The Foundry allows for item upgrades similar to the Officer Training School. Unlike the OTS, Foundry projects take time to complete similar to research projects. Additionally, several Foundry projects benefit from various Research Credits. Also, take note that, unlike Research projects, multiple Foundry projects can be run at the same time (they will not affect each other's time requirement).
Construction
The Foundry must be constructed in the HQ in order to be accessed. Cost and Time are based off 5 Engineers on Classic difficulty.
Also note that all Foundry Improvements require the continued existence of the Foundry itself to be maintained, even after they were purchased.
- Cost: 3 Power, §75
- Time: 10 days
- Maintenance: $20/month
Future Combat Bonus
If the XCOM base is located in Asia or by providing Asia with full satellite coverage, commanders are granted the continent bonus Future Combat. This bonus reduces most of the resource requirements for Foundry projects by 50%. However, the requirements for Weapon Fragments, Corpses, Engineers, and base items to be improved upon (i.e. Alien Grenade) remain static.
Foundry Projects
S.H.I.V.s
Heavy Weapons Platform (SHIV)
Requirements
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Variable cost
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Fixed cost
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Research Credits applies
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Time
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Result
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Description
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Notes
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none
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§70
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5 Engineers
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7 days
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Basic S.H.I.V. becomes available in Engineering.
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The 'Super Heavy Infantry Vehicle' is an unmanned combat drone that could take the place of an XCOM soldier. Once this project is completed, we can begin building S.H.I.V. units in Engineering.
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This unlocks S.H.I.V.s in general: the Alloy S.H.I.V. requires that the Carapace Armor research also be completed, and these plus the Firestorm research tree for the Hover S.H.I.V. (ie; the latter two are not additional Research/Foundry projects).
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S.H.I.V. Suppression
Requirements
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Variable cost
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Fixed cost
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Research Credits applies
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Time
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Result
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Description
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Notes
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Foundry: Heavy Weapons Platform
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§20
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15 Engineers
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?
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7d
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Allow S.H.I.V. suppressive fire.
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With a fairly extensive hardware and software upgrade, our S.H.I.V. units would be capable of suppressive fire, letting them pin enemy targets down under a hail of bullets.
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Effectively the same as a Support/Heavy's Suppression ability.
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S.H.I.V. Laser
Requirements
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Variable cost
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Fixed cost
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Research Credits applies
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Time
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Result
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Description
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Notes
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Foundry: Heavy Weapons Platform, Research: Heavy Lasers
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§100, 30x Alloys
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15x Weapon Fragments, 10 Engineers
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Beam Weapons, Weapon
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7 days (4 days)
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SHIV minigun replaced with laser cannon.
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Now that we can produce high output laser weapons, we could swap out the conventional minigun our S.H.I.V. units currently use in favor of a laser cannon.
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Naturally, if your play style includes even some S.H.I.V. usage, this should be gotten at earliest opportunity.
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S.H.I.V. Plasma
Requirements
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Variable cost
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Fixed cost
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Research Credits applies
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Time
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Result
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Description
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Notes
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Foundry: Heavy Weapons Platform, Research: Heavy Plasma
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§100, 15x Elerium, 22x Alloys
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30x Weapon Fragments, 20x Engineers
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Weapon
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2 days
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SHIV minigun replaced with plasma cannon.
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Now that we can produce heavy plasma weapons, we could adapt our S.H.I.V. units' armament with this technology and dramatically increase their firepower.
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As with the S.H.I.V. Laser, this should be gotten at earliest opportunity if you use them. If not: the 30 fragments price makes it unimportant. Does not require the Laser upgrade to be completed first.
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S.H.I.V. Repair
Requirements
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Variable cost
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Fixed cost
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Research Credits applies
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Time
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Result
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Description
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Notes
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Foundry: Heavy Weapons Platform, Research: Arc Thrower and EMP Cannon
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§35(?), 7x Alloys
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10x Engineers
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4 days
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Allows soldiers to repair SHIV units with Arc Thrower.
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As our understanding of alien materials grows, we believe that we can develop processes that would reduce the repair times of our fighter craft and S.H.I.V. units significantly.
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Again, a possible priority for S.H.I.V. users, if you cannot hack Drone for whatever reason (none available, can't get to them, etc).
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Weapons/Equipment
Improved Pistol I
Requirements
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Variable cost
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Fixed cost
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Research Credits applies
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Time
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Result
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Description
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Notes
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none
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§75
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5x Weapon Fragments, 5 Engineers
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Weapon
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4 days
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Pistol Critical Chance increased by 10%.
