You're sitting there, staring at a World Stage map that's half-greyed out. It's annoying. You want to expand your empire, but your broadcast strength is stuck in the single digits and your minions are already overworked. Honestly, managing signal in this game is a bit of a balancing act between floor space, power, and research. If you don't get your Evil Genius 2 increase broadcast strategy right, you'll find yourself stuck with low-level networks that barely pay the bills while your lair expansion costs skyrocket.
Basically, broadcast strength is the "fuel" for your global operations. Without it, you can't scout new regions or upgrade existing networks to those juicy level 3 and 4 tiers where the real money lives. But here's the thing: just spamming radio repeaters is a rookie mistake that will eat your power grid alive and turn your control room into a crowded mess.
The Early Game Grind: Radio Repeaters and Space
When you first start out, your only option is the standard Radio Repeater. It’s a chunky 3x5 piece of equipment that only gives you a measly +1 Broadcast Strength.
In the beginning, you just need enough to scout the regions immediately surrounding your island. Don't go overboard yet. Every repeater you build sucks up 5 units of power. If you fill a massive room with these things too early, you'll be forced to build a giant power plant, which then attracts more investigators. It’s a vicious cycle.
Do Minions Need to Man the Repeaters?
This is a huge point of confusion for a lot of players. No, minions do not need to stand at the Radio Repeater for you to get the broadcast strength. The signal is passive. You get the +1 as soon as the item is built and powered. However, you will often see workers "interacting" with the machines. They aren't actually doing anything useful—they’re just idle minions looking for a way to look busy. If you see 20 workers in your control room standing at repeaters, it’s a sign you have too many workers and not enough actual jobs for them to do.
The only reason to "manned" stations in the control room is for things like the Computer Console or Big Screens, which generate Intel or reduce heat. For raw broadcast strength, just build it and forget it.
Researching Your Way to Better Signals
If you want a serious Evil Genius 2 increase broadcast boost, you have to dive into the Global Operations research tree. This is where the game shifts from "struggling local gang" to "global superpower."
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- Ham Radio (Tier 2): This is a literal godsend. It’s a research project that gives you +2 Broadcast Strength for free. No items, no power, no floor space. Just a flat bonus.
- Activate the Radio Dishes (Tier 3): Another flat +2 bonus. You need the Ham Radio research first, but this is essential for hitting that mid-game expansion.
- Advanced Radio Repeater: This is the upgrade you’ve been waiting for. These are smaller (3x3) and provide +2 Broadcast Strength. While they use 12 power (more than double the basic one), the space savings are worth it.
- Boost the Signal (Tier 4): Bouncing radio waves off pigeons? Why not. It’s another +2 flat bonus.
By the time you hit the late game, you can research Dead Air in Tier 5 for yet another +2 boost. If you do all the passive research, you're looking at a significant amount of signal that doesn't cost a single tile of floor space.
The Holographic Globe: The Gold Standard
Eventually, you'll unlock the Holographic Globe. This thing is a beast. It’s a 5x5 item that provides 2 Broadcast Strength and generates Intel at the same time.
It’s expensive on power (30 units!), but it’s the most efficient way to scale your operations in the late game. If you’re trying to get every single region on the map to Level 4, you’re going to need a lot of these. Just make sure your technicians are ready, because when these things break, your global income can tank in seconds.
Managing the Heat-to-Signal Ratio
You’ve got the signal, now what? You’ve got to use it to upgrade your networks.
Upgrading a Criminal Network from Level 1 to Level 2 requires 2 Broadcast Strength. If you want to go all the way to Level 4, you're looking at a heavy investment per region.
Expert Tip: Don't upgrade everything at once. High-level networks generate heat significantly faster. If you have 10 regions at Level 4 and you aren't paying attention, you'll have five different Super Agents knocking on your front door at the same time.
Keep your "money-making" regions at high levels and keep your "utility" regions (where you just run side stories or recruit minions) at Level 1 or 2. This keeps your total broadcast requirement lower and your base much safer.
Why Your Signal Might Randomly Drop
It happens to everyone: you're planning a big heist and suddenly half your networks go offline. Usually, this is a power issue.
If your base's power consumption exceeds your output, the game starts shutting things down. Often, the control room is the first to go. If your Radio Repeaters lose power, you lose the broadcast strength instantly. If that strength drops below what's required to maintain your active networks, those networks will go into "lockdown" or simply stop functioning until the power is restored.
Always keep a "buffer" of at least 50 power. It sounds like a lot, but a single well-placed Saboteur can blow up a few generators and send your entire global empire into the dark ages.
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Actionable Steps for World Domination
- Focus on Research First: Don't try to build your way to 50 broadcast strength using basic repeaters. Get the Tier 2 and Tier 3 passive bonuses as fast as possible.
- Clear the Floor: Once you unlock the Advanced Radio Repeater, delete your old 3x5 basic ones. The floor space you gain can be used for more Intel-generating equipment.
- Watch the Icons: If a repeater has a "lightning bolt" icon, it's unpowered. If it has a "wrench" icon, it's broken. Both mean you've lost that signal strength.
- Balance with Intel: There is no point in having 100 broadcast strength if you don't have enough Intel to actually start schemes. Ensure your control room has a mix of signal-boosting items and Intel-generating consoles.
- The 300 Minion Cap: Remember, you only have 300 minions total. If you build too much equipment that requires manning (like big screens), you won't have enough bodies left to actually defend the base. Lean on the passive signal items whenever possible.
Start by checking your current research tree. If you haven't grabbed the Ham Radio or Radio Dish upgrades yet, make that your top priority. Your gold reserves will thank you.