View source for Research Trees

Here are sequences of research topics needed to unlock all the technologies in the game.

<big>'''Laser Weapons'''</big>
 Laser Weapons  (tech breakthrough)
   |
 [[Laser Pistol]]
   |
 [[Laser Rifle]]
   |  
 [[Heavy Laser]]       
   |  
 [[Laser Cannon]] 
 ([[Heavy Weapons Platforms|Laser Tank]])
   | 
 [[Laser Defences|Laser Defense]]

<big>'''Plasma Weapons'''</big>
     [[Heavy Plasma]]               [[Plasma Rifle]] 
          |    Heavy Plasma Clip   |  Plasma Rifle Clip  
          |___________|            |__________|
                  |                       |
                  |                       |
                  |__________OR___________|
                             |
                       [[Plasma Beam|Plasma Cannon]]
                    ([[Heavy Weapons Platforms|Hovertank/Plasma]])* 
                             |
                       [[Plasma Defences|Plasma Defense]]

<nowiki>*</nowiki> [[#Craft|New Fighter Craft]] must also be researched before you can build hovertanks

<big>'''Fusion Weapons'''</big>
  [[Blaster Launcher]]    [[Blaster Bomb]]
              |___________|
                   |
                [[Fusion Ball Launcher|Fusion Ball]]
           ([[Heavy Weapons Platforms|Hovertank/Launcher]])*
                   |
           [[Fusion Ball Defences|Fusion Ball Defense]]

<nowiki>*</nowiki> [[#Craft|New Fighter Craft]] must also be researched before you can build hovertanks.

<big>'''Armor'''</big>
       [[Alien Alloys]]
               |  
 [[Elerium-115]]  [[Personal Armor]]  [[UFO Power Source]]      
 |_____________|_________________| 
           | 
           |     
      [[Power Suit]]      [[UFO Navigation]]  
           |_________________|   
                    |
               [[Flying Suit]] 

<big>'''Craft'''</big>
 Alien    Elerium        UFO            UFO
 Alloys      115     Power Source   Navigation
 |___________|___________|______________|
            |
    UFO Construction
            |
            |
    New Fighter Craft*
       ([[Firestorm]])
            |
 New Fighter-Transporter
       ([[Lightning]])
  __________|____________
  |                      |
 [[Grav Shield]]     Ultimate Craft ([[Avenger]])

<nowiki>*</nowiki> New Fighter Craft must be researched before you can build hovertanks

<big>'''Psionics'''</big>
 Any Live Psionic Alien
   |
 [[Psionic Laboratory|Psi Lab]]
   |_______
   |       |
 [[Psi-Amp]] [[Mind Shield]]

<big>'''Hyper-Wave Decoder'''</big>

 Any Live Alien Navigator
   |
 [[Hyper-wave Decoder]]

<big>'''Endgame'''</big>

These research topics must be completed in order to travel to [[Cydonia]] and finish the game.

 Any Live Alien
  |
 [[Alien Research#Alien Origins|Alien Origins]]
  |
  | Any Live Alien Leader
  | /
 [[Alien Research#The Martian Solution|The Martian Solution]] 
  |
  | Any Live Alien Commander
  | /
 [[Alien Research#Cydonia or Bust|Cydonia or Bust]]
  |
  | [[Avenger]]
  | /
 [[Cydonia]] (mission)

Alien Commanders can be found on [[Battleship]]s, or in [[Alien Base Assault|alien bases]].  An alien Commander will also always accompany a [[Base Defense|base invasion]] force.  The [http://www.xcomufo.com/usg.html Unofficial Strategy Guide] incorrectly states that only a Commander from an alien base can be used to give access to "Cydonia or Bust".  In practice, any Commander will do -- so long as The Martian Solution has already been researched.  Should you research a Commander prior to this, you'll have to capture another.

<big>'''Individual topics'''</big>

Researching these topics will not unlock any technologies beyond themselves.

* [[Medi-Kit]]
* [[Motion Scanner]]
* [[Alien Grenade]]
* [[Mind Probe]]

There are also four UFO Components which can be researched but which have no practical value:

* [[Alien Entertainment]]
* [[Alien Food]]
* [[Alien Surgery]]
* [[Examination Room]]

A fifth component, [[Alien Reproduction]], cannot normally be found in the game, although it can be researched if you add it to your General Stores using a game editor.



==See Also==
{{Research Navbar}}
[[Category:Research (EU)]]