why tf do drones break so easily

[AstralAberration]

the fact they cost like 10x the amount if they break twice along with breaking so fast and being pretty weak in the first place (unless upgraded) makes it impossible to get a golden drone

[Felinor]

its because they want the game to be harder probably

[UrbanMech]

Drones should scale in HP over time imo

[Fuzzleberry]

yeah it would be nice if their hp scaled with your level.

[Valamanj]

I don't know if I'm just imagining things, but I swear they break far more easily than they did in the original game. I used to frequently have clouds of drones following me, but now, I'm lucky if they survive two stages.

Maybe this was designed as a tradeoff for having the machines that combine and recycle them, but it's pretty irritating seeing your drones get clapped by a stone golem once and all drop like flies. It certainly made getting the achievement of getting a golden drone with Han-D a frustrating task.

[shrimping]

Originally posted by Valamanj:

I don't know if I'm just imagining things, but I swear they break far more easily than they did in the original game. I used to frequently have clouds of drones following me, but now, I'm lucky if they survive two stages.

Maybe this was designed as a tradeoff for having the machines that combine and recycle them, but it's pretty irritating seeing your drones get clapped by a stone golem once and all drop like flies. It certainly made getting the achievement of getting a golden drone with Han-D a frustrating task.

enemies do way more damage so that's probably why they get obliterated quickly, no idea if drone hp is actually changed though

[Joshua Kurayami]

You mean you don't sacrifice your drones so you can buy them again and take advantage of fireworks?

[AstralAberration]

Originally posted by Joshua Kurayami:

You mean you don't sacrifice your drones so you can buy them again and take advantage of fireworks?

i would but i need the ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ mul-t ability and i cant get it because god forbid a single newton of force curses their iron exteriors

[Vahnkiljoy]

I bet it's to make the toolbox item a viable piece of equipment, if you are doing drones you will most likely be seeking that equipment out, still doesn't change the fact they are flimsy af.

[UrbanMech]

Originally posted by Vahnkiljoy:

I bet it's to make the toolbox item a viable piece of equipment, if you are doing drones you will most likely be seeking that equipment out, still doesn't change the fact they are flimsy af.

After I played again I was thinking that too actually and with another unlockable to make it more viable choice.

So I guess it may be fine?

[kotamine]

Originally posted by Vahnkiljoy:

I bet it's to make the toolbox item a viable piece of equipment, if you are doing drones you will most likely be seeking that equipment out, still doesn't change the fact they are flimsy af.

the toolbox only repairs them. it doesn't really do anything when they can get 1 shot by any elite enemy

[Mailer]

On Rainstorm I've not experienced too much of drones crumbling under pressure personally, unless I deliberately start looping a run, at which point most of them may die.
Neither the Han-D nor the Engineer achievement exclusive to drones felt too difficult, but, it should be recognized that having a good source of money in the game offsets some of the problems with maintaining drones.

I also don't think the toolbox is the best way forward for this because your choice of equipment can actually be very crucial towards passing some DPS checks in the game, like a Lynx totem constantly spewing champion enemies out against you faster than you can attack it.
The nozzle, backup (with Arms Race), jar of souls, or broken mirror, are all top tier items to prefer, with the exception of the jar for 1 on 1 boss fights.
Point is, from my experience, the equipment is like a tie breaker prior to looping, so you need a useful one for any long run, and the toolbox is more like a trap.

For Han-D, using overclock and forced assembly (referring to all standard abilities obviously) in conjunction is important to keep enemies stun-locked as they get close to you. You don't want to give golems or sand crabs a chance to clap once, and if you position yourself right you can catch them all on one side of you and just punch away until they are dead.

For the Engineer I just let the turrets take some punishment and aggro. The best way to find laser drones actually took some looping, at which point the bulk of my work came from the nozzle equipment and bottled chaos, which is an insane combo once you start looping. Add an afterburner to that and I just remained from danger and spammed heatseekers till it was done, or turrets needed replacing. Fishing for laser drones then was not so bad.

Ramblings aside, I think the survivability of your drones will depend on your ability to engage and disengage close quarters in a way that protects them and yourself. Enemies don't specifically gun for your drones, but instead after *you* so it takes a little thinking in the heat of battle to know when the enemy crowd has become to rowdy and it's time to disconnect from them for a bit, and let your drones stabilize. This isn't always up to you once the teleporter event is started though.

PS: Attack (gun) Drones are obviously the most ideal to combine into a golden drone later on, since they are cheaper, but still do decent work.

[Vahnkiljoy]

Originally posted by kotamine:

Originally posted by Vahnkiljoy:

I bet it's to make the toolbox item a viable piece of equipment, if you are doing drones you will most likely be seeking that equipment out, still doesn't change the fact they are flimsy af.

the toolbox only repairs them. it doesn't really do anything when they can get 1 shot by any elite enemy

Well repairs and gives them a massive damage/attack speed boost, though probably just attack speed. Which is still pretty key on keeping them alive and relevant with damage.

[Valamanj]

Originally posted by Mailer:

On Rainstorm I've not experienced too much of drones crumbling under pressure personally, unless I deliberately start looping a run, at which point most of them may die.
Neither the Han-D nor the Engineer achievement exclusive to drones felt too difficult, but, it should be recognized that having a good source of money in the game offsets some of the problems with maintaining drones.

I also don't think the toolbox is the best way forward for this because your choice of equipment can actually be very crucial towards passing some DPS checks in the game, like a Lynx totem constantly spewing champion enemies out against you faster than you can attack it.

Man I envy you, I had such a bad time trying to get the golden drone as Han-D. Part of it was because the RNG didn't feel it fit to give me hardly any attack drones or machines to combine them with, forcing me to loop, which very frequently resulted in the teleporter event spawning multiple bosses like Vagrants, Lynx Totems, Overloading Magma Worms, and Scavengers. These enemies almost always feel like death sentences for ALL of my drones in a run. Well, Vagrants more so just in the water level since the slow falling speed means their attacks always hit your drones instead, but still. Lynx Totem archers? Dead drones. Scavenger shooting out the electric ball since the drones all love shooting at eye level? Dead drones. Overloading Magma Worm when I'm Han-D of all people? Super mother trucking dead drones.

You may just be better at maintaining a good distance than I am, but it still feels like drones drop like flies compared to the first game. It would make sense if what was said above is true, that enemies just flat out deal more damage. The Loader is the only character I seem to consistently keep my drones alive with for some reason.

I also agree that the toolbox is a trap. If your drones are prone to getting hit, there's only so much it'll do for you. I've had better results just cracking down on the biggest threat in the room with a high DPS item.