Facilities (Long War)

The XCOM Headquarters is made up of numerous facilities that are responsible for managing and supplementing the base's important strategic and research functions. The headquarters in Long War are mostly the same as in vanilla, with pretty much every facility performing the same or a similar function as in vanilla.

The XCOM Headquarters, often referred to as the "Ant Farm", due to it's side view, is separated in two sections. The top half of the base consists of static facilities that are already available at the start of the game and are the same for every individual game. The bottom half of the base starts out mostly empty, with room to construct various additional facilities, once enough space has been excavated.

Static facilities

The top half of the base contains several crucial facilities that are automatically available at the start of the game, and remain static throughout the game.

The static facilities supply a total of 30 power and require a total of 12 power, effectively supplying 18 power to the constructible facilities.

Static facilities (Long War)
Facility	Effect	Maintenance
Mission Control	The Mission Control Room is the focus of XCOM engagement, featuring a rotating hologram of Earth, referred to by Bradford as a Hologlobe. In the Mission Control Room, players can "Scan for Activity", which advances the time and date, respond to available missions and watch aircraft on their way to a mission.	0	3
Research	The Research Lab houses the research team, headed by Dr. Vahlen. In the Research Lab, players can choose the active research project, review completed research projects and review research credits. Players can also access the Genetics Lab here, once it has been constructed.	0	5
Engineering	The Engineering Bay houses the engineering team, headed by Dr. Shen. In the Engineering Bay, players can build Weapons, Armor, Equipment and Vehicles and expand the XCOM base by building new facilities. Players can also access the Foundry and the Repair Bay here, once they have been constructed.	0	0
Barracks	The Barracks houses the soldiers that are available for missions. In the Barracks, players can review their soldiers, change their loadout and appearance, assign promotions, hire new soldiers and view the memorial to fallen soldiers. Players can also access the Officer Training School and the Psionic Labs here, once they have been constructed.	0	1
Hangar	The Hangar houses the Skyranger troop transport, the soldiers that are selected for the current mission and the base's aircraft. In the Hangar, players can review their aircraft, change their loadout and name, order new interceptors and transfer aircraft between different continents.	0	3
Situation Room	The Situation Room provides a global view of the funding countries, complete with panic levels, defense shields and satellite coverage. In the Situation Room, players can review the funding countries, view the current campaign objectives, launch new satellites, view XCOM finances, display accumulated bonuses, sell items on the Gray Market and view and accept pending Council requests. Once EXALT has become active, players can also view their EXALT intel here, scan for EXALT cells, view and launch covert operations and accuse countries of harboring the EXALT headquarters.	0	0

Constructible facilities

The bottom half of the base contains 28 sections, separated in 4 levels, where players can construct additional facilities. The middle section of each level is reserved for an Access Lift, leaving the remaining 24 sections available for the various other facilities.

Two sections contain steam vents (5 sections with Japan's Ring of Fire starting bonus). Thermo Generators can only be built in these 2 sections, though you can also build any other facility in these sections, with the exception of the Access Lift.

Most facilities have an adjacency type. When 2 facilities with the same adjacency type are build adjacent to each other (either horizontal or vertical), they together provide the adjacency bonus in addition to their regular benefits. Each facility can provide the adjacency bonus more than once. A line of 3 facilities provides the adjacency bonus twice, a block of 2x2 facilities provides the adjacency bonus 4 times, and a block of 3x2 facilities provides the adjacency bonus 7 times.

Each of these additional facilities requires maintenance, which costs a fixed amount of Credits each month, as well as a continuous Power requirement. You cannot build any new facilities if that would cause the total amount of power required for all your facilities to exceed the total amount of power supplied.

When needed, facilities can be built more quickly than normal, by selecting the option when building the facility. This increases the Credits, Alien Alloys and Elerium costs by 50% and adds 10 Meld to the cost, but halves the construction time.

