Enhanced Warp Cores is a Galaxy research that adds flat warp range to every ship you own, from +5 at level 1 to +25 at level 5. It unlocks at R&D Department 40 and consumes a Warp Particle, a rare material, on top of its normal costs.
What Enhanced Warp Cores does
Warp range decides which systems a ship can reach at all, and fleet-wide range is one of the hardest stats to move. Five levels here add +25 to everything, minus nothing: miners reach farther nodes, warships reach farther targets, and lower-grade ships stay useful deeper into the map.
| Level | Warp range added | Requires R&D Department | Research required | Cost | Base time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | 40 | Weapon Refactor 1 | 3.5K 4★ Common Refined Gas, 187.1M Dilithium, 1 Warp Particle | 327 d |
| 2 | 10 | 42 | — | 404.5M Dilithium, 3.6K 4★ Uncommon Refined Gas | 1.3 yr |
| 3 | 15 | 44 | — | 893.7M Dilithium, 4.8K 4★ Uncommon Refined Gas | 2.5 yr |
| 4 | 20 | 46 | — | 1.7K 4★ Rare Refined Gas, 1.8B Dilithium | 4.4 yr |
| 5 | 25 | 48 | — | 1.9K 4★ Rare Refined Gas, 4.2B Dilithium | 7.2 yr |
Unlock requirements
Level 1 needs R&D Department 40 and Weapon Refactor 1. The Warp Particle in the cost list is the real bottleneck; the rest is standard refined gas and dilithium, listed per level above.
Cost and research time
Per-level costs are in the table above. Maxing all 5 levels totals about 3.5K 4★ Common Refined Gas, 7.5B Dilithium, 1 Warp Particle, 8.4K 4★ Uncommon Refined Gas, 3.6K 4★ Rare Refined Gas. The base research time adds up to roughly 16.3 yr on paper; research speed bonuses cut real timers to a small fraction of that, so use it to compare levels, not to plan your calendar.
Is Enhanced Warp Cores worth it?
Yes for almost everyone; universal warp range has no bad owner. The only real question is when you can spare the Warp Particle. The rest of the branch is on the Galaxy Research guide.