Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 15 posts ] 
Author Message
Main: PhysicalAbuse V
Level: 2006

Joined: Wed Jan 23, 2013 7:09 pm
Posts: 0
Post Guide To Droning.
I have done this setup recently, and its great!!

Do the Pax missions, they are easy to do, the Missions are all exploration missions.. and the end item end item is a Pax Celestica. Its a great T12 ship. you can get piloting 12 by level 25.

When you get this, do your best to save for the following setup.

2 Advanced Standard Defensive (Shield +50%, Shield Recharge +33%)
1 Advanced Standard Invigorating (Energy +100%, Electricity +33%)

These augs comprise of:
8 Standard Recovery Augs.
8 Standard Shield Augs.
8 Standard Electric Augs
8 Standard Energy Augs
32 Titanium Sheets.


This would cost around 600mil if you bought everything, but, it is really worth it, you will then want to start off by using arson drones (shameless link--Selling Arson drones In Furud).If this is too much, go for a normal Standard Invig and Defensive setup.

These make mince meat of Monochrome Hues, then, when you get better equipment, you can take on space blue beta's. and the universe is your oyster.

Now, as a DM, i will suggest that you only train the following skills.

*Piloting to 12, get a celeste, this can take you to level 600 or so easily.

*Weapons-Do Not waste any skill points on here.
*Shields-Get to 5 at a low level, and use a Mythos Web, or a VP 3, then to 9 for a Lunar, then 12 for a Deimos, and then 15 for a Phobos

*Engine-5 to start, use like a Bule Shover, did me, then to 9, for a Bule real Keeper and up you go.

*Radar-no need to get too high here, im level 260 ish with radar 5, using a revealer.

*Elec Engineering-This is very important, I prefer a reasonable sized bank, and decent regen, so i can scoop and redeploy (doing this fully regens the shields, electricity and also the timer on the drones)

*Equipment-This, imho is the most important skill in the game, i didnt realise this till alot later on my MF char, when i lost 5 DWO's in one podding...90% of the time, a GG is alot cheaper then all your drones.

*Drone Deployment-I find that keeping it to the levels that each station provides is enough in one sitting, so, sol to 3 (no commod), thats ok for some Ai, but go to prism, and get it to 12, its 4 skill points per level, and in Prism, it takes solar cleansings, which are available from Absolution.you can then get it to 16, in Steppes, which take Qu Quu Drones (around 560 size) and then finally, and most difficult, is DD 20, available from Ruby Steppes, it requires Quafir Drones, which are size 7500, you will need a gelato or a thatch for this, and most importantly, a friend with a Tractor beam.

*Drone Mastery Skills-try and keep support and engineer around the same level, along with Drone Mastery. neglect the resist skills for now, keeping your drones alive is alot more important imo.

*Tractor-This can be quite important, as Ai now run away, there is nothing worse then getting an Ai down to 10%, and it run away, and you cant catch it...because, you dont get your experience points.

Tactics!!!

So, you have the ship, you have the augs...what drones to use and which Ai to use them on.

This is where you need to ask what Ai are weak to. All of the Blue series are weak to heat (Space Blue Alpha, Beta and Gamma) so are the Monochrome series (Monochrome Tint's and Mono Hue's), So, Arson Drones work perfectly on most of these.

Another technique is Etherial Drones, and Envelopes, this is slightly more expensive, as you cant re-use an envelope, its a once only item, so you have to buy several.

My favoutire Technique, is warps. Lay your drones on one side of the warp, this way, an Ai's most powerful weapon, will only hit on one pass of the drones, it will normally have to use an Etherial weapon, which isnt very powerful, when coming from the other side of the warp. (remember the scoop and redeploy tactic i mentioned...make sure you lay your drones so you can see how your drones shields are holding up, if they are all clumped together, you will lose drones...or scoop drones that dont need shooting)

My last tip, is if you are going to die, scoop your drones...yea..so what, the Ai might be on red...but you dont know whats going to warp in, and finish your drones off, and as i said, a GG is 90% of the time, alot cheaper then a set of drones.


Thu Jan 31, 2008 10:32 pm
Profile
User avatar

Joined: Mon Jun 11, 2007 4:39 pm
Posts: 30
Post 
Excellent guide. Now maybe those newb droners wont moan its "too hard".

