EVE Search - How can I keep my drones alive?

Check My IP Information

All Channels

EVE New Citizens Q&A

How can I keep my drones alive?

» Click here to find additional results for this topic using Google

Monitor this thread via RSS [?]

Pages: 1 2 :: [one page]

Author	Thread Statistics \| Show CCP posts - 1 post(s)
Scrogz Delta Laroth Industries 0	Posted - 2016.05.19 14:51:47 - [1] - Quote I just started running Level 3 missions and my drones are just getting obliterated right and left. I've been using the Google machine to find some sort of solution and Ih ave read an ECM burst will help keep agro off the drones but most of this information looks dated. Does this still work well? Lacking that solution, any other good suggestions on helping me keep my drones alive? Should I just be managing them more manually? Point of reference, I am current flying a Drake and using Hobgoblin II's. I can use other drones also if they will be more effective? Thanks for any help.
Lan Wang Knights of the Posing Meat FETID 2893	Posted - 2016.05.19 15:32:24 - [2] - Quote works on carriers, give it a try, perma run it and see FETID now recruiting pvp pilots & corporations \| lowsec pvp & piracy - Join FETID Loyalist to Angel Cartel & Serpentis
Cara Forelli Meticulously Indifferent 1805	Posted - 2016.05.19 15:57:52 - [3] - Quote Don't use ECM burst in high sec. If you accidentally hit some neutral party, including structures, you'll get concorded. Some other ewar like a target painter would be a better option. The drone navigation and done durability skills can help you keep them alive. Also keep in mind certain size rats are more likely to shoot certain size drones. You may just need to kill the frigates first or something. Adventures New player with questions? Join my public channel in game: *House Forelli* Titan's Lament
Erin Oswell Star Explorers Reckoning Star Alliance 37	Posted - 2016.05.19 16:06:08 - [4] - Quote Training up drone durability and other support skills will help a bit as was mentioned above, assuming you haven't done so already. Unless I'm gravely mistaken cruisers + sentry towers will agress light drones whilst frigates mostly leave them alone (this doesn't apply to sleepers which HATE drones) using medium drones will help deal with the bigger ships, or heavy drones for battle cruisers etc but you will need higher bandwidth capacity for that so you may only be able to have one or two. A dedicated drone boat will be better if you prefer using drones. Rules of Acquisition #13: "Anything worth doing is worth doing for money"
Roenok Baalnorn Sadistically Sinister 8	Posted - 2016.05.19 16:29:40 - [5] - Quote 1) Wait till you get aggro to launch drones. 2) Recall drones that get aggro and relaunch. 3) fly a ship that a majority of dps comes from your ship not from drones. I seriously have never had this issue with drones. occasionally one will take damage and ill recall and relaunch. But this might be once in every 50 waves if that much even when i leave them out between waves. I dont think ive lost a drone to rat fire in nearly a year.
ergherhdfgh Imperial Academy Amarr Empire 1476	Posted - 2016.05.19 16:33:34 - [6] - Quote Target painter could work for gaining aggro and increasing damage. Also check the escape menu for recall drones hotkeys. I think it is shift+R
Zathra Narazi Caldari Colonial Defense Ministry Templis CALSF 23	Posted - 2016.05.19 18:30:34 - [7] - Quote Scrogz wrote: I just started running Level 3 missions and my drones are just getting obliterated right and left. I've been using the Google machine to find some sort of solution and Ih ave read an ECM burst will help keep agro off the drones but most of this information looks dated. Does this still work well? Lacking that solution, any other good suggestions on helping me keep my drones alive? Should I just be managing them more manually? Point of reference, I am current flying a Drake and using Hobgoblin II's. I can use other drones also if they will be more effective? Thanks for any help. Rats agro drones smaller than them a lot. If you're using mediums while there are still frigates or destroyers that's the problem. The rats sometimes switch aggro now even if you use the right size. You just have to keep an eye on them and don't send them super far away.
Moonlit Raid State War Academy Caldari State 300	Posted - 2016.05.19 21:00:41 - [8] - Quote Cara Forelli wrote: Don't use ECM burst in high sec. If you accidentally hit some neutral party, including structures, you'll get concorded. Some other ewar like a target painter would be a better option. The drone navigation and done durability skills can help you keep them alive. Also keep in mind certain size rats are more likely to shoot certain size drones. You may just need to kill the frigates first or something. Structures in missions will not cause you to get concorded if hit by AoE weapons (including ECM burst), however if another player is in range (including their drones) then you will suffer the dokken. If brute force isn't working, you're just not using enough. Please Note: Any advice given comes with the caveat that nothing will be suitable for every situation.
Memphis Baas 1571	Posted - 2016.05.19 21:42:40 - [9] - Quote How to keep drones alive: 1. Wait until all the rats in the overview have red brackets, meaning they've targeted you and are shooting your ship. 2. Use drones that are equal or smaller than the rats - small for frigates, medium for cruiser rats, heavy for battleship rats. 3. Keep in mind that NPCs usually come in groups, 1 cruiser and several frigates supporting it, or one battleship, several cruisers, and several frigates, and these groups attack as one entity. So to keep your drones alive, put out the small drones and kill all the small ships first, then recall and go to bigger drones. You need a good tank to withstand the damage from the big NPCs while you kill the small. (Which is why people use gun ships: the guns shoot the big NPCs first, and the few small drones that the ship has for self defense can go after the frigates). 4. Named NPCs / Officer NPCs have special AI (similar to sleepers in wormholes) and will switch to drones regardless of size. Use a gun ship instead of a drone ship for them. 5. Use EVE Survival to get complete spoilers about each mission, including when each wave of NPC's appears (you need to recall drones until the new wave locks and starts shooting you), whether there are bosses, or in what order to kill the NPCs for minimum aggro.
Iria Ahrens Space Perverts and Forum Pirates 950	Posted - 2016.05.19 22:14:40 - [10] - Quote In addition to the other advice. Watch your triggers. If you kill a trigger the new rats will aggro your drones. So try to kill the triggers last, recall drones. And repeat the aggro steps above. My choice of pronouns is based on your avatar. Even if I know what is behind the avatar.

Bumblefck Kerensky Initiatives 12088	Posted - 2016.05.19 22:29:53 - [11] - Quote Don't use drones Perfection is a dish best served like wasabi . Bumble's Space Log
ergherhdfgh Imperial Academy Amarr Empire 1476	Posted - 2016.05.19 22:40:39 - [12] - Quote Zathra Narazi wrote: Rats agro drones smaller than them a lot. If you're using mediums while there are still frigates or destroyers that's the problem. I think that you mean that the other way around. Rats aggro drones larger than them. However you did make it clear with your example.
Tau Cabalander Retirement Retreat Working Stiffs 6094	Posted - 2016.05.19 22:59:27 - [13] - Quote Targeted ECM module >> Target painter for agro. Burst just asking to be CONCORDED. However, I've never bothered doing that. For level 3, I'd use an attack priority of: * If the frigates are at max range, you can usually alpha the non-elites with turrets / missiles / sentries. Once they are in orbit around you, only light drones are worth using. * Destroyers, as they only take one volley (or two). * Battleruisers, as they are the biggest threat, but few in number. * Cruisers. * Frigates. If using drones for primary damage, use sentry drones and orbit them. Re-launch as necessary. If using medium drones for primary damage, don't let them get further than 15 km from you. If using heavy drones for primary damage, don't let them get further than 10 km from you. Otherwise sending light drones after frigates when you start on the cruisers, should help keep them safe.
Deneb Sol Retirement Retreat Working Stiffs 2	Posted - 2016.05.19 23:28:55 - [14] - Quote delete
Iria Ahrens Space Perverts and Forum Pirates 950	Posted - 2016.05.19 23:30:12 - [15] - Quote I used ECM burst exactly one time in HS. My choice of pronouns is based on your avatar. Even if I know what is behind the avatar.
Cara Forelli Meticulously Indifferent 1813	Posted - 2016.05.20 13:43:33 - [16] - Quote Moonlit Raid wrote: Cara Forelli wrote: Don't use ECM burst in high sec. If you accidentally hit some neutral party, including structures, you'll get concorded. Some other ewar like a target painter would be a better option. The drone navigation and done durability skills can help you keep them alive. Also keep in mind certain size rats are more likely to shoot certain size drones. You may just need to kill the frigates first or something. Structures in missions will not cause you to get concorded if hit by AoE weapons (including ECM burst), however if another player is in range (including their drones) then you will suffer the dokken. True, but there are many things that can get you in trouble that you might not realize. Stargates...cans or wrecks in an asteroid belt, etc. Most of the structures in missions aren't neutral but it really isn't worth the risk of eventually messing up because your safety won't save you. (Anyone tried shooting an acceleration gate for example? Not sure what happens) I started being very careful after I nearly lost a blackbird by jamming a wreck on a gate in lowsec for lols. Gate guns were not amused. Adventures New player with questions? Join my public channel in game: *House Forelli* Titan's Lament
Donnachadh United Allegiance of Undesirables 845	Posted - 2016.05.20 14:36:58 - [17] - Quote Posting ship you are using would help to some degree then we know what you are flying and any bonuses it may give to your drones. Most of the ideas above will help to some degree or another but there is no absolute way to keep your drones from drawing agro if they are in space so your best bet is to control the ranges you use them at. Range as in they are to far away from your ship is a major cause of drone loss. A good way to determine what is a decent max range from your ship you should send your drones is recall time. Start with ranges that allow for you to recall them in 6-8 seconds and then adjust from there based on your experiences. As others have noted drones durability will help with this and in some cases ship skills may help as well. I have never been a fan of using EWAR to control agro on your drones since it does not work in all situations. Even if it does work for awhile at some point the NPC will switch back to your drones and then you have to deal with the potential for loss. Depending on the ship you are flying sentry drones are an option you should be considering if you are into level 3 missions, especially since they are a level 4 drones pilots best friends.
Scrogz Delta Laroth Industries 0	Posted - 2016.05.20 14:39:51 - [18] - Quote Thanks for the responses. I am not in a place where I can link my build right now but I am flying a Drake currently. Having a bit better luck with my drones just based on this advice but still far from ideal.
Flharfh Lhar Star Explorers Reckoning Star Alliance 14	Posted - 2016.05.20 16:12:58 - [19] - Quote CCP has modified npc aggro so that they are much more likely to attack drones. It is just a fact of life that if you use drones in PvE, you are going to lose them from time to time. Instead of stressing and micromanaging your drones to save them, just use cheap T1 drones and let the NPCs target them if they want. Replace as needed. The t1s are so incredibly cheap that it should not be a problem. Yes, you lose DPS if your drones die, but you lose DPS by constantly microing and recalling/relaunching them too.
ergherhdfgh Imperial Academy Amarr Empire 1480	Posted - 2016.05.21 02:32:31 - [20] - Quote Also watch what the NPCs are doing in your overview it can give you a clue what is going to happen before your drones take aggro. If you have all the NPCs red boxing you and then they go yellow box or totally de-target you then your drones are likely being targeted and about to start taking damage.

Iria Ahrens Space Perverts and Forum Pirates 953	Posted - 2016.05.21 02:39:40 - [21] - Quote Flharfh Lhar wrote: CCP has modified npc aggro so that they are much more likely to attack drones. It is just a fact of life that if you use drones in PvE, you are going to lose them from time to time. Instead of stressing and micromanaging your drones to save them, just use cheap T1 drones and let the NPCs target them if they want. Replace as needed. The t1s are so incredibly cheap that it should not be a problem. Yes, you lose DPS if your drones die, but you lose DPS by constantly microing and recalling/relaunching them too. I still lose more drones from warping off than I lose from NPCs. My choice of pronouns is based on your avatar. Even if I know what is behind the avatar.
Wombat65Au Egdald Sebiestor Tribe Minmatar Republic 18	Posted - 2016.05.21 06:33:52 - [22] - Quote First, while most ships can carry some drones there are ships with bonuses specifically for drones. These bonuses not only include improved dps and HP's for drones, the drone bonused ships normally have larger than average drone bays to let you carry more drones (you're still limited to using 5 drones max, but you can carry more spare drones in case you lose some or you want to switch to drones with a different type of damage). Gallente have a T1 ship in every category from frigate to battleship that has specific bonuses for drones. Amarr also have a similar lineup of specialised drone ships. Amarr drone bonused ships tend to have the largest drone bays, but most of the Amarr drone bonused ships have less drone bandwidth than the equivalent Gallente drone bonued ships. There are a few other ships in some of the smaller NPC factions that also have drone bonuses. Caldari and Minmatar don't have ships with bonuses specifically for drones. http://wiki.eveuniversity.org/Drone_Capable_Ships The next point to realise is that not all drones are equal. A Minmatar light drone does not have the same stats as a Gallente light drone, same with Amarr and Caldari light drones. Some drones have more HP's than other drones. Some drones are faster than others, Some drones have a longer weapon range than others. There are tradeoffs in this, if you want more of X, you'll have to settle for less of Y. http://wiki.eveuniversity.org/Drones#Light.2C_medium_and_heavy_drones You've already been told about the Drone Durability skill, but there's also a Drone Durability Enhancer Rig you can fit to your ship which will give your drones some more HP's (You'll need the Drone Rigging skill at 1 to use the T1 version of this rig). There are versions of this rig in every size category to suit frigates all the way up to battleships, and getting the Drone Rigging skill to 1 will unlock the T1 rig for every ship size. You'll need to train the skill to 5 to unlock the T2 version of this rig. There is one more thing you might consider doing to kelp keep your drones alive. Fit a remote shield or armor repairer to your ship, or carry a shield or armor repair drone (repair drones have their own specific skill needed to use them). You'll have to use a high slot on your ship to fit the repairer, and when you see one of your drones taking damage, you'll need to target that drone just like you would target a hostile ship, then use the remote repair module on the drone. The down sides of doing this: You have to give up a weapon or some other high slot module to fit the remote repair module. Remote repair modules have a limited range, you'll have to keep your drones close to your ship to use it. If your capacitor use is already tight, this will make it worse. Using a repair drone doesn't tie up a high slot, has more range flexibility and doesn't drain your capacitor, but you have to give up one combat drone in order to have that repair drone in space (less drone dps), and repair drones repair much less than a remote repair module fitted to a ship (a single repair drone will have trouble keeping up with the incoming damage to a combat drone). Using a remote repairer or using a repair drone both require you to target your own drone which means you can target one less hostile ship, and you might shoot your own drone if you are not careful.
ergherhdfgh Imperial Academy Amarr Empire 1483	Posted - 2016.05.21 13:21:48 - [23] - Quote Scrogz wrote: Thanks for the responses. I am not in a place where I can link my build right now but I am flying a Drake currently. Having a bit better luck with my drones just based on this advice but still far from ideal. CCP bases their decision on what to nerf based on usage. Lots of people seem to like drones so they get used a lot so CCP keeps nerfing them. If you are getting frustrated with how your drones take aggro then according to CCP they did their job correctly because that is exactly why they changed the aggro mechanics several years ago. One thing that I can say about the mechanics however is that the NPCs seem to be programmed to drop aggro at times and target someone else. If you have two player ships on grid they tend to prefer the other player rather than drones. It's not 100% but it is significantly improved.
ergherhdfgh Imperial Academy Amarr Empire 1483	Posted - 2016.05.21 13:28:36 - [24] - Quote Wombat65Au Egdald wrote: Gallente have a T1 ship in every category from frigate to battleship that has specific bonuses for drones. The Gallente rookie ship the Velator not only has a bonus to drone hitpoints and damage but also has 10 m3 bay and bandwidth so you can field 2 small drones along with the bonus. In that resepect it is like a double bonus. The Ibis does have both a hybrid and missile bonus but still only has 2 high slots. I've never run EFT numbers on the rookie ships to see how that all works out but I thought it was interesting in this context.
Sykaotic Brutor Tribe Minmatar Republic 109	Posted - 2016.05.23 06:51:01 - [25] - Quote Drones t1 are dirt cheap.. Relax, release, return if agro. If using heavy missle consider adding a couple light launchers for help with frigs. Have fun.
KaarBaak 321	Posted - 2016.05.23 21:48:56 - [26] - Quote Flharfh Lhar wrote: CCP has modified npc aggro so that they are much more likely to attack drones. It is just a fact of life that if you use drones in PvE, you are going to lose them from time to time. Instead of stressing and micromanaging your drones to save them, just use cheap T1 drones and let the NPCs target them if they want. Replace as needed. The t1s are so incredibly cheap that it should not be a problem. Yes, you lose DPS if your drones die, but you lose DPS by constantly microing and recalling/relaunching them too. ^^This. It's a fundamental decision you have to make whether to micro-manage expensive drones or 'launch-and-forget' cheap drones. I'm mostly a micro-manager...selecting targets for my drones...grouping different drone types...recalling and deploying repeatedly...etc. But there have been times when I've let a swarm of T1s handle the fight on their own and then replaced them as they expire. The thing to remember is that drones are (generally) dumb and have a tendency to go looking for a fight if you let them. Often a fight they cannot win.
Pandora Carrollon Kingsman Tailors 296	Posted - 2016.05.24 14:50:05 - [27] - Quote You've gotten a ton of good advice and I can validate several of the tactics as I use them. I don't use a dedicated drone boat, haven't for a long time. They have to stay a little too close to the action to be effective in the recall process. You have to recall the drones at half shield unless you want them damaged, you can't repair them in space. There should be a ship module that lets you repair drones in your drone bay, but there isn't. Drones as auxiliary support work well. I don't launch mine until I'm well in the thick of it. I generally use drones to marginalize an opponent I'm not ready to take on yet. I'll send 1 or 2 dps drones and 1 ewar drone on a target. It usually keeps them pretty busy. I also use DPS drones on Frigates because they are easy to pop with drones and this is always my go-to solution if they get within 15km of me. I'll let my dual rail take pot shots at a close target but my primary guns will pick on something larger and more distant. So making yourself the primary target is the best solution, I don't lose many drones with my gunboats, I lose them all the time with my drone boats. I will admit that my Algos is fun for going in and mixing it up in a furball with targets. Be Positive GÇó Change yourself first, New Eden will come later GÇó EVE is Awesome GÇó CCP isn't the enemy GÇó Players are people too GÇó Where're the clothing blueprints GÇó Yeah, I'm still learning this game -- Pandora's Rules to EVE by
Nerath Naaris Pink Winged Unicorns for Peace Love and Anarchy 1062	Posted - 2016.05.27 20:32:38 - [28] - Quote Once upon a time Rats aggroed and then kept that aggro until their demise. Of COURSE that was abused by the players by drawing aggro on themselves then releasing their Drones and going AFK (the Rattlesnake was the favoured build for that). CCP eventually countered that... and overdoing it, as usual. Drones got murdered left and right and the forums were full of delicious, sweet salty tears. After a couple of fixes we are were we are now. So much for history. As said above, there is really no way around watching and micromanaging your Drones, however in the long run I would advise getting around that problem by simply reducing drone usage to a minimum simply out of practical sense: Read up mission guides to see which Frigs can scram you and kill them while they are incoming, otherwise just ignore them; as long as they do not web or scam you they are harmless. Also, a Micro Jump Drive apparently works wonders. Forum-unbanned since 2011.10.20. Je suis Paris Je suis Köln Je suis Brüssel Je suis [?]
Ka Plaa Raumfahrer Spiff Rakett Piloot Anslutning 291	Posted - 2016.05.29 06:57:37 - [29] - Quote Put a target painter in a mid slot of your drake. Increases the damage your missiles and drones do, puts NPC aggro on your ship. Train drone durability and drone navigation skills. In the upper left of your drone window is an "E" (three horizontal lines). Click that and ensure your drones are set to "aggressive". Drake is all about the missiles. Use missile rigs and missile damage increasing mods (3) in the low slots. If you want to use a dedicated drone boat where drones are the main weapons; drone navigation computer and omnidirectional tracking link with tracking speed script in mid slots. 1 or 2 drone link augmentor in high slots. "The Crowd Is Untruth" - Kierkegaard
Donnachadh United Allegiance of Undesirables 861	Posted - 2016.05.29 14:13:29 - [30] - Quote Pandora Carrollon wrote: ou have to recall the drones at half shield unless you want them damaged, you can't repair them in space. OK the part about not being able to repair your drones in space is 100% false. You can use remote shield, armor and hull reps on your drones in space. You can use shield and armor bots on your drones in space. Bot are simply drones that boost shields or repair armor instead of shooting things.

Iria Ahrens Space Perverts and Forum Pirates 954	Posted - 2016.05.30 04:23:37 - [31] - Quote Donnachadh wrote: Pandora Carrollon wrote: ou have to recall the drones at half shield unless you want them damaged, you can't repair them in space. OK the part about not being able to repair your drones in space is 100% false. You can use remote shield, armor and hull reps on your drones in space. You can use shield and armor bots on your drones in space. Bot are simply drones that boost shields or repair armor instead of shooting things. Also, what she said about drones taking a long time to return is not necessarily true. Sentry drones are kept near the ship, have long range damage, and can be quickly recalled...if you keep the ship near them. My choice of pronouns is based on your avatar. Even if I know what is behind the avatar.


Pages: 1 2 :: [one page]

COPYRIGHT NOTICE
EVE Online, the EVE logo, EVE and all associated logos and designs are the intellectual property of CCP hf. All artwork, screenshots, characters, vehicles, storylines, world facts or other recognizable features of the intellectual property relating to these trademarks are likewise the intellectual property of CCP hf. EVE Online and the EVE logo are the registered trademarks of CCP hf. All rights are reserved worldwide. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. CCP hf. has granted permission to EVE-Search.com to use EVE Online and all associated logos and designs for promotional and information purposes on its website but does not endorse, and is not in any way affiliated with, EVE-Search.com. CCP is in no way responsible for the content on or functioning of this website, nor can it be liable for any damage arising from the use of this website.