Unless the walkthrough has been updated since I last checked (very possible), the tech-upgrade path for the player is still showing the old mechanic, not the new one.
Current system is:
Up to 5: Repair Systems
5 to 10: Repair Bot components. (This is now a LOT faster, because your progress no longer freezes until you go to sleep, so you can level up more than one level per day)
10 to 15: Upgrade Bot Parts (yes, this requires farming, or having in your multiverse pod, certain components usually acquired from Swarm ships; so while getting up to 10 is faster, on a fresh game with no multiverse stored goods, this slows you down considerably, so it probably evens out). QC unlocks at 15, now.
15 to 20: Quality control on any bot.
20 to... wherever: QC on a bot with a compatible shell (most shells are not compatible, but V, N, Protector... and I can't remember, off the top of my head, if any others work; I do remember, for certain, that the Type-J and Galaxina shells don't, and I don't think K, L, or C work; cannot remember about Fantasy or Golden Seductress, and the Abyssal Queen shell is still completely useless, not available for QC, not sellable, not usable in the Arcade....)
