Drones: Difference between revisions

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* '''Drone Control Range Augmentor''' rig: Increases drone control range by 15km (20km for the Tech 2 rig)

~~Drones~~ will ~~not automatically deactivate it their~~ target ~~leaves~~ your control range ~~after ordering them to attack (~~or ~~even if~~ you ~~lose a target lock on them); they will~~ continue ~~engaging the~~ target ~~until either~~ the target leaves ~~the field~~, ~~or they are manually reassigned~~ to ~~a new target~~. However, ~~drones~~ will ~~shut down if they exceed 500km distance from~~ their ~~host ship~~, ~~or if their host ship activates its warp drive. (See [[#Abandoned drones|Abandoned Drones]], below, for your options if you lose touch with your drones~~.)

Once you've ordered them to attack a target, your drones will pursue that target anywhere within your drone control range, whether or not you continue to have that target locked. If the target leaves your drone control range, your drones will start to travel back towards you. However, they will not use their MWDs, so they will do this very slowly.

~~=== Control range ===~~

Drones will shut down if they exceed 500km distance from their host ship, or if their host ship activates its warp drive. See [[#Abandoned drones|Abandoned Drones]], below, for your options if you lose touch with your drones.

~~Your drones can attack/repair/mine anything within your~~ [[~~Drones~~#~~Drone_control_range~~|~~drone control range~~]]~~. Once you've ordered them to attack a target~~, your ~~drones will pursue that target anywhere within your drone control range, whether or not~~ you ~~continue to have that target locked. If the target leaves your drone control range,~~ your drones will start to travel back towards you. However, they will not use their microwarpdrives (MWDs), so they will do this very slowly - to get them moving properly again you should manually order them to return and orbit or return and scoop, or give them a new target. ~~~~

Most drone combat occurs within about 50km of your ship, as for longer-range combat your drones' travel time becomes a major drawback. Therefore, a moderate investment in control range increasing skills is enough for most drone pilots. However, once you start using sentry drones, you will want to increase your drone control range as much as possible, as sentry drones still need their target to be within your drone control range before they can open fire, and the long-range sentry drones (Caldari and Minmatar models) have very long effective weapon ranges.

===Navigation and Distance===

===Navigation===

Almost all drones (except the stationary sentry drones) have a built-in [[Lexicon#MWD|microwarp drive (MWD)]], which allows them to travel quickly to engage a target. Once they arrive near their target, they shut down their MWD, orbit the target, and fire their weapons. This means that drones have to travel to the target and then stay within range of it in order to apply their damage. In practice, this means that drones will have difficulty against faster, more agile targets, as even though they may be able to catch them thanks to their MWD, they may not be able to stay within weapons range for long at their non-MWD speed. Larger drones in particular are almost useless against fast frigates for this reason.

No skill or module affects the orbit speed of drones.

=== Direct Commands ===

=== Direct Drone Commands ===

You can give the following commands to your drones. ~~Each drone type has a few "primary commands", which relate to its function:~~

You can give the following commands to your drones.

* '''{{co|wheat|Engage}}''': Orders your drone(s) to engage (attack, repair, jam, etc) the target you have currently locked. They will fly to your target, attempt to orbit it and engage it. Note that your drones will engage whatever you order them to do so, including your other drones or your fleetmates (which can easily happen by accident if you fly logistics and combat drones at the same time).

* '''{{co|wheat|Assist}}''': If you give this command your drones will assist a member of your fleet, and will engage whatever target they are attacking. This can useful for concentrating your fire while in a fleet (in [[Incursions]], this is referred to as a [[Roles_in_Incursions#Dronebunny|"dronebunny"]]), or to make sure your drones attack as quickly as possible in PvP (by ordering your drones to assist a fleetmat with a fast-locking ship). Note that your fleet member can't control your drones directly, and you remain responsible for any targets your drones attack (for instance, if your fleet member [[Timers|attacks a neutral target]] in high-sec, CONCORD will destroy both of your ships).

@@ Line 55: / Line 55: @@
 * '''Drone Control Range Augmentor''' rig: Increases drone control range by 15km (20km for the Tech 2 rig)
-Drones will not automatically deactivate it their target leaves your control range after ordering them to attack (or even if you lose a target lock on them); they will continue engaging the target until either the target leaves the field, or they are manually reassigned to a new target. However, drones will shut down if they exceed 500km distance from their host ship, or if their host ship activates its warp drive. (See [[#Abandoned drones|Abandoned Drones]], below, for your options if you lose touch with your drones.)
+Once you've ordered them to attack a target, your drones will pursue that target anywhere within your drone control range, whether or not you continue to have that target locked. If the target leaves your drone control range, your drones will start to travel back towards you. However, they will not use their MWDs, so they will do this very slowly.
-=== Control range ===
+Drones will shut down if they exceed 500km distance from their host ship, or if their host ship activates its warp drive. See [[#Abandoned drones|Abandoned Drones]], below, for your options if you lose touch with your drones.
-Your drones can attack/repair/mine anything within your [[Drones#Drone_control_range|drone control range]]. Once you've ordered them to attack a target, your drones will pursue that target anywhere within your drone control range, whether or not you continue to have that target locked. If the target leaves your drone control range, your drones will start to travel back towards you. However, they will not use their microwarpdrives (MWDs), so they will do this very slowly - to get them moving properly again you should manually order them to return and orbit or return and scoop, or give them a new target. <!-- check this! -->
-Most drone combat occurs within about 50km of your ship, as for longer-range combat your drones' travel time becomes a major drawback. Therefore, a moderate investment in control range increasing skills is enough for most drone pilots. However, once you start using sentry drones, you will want to increase your drone control range as much as possible, as sentry drones still need their target to be within your drone control range before they can open fire, and the long-range sentry drones (Caldari and Minmatar models) have very long effective weapon ranges.
+===Navigation and Distance===
-===Navigation===
 Almost all drones (except the stationary sentry drones) have a built-in [[Lexicon#MWD|microwarp drive (MWD)]], which allows them to travel quickly to engage a target. Once they arrive near their target, they shut down their MWD, orbit the target, and fire their weapons. This means that drones have to travel to the target and then stay within range of it in order to apply their damage. In practice, this means that drones will have difficulty against faster, more agile targets, as even though they may be able to catch them thanks to their MWD, they may not be able to stay within weapons range for long at their non-MWD speed. Larger drones in particular are almost useless against fast frigates for this reason.
 No skill or module affects the orbit speed of drones.
-=== Direct Commands ===
+=== Direct Drone Commands ===
-You can give the following commands to your drones. Each drone type has a few "primary commands", which relate to its function:
+You can give the following commands to your drones.
 * '''{{co|wheat|Engage}}''': Orders your drone(s) to engage (attack, repair, jam, etc) the target you have currently locked. They will fly to your target, attempt to orbit it and engage it. Note that your drones will engage whatever you order them to do so, including your other drones or your fleetmates (which can easily happen by accident if you fly logistics and combat drones at the same time).
 * '''{{co|wheat|Assist}}''': If you give this command your drones will assist a member of your fleet, and will engage whatever target they are attacking. This can useful for concentrating your fire while in a fleet (in [[Incursions]], this is referred to as a [[Roles_in_Incursions#Dronebunny|"dronebunny"]]), or to make sure your drones attack as quickly as possible in PvP (by ordering your drones to assist a fleetmat with a fast-locking ship). Note that your fleet member can't control your drones directly, and you remain responsible for any targets your drones attack (for instance, if your fleet member [[Timers|attacks a neutral target]] in high-sec, CONCORD will destroy both of your ships). <!-- for logistics drones, is there any difference between this and "engage"? -->