Let's Discuss Drones!

[Akame 4,578]

4 hours ago, AK2801 said:

Btw I've seen your gif using the Camper drone, how good is it in your experience? Worth MU'ing to max or not?

It's fun, requires patience at times, sucks when you take even a tickle of damage, best used with an isida ally or with some form of cover. It's not a killer though, it's a preparation drone, best used with an AP augment to help make sure your mines deal 1500 damages. Some enemies do have Ap immunity, so I usually use mammy OD/Hunter OD etc to counter.

At max level and full hp, you can place a mine every 5 seconds, and you can keep most supplies on with a short downtime.

Personally wouldn't recommend it for anyone looking for a permanent drone.

[TWICE 798]

15 hours ago, AK2801 said:

Is Mechanic really the best drone for score now?

Mechanic used to give 7 points per teammate who benefited from your RK (within the radius).  It gives the most points now if they have not changed it.

Trickster gave 10 points but it is another drone now.

Engineer gives 1 point per teammate and it covers the whole team.

 

Btw, I forgot how many points Supplier gives.

 

[DestrotankAI9 1,513]

On 4/30/2021 at 12:28 PM, At_Shin said:

True, this new trickster is very fun. I like to use it with my mammoth OD. The old trickster allowed us to farm score and use repairs twice quickly - but it was not this much fun. I am loving this drone.

 Even getting speed boosts in containers does not disappoint now.

I really dislike that Trickster, which was my favourite drone & useful for almost all combos, has been changed into a totally different drone - I really wish Alternativa made a new Garage drone (something like Cheetah) instead and kept Trickster as it was, which would surely have been the better decision. Personally I found the old Trickster fun and a very interesting drone to play in different ways, there is no other drone with a similar play style and I'm sad that that is now gone.

However I must say, the new Trickster is very fun in different ways - my new favourite hull/drone combo is also definitely Mammoth/Trickster. With Trickster Mammoth is now acceptably fast, with the overdrive it is very fast - you are truly a speeding ball of doom lol. Also very nice with melee turrets, definitely with medium hulls (although I haven't tested with light). Tried it with Isida/Viking and that is a pretty dangerous combo with Trickster. Unlike Crisis you can keep your DA/DD up while getting extra speed - so I think for these purposes it is a better drone.

Also, it is of course very good for capture modes and large maps (unless you are under heavy fire) - however my Trickster is only 6/20 so I am pretty fragile, so I am not sure where it or Defender is the better option for CTF/RGB now when maxed out as I can't really test fairly.

Edited May 2, 2021 by DestrotankAI9

[LambSauce 1,884]

I was asking you guys for advice on which drone to buy/upgrade (did a name change btw), but I guess that problem is solved now:

Edited May 2, 2021 by LambSauce
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[wolverine848 13,097]

Does Brutus function in Pro-battles no (garage) supplies but with supply drops?  Does it boost the supplies you pick up?

[antillis 138]

4 hours ago, LambSauce said:

I was asking you guys for advice on which drone to buy/upgrade (did a name change btw), but I guess that problem is solved now:

Very nice, but crisis needs to be maxed, are your protections will be quite useless. (courtesy of the developers) Crisis at low ranks is very good, but at the higher ranks not so good, not with all the OP updates that can wipe you out very easily.

Remember also that you can only use 1 supply at any time, but if you practice switching supplies at the right moment and you are quick to do so, then crisis can be a great drone to take into battle, but not at the high ranks imo, not with tanki the way it is, full of OP P2W death machines.

Also as you no drones are mega expensive to upgrade. Ranking to quick will not do you any favours also, maxed drone are not.

My advice, stop playing that account until your crisis is at least 15/20, at least, then you will see a huge difference in your placings at the end of battles.

One other point. Along with crisis, crystals allowing, upgrade protections to so as to get as much benefit from them and your drone as possible. 

Max out your favourite combo along with your drone/protections and you will see a big difference, but only if you stop playing and resume when they are all strong.

Patience and lots of crystals are what you need atm.

Good luck. 

[Cleric 1,385]

6 hours ago, LambSauce said:

I was asking you guys for advice on which drone to buy/upgrade (did a name change btw), but I guess that problem is solved now:

Beside what the other guy said, as a player who has played with Crisis with quite some time, Crisis eats supplies like a horse, especially speed boost (p.s. I'm a Titan player, so that would explain why).

[Akame 4,578]

8 hours ago, wolverine848 said:

Does Brutus function in Pro-battles no (garage) supplies but with supply drops?  Does it boost the supplies you pick up?

You cannot create pro battles that use no supplies, because drones use supplies (apart from brutus now) but turning supplies off turns drones off too.

I created a garage supply off map, drones were auto off as a result, hence brutus not shown.

[kydapoot 570]

Assuming I'm going to max it out, which mining drone do you think I should prioritize first?

I'm considering these three:

• Miner (mine every 10-15 seconds that doesn't disappear when I die)
• Camper (mine every 5 seconds when at full health)
• Saboteur (9 mines in a pattern every 40 seconds)

[Spy 14,687]

6 minutes ago, kydapoot said:

Assuming I'm going to max it out, which mining drone do you think I should prioritize first?

I'm considering these three:

• Miner (mine every 10-15 seconds that doesn't disappear when I die)
• Camper (mine every 5 seconds when at full health)
• Saboteur (9 mines in a pattern every 40 seconds)

It depends on your playing style - I would say Saboteur if you like defending your base and Miner if you like attacking. As for Camper, I don't really like this drone so I wouldn't recommend it.

[Akame 4,578]

18 minutes ago, kydapoot said:

Assuming I'm going to max it out, which mining drone do you think I should prioritize first?

I'm considering these three:

• Miner (mine every 10-15 seconds that doesn't disappear when I die)
• Camper (mine every 5 seconds when at full health)
• Saboteur (9 mines in a pattern every 40 seconds)

If you're looking for something a bit more challenging, Camper would be the way, since it does require being a full hp to use properly. Also if you do get EMP'd by a Hunter and have stun immunity, you are able to supply back fully if you are at full HP still. (May be a glitch, or not, depends on how exactly EMP works) Also, this drone is the best for mining missions.

Spoiler

Miner is a nice all rounder, seen it being used on many combos. Also if you can mine a bit more often, then I believe that would also reduce your cooldown imposed on BA/BD.

Personally I wouldn't recommend saboteur, in many cases it's not good because you get no personal benefit, if tanks know that you have mines there, they will avoid it, assuming decent players.

 

Especially with the latest supply nerf/drone buff, it is imperative to have supplies on, so drones which reduce cooldowns are generally much more valuable.

Edited May 7, 2021 by Akame

[SporkZilla 1,775]

Just finished a battle on Berlin with a Level 9 Engineer and a Mk7/17 Hornet

Grab a speed boost drop and get nearly 60 seconds to race around the map boosting my team's supplies and sharing repair kit drops

Must have got more points from my drone than assists and kills

[LambSauce 1,884]

55 minutes ago, SporkZilla said:

Just finished a battle on Berlin with a Level 9 Engineer and a Mk7/17 Hornet

Grab a speed boost drop and get nearly 60 seconds to race around the map boosting my team's supplies and sharing repair kit drops

Must have got more points from my drone than assists and kills

Engineer shares repair kits with allies as well?

[Akame 4,578]

15 minutes ago, LambSauce said:

Engineer shares repair kits with allies as well?

Yes it does, but most players don't know that you can share repairs, resulting in engineer players suffering.

Edited May 10, 2021 by Akame

[LambSauce 1,884]

3 minutes ago, Akame said:

Yes it does, but most players don't know that you can share repairs, resulting in engineer players suffering.

On a large map with a fast hull, Engineer actually seems like a pretty strong drone, especially when maxed.

[Akame 4,578]

1 minute ago, LambSauce said:

On a large map with a fast hull, Engineer actually seems like a pretty strong drone, especially when maxed.

Certainly is, but the performance still depends on teammates leaving supplies for you to get, but how many teammates actually leave supplies for others.

[LambSauce 1,884]

@TheCongoSpider @Akame (just pinging a few of the game mechanic experts)

What is the comparison on the amount of supplies used per minute (and per game) of Crisis versus Hyperion. I know Crisis uses 3 per switch while Hyperion uses 3 per 60-second usage, so I'm guessing that Hyperion uses quite a bit less supplies, but by how much on average?

[kydapoot 570]

3 hours ago, LambSauce said:

@TheCongoSpider @Akame (just pinging a few of the game mechanic experts)

What is the comparison on the amount of supplies used per minute (and per game) of Crisis versus Hyperion. I know Crisis uses 3 per switch while Hyperion uses 3 per 60-second usage, so I'm guessing that Hyperion uses quite a bit less supplies, but by how much on average?

It really depends on how often you switch with Crisis. Crisis can, in theory, be actually more economical if you just activate a supply and let it run its 30 seconds - for example, camping in extra damage mode or blocking a path in extra armor mode. Also, crisis doesn't waste repair kits and mines the way that Hyperion does.

That said, Hyperion is consistent - you'll be using 3 of each supply every 30 seconds or so (not 60, since it reduces cooldowns), and that's it. Crisis, on the other hand, can just burn through your supplies if you take advantage of the flexibility it offers by switching modes frequently.

Generally, Crisis users tend to switch often enough to burn through more boosted armor, boosted damage, and speed boost than Hyperion users.

[Akame 4,578]

6 hours ago, LambSauce said:

@TheCongoSpider @Akame (just pinging a few of the game mechanic experts)

What is the comparison on the amount of supplies used per minute (and per game) of Crisis versus Hyperion. I know Crisis uses 3 per switch while Hyperion uses 3 per 60-second usage, so I'm guessing that Hyperion uses quite a bit less supplies, but by how much on average?

As Kyda says above it depends on how often you switch.

Brief summary recall;

Crisis uses 3 supplies of a 'switch mode' supply. However if camping often, then you can use 'Max damage' and get an overall higher effective dps in the long run vs a booster.

Hyperion uses 3 supplies of any supplies it uses, this includes repairs and mines too, but the mines and repairs don't give any extra effect nor reduced cooldown. But can be used every 30s basically.

 

Hyperion also is much easier to use, crisis can be painful to use if you make badly timed switches.

[Tanker-Arthur 2,971]

Just now, Akame said:

Hyperion uses 3 supplies of any supplies it uses, this includes repairs and mines too, but the mines and repairs don't give any extra effect nor reduced cooldown. But can be used every 30s basically.

 

Hyperion also is much easier to use, crisis can be painful to use if you make badly timed switches.

It's basically an OP Trooper.

 

There's really no reason at all to use Trooper if your Hyperion is well-upgraded and you have near-unlimited supplies to spare.

[Tanker-Arthur 2,971]

On 5/10/2021 at 4:05 PM, Akame said:

Certainly is, but the performance still depends on teammates leaving supplies for you to get, but how many teammates actually leave supplies for others.

Honestly, the only map I find where supply boxes are reliably easy to collect is Highways. Mainly because (1) the map is big and has numerous levels and (2) a lot of boxes drop in the bottom area towards middle but no one gets them cause most people either camp at their base with Shafts or they traverse the bridges.

[LambSauce 1,884]

13 hours ago, Tanker-Arthur said:

Honestly, the only map I find where supply boxes are reliably easy to collect is Highways. Mainly because (1) the map is big and has numerous levels and (2) a lot of boxes drop in the bottom area towards middle but no one gets them cause most people either camp at their base with Shafts or they traverse the bridges.

I actually find that the average player pays almost zero attention to supply boxes, whereas I do a lot of the time, even if it's not necessary to collect them. I guess it's just an old habit of mine from the old days of Tanki.

[enri_chill 135]

Rookie questions here. I have only really used brutus. I do have a Defender drone at level 9, but have never really used it.  I have 20k of most supplies and 8k batteries. With all the changes in supplies and now drones, I am completely confused. Is there an easy to use and efficient drone you all would recommend. I tend to prefer middle hull and vulcan until the recent tweaks. Trying to find a new combo to use and see so many drones that I know I am fighting up a hill usually. Any thoughts before this sale goes off. I've got 500k saved up.

Edited May 29, 2021 by enri_chill

[LambSauce 1,884]

Just now, enri_chill said:

Rookie questions here. I have only really used brutus. I have 20k of most supplies and 8k batteries. With all the changes in supplies and now drones, I am completely confused. Is there an easy to use and efficient drone you all would recommend. I tend to prefer middle hull and vulcan until the recent tweaks. Trying to find a new combo to use and see so many drones that I know I am fighting up a hill usually. Any thoughts before this sale goes off. I've got 500k saved up.

I'm upgrading Brutus to max tomorrow during the sales. It's the cheapest drone to fully MU, and fully upgrading a drone is one of the most important tasks that you should do as soon as possible, ever since the update where supply power was tied to drone upgrade level. Also it doesn't consume batteries at all.

[enri_chill 135]

Just now, LambSauce said:

I'm upgrading Brutus to max tomorrow during the sales. It's the cheapest drone to fully MU, and fully upgrading a drone is one of the most important tasks that you should do as soon as possible, ever since the update where supply power was tied to drone upgrade level. Also it doesn't consume batteries at all.

I've got brutus maxed out. Used it after Vulcan got nerfed on damage a year ago (or so). Are any of the other drones beneficial?