Research Trees
Here are sequences of research topics needed to unlock all the technologies in the game.
Laser Weapons
Laser Weapons (tech breakthrough) | Laser Pistol | Laser Rifle | Heavy Laser | Laser Cannon (Laser Tank) | Laser Defence
Plasma Weapons
Heavy Plasma Plasma Rifle | Heavy Plasma Clip | Plasma Rifle Clip |___________| |__________| | | | | |__________OR___________| | Plasma Beam (Hovertank/Plasma)* | Plasma Defence
* New Fighter Craft must also be researched before you can build hovertanks
Fusion Weapons
Blaster Launcher Blaster Bomb |___________| | Fusion Ball (Hovertank/Launcher)* | Fusion Ball Defence
* New Fighter Craft must also be researched before you can build hovertanks.
Armor
Alien Alloys | Elerium-115 Personal Armor UFO Power Source |_____________|_________________| | | Power Suit UFO Navigation |_________________| | Flying Suit
Craft
Alien Elerium UFO UFO Alloys 115 Power Source Navigation |___________|___________|______________| | UFO Construction | | New Fighter Craft* (Firestorm) | New Fighter-Transporter (Lightning) __________|____________ | | Grav Shield Ultimate Craft (Avenger)
* New Fighter Craft must be researched before you can build hovertanks
Psionics
Any Live Psionic Alien | Psi Lab |_______ | | Psi-Amp Mind Shield
Hyper-Wave Decoder
Any Live Alien Navigator | Hyper-wave Decoder
Endgame
These research topics must be completed in order to travel to Cydonia and finish the game.
Any Live Alien | Alien Origins | | Any Live Alien Leader | / The Martian Solution | | Any Live Alien Commander | / Cydonia or Bust | | Avenger | / Cydonia (mission)
Alien Commanders can be found on Battleships, or in alien bases. An alien Commander will also always accompany a base invasion force. The Unofficial Strategy Guide incorrectly states that only a Commander from an alien base can be used to give access to "Cydonia or Bust". In practice, any Commander will do -- so long as The Martian Solution has already been researched. Should you research a Commander prior to this, you'll have to capture another.
Individual topics
Researching these topics will not unlock any technologies beyond themselves.
There are also four UFO Components which can be researched but which have no practical value:
A fifth component, Alien Reproduction, cannot normally be found in the game, although it can be researched if you add it to your General Stores using a game editor.
Research Tree
See Also
X-COM: Enemy Unknown/UFO Defense | |
Research: | Basics • Popular Sequences and Tips • Trees • Live Aliens • Technical Details |