Upgrade R&D Department to Level 15 is a station mission in Star Trek Fleet Command with a single objective: raise your R&D Department to level 15. It needs only warp 1 to start and finish, and the game lists a recommended level of 1, so the building upgrade is the only thing that matters. The reward is 4,000 Tritanium and two 5 Minute Repair Speed Ups, and completing it unlocks Upgrade Shipyard: Level 15. It is a small bonus for an upgrade you need anyway.
Upgrade R&D Department to Level 15 objectives
The story line explains that the R&D Department unlocks additional upgrades for the Shipyard and Ships. There is one objective and no choice split:
- Upgrade R&D Department to Level 15.
No system is named, no hostile is listed and nothing is donated. The mission clears as soon as the F&E-Abteilung reaches level 15.
Wo und welcher Warp
Warp 1 to start and warp 1 to complete, with no pickup system. The whole mission happens on your station.
The recommended level is listed as 1, but the mission only completes once R&D Department 15 is built, so that upgrade and its requirements are the real gate.
What R&D Department 15 costs
In current game data, level 15 of the R&D Department needs Operations 15, Akademie 15 and Raffinerie 13. It costs 30,600 Parsteel, 225 Dilithium and 50 2★ Common Refined Gas, and it takes 13h 36m to build before any speed ups.
The refined gas is the line to watch at this stage, so build up a stock of 2★ Gemeinsame Refined Gas before you start the upgrade.
Upgrade R&D Department to Level 15 rewards
| Belohnung | Amount |
|---|---|
| Tritanium | 4,000 |
| 5 Minute Repair Speed Up | 2 |
Completing the mission also unlocks the next station mission, Upgrade Schiffswerft: Stufe 15.
How Level 15 compares with nearby R&D missions
| Mission | Tritanium | Repair speed ups |
|---|---|---|
| Upgrade R&D Department to Level 12 | 750 | 2 × 3 Minute |
| Upgrade R&D Department to Level 13 | 2,000 | 3 × 3 Minute |
| Upgrade R&D Department to Level 14 | 3,000 | 2 × 5 Minute |
| Upgrade R&D Department to Level 15 | 4,000 | 2 × 5 Minute |
| Upgrade R&D Department to Level 18 | 6,500 | 2 × 5 Minute |
The Tritanium climbs by 1,000 per level from 13 to 15, and the speed ups settle at two 5 Minute ones from Level 14 onward.
Where it sits in the station chain
This mission comes after Upgrade Operations to Level 15 and leads into Upgrade Shipyard: Level 15, which pays 3,000 Tritanium. After that the chain moves on to Upgrade Operations to Level 16, worth 6,000 Tritanium and two 5 Minute Repair Speed Ups.
Tips
The R&D Department’s Research Speed Bonus reaches 24% at level 15 in current game data, up from 14% at level 10, so this upgrade speeds up every research you run after it. Other missions by level are on the Missionsleitfaden.
