These forums have been archived and are now read-only.

The new forums are live and can be found at https://forums.eveonline.com/

EVE New Citizens Q&A

 
  • Topic is locked indefinitely.
 

Drones (Light, Medium and Heavy)
Author
Previous Topic Next Topic
Qwelas Tagus
Akimamur Industries
Incorporeal Conglomerate Society
#1 - 2015-12-12 12:10:58 UTC
Should I always use the bigger one that is available to me? But for what I learned from Eve bigger isnt always better, so when our against what should I use each type?

Thanks to everyone that is helping me understanding the game.

Also I dont have English as my main language so sorry my "Broken English".
ergherhdfgh
Imperial Academy
Amarr Empire
#2 - 2015-12-12 12:20:02 UTC
short answer is always use the most that you can. Typically drones go up in size ( m3 ) about double and only go up in effectivness ( dps or whatever they do ) by a factor of 1.5.

If your ship allows you to use 5 drones then you would want 5 out. If you can use 5 large then 5 large would be the most dps however large drones will have issues hitting small ships.

Want to talk? Join Cara's channel in game: House Forelli
Markus Reese
Deep Core Mining Inc.
Caldari State
#3 - 2015-12-12 14:10:34 UTC
Like shipa and weapons, drones are a tactical choice. Each drone excels against a hull. Consider them a suppliment to your hull. Lights are anti frig and usually a must have. The mediums and larges, depends. Large for damage, and mediums are versatile. Also, a full flight if possible is usually best first.

To quote Lfod Shi

The ratting itself is PvE. Getting away with it is PvP.
Orla- King-Griffin
#4 - 2015-12-12 15:27:56 UTC
Minie drones are fastest, gallente ones do the most dps and tracking

Amarr drones are (imo) the best compromise

Generally go with whatever the hull has bonuses for but for those that don't it generally goes

Use Light drones for killing frigates and other drones

Medium for killing cruisers

Heavys for killing anything larger (though they'll all work on smaller stuff if you can improve their tracking enough).

If you have room always carry a flight of lights ,particularly if you're in something bigger than a cruiser.

Ah shite...
Memphis Baas
#5 - 2015-12-13 05:17:41 UTC  |  Edited by: Memphis Baas
Light drones kill frigates, destroyers.
Medium drones kill cruisers, battlecruisers.
Heavy drones kill battleships.

When you train drone skills, drones get better, and you can approximate (medium drones kill frigates, for example).

As advised above, if you're in a big ship (cruiser or bigger), always carry light drones. This is because your guns can't hit enemy frigates well, but the light drones will.
Cherri Minoa
Serendipity Technologies Inc
#6 - 2015-12-13 10:20:43 UTC
If you can only choose one type and don't know what you are going to be up against, go for light drones. They will kill the small stuff easily and the big stuff eventually. If you go for the bigger drones and come up against small ships you will have difficulties.

"If I had been censured every time I have run my ship, or fleets under my command, into great danger, I should have long ago been out of the Service" - Horatio Nelson
Kaska Iskalar
Doomheim
#7 - 2015-12-14 01:04:31 UTC
Qwelas Tagus wrote:
Should I always use the bigger one that is available to me? But for what I learned from Eve bigger isnt always better, so when our against what should I use each type?

They're just like ships. They have tracking problems against smaller ships and the heavy drones move slow. Rats generally won't attack smaller drones than them so I usually take out tackle frigs first with light drones, followed by other frigs. Then just move up in ship/drone size until everything is dead. In PvP it really depends on the situation.
Hasikan Miallok
Republic University
Minmatar Republic
#8 - 2015-12-14 05:14:16 UTC  |  Edited by: Hasikan Miallok
At low skills heavy drones can also die very easily. They have more hitpoints but are way to slow. If you do use heavies do not send them out too far from home.

Long term if you intend to pursue drones, you will also need sentry drone skills.
Kitty Bear
Deep Core Mining Inc.
Caldari State
#9 - 2015-12-14 13:06:39 UTC
Since npc's switching agro to drones became a thing
imo your effective maximum control range for drones is now

heavy drones ~ 10-15km
medium drones ~ 20-30km
light drones ~ 35-40km

if you use the Nav Comp you can extend those ranges by adding +50% per fitted NC

Elite Frigate npc's will rapidly switch to Medium & Large drones
Elite Cruiser npc's will rapidly switch to Large drones
(they are frequently wave triggers too .. so you have to decide, more dps on grid to soak over less chance of losing drones)

nb
even if you manage to restrict your drones to around these ranges you can still lose them
Ginnie
Doomheim
#10 - 2015-12-14 16:50:41 UTC
I pretty much stick to Lights and Mediums. I fly a BS so hitting Frigates and Destroyers can be difficult when they get in close. I use Lights to take them out. I only really use Mediums when everything but the NPC BS are left and the Mediums can supplement my damage.

