View Full Version : Droning - A Few Questions
Maloch Octavia
04-05-04, 03:34
So I've started my new Spy on Droning, as I had mentioned a while back, and can I just say, it's going rather spiffingly?
I'm working with the Heavy Support Drone most of the times, and I'm using El Farid as my main hunting ground, for the sheer number of 40 and 80 rank mobs running around.
However, I've a few queries:
1: What Drones would you recommend for working with, as I've been using mainly force, but I've not had time to sit down and work out the damage ratios for other attack types. I'm at Dex 47 just now.
2: Why oh why am I always broke? Droning is obviously a stupendously expensive hobby, and although I research, I'm having issues remaining above 50k at any one time. It's all going on new Drones and associated costs.
3: What should I be looking to spec myself in with regards to Constitution? For Strength, I've just been bunging it all into Transport. Any comments on this?
4: What combination of Imps should I be looking for? I've specced enough points to use my hovertec, as my End and Ath are fairly crap, putting most of my points into Body Health so far.
That's all for now, but any comments, or large cash donations on Saturn, would be most appreciated!
Psychoninja
04-05-04, 03:56
Can't say I've made a droner but this is what I would do.
Have enough Tech Combat to use a Obliterator, no agil.
Max out on ath and health, put all of my str into transport since drones weigh ton. I've noticed alot of imps add a ton of will power so you'll have plenty of intel to play around with.
Maybe some droners can come on later and correct me if I'm wrong :p
in areas like El Farid make sure you use Area of Effect (AoE) drones so you can do multiple mob damage, alot faster leveling.
You may wish to consider visiting Poison Mobs too, The Graves & Chaos caves are very good droning with lots of close mobs for AoE, as machines (drones) cannot be poisoned, although I would recommend specing some posion resist & the best poion belt you can wear, as the 'droner' is another story.
If your not doing any trades then I would also recomend specing High Tech so you can use stealth, for when the fan begins to smell.
Welcome to the world of drones, a uniquely Neocron experiance, enjoy. :cool:
1: What Drones would you recommend for working with, as I've been using mainly force, but I've not had time to sit down and work out the damage ratios for other attack types. I'm at Dex 47 just now.For the most part, RIGHT NOW, every higher TL drone is better, with the exceptions, in my opinion, being the GA drones (the GAL are okay). But drones are being altered some next patch.
So right now, all higher TL drones do more damage, period.
But next patch has mob armor modifications... so warbots for example will be resistant to energy and poison... fire mobs resistant to fire... etc.
So at that point, droners will have to not always pick the best drone, or just switch mobs they level on in some situations (since we cannot install an ammo mod on a drone).
Now at El Farid, I assume they will be resistant to fire- and no drone does fire damage... so I think you really wont have anything to worry about.
Your next place should be the snake graves... and if they are resistant to poison, again you wont have an issue with drone type since none do poison damage.
But you want to use the highest TL drone right now.
2: Why oh why am I always broke? Droning is obviously a stupendously expensive hobby, and although I research, I'm having issues remaining above 50k at any one time. It's all going on new Drones and associated costs.Are you repairing your drones, or at least getting someone else to repair them???
At El Farid, I would do this...
1. In Plaza 2 or wherever, hire a resser to make BPs, then buy your parts, then hire a constructor to make drones for you. At Dex 47, no more than 5 or so really should be needed (before you need the next type).
2. Genrep to El Farid, and drone.
3. When the 5 drones are all broken fully or destroyed... genrep back to P2 and get them fixed or get new ones made.
You do know you drop the drones and pick them back up and use them again, right? Sorry to ask- but some newer droners dont realize that.
You shouldnt have money issues AT ALL. Maybe try and make friends with a resser or constructor or both. Maybe get enough repair skill yourself to repair your own drones (my droner repairs but I havent had to use it yet- always outrgow a drone before I ever need to repair the ones I have...and I am at Dex 100 right now with imps).
3: What should I be looking to spec myself in with regards to Constitution? For Strength, I've just been bunging it all into Transport. Any comments on this?You dont fight with your body anyway, so in Constitution, you just need to be able to stay alive long enough to get to droning locations. Armor and drugs usually help with that pretty well... so I would say 100% Con into Athletics... maybe some into fire if you plan on staying at El Farid for a while. Str all into transport, Dex you can do enough for Stealth III or oblit or whatever if you want, as that would help you get around... rest of Dex into RCL of course (can spare some for repair too...).
4: What combination of Imps should I be looking for? I've specced enough points to use my hovertec, as my End and Ath are fairly crap, putting most of my points into Body Health so far.Ack! Body health? Your body is seldom/never under attack, so why be worried about health??? My Dex 100 droner has under 100 health points without a buff (dont forget you have buffs and boosters you can cast as well as you level Psi).