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One of our earliest developments in the Foundry, the Magnetic Ordnance Reduction System greatly reduces the recoil of our entire range of sidearms. Utilizing the latest in composite materials, this upgrade will significantly improve the odds of our soldiers scoring critical hits on their on their targets.
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This upgrade gets added even though it is not mentioned in the critical column.
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Improved Pistol II
Requirements
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Variable cost
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Fixed cost
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Research Credits applies
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Time
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Result
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Description
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Notes
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Research: Beam Weapons
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§150 credits, 20 Alloys
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25x Weapon Fragments, 10 Engineers
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Weapon
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2 days
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Increases Pistol Aim by 10%
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We've started testing an experimental cryogenic treatment for the barrels of our existing sidearm designs. This process will greatly reduce heat distortions caused by repeated firing, which should increase the aim of all soldiers using a pistol.
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According to findings in the game code this upgrade is ineffective.
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Improved Pistol III
Requirements
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Variable cost
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Fixed cost
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Research Credits applies
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Time
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Result
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Description
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Notes
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Research: Plasma Pistol
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§250, 20x Elerium, 20x Alloys
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50x Weapon Fragments, 20 Engineers
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Weapon
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4 days
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Pistol damage increased by 1.
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Having learned a great deal from the alien weapons recovered from the field, we think it should be possible to implement improvements across our entire range of side arms. At the very least, we can expect an increase in the maximum damage output of all of our pistols.
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To a Gunslinger Sniper with a Plasma Pistol, this totals to a respectable base damage of 6. Plus the other two Pistol upgrades, this turns their pistols into decent holdout weapons.
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Requirements
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Variable cost
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Fixed cost
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Research Credits applies
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Time
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Result
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Description
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Notes
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Research: Weapon Fragments
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§75
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15 Weapon Fragments, 10 Engineers
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Beam Weapons
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7 Days
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Increase Critical Chance by 10%
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The portable targeting module called 'S.C.O.P.E.' could be upgraded to highlight sensitive points on the enemy targets. We believe that the chance of critical shots would increase accordingly.
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The item and upgrade of choice for a Sniper. This upgrade gets added even though it is not mentioned in the critical column.
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Requirements
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Variable cost
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Fixed cost
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Research Credits applies
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Time
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Result
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Description
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Notes
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Salvage: Alien Grenade
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§75, 10x Elerium, 25x Alloys
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1x Alien Grenade, 20x Weapon Fragments, 20 Engineers
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7 days
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Alien grenades will become available in unlimited quantity, as the standard Frag Grenades.
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We've had a look at the intact alien grenade you recovered, and with a small investment of resources and time we believe that we can upgrade all our current frag grenades...
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This upgrade is often fairly irrelevant. Assuming you stun-capture a Muton, Heavy Floater, and a Muton Elite, you'll get three Alien Grenades, which is more than enough for most teams: your money, Elerium, alloys, and especially fragments are best spent elsewhere.
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Requirements
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Variable cost
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Fixed cost
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Research Credits applies
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Time
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Result
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Description
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Notes
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Research: Thin Man Autopsy
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§125
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4x Thin Man Corpse, 20x Weapon Fragments, 26 Engineers
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14 days
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Healing delivered by a single Medikit charge increased from 4 to 6.
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The flexible physiology of the Thin Men has given us new ideas for improving our Medikits. We now believe we can increase by 50% the amount of healing delivered in a single charge.
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For your Medic Support, this can either be an alternative to the Savior Ability (additional 4 pts per heal), or in conjunction with it, for a total of 10 pt heals per use. Plus Field Medic, that's up to 30 HP a mission.
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Requirements
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Variable cost
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Fixed cost
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Research Credits applies
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Time
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Result
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Description
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Notes
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Research: Arc Thrower and Elerium
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§100, 20 Elerium, 20 Alloys
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4x Drone Wreck, 20x Weapon Fragments, 10 Engineers
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14 days
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Increase Stun success rate. Before this upgrade: 3,2,1 hp -> 70,80,90% chance. After: 6,5,4,3,2,1 hp -> 70,80,90,95,95,95% chance.
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By increasing the power of our Arc Throwers, we should increase the successful stun rate in combat.
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Very useful for late-game captures: your more powerful weapons will weaken stronger aliens, but probably won't be able to "stop on a dime" and leave them at 1-3 HP (and will kill them outright instead), but Mindfray takes off a whole 5 pt bar of HP each time, which in whole gives you some room for making any last captures.
