== Buildable Units==
Ted Jam offers a variety of specialized mechanical, biomechanical or even biological units. They can be created in the Proving Grounds with some resources and enemy corpses. These buildable units have special attributes compared to your standard soldiers, namely:
* They are incapable of leveling up, but they also do not count as a unit for experience distribution on mission completion. A squad of 3 humans and 2 BU's does not count as 5 soldiers for experience distribution, it counts as 3. This results in much faster leveling.
* Most BU's are mechanical, like a Spark. Celatid turrets and Chryssalid Hound are biological units with will.
* BU's besides S.H.I.V. units do not have weapon or armor upgrades in standard sense. Instead they are upgraded globally through the research lab. Frost Droid is the exception as their primary weapon is the same as what XCOM soldiers use, be it a sniper rifle, cannon, shotgun, smg or assault rifle.
** These upgrades are retroactive and affect Haven units XCOM has aquired through Full Override or covert operation
*** S.H.I.V. units use Gremlins as their secondary weapon
* More types of buildable units are unlocked through autopsies or proving ground research topics, S.H.I.V. types are unlocked through armor research.

== Aquiring BU's==

==== Starting research ====
At the start of the campaign, XCOM has access to 2 special research topics, these will deposit a S.H.I.V. unit in to the barracks directly, twice. These armoured robotic tanks can crash through walls, heal injured biological units or attack enemies with their miniguns.

==== Proving Grounds ====
Proving grounds are the source of all other BU's XCOM can make. S.H.I.V. units and the Frost Droid are the only BU's that do not require a corpse to make.
XCOM can make the following:
* Super Heavy Infantry Vehicle - S.H.I.V., these robotics tank come with a heavy machinegun and gremlin.
** S.H.I.V. units gain abilities of all the previous tiers - a Elerium S.H.I.V has the abilities of Alloy and Standard S.H.I.V.
*** All BU's that have multiple tech tiers behave like this.
* Advent Drones - Come as standard, hunter and enigma versions. Considerably faster at infiltration when compared to other BU's and their repair beam capabilities make them excelent support units alongside other mechanical units.
* Phase Drone - Capable of phasing through walls, Phase Drone has better offensive capabilities than the normal Advent drones
* Celatid Turrets - Floating acid spitting specialists, behave more like a mobile turret. Exist in 3 tiers, these are bio-mechanical units, they cannot be hacked, but are vulnerable to psionics and weapons like EMP. They also have the ability to open Advent crates or mark them. Celatid turrets cannot be deployed while injured.
* MECs - Come in greatest variety - Ressistance MEC, Archer, Pyroclast, Frost MEC, Junk Spark and two different Assault MEC versions. All of these can mark crates and even loot their contents and with sufficient upgrades, they are capable of engaging in melee combat.
** Ressistance MEC - the standard Mech from Long War 2, armed with a cannon and micro missile launcher
** Archer MEC - Bombardment mech, comes with improved launcher that holds 3 micro missiles charges that they can launch up to 40 tiles away, but Archers are more fragile and have weaker cannon
** Pyroclast MEC - Flamethrower mech, they come with no micro-missile launchers but come with ability to overcharge their flamethrowers to deal magnetic type damage, letting them damage even fire immune enemies.
** Frost Mech MEC - Support fire Mech that inflicts bitterfrost with its cannon, suppression or micro missiles, they also are the most durable standard Mechs due to innate Impact Compensation perk.
** Junk Spark - The cheapest and weakest buildable units, they come with low health, high armor, cannon and ability to self destruct.
** Assault MEC - Come in two variations, prototype and standard one. These heavily armoured frontline units are armed with a shotgun and shoulder mounted miniguns.
* Frost Drone - This humanoid shaped mech can use XCOM's infantry weapons and has special perks that let them adapt to the weapon type they have been given. This is the only BU that can take cover and can mark or loot crates.
* Chryssalid Hound - Agile melee fighters that can burrow to ambush XCOM's enemies, these are biological units.
** Chryssalid Hound does not have the chryssalid poison ability, just the standard one.