_________________
Image


Fri Feb 01, 2008 11:29 am
Profile
User avatar
Main: Nyarlathotep
Level: 1854

Joined: Mon Aug 22, 2005 8:17 am
Posts: 3978
Location: Classified
Post 
Another good ssetup, if your drones die too easily and you have a good shield, you can use 1 std/adv std invig, 1 std/adv std defence, 1 general drone ops aug, the T10 one. It gives your DRONES better shields, shield regen, damage, RoF,....you get the idea. It improves most drone stats, and also gives you a bit more elec bank.


Fri Feb 01, 2008 1:32 pm
Profile
User avatar
Team: Imperium
Rank: Councilor
Main: Qu4NtuM
Level: 7713

Joined: Tue Dec 20, 2005 5:16 pm
Posts: 326
Location: At work...
Post 
You can also use 2 sargent enforcer augs and 1 engineer t10 aug

_________________
Julian wrote:
In ss we fill breast implants with sand because we are to cheap to purchase silicone.
Battlecruiser23 wrote:
I have reasons for why I do things.


Fri Feb 01, 2008 2:39 pm
Profile
Main: PhysicalAbuse V
Level: 2006

Joined: Wed Jan 23, 2013 7:09 pm
Posts: 0
Post 
The Problem with that aug Yuhioh is it costs 1b+, which, is really out of reach, but yes, for the later levels well worth it


Fri Feb 01, 2008 2:57 pm
Profile
User avatar
Team: Suns of Hades
Rank: Soldier
Main: Abbara
Level: 6776

Joined: Mon Oct 18, 2004 11:13 am
Posts: 313
Post 
To progress even further... (Once you are lvl 750+ etc)

Leveling is getting hard but from aug sales etc you now have some cash lying about.

GET WARP 4 asap!

Now you can start to get Zebra Armada Crests from UZ. You need these so that you can convert them into Honourary Diplomas and mentions... these are used to get your skill in Infinite Knowledge up to 10 and then 20.

You need this skill at 20 in order to use Armadas Drones. With Drone Research 0 you can still deploy 3 Armadas and in a decent drone auged ship these will destroy all W2 / early W3 gals for nice leveling.

Then try to get Drone Research up to 3 so that you can deploy 5 in one go.

Don't be tempted to purchase Mobile T20 drones as they suck.

Leveling in UZ is also HIGHLY frowned upon. You WILL lose severe amounts of drones if you try to solo... so dont :P

You will now also need to upgrade your ship / energy.

I recomend a Giga Ion Justice for energy or a Mzg Thunder.

For a ship... Up to you, but make it something like a Pax / Pax+ and ask aroundfor the current best 3 aug drone setup. If you want to go stealth... dont. But if you are going to anyway, use a Juju.

Meh... don't do stealth Droning!!! it doesn't work and is a waste of cash :)

This approach leveled me up to 1200 when I was DMer in my Stealth Juju last uni.

Then i reset to Sniper for the new skills. Feel free to pm me for advice.


Mon Feb 04, 2008 8:39 am
Profile
User avatar

Joined: Sun Jan 27, 2008 5:46 pm
Posts: 3
Location: Canada
Post 
With both of these together, this is THE place for droners to go. :o

Good work both of you!


Mon Feb 04, 2008 12:14 pm
Profile
User avatar
Team: Suns of Hades
Rank: Soldier
Main: Abbara
Level: 6776

Joined: Mon Oct 18, 2004 11:13 am
Posts: 313
Post 
Advanced tips:

Tactic 1:

If you are fighting lots of enemies and they all seem to swoop in at you in an seemingly endless cascade of bullets that rip your drones apart...

Try letting rip with some envelopments that will kill the bullets before they hit you or your drones!!! You have to spam a lot of them as your drones are still firing, but it definitely breaks their attacks up... then as the AI pass over you, tractor the one who is getting your agro and try to keep him there whilst the other AI circle around again... then as they all fly back in, spam some more.

(Best to do this tactic as close to, if not on top of, an ai base!!!)

