Let's Discuss Drones!

[TheCongoSpider 8,942]

21 minutes ago, At_Shin said:

how is it a handicap? if the repair effect stops at 3 seconds with or without using the engineer drone, it simply means that the engineer drone has no effect upon the repair kit drop box. It means the wiki statistics are incorrect about this. It is not a benefit nor a handicap, but false advertisement. 

When you use a repair kit, you are unable to use another one during the uptime. So if you pick up a repair kit from a drop box, you cannot manually use one until the animation is over. For Flash, the animation is the green circle depleting itself. For HTML5, it simply shows the number of seconds that you have to wait before you can manually use it. 

 

At 20/20, Engineer increases the uptime of the repair kit that it picked up to 7 seconds. Without the Engineer Drone, the uptime would be 3 seconds as usual. That's 3 seconds you have to wait until you can manually use a repair kit yourself, but with 20/20, you'd have to wait 7 seconds before you can manually use a repair kit. 

 

Having an Engineer Drone on your team is great, but if they run over a repair kit, anyone who is spawned is forced into being repaired. This is an inconvenience for players in a heated engagement where they need to use their repair kits at the right time. If an Engineer Drone on the team activates at the wrong time, that person would be at a disadvantage. The effect can start and the enemy can happen to damage them immediately and stop the healing process and possibly kill them because a repair kit was used when they didn't want it to. That's the basic problem. This is amplified by the fact that with Engineer, the uptime is increased. So if the same scenario happens, but with a 20/20 Engineer, that player who is in the engagement will now have to wait 7 seconds before they could manually use a repair kit. That player is almost certainly dead, all because of an ally Engineer Drone. 

 

What's worse is that you don't gain anything from the extra uptime. Allies will still recover only 4,000 HP even if the uptime is increased to 12, 50 or even 100 seconds. The maximum HP a non-Juggernaut hull can have is 4,000, and that's exactly how much HP a repair kit gives for its full 3-second duration. When you use a repair kit and your HP reaches full before the 3 seconds are up, it stops the healing process. So you have 4 full seconds of the random repair kit doing nothing for you but hindering your ability to manually use one of you need to during those 4 seconds. That's why it is a handicap.

 

It has happened to.me, and I accidentally did it to some of my allies as well

 I wince every time I pick up a repair kit with Engineer and see an ally nearby die because of it. That's a risk that comes with using the engineer drone on a repair kit. It will convenience some, and inconvenience others. 

 

The only hull that has more than 4,000 HP is the Juggernaut, but as I had tested recently, the Juggernaut stops healing after 3 seconds, which is 4,000 HP. The extra repair times does nothing and can only be a detriment. 

[KamenRider 4]

Hi

What drone should I buy - Brutus or Driver? Is brutus drone useful in battle - if so when?

[TheCongoSpider 8,942]

10 hours ago, At_Shin said:

Alright! I guess I will tryout driver.

As for Driver, this drone may not be working as intended currently. For a long time I've noticed that it has been giving me less Overdrive charge for a kill than it should be in theory. While preparing something to post in the future, I had decided to use Driver with all hulls at different upgrades. The upgrades used were

 

• 2/20
• 3/20
• 8/20
• 9/20
• 20/20. (Test Server)

 

What I noticed so far was that Driver only works as intended with Dictator. The other hulls receive less charge than it should be. Hulls like Hornet are getting less Overdrive charge than they should be. Viking is getting slightly more charge than it should be. I'm still doing tests to figure out how exactly it decides how much charge players should be getting. I'm using Dictator as a guideline since that is the only hull so far that the drone hives the correct amount to. 

 

Don't let this discourage you from buying and using the drone though. Despite it not giving the correct charge, the charge it's giving isn't far off what what it should be. You still get great value if you're able to comfortably get kills when the drone is able to be activated.

 

49 minutes ago, At_Shin said:

Engineer is not supposed to be an augment... a device with pros and cons.. it is a drone and thus should only have positive attributes.

i think the devs should be notified of this problems. A drone of an ally should not cause problems to the team. Thanks for explaining this so thoroughly.

It looks more like an unintended consequence of the drone's mechanic. I'll do some more tests before sending in the complaint.