== Limitations of BU's==
* All of them are incapable of hacking, even the S.H.I.V. despite having a Gremlin as they lack the Intrusion Protocol.
* Beside drones, BU's are harder to infiltrate than normal soldiers.
* Only Mechs, Celatid Turrets and Frost Droids are capable of marking crates or looting them. But all BU's can still, interact with rebels for example to rescue them.
* No bleedouts, BU's die when their health drops to zero. But mechanical BU's can be deployed while damaged.
* Mechanical BU's can be hacked by Advent, hack defence is bound to their tier and cannot be upgraded. Biomechanical and biological BU's can be mind controlled and can suffer from fatigue.
* Chryssalid Hound is treated in the infirmary instead of the repair bay. So staffed Infirmary can speed up its recovery.
* BU's do not have the PCS slot
* S.H.I.V. cannot vault over most obstacles, which can create issues with movement without breaking concealment in some way.

== Special interactions or hidden features ==
* Leadership - BU's can build up this bond with an officer, while will is mostly pointless, dodge and faster infiltration is not.
* Very fast recovery - BU's are really fast to repair compared to Sparks.
* Vertical movement - Besides the Frost Droid, all BU's are capable of jumping up buildings without ladders or staircases.

== Full Override ==
In Ted Jam, permamently stealing a robotic units has few notable differences when compared to Long War 2, mainly, the unit type stolen will be preserved - a Mech Archer will not turn to a generic resistance Mech - almost all robotic units can now be stolen, Stolen units that become a part of Haven do benefit from upgrades XCOM conducts on the Avenger.
* Sectopods can be stolen and do become part of a Haven, but they lose some of their durability. Despite not being buildable by XCOM, they do benefit from upgrades.
* Upgrades are applied retroactively, no matter how long a fully overriden unit has spent in a haven

== Table of BU's and requirements ==
{| class="wikitable" style="margin:auto"
|+ BU requirements
|-
! Unit type !! Supplies !! Alloy !! Elerium dust !! Elerium Cores !! Research !! Corpse !! Cryolite
|-
| S.H.I.V. || 25 || || || || || ||
|-
| Alloy S.H.I.V. || 45 || 3 || 1 || || Plated Armor || ||
|-
| Elerium S.H.I.V. || 65 || 5 || 3 || 1 || Powered Armor || ||
|-
| Drone || 10 || || || || || 1x Drone wreck ||
|-
| Hunter Drone || 20 || || || 1|| Stunlancer autopsy, MEC breakdown, Advent Robotics || 1x Drone wreck ||
|-
| Enigma Drone || 25 || || || 1 || Spectre autopsy, Advent Robotics || 1x Drone wreck, 1x Spectre corpse ||
|-
| Phase Drone || 10 || || || || Phase Drone autopsy || 1x Phase drone wreck ||
|-
| Frost Drone || 15 || 2 || || || Hybrid Materials, Bitterfrost Protocol || || 3
|-
| Resistance MEC || 20 || || || || MEC breakdown || 1x MEC wreck ||
|-
| Archer MEC || 25 || || || 1 || MEC breakdown, Exosuits || 1x MEC wreck ||
|-
| Pyroclast MEC || 40 || || || 1 || MEC breakdown, Purifier autopsy, Advanced Magnetic Weapons || 1x MEC wreck, 1x Purifier corpse ||
|-
| Frost MEC || 25 || || || 1 || MEC breakdown, Bitterfrost Protocol || 1x MEC wreck || 5
|-
| Prototype Assault MEC || 40 || || || 1 || Assault MEC breakdown, Exo Suit, Advanced Magnetic Weapons || 1x Assault MEC wreck ||
|-
| Military Assault MEC || 60 || || || 2 || Assault MEC breakdown, WAR Suit, Heavy Plasma || 1x Assault MEC wreck ||
|-
| Celatid Turret || 10 || || || || Celatid autopsy, Advent Trooper autopsy || 1x Celatid corpse, 1x Trooper corpse ||
|-
| Alloy Celatid Turret || 25 || || || || Celatid autopsy, Trooper autopsy, Officer autopsy, Combat Armor, Magnetic weapons || 1x Celatid corpse, 1x Officer corpse ||
|-
| Elerium Celatid Turret || 50 || || || 1 || Celatid autopsy, Muton autopsy, Powered Armor, Plasma Rifle || 1x Celatid corpse, 1x Muton corpse ||
|-
| Chryssalid Hound || 30 || || || 1 || Chryssalid autopsy || 1x Chryssalid Corpse ||
|}

== Upgrades==
XCOM can further upgrade their buildable units through the research lab. Each research mentions what applies to which unit if you inspect it in the Proving Grounds. These upgrades do affect already exisiting buildable units and any units in Havens.

