Ships & Modules

Just resubbed after a long while away. A lot has changed.

So apparently now, drones get targetted easily. Also there's a thing called MJD.

I've never done level 4's, and want to start in a few days after a few skills pop. How do I keep my drones from dying? Will shooting at the enemy ship be enough? Is there another item that can increase my agro?

I can repair them remotely I *think* (sorry its been a while). What is the distance limit on that?

Thanks for any advice on this. I forgot a lot of stuff, but I want to get back in without getting slaughtered.

Target painter
Nosferatu
Shield transporters and remote armor repair systems (in most cases you can't run these forever but few cycles should send the correct message to NPCs )

Don't send lights out past ~7.5km-10km (skills depending) unless you're constantly watching aggro.

Don't deploy anything bigger (sentries don't count) unless its point blank or there are no frigs or elite cruisers left.


Sentries just keep an eye on them and recall as required. The rest use if you feel like micro managing like a mad thing or you get some elite frigs leaking through.

I've NEVER found anything that reliably keeps aggro on you - stuff just switches when it wants to. The size categories generally hold true, however.


Edit: that's about right with the MJD tactic. I find jumping optional, it depends on incoming DPS


Also TPs are worthless (for aggro), I use a pair and lights/sentries still get shot by rats.



That said, it's just a speed bump - frigs bore in point blank anyway so can be ignored until the end unless you're not confident of tanking it. For anything else non-sentry DPS is anaemic and just not worth the hassle in my experience.

As a general rule in level 4s, I put the target painter on, shoot first, and then send drones in; this way they rarely catch aggro. It sometimes happens but not so much that I can say I lose a drone per mission. Things have to be going very wrong for that to happen.

You need to learn who are the Elite NPC ships in each class (Frigate, Cruisers) and then either shoot them with your guns/missiles/target painters and AFTER THAT send drones in (still watching them, and not too far to be able to recall them before they die if they take the aggro).

Once the Elites are gone, Light and Medium drones are safe ... Heavies are a bit more tricky since Battleship NPCs will aggro them, and they are slooooooow, but if you fly a ship that has enough dronebay and bandwidth for Heavies, you'd be better served by using Sentries instead (more HPs, more DPS).

Also, contrary to popular belief it seems, Tech 2 drones are sooooo worth it : faster, more hit points, hit harder, better in every aspect except price, and if you lose one, you've done something wrong.

It all depends on the type of ship you're flying too : a dedicated drone boat should fit some remote reppers (armor AND shield) to really tick off the NPCs, while a Navy Scorpion should have Tech 2 Cruise launchers with Precision missiles for the Elites, Fury missiles for the BC/BS and some cruisers, and Light and Medium drones for non-elite frigate and cruiser work.

I still keep a Small Remote Armor Repairer in the spare high slot of my SNI, because sometimes in some missions there is a "proximity aggro" where non-elite frigates and cruisers will aggro drones that stray too close, but I haven't lost a drone in months ... at the worst, they've gone to 50% armour before reaching the drone bay.

I only use lights and sentries. mostly just have to watch out for elite frigs, and they aren't even in a whole bunch of missions. with sentries I usually do enough dps that they don't even get targeted, and when they do they are easy to scoop.