[coconuttree 519]

Does the drone share the prolonged effect of the supply? Or just the supply?

If it is the second case, it shouldn't be a problem. We need more than one person to test this in the test server

Edited June 1, 2020 by coconuttree

[TheCongoSpider 8,942]

2 minutes ago, coconuttree said:

Does the drone share the prolonged effect of the supply? Or just the supply?

If it is the second case, it should be a problem. We need more than one person to test this in the test server

Engineer prolongs the duration of double armour, double damage and speed boost for the user only. The allies affected by this will get the standard 30 seconds for those 3 supplies. 

 

Repair kits happen to have increased duration for everyone affected.

[N3tralRE 73]

Speaking of Engineer, I've been wondering: suppose two friends decide to play on the same team in MMS battles, with one of them having Engineer and the other having a "Collect 10 Speed Boosts" mission.  If the Engineer user picks up and shares a Speed Boost with teammates, does the other friend getting the Speed Boost effect count towards their "Collect" mission? 

[TheCongoSpider 8,942]

9 minutes ago, N3tralRE said:

Speaking of Engineer, I've been wondering: suppose two friends decide to play on the same team in MMS battles, with one of them having Engineer and the other having a "Collect 10 Speed Boosts" mission.  If the Engineer user picks up and shares a Speed Boost with teammates, does the other friend getting the Speed Boost effect count towards their "Collect" mission? 

I was meaning to test this some time ago. I believe I did this with Supplier and it didn't count so it may not work with Engineer. I'll have to make sure though. 

[wolverine848 13,097]

18 minutes ago, N3tralRE said:

Speaking of Engineer, I've been wondering: suppose two friends decide to play on the same team in MMS battles, with one of them having Engineer and the other having a "Collect 10 Speed Boosts" mission.  If the Engineer user picks up and shares a Speed Boost with teammates, does the other friend getting the Speed Boost effect count towards their "Collect" mission? 

Would make sense it has to be the one with mission to perform the action (picking up box, activating from garage).

Else dictators would also help others complete misions.  Pretty sure Dictator can't help himself that way on said mission either.  Press 1-2-3-4-5 or run over a box.

[N3tralRE 73]

On 6/1/2020 at 11:03 AM, TheCongoSpider said:

...

What's worse is that you don't gain anything from the extra uptime. Allies will still recover only 4,000 HP even if the uptime is increased to 12, 50 or even 100 seconds. The maximum HP a non-Juggernaut hull can have is 4,000, and that's exactly how much HP a repair kit gives for its full 3-second duration. When you use a repair kit and your HP reaches full before the 3 seconds are up, it stops the healing process. So you have 4 full seconds of the random repair kit doing nothing for you but hindering your ability to manually use one of you need to during those 4 seconds. That's why it is a handicap.

...

The only hull that has more than 4,000 HP is the Juggernaut, but as I had tested recently, the Juggernaut stops healing after 3 seconds, which is 4,000 HP. The extra repair times does nothing and can only be a detriment. 

Based on your description of Engineer, I feel as though Engineer would've thrived in the old Repair Kit metagame (before the July 12 2017 patch) when Repair Kits would keep healing no matter what.  I mean, 5-7 seconds (depending on Engineer's level) of uninterrupted RK healing?  That would've been a difference maker back then. 

For the modern meta, though, I think it would be fine if the devs reworked Engineer's shared repair effect so that it only lasts the standard 3 seconds and no more, similar to how  Mechanic's own shared repair effect works.  

[N3tralRE 73]

Btw, any opinions on the Trickster drone?  Based on its description, it looks like a cheaper alternative to the Hyperion drone, provided you activate Speed Boost first.

[TheCongoSpider 8,942]

2 hours ago, N3tralRE said:

Btw, any opinions on the Trickster drone?  Based on its description, it looks like a cheaper alternative to the Hyperion drone, provided you activate Speed Boost first.

Ideally, you'd want to use both double armour and double damage before you use speed boost, so that you will have them both available when those run out. 

 

It's a support drone but can be used solo if you choose so. It's a great survival tool, allowing you to use two repair kits in quick succession and refresh you double armour or double damage if you need them on the spot. The drone also activates with speed boost drop boxes, so if your speed boost is on cooldown or your speed boost is currently active but you need another repair kit or to disable the cooldown on your DA or DD, you can go over a speed boost drop box to activate the drone. It also cancels cooldown for mines.