Tactic 2:

Drop the drones in the direction that the enemy is fly at you and space the out slightly. This allows 2 benefits. Firstly, the AI can be easily tractored over the drones (If they are armadas) to attract the maximum DPS from them all. Secondly, you can see all of the drones easily and will know when individual drones need to be scooped and redeployed. (Meaning you don't have to scoop the whole lot)

Tactic 3:

When leveling always fly into a hostile / new gal from the bottom left of the warp so you fly in heading north east, just before you go in coast and rotate 180 degrees to you are flying backwards. This angle of flight allows for the closest spacing of the drones during deployment so you deploy them all quicker... plus you are also facing in the right direction to counter thrust and stop your ship. Then go and stick close to the warp. Benefit 1, your drones are close enough to the warp so you can nip out and scoop them. You are able to therefore camp the warp to reduce the ai damage inflicted on you if there is a swarm.

Tactic 4:

PICK YOUR BATTLES!!!!

The number of times I have lost all my drones because I have been targeted and killed by a swarm of AI after fully deploying my drones or travelling across a new gal before checking to see what is in there!!! Warp in slowly and check whats in the gal first! Then decide if you can handle them all without getting blatto'd!

Tactic 5:

Don't scoop and redeploy until you are sure all the ai have gone / died!!! If you have no energy and you scoop, then a lone pick or Bana roaming lvl1k pops into the gal then you are buggered!!! Wait until you have enough energy to fully deploy your drones before you scoop them, even if the gal is empty!!! Also, at the same point, guage how many drones it will take to kill the ai and only deploy what you need to in order to save time/ energy!!!

Hope these help! The rest you will learn along the way!!!

:)


Thu Feb 07, 2008 12:22 pm
Profile
User avatar
Team: Traders
Rank:
Main: Nargos
Level: 1287

Joined: Tue Dec 13, 2005 10:21 pm
Posts: 0
Post 
Very nice guys.

_________________
Team Traders: Rank; Officer

HAL in response to reaver laser nerf--"Translation: I am quitting the game because my enemy can sometimes fight back now."


Thu Feb 07, 2008 7:04 pm
Profile
User avatar
Team: Suns of Hades
Rank: Soldier
Main: Abbara
Level: 6776

Joined: Mon Oct 18, 2004 11:13 am
Posts: 313
Post 
:::DRONING TACTICS FOR UBERS:::

So now you are a level 750+ DMer if you followed the guide and used some common sense...

So you are mixing in with squads doing ubers (and therefore quite probably loosing lots of expensive drones in the process!!!)

IT would be nice to have the best chance of you and your drones surviving in there!!!

RULE 1:

Stick close to your drones at all times!!! If you get agro scoop your drones immediately! Better to lose a GG20 than to die 100 from your drones and watch each one get pwned 1 by 1. Believe me, I got cocky and tried to help Slicer out in the penultimate boss Rhino level once, got wasted 100 from my drones and watched all 5 armadas go bye-bye!! *Queue tears*

RULE 2:

Take the correct drones for the job!

If its Bana, take Armada Infernos and a concentrating, dedicated healer for them! (Best bet is for you and the healers to turn off some of the graphics options so you can see the drones more clearly under the chaos of laser hits). The idea is that your drones sustain the agro, not you, the healer heals the drones and follows the agro, and you scoop the drones one by one before they die! - Its a risky tactic with bana but can be very effective in a support role to add considerable heat DPS. (Try tractoring the queen over the drones and using an energy beam engineer to replenish your energy so you can re-scoop and deploy.)

For UZ you generally need Ambush / normal armadas (and possibly infernos for some content.) Ambush are very effective against Panthers as long as you can tank a pass of them without dieing. Using yourself as bait you sit on your drones, the panther unstealths and fires at you, as soon as you get hit your ambush unleash their fury... if they dont kill him first pass be sure to scoop your drones!!! he will 2 shot them! then you redeploy as soon as you see him uncloak and come in for another pass... your drones should finish him off that time. (Generally Standard armadas are the best bet for Panthers but I find this method fun and rewarding if you get it right!)

OK for things like Mad Scientist I find that drones get annihilated if anyone in your team so much as touches a butterfly. Your drones retaliate and you have about a hundred suicide bombers hitting your drones and you. This called my sudden and apparent death :) If you can avoid the agro of the flutterbys then the best bet for drones are Armadas or MMDs. (Mzungu Mining Defenders). Definitely to be used as a support class as the BT will get agro and you dont want your drones to get agro anyway.

