Upgrade R&D Department to Level 20 is a station mission in Star Trek Fleet Command with a single objective: raise your R&D Department to level 20. It needs only warp 1 to start and finish, and the game lists a recommended level of 1, so the upgrade itself is the only gate. The reward is 17,200 Tritanium and two 10 Minute Repair Speed Ups, and finishing it unlocks the Shipyard level 20 mission. Think of it as a refund on an upgrade you were going to build anyway.
Upgrade R&D Department to Level 20 objectives
The mission’s story line says 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 20.
No system, hostile or donation is involved. The mission clears the moment the F&E-Abteilung reaches level 20.
Wo und welcher Warp
Warp 1 to start, warp 1 to complete, and no pickup system. Everything happens on your station, so no ship has to leave dock.
The recommended level is listed as 1. The real requirement is the building upgrade and whatever it takes to unlock it.
What the level 20 upgrade costs
Current game data for the R&D Department at level 20:
| Ebene | Kosten | Build time (unboosted) | Anforderungen |
|---|---|---|---|
| 19 | 122,400 Parsteel, 900 Dilithium, 5,000 2★ Common Refined Gas, 300 2★ Ungewöhnlich Raffiniertes Gas | 1d 14h 36m | Operations 19, Academy 19, Defense Platform C 8 |
| 20 | 173,400 Parsteel, 1,275 Dilithium | 1d 22h 24m | Operations 20, Academy 20 |
Level 20 asks for no refined Gas, unlike level 19, so Parsteel and a little Dilithium are all you need to stockpile. You need Operations 20 and Akademie 20 in place first. At level 20 the R&D Department’s research speed bonus sits at 36%.
Upgrade R&D Department to Level 20 rewards
| Belohnung | Amount |
|---|---|
| Tritanium | 17,200 |
| 10 Minute Repair Speed Up | 2 |
Completing the mission also unlocks the next station mission, Upgrade Shipyard: Level 20.
How level 20 compares with other R&D steps
Each R&D Department level from this stretch has its own mission, and the Tritanium payout climbs steeply. Current game data:
| Mission | Tritanium | Repair speed ups |
|---|---|---|
| Stufe 18 | 6,500 | 2 × 5 Minute |
| Stufe 19 | 7,000 | 2 × 5 Minute |
| Level 20 | 17,200 | 2 × 10 Minute |
| Stufe 25 | 50,500 | 2 × 15 Minute |
| Level 30 | 700,000 | 1 × 1 Stunde |
| Level 40 | 10,000,000 | 4 × 3 Hour |
Level 20 is where the reward more than doubles over level 19, and the repair speed ups go from 5 minutes to 10 minutes each. By level 25 the Tritanium has roughly tripled again.
Tips
Queue the upgrade when you log off. A build of nearly two days unboosted is the kind of job to start before a long break rather than in the middle of a session.
Put the Tritanium toward the Shipyard. The next mission in the station line asks for Shipyard level 20, and that upgrade costs 4,250 Tritanium plus 260,100 Parsteel, so this reward covers the Tritanium several times over.
Save the repair speed ups for combat days. Two 10 minute speed ups will not change much on their own, but they help get a damaged ship back out between hostile runs.
Previous mission: Operationen auf Stufe 20 aufwerten. Next mission: Upgrade Schiffswerft: Stufe 20.
