XCOM Headquarters (EU2012)

XCOM Headquarters view

In Enemy Unknown (2012), the Headquarters is the single base from which XCOM fights the alien invasion. Nicknamed the Ant Farm by the design team, the base is presented with a side view cross-section that allows the player to access the main game options and also to zoom in on the different facilities. The entire base is dynamic and will show soldiers and staff interact within it.

Basic Facilities

The HQ view displays the Time and Date, the number of Credits(§), Monthly Funding, Alien Alloys & Elerium (if any) and an Event List. It also allows the Commander to quickly access XCOMs six main areas of operations and their options through the following buttons:

• Mission Control - Scan globe for alien activity and launch missions.
• Hangar - Manage you air crafts and interceptor bases.
• Research - Manage your research projects and view archive.
• Engineering - Engineer items, upgrades and build facilities.
• Barracks - Equip and train soldiers.
• Situation Room - Manage country panic, satellites and funding.

Base Expansion

In Engineering you may Build facilities to expand your base. The base has 24 expansion slots available underneath the starting facilities. The position of some facilities in relation to one another will provide bonus to their output. Most slots must be excavated ( 5 days, §10-§80 depending on depth) in order to build a new facility. Facilities may also be dismantled ( §5 ). The lower base level ground bonuses are randomized for each game. Excavating them may reveal Steam Vents (visible on normal & easy difficulty), which provide extra energy required to deploy Thermal Power Generators.

Additional Facilities

• Access Lift - Access and power to lower levels.
• Alien Containment - Interrogate live captured Aliens
• The Foundry - Large manufacturing projects, improving manufacturable item attributes
• Laboratories - Boosts Science Lab
• Officer Training School - Acquire additional Squad abilities
• Power Generator - For additional power required to power new base facilities.
• Satellite Uplink - Allows new satellites over other countries
• Satellite Nexus - An alternative to Uplinks allowing more satellites at increased cost
• Thermal Power Generator - More power, require steam vent
• Workshop - Boosts Engineering, resource rebates on projects.

Base Design

The position of the facilities in relation to one another will provide bonuses to their output. For example, building Labs next to each other provide an adjacency bonus that increases the speed of research.

Be considerate of the available expansions slots you leave in the long-term. As an example, you could build several Satellite Uplinks for an overall lower monetary and resource cost than a Satellite Nexus. However, the Nexus takes up less physical space. Getting near the end of the game and finding out your limited on space, need to remove facilities (at cost), and then wait for new ones to build could cost you the game. On the flip side, there may be reasons you end up with 'extra' space: you may get lucky and have a lot of steam vents, you may be really good at combat such that you don't need as many research and manufacturing facilities, or you might just choose to protect a select few countries with fewer total satellites.

(This would be a great place to talk about adjacency once we figure it out; 2x2, plus shape, all-in-a-row, etc.)

See Also

• Base Facilities - For a list of base expansion projects and cost/requirements
• Base Management - Information on how to maximize the HQ's potential