The caveat is that your repair kit usage will be indirectly increased. 

 

The Trickster drone is supposed to work like Defender, Booster, Miner and Mechanic in that it is supposed to speed up the cooldown of speed boost by manually using other supplies (DA, DD and RK). This however does not happen with Trickster and has been like this for a long time. Even without this feature, it is a great drone and can help your teammates out in a pinch if you decide to be more supportive with it. 

[coconuttree 519]

Does lifeguard drone remove burning and freezing effects when it fixes you up?

[T879 151]

Actually, I'm afraid that Lifeguard might have made Mid-Rank battles even more unbalanced. 
Before, I could (potentially) one-shot a 4000 HP heavy hull with:

1. Hornet + Shaft (+Augment) and DD;

2. Hornet + LCR Railgun + DD;*

3. Hunter / Hornet + Magnum + DD;

4. Stacked landmines (?)

5. *some other stuff that should still work*

 

Now that's not possible any more probably. I mean, I don't know, I will probably test it in a few minutes, but if those Hulls survive despite Hornet's OD,... uh

 

(*If I upgraded a lot further)

Edited June 11, 2020 by T879

[Viking4s 10,791]

23 minutes ago, T879 said:

Actually, I'm afraid that Lifeguard might have made Mid-Rank battles even more unbalanced. [...]

You need to kill it twice in a short amount of time (40seconds). It's like a normal tank using a repair kit. It is like the tank is allowed to use a repair kit when it is in cool down. It is an expensive tool and it works once every 40 seconds. Of course in between it can use a normal repair kit from the garage or from the battlefield.

[sharifsahaf 656]

45 minutes ago, T879 said:

Actually, I'm afraid that Lifeguard might have made Mid-Rank battles even more unbalanced. 
Before, I could (potentially) one-shot a 4000 HP heavy hull with:

1. Hornet + Shaft (+Augment) and DD;

2. Hornet + LCR Railgun + DD;*

3. Hunter / Hornet + Magnum + DD;

4. Stacked landmines (?)

5. *some other stuff that should still work*

 

Now that's not possible any more probably. I mean, I don't know, I will probably test it in a few minutes, but if those Hulls survive despite Hornet's OD,... uh

 

(*If I upgraded a lot further)

i shot a shaft-wasp with dd and dealt 4k damage (low damage since i use lc) he survived it because of lifeguard , i mean come on now i cant even use shaft

[T879 151]

26 minutes ago, Viking4s said:

You need to kill it twice in a short amount of time (40seconds). It's like a normal tank using a repair kit. It is like the tank is allowed to use a repair kit when it is in cool down. It is an expensive tool and it works once every 40 seconds. Of course in between it can use a normal repair kit from the garage or from the battlefield.

 

10 minutes ago, sharifsahaf said:

i shot a shaft-wasp with dd and dealt 4k damage (low damage since i use lc) he survived it because of lifeguard , i mean come on now i cant even use shaft

Nvm, I tested Lifeguard in the Test Server. With Hornet's OD you can still toast people 

[TheCongoSpider 8,942]

10 minutes ago, sharifsahaf said:

i shot a shaft-wasp with dd and dealt 4k damage (low damage since i use lc) he survived it because of lifeguard , i mean come on now i cant even use shaft

As a Shaft, it should be your duty to dispose of Lifeguard users. You have the highest damage for a single shot, enough to one-shot a medium hull on equal footing. 

 

Ideally, you'd want to activate the drone as quickly as possible. Preferably after they spawn or are heading to your base. That way, they'd only have 2 defense mechanisms against your team, the the repairs done by the drone and their own repair kit. A Lifeguard user with strong protection against the enemy team's turrets and a medium/heavy hull is the most dangerous one. Use your high-damage per shot to make it easier for your nearer teammates to deal with. You need to deal the brunt of the damage to the player. 

With LC, you deal a good amount of damage in a short time. If the user in injured, a shot with DD should finish them off and activate the drone. Be as aggressive as possible to that player if you're using LC. 

[E_polypterus 2,374]

OMG lifeguard drone? For real? Aweso- wait a minute... 0 batteries!

