R&D Department Level 44 is a station mission in Star Trek Fleet Command with one objective: upgrade your R&D Department to level 44. It needs only warp 1 to start and finish, and the game lists a recommended level of 1, so the upgrade itself is the whole task. The reward is 50 100K Dilithium Tokens and 60 8 Hour Speed Ups, and completing it unlocks Shipyard Level 44. The speed ups make this one of the more useful building missions at this stage.
R&D Department Level 44 objectives
The story line simply reads as an instruction to upgrade to R&D Department Level 44. There is one objective and no choice split:
- Upgrade to R&D Department Level 44.
No system is named, no hostile is listed and nothing is donated. The mission clears as soon as the R&D Department finishes its upgrade to level 44.
Where and what 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 44 is built, and that upgrade is a long one.
What R&D Department 44 costs
In current game data, the level 44 upgrade requires Operations 44, Academy 44 and the research 4★ Tactical Battleships at level 1. The cost is:
| Resource | Amount |
|---|---|
| Parsteel | 11,199,600,000 |
| Dilithium | 41,175,000 |
| 4★ Rare Refined Gas | 6,500 |
| 4★ Uncommon Refined Gas | 1,000 |
The unboosted build time is 200d 17h 36m. Check the research requirement early, because it comes from the research tree rather than from another building.
R&D Department Level 44 rewards
| Reward | Amount |
|---|---|
| 100K Dilithium Token | 50 |
| 8 Hour Speed Up | 60 |
Completing the mission also unlocks Shipyard Level 44.
How Level 44 compares with nearby R&D missions
| Mission | 100K Dilithium Tokens | 8 Hour Speed Ups |
|---|---|---|
| R&D Department Level 42 | 23 | 50 |
| R&D Department Level 44 | 50 | 60 |
| R&D Department Level 45 | 70 | 60 |
The token count more than doubles between Level 42 and Level 44, while the speed ups rise from 50 to 60 and then hold at 60 for Level 45.
Where it sits in the station chain
At this stage the building missions form one chain that moves around the station. R&D Department Level 44 follows Drydock B Level 43, which pays 9,375,000 Tritanium and nine 1M Tritanium Tokens, and it leads into Shipyard Level 44, which pays 90 each of 4★ Uncommon Interceptor, Explorer, Battleship and Survey Parts.
Tips
The 60 8 Hour Speed Ups equal 480 hours, or 20 days, of speed up time. Against a 200-day build that will not finish the job, but it is a real dent in the next long upgrade.
The R&D Department raises your Research Speed Bonus with each upgrade, which reaches 137% at level 45 in current game data, so this building pays back beyond the mission reward.