Dark Curse is a good one... When entering the boss level you want to head in a few seconds after the spawn killers with the healers. Lay your drones in a relatively stretched out line near to the sun so you can use the sun as a refuge. Have a healer guard your drones and use your tractor to try and get DC to circle or fly-by your drones. This will attract maximum DPS. It shouldnt take too long to kill him with sufficient DPS and healers.

Rhino Boss... I feel that DMers best purpose is served by controlling the spawn in the boss level as opposed to hitting the boss himself. Deploy your drones North East of the boss just outside of the cloud auras. Cycle through the enemy ai marking all of thespawns as enemy. Your drones will then fire upon these and allow the rest of the squad to concentrate on killing the rhino. Using Armadas is a must in here for the range of the mags.

Prince / Princess - I don't much like using drones in here anymore. But Armadas are the way to go. Make sure the tank has full agro before you deploy and stay out of his way! stick very close to your drones and be ready to scoop at a seconds notice if the tank gets killed he/she will likely 1 shot all your drones. You can act as a good distraction for the spawns if you have the energy banks to scoop and redeploy several times?

Lion Boss - Well, all I can say is make sure you dont get agro. :) try to spot the incomming missiles, slow as they are they will 1 shot your drones and probably you if you have the shield banks I have. Try to keep moving and stay with the main squad. As soon as they gain the agro deploy your drones ahead of the direction the party are travelling in and scoop and redeploy once they have gone past you. Do not deploy your drones if you have agro as they will die before they kill anything in there.

Sputty... though you can not solo DPS Sputty with 5 Armada Infernos they will do a lot of damage! So deploy them in a line... line up 2 or 3 good healers along your drones... get stationary... then get his agro. Use your tractor beam to keep sputty over your drones where the maximum DPS hits him. Make sure you keep an eye on your drones and scoop where necessary as healers wont be able to heal them indefinitely. You definitely need additional DPS to do this but it should be a walk over.

Marco... MMDs or Mining Drones are the best bet here, but if you want to keep any of them, dont get his primary agro! Deploy them and try to keep up with the drift of the battle!


Mon Feb 11, 2008 8:18 am
Profile
User avatar
Team: Suns of Hades
Rank: Soldier
Main: Abbara
Level: 6776

Joined: Mon Oct 18, 2004 11:13 am
Posts: 313
Post 
^^updated^^


Tue Feb 12, 2008 3:42 am
Profile
Main: PhysicalAbuse V
Level: 2006

Joined: Wed Jan 23, 2013 7:09 pm
Posts: 0
Post 
TYVM Abbara, thats a great addition and more then welcomed


Tue Feb 12, 2008 9:53 am
Profile
User avatar
Team: Suns of Hades
Rank: Soldier
Main: Abbara
Level: 6776

Joined: Mon Oct 18, 2004 11:13 am
Posts: 313
Post 
My pleasure mate.

I will add to it more and tidy it up in structure soon.


Tue Feb 12, 2008 10:03 am
Profile
User avatar
Team: Traders
Rank:
Main: the speed of dark
Level: 2833

Joined: Sun Nov 05, 2006 12:42 am
Posts: 707
Location: University of Texas at Austin
Post 
good job PA :-P

_________________
Image


Wed Feb 13, 2008 6:46 pm
Profile
User avatar
Team: The Forgotten Colonies
Rank:
Main: The man of an idiot
Level: 532

Joined: Sat Nov 12, 2005 6:09 am
Posts: 0
Location: In your Gorram mind!
Post 
just to add from my experience, its a great idea to bring a large bank of solar panels along, they can get your Bank recharged stat

_________________
Forgotten colonies officer.
NAPALM BURNS THE LITTLE KIDS, DOO DAH DOO DAH, NAPALM BURNS THE LITTLE KIDS O' DEH DOO DAH DEH! WATCH 'EM SCREAM ND BURNS WATCH EM SCREAM AND BURN, NAPALM BURNS THE LITTLE KIDS OH DEH DO DAH DEH HEY!


Sat Feb 16, 2008 7:51 am
Profile
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 15 posts ] 


Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 10 guests


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot post attachments in this forum

Jump to:  
cron
Powered by phpBB © phpBB Group.