"Hello, Commander. Research is well underway." ~Dr. Richard Tygan
Research is the process of developing new technologies, most of which will unlock new facilities, items, or missions for XCOM. Researching technologies quickly is paramount if the player wishes to stay ahead of alien technological development, which will likewise upgrade the enemy forces at a fixed rate without respect to your own development (or lack of development).
Research speed is determined by the number of scientists you command, whether or not you have a lab, and the Pursuit of Knowledge continent bonus.
Research Speed[edit | edit source]
All technologies have a research point cost. The Avenger earns research points towards the technology at a fixed rate as long as the clock in the bottom-right of the screen advances. The following sources give research points:
- Tygan, who is always present and working, gives 10 research points per hour
- Each scientist earns 5 research points per hour
- When a scientist is staffed in a laboratory, they earn an additional 5 research points per hour
- If you have the pursuit of knowledge continent bonus and a laboratory, multiply your research point income by 1.2
To determine the time it will take to research a technology, add up all your sources of research points to find your hourly income, then divide the tech cost by that number in order to find how many hours it will take to research the technology.
Technology research point costs[edit | edit source]
| Technology | Cost (Vanilla) | Cost (WotC) | Cost (Legend) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Modular Weapons | 720 | 720 | 1200 |
| Magnetic Weapons | 6500 | 6500 | 15000 |
| Gauss Weapons | 3840 | 3840 | 8000 |
| Plasma Rifle | 8000 | 12000 | 25000 |
| Heavy Plasma | 4000 | 10000 | 10000 |
| Plasma Sniper | 4500 | 10000 | 13000 |
| Storm Gun | 2000 | 8000 | 7000 |
| Chosen Assassin Weapons | N/A | 5000 | 11000 |
| Chosen Hunter Weapons | N/A | 5000 | 11000 |
| Chosen Warlock Weapon | N/A | 3500 | 7500 |
| Psionics | 6000 | 6000 | 12000 |
| Hybrid Materials | 720 | 720 | 1200 |
| Plated Armor | 7200 | 7200 | 15000 |
| Powered Armor | 9000 | 14000 | 27000 |
| Elerium | 5000 | 10000 | 10000 |
| Facility Lead * | 1080 | 1080 | 2400 |
| ADVENT Datapad * | 1800 | 1800 | 3000 |
| Alien Datapad * | 3000 | 3000 | 5000 |
| Alien Biotech | 1080 | 1080 | 1400 |
| Sectoid Autopsy | 1080 | 1080 | 1600 |
| Viper Autopsy | 1800 | 1800 | 4000 |
| Muton Autopsy | 2880 | 2880 | 6000 |
| Berserker Autopsy | 2880 | 2880 | 7000 |
| Archon Autopsy | 4000 | 4000 | 9000 |
| Gatekeeper Autopsy | 4800 | 4800 | 12000 |
| Andromedon Autopsy | 4200 | 4200 | 12000 |
| Faceless Autopsy | 1080 | 5000 | 3000 |
| Chryssalid Autopsy | 3600 | 3600 | 7500 |
| The Lost Autopsy | N/A | 960 | 1500 |
| Spectre Autopsy | N/A | 3300 | 6000 |
| ADVENT Trooper Autopsy | 960 | 960 | 1250 |
| ADVENT Officer Autopsy | 1200 | 1200 | 1600 |
| ADVENT Stun Lancer Autopsy | 1800 | 1800 | 3000 |
| ADVENT Purifier Autopsy | N/A | 2000 | 3500 |
| ADVENT Priest Autopsy | N/A | 1600 | 2500 |
| ADVENT Shieldbearer Autopsy | 1500 | 2200 | 4000 |
| ADVENT MEC Autopsy | 2400 | 2400 | 5000 |
| ADVENT Turret Autopsy | 960 | 960 | 2000 |
| Sectopod Autopsy | 5040 | 5040 | 13000 |
| Resistance Communications | 1650 | 1650 | 2800 |
| Resistance Radio | 2160 | 2160 | 5000 |
| Alien Encryption | 2880 | 4000 | 5000 |
| Codex Brain | 2500 | 5000 | 6000 |
| Encrypted Codex Data | 6000 | 10000 | 12000 |
| Blacksite Vial | 2250 | 5000 | 7500 |
| ADVENT Stasis Suit | 2500 | 6000 | 12000 |
| Psionic Gate | 4000 | 8000 | 12000 |
| Avatar Autopsy | 4000 | 10000 | 14000 |
* Facility lead cost will increase by 2080 (2800 on legend) each time it is researched. ADVENT datapad cost will increase by 800 points (1200 on legend) each time it is researched. Alien datapad cost will increase by 840 points (5000 on legend) each time it is researched
Codex Brain, Encrypted Codex Data, Blacksite Vial, ADVENT Stasis Suit, Psionic Gate, and Avatar Autopsy must be researched in the Shadow Chamber.
Rushing research via Black Market[edit | edit source]
Occasionally, the Black Market will offer "rush research" as an option. When this is available, the Commander may pay some intel for immediate progress towards a technology. On Commander difficulty and below, 50% of the tech's remaining research cost will be immediately completed. On Legend, only 25% of the remaining research cost will be completed.
Cancelling and postponing research[edit | edit source]
"Commander, we've already dedicated considerable resources towards our current project..." ~Dr. Richard Tygan
Despite Tygan's groaning, it is possible to change XCOM's current research priority without suffering additional cost or losing any progress. Simply choose a new research directive, and all progress and costs currently spent toward the old technology will be preserved.
It is also possible to cancel Shadow Chamber projects if playing on PC. To cancel a Shadow Chamber project, click the "pause project" button in the bottom-right corner of the screen. This option is unavailable when playing on a controller.
Sources[edit | edit source]
Tech point costs for commander vanilla from source code: XCOM 2 SDK\Development\SrcOrig\XComGame\Classes\X2StrategyElement_DefaultTechs.uc
Tech point costs for commander WotC from two source code files: XComGame\Classes\X2StrategyElement_DefaultTechs.uc and expansion techs XComGame\Classes\X2StrategyElement_XpackTechs.uc
Tech point costs for Legend vanilla from configs: steamapps\common\XCOM 2\XComGame\Config\DefaultStrategyTuning.ini
Tech point costs for Legend WotC from configs: steamapps\common\XCOM 2\XCom2-WarOfTheChosen\XComGame\Config\DefaultStrategyTuning.ini
Tech Rush reduction scalar (from Black Market) found in configs steamapps\common\XCOM 2\XComGame\Config\DefaultGameData.ini as TechRushReductionScalar