I also change out my drones based on the mission I am running. If I am fighting Sanshas, for example, then I'll use Amarr drones that deal EM damage. If I am fighting Angels, then I use Minmatar drones that deal Exp damage.

I do find that if I use my Mediums before the Frigates and Destroyers are cleared, then all of them will immediate target and attack my Medium drones. They recently changed the Drone aggro, so, I am using my Mediums even less these days.

It sounds plausible enough tonight, but wait until tomorrow. Wait for the common sense of the morning.
Raiz Nhell
State War Academy
Caldari State
#11 - 2015-12-15 00:19:09 UTC
Drones can also help if you need to GTFO...

I carry a flight of light ECM drones when I go ratting, so if I'm caught in an anom I can drop them, jam the tackler and GTFO... Not 100% reliable but better than waiting to explode...

There is no such thing as a fair fight...

If your fighting fair you have automatically put yourself at a disadvantage.
Kaska Iskalar
Doomheim
#12 - 2015-12-15 10:26:34 UTC
Ginnie wrote:
I do find that if I use my Mediums before the Frigates and Destroyers are cleared, then all of them will immediate target and attack my Medium drones. They recently changed the Drone aggro, so, I am using my Mediums even less these days.

Like I said, when they changed the targeting AI they made it so rats attack drones bigger than them. You have to kill the frigates and destroyers first before using medium drones.
ergherhdfgh
Imperial Academy
Amarr Empire
#13 - 2015-12-15 11:23:48 UTC
I've not flown missions in years. These days I mostly run anoms but I fly a Domi and I use sentry drones. I warp at range and have 2 drone tracking mods fitted and scripted so that I can snipe. I typically just shoot what ever is closest which winds up killing all the small ships first then the mediums then the BSs.

I would assume that with a Micro Jump Drive the same strategy could be used in most missions.Just immediately jump out 100 KM and then when clear MJD down to the gate for the next pocket.

I understand sentries mostly due to their size are not something that a brand new player should be looking at but I think it's good to understand that they are out there and what they are good for when planing which direction that you want to go with skills.

Also worth noting on things like the tracking mods if you have 2 and want both benefits ( in this case tracking and range ) you are better off scripting one for each trait as diminishing returns will eat up a lot of your benefit if you leave them both half and half.

Want to talk? Join Cara's channel in game: House Forelli
Cherri Minoa
Serendipity Technologies Inc
#14 - 2015-12-19 09:39:01 UTC
Ginnie wrote:
I pretty much stick to Lights and Mediums. I fly a BS so hitting Frigates and Destroyers can be difficult when they get in close. I use Lights to take them out. I only really use Mediums when everything but the NPC BS are left and the Mediums can supplement my damage.

I also change out my drones based on the mission I am running. If I am fighting Sanshas, for example, then I'll use Amarr drones that deal EM damage. If I am fighting Angels, then I use Minmatar drones that deal Exp damage.

I do find that if I use my Mediums before the Frigates and Destroyers are cleared, then all of them will immediate target and attack my Medium drones. They recently changed the Drone aggro, so, I am using my Mediums even less these days.


I agree with this. If I am running an anom with a Raven Navy, I engage the big targets with cruise missiles, and a flight of light drones that can engage out to 60km deals with the faster small stuff. It is virtually unknown for me to lose a drone, and any unpleasant webbers or scrammers are dealt with long before they get close enough.

"If I had been censured every time I have run my ship, or fleets under my command, into great danger, I should have long ago been out of the Service" - Horatio Nelson
Vimsy Vortis
Shoulda Checked Local
Break-A-Wish Foundation
#15 - 2015-12-19 20:02:04 UTC
Raiz Nhell wrote:
Drones can also help if you need to GTFO...

I carry a flight of light ECM drones when I go ratting, so if I'm caught in an anom I can drop them, jam the tackler and GTFO... Not 100% reliable but better than waiting to explode...


ECM drones, especially medium or heavy ECM drones are also an entirely viable alternative to damage drones if you don't intent to GTFO. The extra time a few jam cycles can buy you can be extremely significant since during that time your opponent wont by applying any damage, EWAR or energy neutralization to you. Moreover when people see ECM drones they often start shooting the drones, which means they're taking damage off you.

In a fairly even fight for example a battlecruiser versus a HAC, the battlecruiser having a full flight of medium ECM drones, rather than damage drones can enable it to beat the ever living poo out of the HAC.