Alien Research (Long War)
Alien Research increases the power of the alien air and ground forces in a variety of ways. Specifically:
- Make UFOs stronger
- Allow stronger UFO types to be fielded at lower Alien Resource levels
- Allows aliens to field stronger alien types
- Grants alien ground forces increased stats and bonus perks
- Increases the size of pods
The aliens gain one point of research every day; this ensures a baseline progression for the aliens that can't be halted or stopped short of ending the campaign. That said, aliens can also gain Bonus Research via a variety of other methods, so under-performing at the strategic or tactical level can accelerate their progression.
The formula for research points is: Alien Research = Bonus Research (if greater than 0) + Days Passed
iMonth
Alien Research directly correlates to an internal variable called iMonth. Each 28 points of Alien Research (Base + Bonus) increases the iMonth counter by 1.
iMonth = Alien Research / 28, rounded down.
iMonth is directly used to calculate the aliens that can appear in missions.
Bonus Research
Bonus Research starts at -90, and while it remains negative it has no effect - alien development will progress as normal. It can be increased by the following events:
- +2 per Alien Base per month
- +20 for each successful raid on XCOM HQ
- +1 for a non-air-raiding UFO that takes no damage on a mission
- +1 (50% chance) for a non-air-raiding UFO that takes less than 50% damage on a mission
- +3 for a successful research mission by a landed Scout
- +5 for a successful research mission by a landed Raider
- +8 for a successful research mission by a landed Abductor
- +10 for a successful research mission by a landed Terror Ship
- +1 for each lost XCOM soldier on a failed mission (killed or left behind)
- -15 for each successful assault on an Alien Base
- +50 for each incorrect accusation of a country of harboring the EXALT base
Pod Size
The number of aliens allowed in each pod is directly dependent upon current Alien Research:
- Research > 0: Small pods (2-4 aliens)
- Research > 120: Medium pods (3-6 aliens)
- Research > 240: Large pods (4-8 aliens
Alien Progression
Air Forces
All UFOs gain an additional 75 HP, 8 damage and 2 aim (capped at 95% of accuracy) for every 30 points of alien research, to a maximum of 960 points. Some UFOs will also gain upgraded weapons over time:
UFO | Initial Weapon | Upgraded Weapon | Alien Research |
---|---|---|---|
Fighter | 1x Single Plasma | 2x Single Plasma | 330 |
Raider | 1x Single Plasma | 2x Single Plasma | 570 |
Destroyer | 1x Single Plasma | 1x Double Plasma | 270 |
Abductor | 1x Double Plasma | 1x Double Plasma 1x Single Plasma |
390 |
Terror Ship | 1x Double Plasma | 1x Double Plasma 1x Single Plasma |
390 |
Assault Carrier | 1x Double Plasma 1x Single Plasma |
2x Double Plasma | ??? |
See also
Long War: Aliens | |
---|---|
Alien Life Forms • Alien Missions • Alien Deployment • Alien Artifacts • Alien Research • Alien Resources • UFOs • XCOM Threat |