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 Weapon Upgrades

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	???

Ground Forces

Alien ground forces get gradually better, starting as soon as 15 research, as can be seen in Alien Life Forms (Long War). However, late game alien ground forces receive two major upgrades, at 900 and finally at 1200 research.

Alien upgrades at 900 and 1200 research

Species	Base Dmg	HP	Aim	Crit	DR	Defense	Mobility	Will	Bonus Regen
Sectoid	+1	+3	+4					+15
Drone	+1	+1	+4			+4	+1
Thin Man	+1	+6	+5	+5		+10	+1	+3	+2
Seeker	+1	+5	+6		+1	+5	+3
Outsider	+1	+3	+10	+10	+1		+1	+5	+1
Floater	+1	+3	+5			+4	+1	+2
Chryssalid	+1	+2				+5	+2	+2	+2
Zombie	+1	+5
Muton	+1	+3	+5			+5		+3
Cyberdisc		+3	+5	+5	+1		+1
Mechtoid	+1	+3 (+3)	+8		+1			+3
Berserker	+2	+5					+2	+3	+3
Sectoid Commander	+1	+5				+5	+1	+10	+1
Heavy Floater	+1	+2	+4	+4		+4		+2
Muton Elite	+1	+5	+4			+5	+1	+10	+1
Sectopod	+3	+5			+1
Ethereal	+1	+5						+10	+2
Uber Ethereal						+10		+10