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 | 62.2 d |
| 2 | 10 | 42 | None | 404.5M Dilithium, 3.6K 4★ Uncommon Refined Gas | 76.9 d |
| 3 | 15 | 44 | None | 893.7M Dilithium, 4.8K 4★ Uncommon Refined Gas | 94.3 d |
| 4 | 20 | 46 | None | 1.7K 4★ Rare Refined Gas, 1.8B Dilithium | 136.9 d |
| 5 | 25 | 48 | None | 1.9K 4★ Rare Refined Gas, 4.2B Dilithium | 165.1 d |
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.
Where to get a Warp Particle
A Warp Particle is a rare resource consumed to complete special Galaxy research, and Enhanced Warp Cores is the research that uses it. You need exactly one, for level 1. You earn it by completing the mission Angel In Disguise. Levels 2 to 5 cost only 4★ refined gas and Dilithium, so once the particle is spent the rest of the line depends on your R&D Department level and your gas stock.
Other warp range research in STFC
Enhanced Warp Cores is the only research that raises warp range for every ship at once. All other warp range research is tied to one ship, so it only matters if you fly that ship. These are the ship-specific warp range lines and where they sit in the research tree:
| Research | Tree | What it does | Unlocks at (building level) | Research levels |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Serene Squall Warp Range | Starships | Increases the Serene Squall’s Warp Range. | R&D 30 | 7 |
| U.S.S. Discovery Warp Range | Starships | Increases the base Warp Range of the U.S.S. Discovery. | R&D 31 | 10 |
| Anti-Matter Recycler | Starships | Increases the warp range for the U.S.S. Voyager. | R&D 34 | 15 |
| Borg Cube Warp Range | Ex-Borg | Increases the Warp Range for the Borg Cube. | R&D 34 | 15 |
| Defiant Warp Range | Starships | Increases the Warp Range for the Defiant. | R&D 34 | 10 |
| Prime Discovery Warp Range | Starships | Increase the warp range of the U.S.S. Discovery | R&D 35 | 5 |
| Dragonbreath Smithing | Starships | Increases the warp range of the Monaveen. | R&D 40 | 15 |
| Eviscerator Warp Boost | Starships | Increases the Warp Range of the Gorn Eviscerator. | R&D 40 | 10 |
| Horizon Velocity | Starships | Increases Warp Range for the Titan-A | R&D 40 | 13 |
| Vindicator Warp Range | Starships | Increases The Vindicator’s Warp Range. | R&D 40 | 10 |
| Ω Quantum Flux Drive Enhancement | Mirror | Increases the base Warp Range of the NSEA Protector. | R&D 40 | 10 |
| Relativity Warp Range | Starships | Increases the Warp Range for the U.S.S. Relativity | R&D 42 | 10 |
| Vi’dar Talios Warp Range | Starships | Increase the Vi’dar Talios’ Warp Range | R&D 44 | 11 |
| Dauntless Warp Range | Aggregation | Increases the Dauntless’ Warp Range. | R&D 45 | 10 |
| Subspace Authorization | Starships | Increases the GS-31’s Warp Range. | R&D 45 | 10 |
| Tactical Retreat | Starships | Increases the base Warp Range of the Cerritos. | R&D 50 | 13 |
| El-Aurian Warp Engine Research | Starships | Increases the base Warp Range of the SS Revenant. | R&D 51 | 2 |
| U.S.S. Excelsior Warp Range | Starships | Increases the U.S.S. Excelsior’s Warp Range. | R&D 51 | 10 |
| Borg Sphere Warp Range | Maverick | Increases the Borg Sphere’s Warp Range. | R&D 55 | 15 |
| Athena Warp Range | Starships | Increases the U.S.S. Athena’s Warp Range. | R&D 61 | 8 |
| Ra’Ul Reaver Warp Range | Starships | Increases the Ra’Ul Reaver’s Warp Range. | Ops 65 | 6 |
If a ship you fly a lot is on this list, its own line is usually the cheaper way to reach one more system. For everything else, Enhanced Warp Cores is the fleet-wide answer, and the Starships Research guide has the costs for each ship line.
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 1.5 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.