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Requirements
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Variable cost
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Fixed cost
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Research Credits applies
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Time
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Result
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Description
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Notes
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Research: Arc Thrower, Drone Autopsy
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§175
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4x Drone Wreck, 20x Weapon Fragments, 10 Engineers
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7 days
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Allows Arc Thrower to hack control of Drones. Captured drone is controllable by the squad for the remainder of the mission (flying scout, 2 dmg weapon, repair S.H.I.V. and other drones, self-destruct). Still requires close proximity and consumes one use of an Arc Thrower.
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We're confident that our Arc Throwers could be upgraded to allow the capture of enemy drones, giving us control of the flying drones for the remainder of the combat mission.
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See the Drone entry for mechanics and tactical application.
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Ammo Conservation
Requirements
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Variable cost
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Fixed cost
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Research Credits applies
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Time
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Result
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Description
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Notes
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Research: Muton Autopsy
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§150, 90 Alloys
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6x Muton Corpse, 20x Weapon Fragments, 15 Engineers
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Beam Weapons
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4 days (2 days) ; Normal+41eng=14d
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All weapons can be fired twice as many times before reloading.
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Muton armor contains servomotors that function as automatic weapon loaders, allowing their weapons to carry more ammunition without requiring the soldier to pause for a full reload. We could apply some of the same techniques to our own weapons.
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This is one of the single most important soldier upgrades you can buy from the Foundry, and perhaps in the game. As aliens get tougher and need more shots to put down, reloading puts you at more and more risk.
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Miscellaneous
Advanced Repair
Requirements
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Variable cost
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Fixed cost
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Research Credits applies
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Time
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Result
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Description
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Notes
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Research: Heavy Floater Autopsy
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§175, 5x Elerium, 15x Alloys
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4x Heavy Floater Corpse, 20 Engineers
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?
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7 days
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Improves repair rate of SHIVs and aircraft.
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As our understanding of alien materials grows, we believe that we can develop processes that would reduce the repair times of our fighter craft and S.H.I.V. units significantly.
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Not too expensive, but depending on your luck with where/when UFOs appear, you may or may not need this. The big drawback is that by the time Heavy Floaters begin to appear, you'll probably have Firestorms and Plasma Weapons, and not be too burdened by repair times.
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Advanced Flight
Requirements
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Variable cost
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Fixed cost
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Research Credits applies
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Time
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Result
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Description
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Notes
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Research: Archangel Armor
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§162(?), 25x Alloys
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2x Heavy Floater Corpse, 2x Drone Wreck, 2x Cyberdisc Wreck, 25x Engineers
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Flight
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7 days
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Doubles fuel for Archangel Armor from 6 to 12, and Hover S.H.I.V. from 12 to 24.
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We believe that we can improve the small system flight capabilities of the Archangel Armor and the Hover S.H.I.V. designs, considerably increasing their maximum flight time in combat.
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As Archangel Armor is the suit of choice for Snipers, especially ones with Squad Sight, the additional moves are appreciable.
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Advanced Construction
Requirements
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Variable cost
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Fixed cost
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Research Credits applies
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Time
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Result
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Description
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Notes
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Research: Sectopod Autopsy
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§187(?), 25x Alloys
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2x Sectopod Wreck, 20x Weapon Fragments, 30x Engineers
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?
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14 days
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Allows you to construct facilities in half time for double cost (toggled when facility is ordered, option will be named "Rush construction: ON/OFF")
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The advanced fabrication processes that the aliens used to build this Sectopod could be repurposed to accelerate XCOM's vehicle and facility construction. At a significant cost, of course.
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A VERY late-game upgrade, the most use you will have left from this is filling out your Firestorm fleet, and, if you feel the need, reorganizing your base facilities in short order.
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Requirements
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Variable cost
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Fixed cost
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Research Credits applies
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Time
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Result
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Description
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Notes
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Research: Alien Nav Computer
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§150, 20 Elerium, 20 Alloys
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3 UFO Flight Computer, 20 Engineers
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7 Days
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Makes Satellites harder to detect by aliens.
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By studying the communication signatures of the UFO nav computers we've recovered, we could update our satellite network to mimic the alien communications. This would make the satellites much harder to detect if the aliens were to go looking for them.
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As long as you shoot down a UFO, it won't spawn a Battleship that will attempt to destroy your satellites (which they will then seem to do with regular success anyways). Those flight computers would be of better use on Firestorms.
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See Also