Graveyard Keeper 2 Early Tech Route

Check the free nodes first

Several nodes cost no research points at all, though story or NPC gates can still hide them. Recheck the tech tree whenever a new system opens — zero cost does not mean available at minute one:

• Autopsy — Basic Autopsy Table I and Corpse Pallet I
• Soft parts — Remove flesh, Remove blood, Remove fat
• Wooden Sign — the first grave marker
• First dishes — Baked apple, Baked mushrooms, Berry Pie

The general-purpose core order

These seven purchases form a reliable base — 7 red, 50 green, 7 blue points in total, excluding the free story-opened nodes. You do not need to hoard every point before buying. Steps 5–7 can be reordered to match your save's bottleneck.

| # | Technology | Cost | Unlocks | |---|---|---|---| | 1 | The Concept of Wood | R2 G2 | Board, Short Log, Sawhorse | | 2 | Bronze Works | R5 | Bronze Nails, Wooden Anvil | | 3 | Woodworking I (req. 1) | R10 | Wooden Plank, Woodworking Workbench I | | 4 | Bronze Melting (req. 2) | R10 | Bronze Ingot, Furnace I, Firewood shed I | | 5 | Gardening | G5 | Garden Bed | | 6 | Chopping (req. 1) | R8 | Firewood, Wood wedge, Chopping Spot | | 7 | The Concept of Stone (req. 1) | R15 | Piece of stone, Stonemason's Workbench |

Wood is the first construction bottleneck; Bronze Works is a cheap independent root worth taking before expensive side branches. Gardening opens farming, fertiliser, fishing and milling — buy it when you are ready to plant, not merely because it is cheap. Chopping supports several early fuel loops, so move it ahead of farming if firewood is already slowing you down.

After the core, pick one current goal

Bodies and graveyard first — when grave quality is the immediate blocker: Body Places I, Wooden Gravestones I, Graveyard Keeper I (listed branch cost R12 G12). Make sure their free root nodes have opened through the story first. See the graveyard rating guide.

Tools and gathering first — when worn tools slow every trip: Bronze Craft, Bronze Blades, Bronze Instruments (R60 G10). This branch is red-point heavy; skip it early if your current tools are adequate.

Food and farming first — when energy food or repeatable crops are the bottleneck: Fertilizers I, Millstone & Flour, Bread & Pie (R5 G45). Fertiliser and milling are parallel choices; you do not need both immediately.

Technologies usually safe to defer

Defer does not mean useless — move these forward whenever a quest or concrete plan calls for them:

• Suit Up! (R15) — appearance value, but no help for the early production loop.
• Tool Rack (R35) — gates useful later systems, but 35 red is a big early commitment.
• Glass (R30 G10) — matters later; wood, metal and food bottlenecks are normally more urgent.
• Orchardry (G20) — buy it with a concrete orchard plan; those 20 green points open several cheaper farming options first.

How this route was built

Technology names, costs, prerequisites and unlocks come from the game's own data, cross-linked to recipes on this site. The ordering is an editorial recommendation favouring low-cost nodes that open basic materials, workstations, fuel and food loops — not an official developer route. Story timing is constrained by the caption-checked first-hour walkthrough, which the beginner guide summarises.