Constructible facilities (Long War)
Facility	Effect	Adjacency type	Prerequisites		Cost				Maintenance
				Other
Access Lift	Each base level requires an Access Lift before excavations and other constructions may be performed at that base level. Must be built in the center column. Cannot be torn down once built.	None	None	None	100	0	0	7	5	1
Laboratory	Increases research speed by 20%.	Laboratory (+10% research speed)	None	10 scientists per Laboratory	200	0	0	21	30	4
Genetics Lab	Allows Soldiers to be Genetically modified.	Laboratory (+10% research speed)	Xenogenetics	None	200	0	0	18	30	4
Psionic Labs	Allows Soldiers to discover and develop latent Psionic abilities.	Laboratory (+10% research speed)	Xenopsionics	None	250	0	20	18	25	6
Workshop	Reduces item cost by 10% and gives a 10% refund on materials. Multiple Workshops have diminishing returns and discounts and refunds cannot exceed 50%.	Workshop (+5% discount/refund)	None	10 engineers per Workshop	200	0	0	21	30	4
Foundry	Unlocks development of new combat items and improvements to current items. Cannot be torn down once built.	Workshop (+5% discount/refund)	None	None	200	0	0	18	25	6
Repair Bay	Unlocks the production of Mechanized Exoskeletal Cybersuits, and allows Soldiers to be augmented into MEC Troopers to wear them. It also allows to repair damaged equipment.	Workshop (+5% discount/refund)	None	None	50	0	0	10	10	4
Officer Training School	Unlocks increases to squad size and Officer training programs. Cannot be torn down once built.	None	None	1 Soldier at Corporal rank	200	0	0	7	10	1
Facility	Effect	Adjacency type	Prerequisites		Cost				Maintenance
				Other
Fission Generator	Supplies 8 power, which is required to construct additional facilities.	Power generator (+3 power)	None	None	120	0	0	10	20	0
Thermo Generator	Supplies 25 power, which is required to construct additional facilities. Must be built over steam vents.	Power generator (+3 power)	None	None	350	0	0	21	35	0
Elerium Generator	Supplies 35 power, which is required to construct additional facilities. Costs 2 UFO Powers Sources in addition to the other costs.	Power generator (+3 power)	Alien Power Systems	None	400	60	60	25	25	0
Satellite Uplink	Allows a team of engineers to monitor the transmissions from 1 XCOM satellite, increasing the maximum amount of satellites in orbit by 1.	Satellite support (+1 maximum satellites)	None	10 engineers per Satellite Uplink + 20 engineers per Satellite Nexus	200	0	0	21	20	8
Satellite Nexus	Allows a team of engineers to monitor the transmissions from 2 XCOM satellites, increasing the maximum amount of satellites in orbit by 2. Costs 2 UFO Flight Computers in addition to the other costs.	Satellite support (+1 maximum satellites)	Alien Computers	10 engineers per Satellite Uplink + 20 engineers per Satellite Nexus	300	50	20	21	25	8
Alien Containment	Provides a secure environment to house the Alien captives, allowing Dr. Vahlen to interrogate them. Without an Alien Containment, Aliens captured with an Arc Thrower will be killed.	None	Xenobiology	None	200	20	0	14	30	10
Hyperwave Relay	Allows the detection of Special UFOs, and shows extended information about all UFOs when they are detected. Cannot be torn down once built.	None	Alien Communications	Hyperwave Beacon	600	100	60	28	100	15
Gollop Chamber	Allows a Psionic Soldier to use the Ethereal Device, which unlocks the Temple Ship Assault mission. Cannot be torn down once built.	None	Alien Command and Control	Ethereal Device	1000	20	60	14	200	35

Expanding

One possible starting base

At the start of the campaign, the lower half of the base contains a single Access Lift in the middle of the top level, and a single Satellite Uplink directly left of the Access Lift. The rest of the sections contain either an open space (excavated areas and natural caves) or solid ground.

The middle column is reserved for additional Access Lifts. Players can build an Access Lift on a lower level to gain access to that level. The Access Lifts must be connected, so the first Access Lift a player builds must be at the second level, the second Access Lift on the third level and the third Access Lift on the final level.

