Are Aerial Drones Overpowered?

[HyperLightDrifter]

They can see two places ahead instead of one and they do everything faster and avoid all obstacles. Also they return with any fuel you send them out with. Basic drones collect 3 items instead of the one but the aerial drone moves more than twice as fast so it ends up not mattering.

[old_Navy_twidget]

They have limitations.
They're fast but can't travel as far.
They cost 50% more fuel to launch.
I haven't seen one yet come back with all the fuel they left with.
You can pick up things stuck on lava but radiation will f them up.

[HyperLightDrifter]

Right, but they travel through the radiation faster so they end up taking less damage. Good point with the fuel though, before you upgrade the storage and fuel regen it is more limiting to use them.
When sending the aerial drones out they seem to come back with the same amount of fuel as any other drone. (I should have been clearer here, any fuel that isn't used returns to the stockpile and this is what makes them particularly overpowered.) They actually move at a rate that is fast enough to negate the extra consumption, at least it appears that way imo.
It seems like the magnetic and basic drones are for people that hope to guess correctly where the loot is stored and the aerial drones are for playing it safe

[old_Navy_twidget]

I should have been clearer. Trying to pick something up from a rad hazard will f 'em up.

Try sending an aerial drone and a basic drone to the rightmost chamber.
They may both die but the basic drone will travel further.

As far as guessing where the loot is, I'll use an aerial drone as a scout and hope it doesn't run out of fuel and drop it's load onto a rad hazard.

Aerial, basic, magnetic, medic drones, they're all just tools and all are needed.

[HyperLightDrifter]

Ah, I see I'm at a point in the game where they are overpowered? I don't know what Red Hazards are or medic drones. Only been playing two days now.
From my experience, by the time I get to possibly using basic or magnetic drones, there isn't enough time for them to get to where an aerial drone could possibly go after scouting.
In the time between our responses, I just completed my third cave in a row using only aerial drones.
Edit: Also on that rightmost chamber point you brought up, chances are high the other drones will encounter some mud or a boulder and, at that point, the aerial drone will travel further. Usually it will be multiple boulders and/or mud puddles.
Double Edit: I think a way to fix it would be to increase the rate at which basic drones collected treasure making it faster than the aerial drone.

[old_Navy_twidget]

Rad = radiation
Medic = healing drone

How deep are the caves you're exploring?
Later in the game they grow to be up to 25 chambers deep
I'm at 1611Km (W2-580).

Right now I have my basic drones maxed out at level 5 with the other 3 types all at level 4.

[HyperLightDrifter]

137 KM, longest I've seen is 8 or 9 chambers not counting branching paths. No upgrades to drones, just lvl 2 on fuel regen and max fuel

[old_Navy_twidget]

Level your drones as quick as you can would be my advice.
Increase starting fuel and fuel regeneration too.
Caves are probably your best source for scientists ( usually 1 scientist and 1 yellow chest per cave).

https://mrmine.fandom.com/wiki/Mr._Mine_Wiki

[HyperLightDrifter]

ok, thanks :)
I'm sure once I reach your point in the game my opinion on this will change. I tried using the other drones for a bit and failed to clear every cave but at 25 or so length I can see my swarm strat not really working out

[milan.mrlian]

no - drain fuel fastest as all drones /only 3 slots
they are scouts on caves - use only for see prize ways and extract from near lava points !
in 27 points cave (2-3 hours caves) is very hard extract with aerial drones ! in easy cave is very usefull but later is very hard use them

[HyperLightDrifter]

Originally posted by milan.mrlian:

no - drain fuel fastest as all drones /only 3 slots
they are scouts on caves - use only for see prize ways and extract from near lava points !

Right but the aerial drones move so much faster and collect loot so much faster (at lvl 0) that the amount of fuel they use compared to the other drones is not as great as it seems. Aerial drones use the fuel faster but the other two with their lower rates of travel are dispatched over a much longer period of time so that fuel usage goes on for longer and the fuel they leave with cannot be used to dispatch another drone that much longer.
Edit to respond to an edit: "in easy cave is very usefull but later is very hard use them"
Yeah that's where I am now so my opinion will probably change later on
Double edit: Getting to later caves now, basic drones take too long to get through radiation and there is no option to disable pickups so one giant pile ends up accumulating on rad spots when they all pause on the return trip to pick up the loot from the previous one that died. Aerial Drones don't have this problem...

[old_Navy_twidget]

Originally posted by Shiverperplexed:

... there is no option to disable pickups so piles end up accumulating on rad spots. ...

That's where you use the magnetic drone to pull them out. Send it, mag drone, to the chamber next to the rad spot on the side the mag drone comes from. If that spot is also a hazard, radiation or lava, you'll need to use the healing drone. Timing the arrivals can be a ♥♥♥♥♥.

[HyperLightDrifter]

Originally posted by old_Navy_twidget:

Originally posted by Shiverperplexed:

... there is no option to disable pickups so piles end up accumulating on rad spots. ...

That's where you use the magnetic drone to pull them out. Send it, mag drone, to the chamber next to the rad spot on the side it, the mag drone, comes from. If that spot is also a hazard, radiation or lava, you'll need to use the healing drone. Timing the arrivals can be a *****.

Problem was the radiation spot was on the very first hex :P Unlucky I guess lol
Edit: nvm, guess I can dispatch at the start location also.

[Irri]

Lv5 Basic drones do the job very well. Cheapest to level to 5. Only downside is on very long caves where they might run out of fuel a few nodes before their way back. This situation rarely is a problem as unless you get a double radiation zone everythign is recoverable,. If you have free relic slots, a simple divine drone speed or drone fuel is enough.
I only use aerial drone for lava retrieval if loot drop on a lava node relatively close to the start or if I know a basic drone won't cut it in time to retrieve a loot I forgot efore the cave collapses.

[HyperLightDrifter]

Originally posted by Irri:

Lv5 Basic drones do the job very well. Cheapest to level to 5. Only downside is on very long caves where they might run out of fuel a few nodes before their way back. This situation rarely is a problem as unless you get a double radiation zone everythign is recoverable,. If you have free relic slots, a simple divine drone speed or drone fuel is enough.
I only use aerial drone for lava retrieval if loot drop on a lava node relatively close to the start or if I know a basic drone won't cut it in time to retrieve a loot I forgot efore the cave collapses.

Yep, I'm seeing now that the amount of time that you have to complete a cave goes up quite a bit as you progress and the slower speed of the drones is less of an issue than it was when I first started playing.

[Irri]

The fact that the basic drones can carry 5 items and have the best fuel cost efficiency sells them even more.