Alien Research (Long War)

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: Research Points = Bonus Research (if greater than 0) + Days Passed

iMonth

Alien Research Points directly correlate 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 month per country under alien control
• +20 for 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 per lost XCOM soldier on a failed mission (killed or left behind)
• -15 per successful assault on an Alien Base
• +50 per 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 research points:

• Small (Research > 0): 2-4 aliens per pod
• Medium (Research > 120): 3-6 aliens per pod
• Large (Research > 240): 4-8 aliens per pod

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:

Weapon Upgrades

Type	Initial Weapon	Upgraded Weapon	Alien Research
Fighter	x1 Single Plasma	x2 Single Plasma	330
Raider	x1 Single Plasma	x2 Single Plasma	570
Destroyer	x1 Single Plasma	x1 Double Plasma	270
Abductor	1x Double Plasma	1x Double Plasma x1 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	??