Bunker Research is an area most players never end up completing. When the Bunker was first released with the Doomsday Update, players were more focused on the weaponised vehicles, the MOC and the heist itself. Rockstar never really shared much about how the Research component works.
Bunkers can be customized with a range of modifications such as Personal Quarters, a Shooting Range, a Gun Locker and even small transportation caddies. They also allow you to store the Mobile Operations Center, manufacture weapons and conduct research.
Bunker Research – the basics
As a proud Bunker owner you can make weapons, and also carry out research. The research unlocks different game upgrades like vehicle upgrades, unique liveries and most importantly, the MK2 ammo types (including the prized explosive ammo).
Depending on how well developed (and upgraded – e.g. Bunker Staff and Equipment) the player’s base is, upgrading an item takes about 4 – 6 hours. If your Bunker is fully upgraded, this will take 3.5hours.
The kicker is that the Research item is random (some say ‘fixed’ to not give you the good stuff early on). You don’t get to pick what to Research, the items will be researched in a random order. So you have to keep researching till you get the item you want.
Much like manufacturing weapons, the Research also requires Supplies. You can either buy them or steal them. Buying is obviously faster if you can afford it.
Tip: buy the supplies, otherwise it will take a ridiculous amount of time to complete all Research. If money is tight for you, to make up for the cost, use some of the supplies to manufacture weapons so that you can sell them. Do this once every few rounds of Research – see picture below on how to assign staff to both.
How does the Research fast-track work?
You can fast-track your research too, at a cost of $225,000. This obviously makes the tedious wait more bearable. But the cost adds up fast (don’t forget this is on top of what you spent on supplies).
| Current Research Progress | Cost to Fast-track |
| 0-20% | $225,000 |
| 21-40% | $180,000 |
| 41-60% | $135,000 |
| 61-80% | $90,000 |
| Over 80% | $45,000 |
Once an item has been researched, it will show up in this Unlocked tab:
