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Strategies for keeping drones alive?
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Droidster

Center for Advanced Studies

Gallente Federation

Likes received: 256

#1 - 2016-02-16 19:19:18 UTC | Edited by: Droidster

I follow some pretty obvious steps to try to keep my drones alive:

* Have them attack a target only after I have shot it first

* Recall it, if it starts taking damage

* Keeping them on targets that have aggroed and not sending them to attack a passive target far away

Nevertheless, I still get steady attrition, mostly due to "drone ganks". Everything thing will be going fine, no damage on the drone(s), then all of a sudden, BOOM!, the drone is dead. Ganked like a shuttle full of plex on autopilot through Uedama.

Are there some strategies I can use to minimize the possibility of this, beyond what I have outlined above?

Cranky Bitches Who PMS 1,148
Estella Osoka Cranky Bitches Who PMS Likes received: 1,148	#2 - 2016-02-16 19:32:47 UTC 3 Don't deploy them?

CODE.d 6,149
Arthur Aihaken CODE.d Likes received: 6,149	#3 - 2016-02-16 22:07:36 UTC Remote ECCM modules work the majority of the time. I am currently away, traveling through time and will be returning last week.

Cathablia Sarain

Broke-Ass Agency

Likes received: 4

#4 - 2016-02-16 22:41:21 UTC | Edited by: Cathablia Sarain

Droidster wrote:

Looking at the issue, i use the typhoon and have the same problem if i was to use the fleet typhoon.

I use two target painters.. and use the steps as you do, but somehow even the large battleships target the drones compared to the normal typhoon.. where i'm able to deploy them without any problem..

I dont know if 4-5 drones does anything.. but it seems that my sentry drones does not get targeted on the normal typhoon, compared to the fleet issue.
Or/and if the RoF on the normal typhoon has something to do with it..

But yea.. i just gave up using the fleet typhoon.. in that i cant use any of my drones.. even the light drones gets targeted by battleships..


Arthur Aihaken CODE.d Likes received: 6,149	#5 - 2016-02-17 00:49:46 UTC See above. I am currently away, traveling through time and will be returning last week.

FaDoyToy 3,263
Chainsaw Plankton FaDoyToy Likes received: 3,263	#6 - 2016-02-17 05:49:53 UTC 1 if I ever launch drones they are sentries and they sit next to me ready to be scooped. I always carry a flight of scout drones to deal with web/scram ships but almost never need to use them. People keep talking about some change to drone aggro but I haven't seen it. @ChainsawPlankto on twitter

Dark Goliath 160
Mr Mac Dark Goliath Likes received: 160	#7 - 2016-02-17 06:34:42 UTC You can see on overview. When red square becomes to yellow or disappears then you can recall drones. It's better than wait when drones start taking damage. You can lost drone in one shot.

Deep Core Mining Inc. Caldari State 1,626
Kitty Bear Deep Core Mining Inc. Caldari State Likes received: 1,626	#8 - 2016-02-17 11:28:44 UTC \| Edited by: Kitty Bear 1 prioritise elite npc's as they are the most likely to switch targets equipping and using remote effects (logi or ewar) can help know the missions where it's likely to occur range is bad .. keep your drones on a short leash

Bumblefck

Kerensky Initiatives

Likes received: 13,374

#9 - 2016-02-17 16:04:03 UTC

Droidster wrote:

Are there some strategies I can use to minimize the possibility of this, beyond what I have outlined above?

Every time you post a troll thread, a droney dies Cry

If you're really keen on keeping them alive (though why a 12 year old character would need to know this at this late stage of the game...) remote repairers can work fine, provided you recall the drones to within range. As Arthur also mentioned, remote ECCM can work too.

...or just accept that drones die and treat them as ammunition.

Perfection is a dish best served like wasabi .

Bumble's Space Log


Droidster Center for Advanced Studies Gallente Federation Likes received: 256	#10 - 2016-02-17 17:37:30 UTC Mr Mac wrote: You can see on overview. When red square becomes to yellow or disappears then you can recall drones. It's better than wait when drones start taking damage. You can lost drone in one shot. What is the idea here? By yellow are you referring to when an NPC is targetting me (or the drone) and it begins flashing yellow?

Mr Mac

Dark Goliath

Likes received: 160

#11 - 2016-02-17 17:43:36 UTC

Droidster wrote:

Mr Mac wrote:

You can see on overview. When red square becomes to yellow or disappears then you can recall drones. It's better than wait when drones start taking damage. You can lost drone in one shot.

What is the idea here? By yellow are you referring to when an NPC is targetting me (or the drone) and it begins flashing yellow?

They switch target and attack another target.

Mr Mac

Dark Goliath

Likes received: 160

#12 - 2016-02-17 17:46:29 UTC

Droidster wrote:

Mr Mac wrote:

You can see on overview. When red square becomes to yellow or disappears then you can recall drones. It's better than wait when drones start taking damage. You can lost drone in one shot.

What is the idea here? By yellow are you referring to when an NPC is targetting me (or the drone) and it begins flashing yellow?

They switch target and attack another target.


Chainsaw Plankton FaDoyToy Likes received: 3,263	#13 - 2016-02-17 21:25:18 UTC Kitty Bear wrote: range is bad .. keep your drones on a short leash yea I always think it is a bit odd whenever I see drone link augmentors on a ship that isn't primarily using sentry drones. I'd much rather have that slot free for a tractor beam, or an auto-targeter (for the +3 targets, I never activate them) @ChainsawPlankto on twitter

Sobaan Tali

Caldari Quick Reaction Force

Likes received: 1,256

#14 - 2016-02-19 01:23:18 UTC

Chainsaw Plankton wrote:

Kitty Bear wrote:

range is bad .. keep your drones on a short leash

yea I always think it is a bit odd whenever I see drone link augmentors on a ship that isn't primarily using sentry drones. I'd much rather have that slot free for a tractor beam, or an auto-targeter (for the +3 targets, I never activate them)

I use them for salvage drones, rats tend to ignore them most of the time. Beyond that, as others have said, I make sure my scouts hug me tighter than a belt.

Personally I wouldn't mind the current conditions on npc-on-drone situations other than the fact that scouts on a boat with no drone hp buff (or mediums for that matter) can easily be raped to death even if you are paying attention and keeping them rather close. I suspect the only reason I haven't lost more drones in fact is that npc's tend to loose interest in switching to them often after their first target flip or that they sometimes don't even flip targeting at all. Sentries are fine due to their hp and people tendencies to stay close to them anyways, but the Gila is pretty much the only ship I use mediums on anymore if at all. I still say npc's have some rather bull**** hidden buff to tracking when gunning after drones.

"Tomahawks?"

"----in' A, right?"

"Trouble is, those things cost like a million and a half each."

"----, you pay me half that and I'll hump in some c4 and blow the ---- out of it my own damn self."

Doomheim 127
Forum Toon Doomheim Likes received: 127	#15 - 2016-02-19 15:27:59 UTC 1 when you look at your overview you can see the yellow\red cycle when rats are switching target lock. 1st wait until you got aggro then release your drones. 2nd if at any point you see one of the red frames gone it means your drones are targeted by the rats and you want to scoop them back to drone bay... then > return to step 1.

Mina Sebiestar

Minmatar Inner Space Conglomerate

Likes received: 1,231

#16 - 2016-02-19 17:14:17 UTC

Gun ship deals with frigs just nice after moping those drones are in far less danger due to other rats not packing webs and small weaponry(destroyers do but they don't pack web and are easy to kill).

So when you pop frigs your drones are free to roam watch for spawns and aggro and your be fine.

If you use drone ship deploy sentry's get rid of frigs.

If you use missile ship don't drop drones until frigs get close then repeat as above.

you get the picture frigs die your drone survival chance get really high.

You choke behind a smile a fake behind the fear

Because >>I is too hard

Droidster

Center for Advanced Studies

Gallente Federation

Likes received: 256

#17 - 2016-02-25 19:22:10 UTC

Chainsaw Plankton wrote:

if I ever launch drones they are sentries and they sit next to me ready to be scooped. I always carry a flight of scout drones to deal with web/scram ships but almost never need to use them. People keep talking about some change to drone aggro but I haven't seen it.

So you sit motionless and take full damage? I was told I was supposed to move around as fast as possible against NPCs to mitigate damage.


Droidster Center for Advanced Studies Gallente Federation Likes received: 256	#18 - 2016-02-25 19:23:54 UTC One thing I have found out is that target painters seem to generate a lot of aggro and using them seems to reduce the NPC interest in shooting my drones.


Arthur Aihaken CODE.d Likes received: 6,149	#19 - 2016-02-25 22:46:01 UTC Droidster wrote: One thing I have found out is that target painters seem to generate a lot of aggro and using them seems to reduce the NPC interest in shooting my drones. Still not as effective as remote ECCM. I am currently away, traveling through time and will be returning last week.