Facilities can only be constructed on sections with an open space. To construct a facility (other than an Access Lift), you must have an Access Lift on the same level, and have a connection to that Access Lift through open spaces. Open spaces that are separated from the Access Lift by solid ground are not available for the construction of new facilities.

A section that contains solid ground can be excavated, so that it becomes an open space. To excavate a section, you must have an Access Lift on the same level, and have a connection to that Access Lift through open spaces. Sections with solid ground that are separated from the Access Lift by other sections with solid ground are not available for excavation.

Excavating a section takes 5 days, and the cost depends on the level the section is at. Excavations cannot be performed quickly, and do not have any maintenance once completed:

• Excavating a section on the top level costs 10 Credits.
• Excavating a section on the second level costs 20 Credits.
• Excavating a section on the third level costs 40 Credits.
• Excavating a section on the bottom level costs 80 Credits.

Layout

An example of end-game base layout.

There are a total of 24 sections available for facilities, not counting the Access Lifts. To make optimal use of the adjacency bonuses, it is important that players plan the layout of their facilities ahead of time, to optimize adjacency bonuses. Since there are 4 different adjacency types, it's only natural to assign each adjacency type to it's own quarter:

• Laboratories, which include the Genetics Lab and the Psionic Labs.
• Workshops, which include the Foundry and the Repair Bay.
• Power generators, which include Fission Generators, Thermo Generators and Elerium Generators.
• Satellite support, which include Satellite Uplinks and Satellite Nexuses.

Do note: the four quadrants are effectively interchangeable - save for that the OTS, Hyperwave Relay, Foundry, and Gollop Chamber cannot be moved once their construction is complete, and moving Alien Containment will require euthanizing any captive aliens. And of course, you cannot remove satellite facilities if doing so would reduce your capacity below however many you have up, nor remove power facilities below your current power requirement.

Players start with a Satellite Uplink directly left of the first Access Lift. Players that want to eventually have a satellite in orbit for each council member need a total of 16 satellites. The most efficient way of supporting this, is by building 3 Satellite Uplinks (3 maximum satellites) and 3 Satellite Nexuses (6 maximum satellites) in a 3x2 pattern for 7 adjacency bonuses (7 maximum satellites), which provides them with a total of 16 maximum satellites. This means that the entire top left quarter can be reserved for satellite support, while leaving room for a 2x2 Elerium Generator block. Alternatively, one could build the satellite hub as two facilities across, and three down, allowing non-adjacency facilities (such as the officer training school and alien containment) to be built vertically down the leftmost edge, which can be an attractive use of upper-space, if those facilities are a priority.

Steam vents can provide a great boost to power during the early months of the game, thanks to Thermo Generators, so the quarter that players reserve for their Power generators should contain at least one steam vent. It can be beneficial to restart the campaign until both steam vents are close to each other in the same quarter of the base, but keep in mind that Elerium Generators supply more power than Thermo Generators and do not have placement requirements, so steam vents can be ignored in the long run.

Steam vents are generally found at the bottom half of the base, which may take a while to expand to. Players should not hesitate to build Fission Generators at the top of the base during the early months, to provide enough supply for their early buildings, and then tear these down once there are enough Thermo Generators and Elerium Generators in place, as Fission Generators are very inefficient once players are getting tight for space.

With the top left quarter reserved for Satellite support and one of the bottom quarters reserved for Power generators, the remaining two quarters are available for Laboratories and Workshops. Players should reserve the top right quarter for the adjacency type they want to focus on during the early game, and reserve the remaining quarter at the bottom for the other adjacency type.

Alternatively, if players are reserving the bottom left quarter for Power generators, they could reserve vertical lines for their Laboratories and Workshops. While this is slightly less efficient for the adjacency bonuses, it allows players to build essential buildings of either type before expanding to the third level.

