In XCOM 2, your primary focus as the commander of the resistance is to systematically dismantle the Advent and alien forces that have taken control of Earth after an invasion. This involves a series of complex and strategic research objectives aimed at harnessing alien technology, enhancing your troops’ capabilities, and gathering vital intelligence for the resistance. Here’s a detailed breakdown of these research goals:

Key Research Goals

1. Alien Autopsies and Technology Analysis:
– Core Focus: Capturing and conducting autopsies on different alien species encountered during missions is critical. Each autopsy provides insights into the biology and technology of the alien forces.
– Significant Discoveries:
– Advent Officer Autopsy: Unlocks the Proving Ground facility, specifically allowing you to construct experimental items that can enhance your soldiers’ abilities. It also leads to further research opportunities related to other Advent units.
– Advent MEC Breakdown: This research provides crucial advanced combat upgrades, enabling development of items such as the GREMLIN Mark II and the Bluescreen Protocol, which are essential for countering mech units and robotic adversaries effectively.

2. Psionics Research Path:
– Aim: Unlocking the Psi Operatives is vital for late-game success, as they bring unique psychic abilities to the battlefield.
– Research Requirements:
– Conducting Alien Biotech research and performing Sectoid Autopsies are crucial steps to unlock this path.
– The outcomes of this research lead to the development of powerful defensive and offensive items, including Mindshields for immunity against mental attacks and the Advanced Psi Amp for enhancing psyker attacks and abilities.

3. Weapon and Equipment Upgrades:
– Objective: To boost the combat effectiveness of your soldiers, researching captured alien weaponry is essential.
– Benefits: Gaining access to powerful Magnetic Weapons and their further advancements allows for significant upgrades in firepower, enabling your units to more effectively combat both Advent and alien forces. This can turn the tide in heated battles where tech disparity is critical.

4. Strategic Liberation and Intelligence Gathering:
– Goal: While research is crucial, it must be complemented by concrete actions on the ground. Liberating regions from Advent control weakens their influence and disrupts the progress of the Avatar Project, which is pivotal to the aliens’ overarching strategy.
– Strategies:
– Target regions where Advent presence is weaker to maximize effectiveness.
– Enhance resistance control by securing territories, thereby gathering Intel and resources that are invaluable for ongoing operations and future research projects.

Conclusion

In summary, the research objectives in XCOM 2 are intricately designed to work in concert with tactical gameplay. Successfully pursuing these goals—ranging from understanding alien technology and biology to implementing weapon upgrades—enables you to train advanced soldiers and conduct effective guerrilla warfare. This strategy is essential for weakening Advent control, slowing down the Avatar project, and ultimately leading to the defeat of the alien occupation of Earth. By balancing research and military operations, you will progressively advance the resistance towards its ultimate victory.