Building and managing your base inXCOM: Enemy UnknownandXCOM: Enemy Withinis just as important as your performance in missions. A poorly planned base layout can delay crucial upgrades, limit access to advanced facilities, and ultimately make defending Earth more difficult. On the other hand, an optimized base layout ensures efficient power distribution, faster research, better soldier training, and enhanced satellite coverage. Whether you’re new to the game or looking to improve your strategy, understanding the optimal base layout will set you up for long-term success.
Understanding Base Building Mechanics
The base in XCOM is laid out on a grid of underground excavated spaces. Initially, only the upper level is available, but excavation and power generators allow you to expand downward. Each facility requires time, resources, and often adjacency bonuses to be effective.
Adjacency Bonuses Explained
Certain facilities provide bonuses when placed adjacent to other facilities of the same type. These bonuses can greatly improve your base’s efficiency, reducing costs and increasing outputs. Therefore, grouping similar buildings together is essential for an optimal layout.
- Laboratories: Increase research speed when adjacent to each other
- Workshops: Provide refund bonuses for items when placed together
- Power Generators: Give increased power output when built side by side
- Satellite Uplinks/Nexus: Can be stacked for extra satellite control if linked correctly
Planning the Optimal Layout
The most important aspect of base building is planning ahead. Since digging and building take time and money, it’s best to decide early where each type of facility will go. Below is a general approach to planning your layout effectively.
Top Row: Mission-Critical Facilities
The top row is available from the start and should be reserved for core facilities that don’t benefit from adjacency bonuses. These include:
- Mission Control: Default position, cannot be moved
- Barracks: For managing soldiers and officer training school
- Engineering: Used for building weapons, armor, and facilities
- Research Lab: Begins early tech development
Second Row: Laboratories and Workshops
Reserve the second row for research and engineering facilities. This row should include:
- Two or moreLaboratoriesgrouped together for maximum research speed
- Two or moreWorkshopsgrouped to maximize item refund bonuses
Putting Labs on the left and Workshops on the right helps create symmetry and simplifies future upgrades.
Third Row: Power Generation
Power is critical to your expansion, and it’s best to group power facilities in one area to take advantage of adjacency bonuses. Ideally, place:
- Thermo Generatorover steam vents for maximum power output
- StandardPower Generatorsadjacent to each other if no steam vent is available
Use this row for power to keep other rows free for facilities that benefit from tech or command bonuses.
Bottom Rows: Satellite Uplinks and Optional Facilities
Reserve the lower rows for Satellite Uplinks and Nexus facilities, which benefit from adjacency and are needed to expand global coverage. Grouping them together increases your satellite capacity more efficiently.
- Start with twoSatellite Uplinks
- Upgrade to aSatellite Nexuslater in the game
- Link Uplinks or Nexus side-by-side for bonus capacity
Leave additional space for optional buildings like thePsi Lab,Foundry, andGollop Chamberdepending on your strategy and campaign progress.
Key Facilities and Their Ideal Placement
Officer Training School
Build early in the top or second row. Does not benefit from adjacency but is critical for expanding squad size and soldier bonuses.
Foundry
Essential for advanced equipment upgrades. Can be placed near Workshops but does not require adjacency. Place in mid-to-lower rows.
Alien Containment and Access Lift
Alien Containmentmust be built to interrogate aliens, ideally in a central spot for quick access.Access Liftsare mandatory for building downward and should be constructed in central vertical lines for efficient expansion.
Psionic Lab
Required to identify and train psionic soldiers. Build later in the game. Placement is flexible but keeping it near the barracks can save time.
Sample Optimal Layout (Left to Right)
| Lab | Lab | Workshop | Workshop | | Power | Power | Lift | Power | | Uplink | Nexus | Uplink | Satellite |
This sample layout creates full adjacency for laboratories and workshops, consolidates power generation, and allows efficient satellite management. The Access Lift provides vertical movement and supports expansion to lower levels as needed.
Tips for Efficient Base Management
- Always prioritize excavating steam vents for future Thermo Generator placement
- Keep related buildings grouped to maximize adjacency benefits
- Plan satellite coverage before expanding uplinks build in anticipation
- Avoid building unnecessary facilities too early; save resources for critical upgrades
- Upgrade existing facilities (e.g., Power Generators) instead of building new ones if space is tight
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Random Building Placement
Placing facilities without a long-term plan can ruin your base’s efficiency. Once built, a facility cannot be moved, so poor placement can reduce bonuses and waste valuable space.
Ignoring Adjacency Bonuses
Even if your base is functional, failing to group similar buildings can lead to slower research, less efficient construction, and weaker satellite infrastructure.
Delaying Satellite Construction
Satellites are critical for panic control and funding. Without proper uplink support, your ability to deploy satellites will be bottlenecked. Always expand satellite capabilities alongside base growth.
Overbuilding Early Game
Trying to build everything at once drains money and power. Focus on core facilities first, like Workshops, Laboratories, and the Officer Training School, then expand as your income improves.
Adapting Layout to Enemy Within
InXCOM: Enemy Within, the same layout principles apply but with added considerations for MELD acquisition, MEC Troopers, and Genetic Labs. You’ll also want space for:
- Cybernetics Lab: Required for MEC production
- Genetics Lab: Used for soldier enhancements
Both labs do not benefit from adjacency but are critical for late-game performance. Place them on the outer edges of your layout or lower levels where they won’t disrupt core bonuses.
Designing an optimal base layout in XCOM is about more than just building what you need it’s about planning for long-term synergy, maximizing adjacency bonuses, and ensuring smooth progression throughout your campaign. By organizing your base thoughtfully with Laboratories, Workshops, Power Generators, and Satellite Uplinks in ideal positions, you’ll unlock faster upgrades, better troop management, and a stronger global presence. Take the time to plan, and your base will become the backbone of Earth’s resistance against the alien threat.