Retrofit Lab

Additional Information

 * Used to upgrade existing Forsaken hulls with new abilities.
 * As of Sep 2013, only certain blue print-hulls can be upgraded this way.
 * Retrofitting hulls, weapons, specials or armors gives inherent upgrades to every copy of that type.
 * This contrasts with refitting a hull which applies is more akin to taking a weapon off a single ship and replacing it with a better weapon on that ship.
 * The Retrofit Lab requires a Naval Lab Level 7 in order to be built.
 * The Retrofit Lab can be upgraded to level 5.
 * The Level 5 Retrofit Lab gives access to any level 5 retrofits, Level 4 Retrofit Lab gives access to any level 4 retrofits, etc.
 * The related blueprint is also required before the retrofit research is available.
 * Only blueprints are retrofittable. For example, the Hammerhead A, Hammerhead B & Battle Barge A are all retrofittable. However, the Hammerhead and Battle Barge researched in the Naval Lab are not retrofittable.
 * Hull retrofit time increases according to the number of hulls of that type actually built. However, retrofitting weapons, specials, armors or tactical modules is only 1 day each at least for all R1 retrofits.
 * Hull retrofits are designed for mid to high level players (approx. L40 and higher).
 * Kixeye designed the other retrofits for players level 55 and higher.
 * The uranium cost is a tough barrier to low and mid level players.
 * In March of 2014, many of the builds and research times have significantly decreased.
 * The old build times can help you estimate the new build times.
 * Resource requirements remain the same.

Related Pages

 * Poll - Retrofit Lab

FAQ
That was the original intent, but since then the Retrofit Lab has expanded to be a more general “Upgrade Lab.” We discussed renaming it briefly, but decided against it to avoid any potential confusion.
 * I thought the Retrofit lab was suppose to allow players with older hulls an opportunity to make them relevant again or at the very least, usable. How is it that the V2c, V2h and Kodiak already are available for retrofit?

Source: [https://www.kixeye.com/forum/discussion/530972 Kixeye - AMA Answers! - part I]