{| class="wikitable" style="margin:auto"
|+ Upgrades
|-
! Upgrade !! Research !! Cost !! Abilities
|-
| Firepower - Basic || Laser Weapons || 25 supplies, 3 alloys, 3 elerium dust|| Surprise, Concentration, Bigger They Are (All BU's), Biggest Boom (Frost MEC and Frost Droid)
|-
| Firepower - Advanced || Magnetic Weapons || 50 supplies, 5 alloys, 5 elerium dust || Soften Up (All BU's), Nova (All the MEC types and Junk Spark), Tesla Attack (S.H.I.V.), Demolition Cannon (Frost Droid)
|-
| Firepower - Superior || Coilguns || 75 supplies, 10 alloys, 1 elerium core || Anatomy (All BU's), Supernova (All MEC types), HEAT arsenal (All except the Chryssalid Hound and Drones)
|-
| Defense - Basic || Hybrid Materials || 25 supplies, 3 alloys, 3 elerium dust || Formidable, Iron Skin (All BU's), Moving Target (Drones, Chryssalid Hound, Frost Droid), Draw Fire (All units except Drones, Chryssalids and Frost Droids)
|-
| Defense- Advanced || Plated Armor || 50 supplies, 5 alloys, 5 elerium dust || Cybernetic Conditioning, Reactive Armor (All BU's), Triangulation (All BU's except Drones, Frost Droid and Chryssalid Hound), Layered Armor (All BU's except Drones, Frost Droids, and Junk Sparks)
|-
| Defense- Superior || Powered Armor || 75 supplies, 10 alloys, 1 elerium core || Impact Fields (All BU's), Damage Control (All BU's except Drones and the Frost Droid), Intimidate (All MEC's and Junk Spark)
|-
| Utility - Basic || Advent Robotics || 25 supplies, 3 alloys, 3 elerium dust || Charge (All BU's), Neutralizing Agent (S.H.I.V. units), ECM (Drones), Corpsman (Frost Droid)
|-
| Utility - Advanced || MEC breakdown || 50 supplies, 5 alloys, 5 elerium dust || Combat Fitness, Hidden Reserves (All BU's), Sensor Overlay (Drones), Blend (Frost Droid, Drones, Chryssalid Hound, Celatid Turrets)
|-
| Utility - Superior || Andromedon Autopsy || 75 supplies, 10 alloys, 1 elerium core || Charger (All BU's), Overdrive (Junk Spark and MEC's), Botnet (S.H.I.V units and Drones)
|-
| Melee - Basic || Faceless Autopsy || 25 supplies, 3 alloys, 3 elerium dust || Strike (Junk Spark, all MEC's), Cutthroat (Chryssalid Hound), Take Down (Junk Spark, Frost Droid, all MEC's, Chryssalid Hound), Beatdown (Frost Droid)
|-
| Melee - Advanced || Berserker Autopsy || 50 supplies, 5 alloys, 5 elerium dust || Counter-Strike, Concussive Strike, Assault Servos, Strike Out (All MEC's and Junk Spark)
|-
| Melee - Superior || Muton Elite Autopsy || 75 supplies, 10 alloys, 1 elerium core || Lightning Strike (All MEC's and Junk Spark), Whirlwind (All MEC's, Junk Spark, Chryssalid Hound), Bloody Knuckles (All MEC's and Chryssalid Hound)
|-
| Sectopod Grade Refinements || Sectopod Breakdown || 200 supplies, 20 alloys, 2 core || Heavy Hitter (All BU's), Resilience (All BU's), Double Time (All MEC's, Junk Spark).
|-
| Chryssalid Hound Modification || Chryssalid Autopsy || 35 supplies, 4 alloys, 3 elerium dust || Adaptive Bone Marrow, Social Dynamo, Thrash, Salt in the Wound
|}