to classrooms. You will want to pick or hire a teacher with the highest research skill possible to speed up any research projects.
Once built and staffed, select the Research Hub and begin a new project. Here, the list of all the projects you can research will be displayed, even the ones you can’t access yet. Pick the one you want, greenlight it, and it will do the rest itself. Each project does have a cost, but the real drawback is how much time some take to complete and the fact that you’re committing a teacher to it the entire time who could otherwise be instructing a course.
When you want to upgrade something specifically, the process is a little different.
First, you need to select the actual object you want to upgrade and select the Gear icon to upgrade it. While highlighting it, you will see the cost and time it will take, just like other research projects. These projects will require a janitor with some skills in mechanics. The higher the mechanic level, the faster the upgrade.
If you want to speed up the upgrade and research process itself, you can buff it in a few ways. The most obvious will be to upgrade the Research Lab, though this will obviously keep you from doing any other research for a time. You can also train your staff to increase their research skills, as well as purchase items to boost research power in the lab.
Best upgrades to buy first
Now that you’re all set up with the lab, it’s time to start making the most of it. Here are the best items you want to upgrade first in Two Point Campus.
Lectern
Yes, a lectern. While you might have expected something a little more flashy or exciting, you can’t deny the importance of improving the basics first. Think about it — the lectern is a requirement for every course in the game, and for whatever reason, this wooden stand directly impacts how well students learn. Just by upgrading this one thing, every student who takes that course, or any course with an upgraded lectern, will immediately get better grades.
Research Hub
We mentioned it before, but it bears repeating. While it does feel like a small setback to dedicate your lab to upgrading itself instead of other things, it will more than make up for it in the long run once you see how much faster it functions after getting buffed. For a small inconvenience early, you will be rewarded with a much more efficient upgrade journey.
Training Pod
Much like the Lectern, buffing up your staff pays off in massive ways. The only way to get this done is to stick them in the training pod like Neo to raise their skills. Unlike in The Matrix, though, the base level Training Pod takes a long time to improve your staff. By upgrading it, you can level up your staff in no time and reap all the rewards, plus not have to go nearly as long short-staffed while they’re stuck in the pod.
Omni-Cure
This won’t be a necessary upgrade until the later levels of Two Point Campus, but eventually, your students will start getting hurt doing just about everything. Obviously, being hurt or sick is a huge bummer and will lower your students’ Happiness levels. Upgrading your medical facilities will help get these kids back in action and hitting the books before you know it.