[E_polypterus 2,374]

2 minutes ago, At_Shin said:

Really 0? You should have saved them up. I have 4850 batteries... But I'm not going to waste them on lifeguard... Driver is much better.

Yes. I had 110 but used them all in the event last week with the trooper drone as my supply counts are low: ( And I don’t bother saving them up as I play pro battles more often.

[Viking4s 10,791]

2 minutes ago, At_Shin said:

Really 0? You should have saved them up. I have 4850 batteries... But I'm not going to waste them on lifeguard... Driver is much better.

Driver is good. All of them that do not use extra supplies  
Assault was good until they changed the rules, urgh...

I tried Mechanic, but too weak, not enough repair kit on the ground.

Sprinter seems cool until they implemented Overdrive. Might try it later.

[Viking4s 10,791]

More update: Patch update #609 - Released 1st July 2020

«Defender» drone:

• Decreased double armour’s additional supply power range from +50% → +200% to +25% → +100%;

• Increased power-up duration from 15 seconds to 30 seconds.

 

«Trickster» drone:

• Increased effective range from, 15 → 25 metres to 20 → 30 metres;

• Increased battle scores from 5 to 10. 

 

Nice doing on Defender, but Trickster still a meh drone 

Edited June 30, 2020 by Viking4s

[cosmic666 1,055]

On 2/4/2020 at 6:50 AM, TheCongoSpider said:

I believe the hours is the hours played for some drones is calculated differently depending on their effects. I believe one-time-activation drones show less time than the ones that run for long (Defender). 

 

Also, a battery is deducted every time you first spawn in a battle (including when you reload your game). The player could have simply left the battle deeming it unfit for their time, and that would have been a battery wasted. 

 

For self-clarification, you can ask your friends or the players you know to experiment with the Drones. Let each of their drones be idle in the battle for an extensive period of time and let them record the changes in the hours played after. That should, in theory, give you part of what you need to know of how hours played is calculated on certain Drones. 

 

Then again, I was testing something with the Sprinter Drone and stayed in a PRO battle for more than an hour, yet on my profile it says 0 hours played. Maybe it only works in MM battles. 

So all those extras could have been in say parkour.

[cosmic666 1,055]

44 minutes ago, Viking4s said:

More update: Patch update #609 - Released 1st July 2020

«Defender» drone:

• Decreased double armour’s additional supply power range from +50% → +200% to +25% → +100%;

• Increased power-up duration from 15 seconds to 30 seconds.

 

«Trickster» drone:

• Increased effective range from, 15 → 25 metres to 20 → 30 metres;

• Increased battle scores from 5 to 10. 

 

Nice doing on Defender, but Trickster still a meh drone 

So HORNET is still OP and they AGAIN nerf defender but leave that OTT hull just the way it is even though it's had more negative feedback than everything else combined. 1 more account not getting game time along with my other 2, nice 1 devs. (NOT)

[T879 151]

57 minutes ago, Viking4s said:

More update: Patch update #609 - Released 1st July 2020

«Defender» drone:

• Decreased double armour’s additional supply power range from +50% → +200% to +25% → +100%;

• Increased power-up duration from 15 seconds to 30 seconds.

 

«Trickster» drone:

• Increased effective range from, 15 → 25 metres to 20 → 30 metres;

• Increased battle scores from 5 to 10. 

 

Nice doing on Defender, but Trickster still a meh drone 

In my opinion, Booster's effectiveness should then also get reduced from 200% to 150% (maybe not 100% because Modules are, in fact, helpful at mitigating damage)

[wolverine848 13,097]

17 minutes ago, cosmic666 said:

So HORNET is still OP and they AGAIN nerf defender but leave that OTT hull just the way it is even though it's had more negative feedback than everything else combined. 1 more account not getting game time along with my other 2, nice 1 devs. (NOT)

And of course I was upgrading Defender drone.  Now may not be worth it. 

Lifeguard might be better upgraded.  For light and medium hulls it gives same total protection (instant RK is like +100% DA) AND saves you from OSK.

Actually - how often can that DA+ be applied with defender?  Recharge is 3s and reduction of DA cooldown is 10 seconds...

Edited June 30, 2020 by wolverine848