Players should keep in mind that they also need to reserve space for the Officer Training School, the Alien Containment, the Hyperwave Relay and the Gollop Chamber. These buildings have no adjacency type, and thus can be built in any quarter where players are not planning to use all 6 sections for the adjacency type. Thus, it may be ideal to 'reserve' two spots in the Lab quadrant for the Chamber and Hyperwave, as these are likely to be the last two facilities you will build, their spots can be taken up by two additional Labs in the meantime: you'll want the boost to research to complete as many projects as you can before preparing for the final act of the war anyways. Once all research is complete in endgame, it won't set you back anything to tear down two to make room for the Hyperwave and the Chamber.

If you go with a 2x4 configuration of the Foundry, the Repair Bay, and 6 Workshops (as recommended in Vanilla), you will end up with about a 46-48% refund in Elerium and Alloys from any builds in Engineering; this is fairly close to the listed 50% rebate maximum, and without crowding out the other facilities you'll be needing. Note that this does not include credits, so it is not quite "buy two get one free."

Power

Since there are only 24 sections available, it helps to calculate beforehand how many Power generators players require. Keep in mind that the static facilities require 12 power and supply 30 power. For example, players may want to construct the following list of facilities:

• The static facilities require a total of 12 power.
• 4 Access Lifts require a total of 4 power.
• 3 Laboratories require a total of 12 power.
• The Genetics Lab requires 4 power.
• The Psionic Labs require 6 power.
• 3 Workshops require a total of 12 power.
• The Foundry requires 6 power.
• The Repair Bay requires 4 power.
• The Officer Training School requires 1 power.
• 3 Satellite Uplinks require a total of 24 power.
• 3 Satellite Nexuses require a total of 24 power.
• The Alien Containment requires 10 power.
• The Hyperwave Relay requires 15 power.
• The Gollop Chamber requires 35 power.

These facilities together take up 20 sections, leaving 4 for Power generators, and require a total of 169 power. The static facilities supply 30 power, so an additional 139 power is required. Any arrangement of 4 Elerium Generators (140 power) will supply the needed power without the need for adjacency bonuses. Alternatively, you can keep one Thermo Generator (25 power), and connect to it 3 more Elerium Generators (105 power) to get at least 3 adjacency bonuses (9 power). This configuration will supply the needed 139 power, exactly.

On the other hand, since the Gollop Chamber is by far the most power consuming building, and is only required at the very end of the campaign, players could focus on a base without the Gollop Chamber. When it's time to end the campaign, tear down several buildings to provide both space and power for the Gollop Chamber:

• The static facilities require a total of 12 power.
• 4 Access Lifts require a total of 4 power.
• 3 Laboratories require a total of 12 power.
• The Genetics Lab requires 4 power.
• The Psionic Labs require 6 power.
• 4 Workshops require a total of 16 power.
• The Foundry requires 6 power.
• The Repair Bay requires 4 power.
• The Officer Training School requires 1 power.
• 3 Satellite Uplinks require a total of 24 power.
• 3 Satellite Nexuses require a total of 24 power.
• The Alien Containment requires 10 power.
• The Hyperwave Relay requires 15 power.

These facilities together take up 20 sections, leaving 4 for Power generators, and require a total of 138 power. The static facilities supply 30 power, so an additional 108 power is required. 2 Thermo Generators (50 power) and 2 Elerium Generators (70 power) provide a total of 120 power – enough to supply the needed power without any adjacency bonuses. Or even 2 Elerium Generators (70 power), 1 Thermo Generator (25), and 1 Fission Generator (8 power) adds up to 103 power, requiring only two adjacency bonuses (+6) to reach the target. Then simply tear down the Fission Generator and replace it with an Elerium Generator when you're ready to build the Gollop Chamber.

See also

Long War: XCOM Facilities
	Overview Mission Control Research Engineering Barracks Hangar Situation Room
	Access Lift Alien Containment Elerium Generator Foundry Fission Generator Genetics Lab Gollop Chamber Hyperwave Relay Laboratory Officer Training School Psionic Lab Repair Bay Satellite Nexus Satellite Uplink Thermo Generator Workshop