For imps, ideally you want Special Riggers Interface, Riggers Dream... then I say Mind Control 3 and either Mind Control 2 or Exp. Mind Control 3. But if you wont have access to rares... then MC3, 2, and Exp MC3, 2 I guess would work.
Depends if you want to max drone effectiveness or have other tradeskills as well. If you JUST use drones for levelling and want to do tradeskills, you can easily be an uber constructor or almost uber researcher while still using all drones in the game.
That's all for now, but any comments, or large cash donations on Saturn, would be most appreciated!What faction are you? Drop me an email on Saturn, name Strych9.
I say screw getting built drones till you get into the TL 80s or such. IMO it's a total waste of time cause if you play a droner well you will level up so fast you'll be moving on to the next drone in no time at all. If you want more money .. i say hit the choas caves with teams and just lay down with AOE. Also if do use store bought drones you won't do as much dmg and will recieve a nice amount of cash.
1) Go for the highest TL AoE you can use basically. Using drugs is fine as the flash doesn't kick in if you are flying. I personally love RKs for levelling as though the accuracy is miserable the damage and flight range are excellent. RGs are more accurate though. Be careful with AoE if there are others about of course. If AoE is non-viable go for MRs until you can use a PB20 (IMO the 1 and 4 suck). There's a new gatling drone coming soon which may be good too. Damage will all change after the next patch remember though.
2) No idea. My droners always make plenty of cash. How many drones do you lose? Do you get them repaired? I'm not sure about El Farid but at the Graves I get 2-4k per snake and can kill 2-8 snakes per drone depending on spawn and drone. Worst case that's 4k per launch and I can get a lot of launches per drone. Selling VK can also make a few quid as can the minion teeth for ERs.
3) Drones are pretty light now. You can easily go 50/50 FOR/TRA. CON is best setup for PvM as in PvP you are just fucked.
4) RD, RI, MC3 and SF is pretty good if you also want to hack. If you can't get an RD or if you don't want to hack use an MC2 and/or an eMC3.
Misc tips -
1) It's not a bad idea when levelling to have some REP. With an SS (in place of SF) and a supporter 1 you can REP all droner at 52 base. You'll do a crap job but it means you can stay out a LOT longer and the degredation doesn't matter.
2) IMO stealth isn't much use. As a droner you don't drop rares ever and your stats suffer badly to get it. Get implant instead so you can rejoin the fight quickly as it hits INT rather than DEX (WPW is cack, RCL is gold).
3) As Amfest says - at low levels shop drones are bearable. One you can use the 1000s move onto built stuff as you'll be using them a long time.
I'm levelling another droner atm so I may see you in the Graves sometime. If you PM me on Saturn I can probably dig out some levelling drones and cash for you.
Fusion and raygun AoE drones are the best for lvling in my opinion.
as for the point setup, I have:
INT: All in WPW
STR: All in TRA
CON: All in ATH
DEX: 95 T-C (for stealth II), rest in RCL (I had 25 VHC in the beginning, but after tagging most GRs I lommed that into RCL).
PSI: Standard spy setup
IMPS: Riggers dream, special rigger, mindcontrol 2, mindcontrol 3, drone eye 3, exp reflex 4, Str heart 2, basic bones.
If you have a Riggers dream, this setup allows you to cap a player built mosquito, which is pretty nice :)
I know a vehicle is pretty good for getting away. However, if you want to use the vehicle as a measure of escape, you'll have to keep it very close by. A vehicle is too visible in my opinion. Often when I'm out and spot a droner I spot him only because I saw his vehicle. I preffer just stealthing and run away (and I run fast, 23 or 25 in AGL with all imps and all CON in ATH. I also use redflash on a continous basis to get more speed. Since redflash tend not to have a bad drugflash it's quite nice).
I'm only at 90/90 INT/DEX atm... I am sort of waiting to be able to get to the graves again :p
P!tch Black
04-05-04, 12:13
i have a question about drones and that is what is it each drone??
As for each one has the letters next to them about which type of fire the drone does but i am getting confused (sorry first time droning)
I remember seeing before about a guide on theses but i cant find it now
i have a question about drones and that is what is it each drone??
As for each one has the letters next to them about which type of fire the drone does but i am getting confused (sorry first time droning)
I remember seeing before about a guide on theses but i cant find it nowSR-1/MR-1/LR-1 : Scout, no gun
MR : Mini Rocket - tracking and non-AoE
KK : Kami - explosion
L : Laser - one shot
TL : Twin Laser - 2 shots
GAL : Gatling Laser - 4 shots
RK : Rocket - AoE but similar aim to other rockets (ie piss-poor)
RG : Ray Gun - AoE similar to RG Cannons
GA : Gatling - 4 shots
FC : Fusion Cannon - 1 shot AoE similar to Fusion Cannons
FA : Fusion - 3 non-AoE shots, similar to pistol/rifle Fusion but 3 shots
PLC : Plasma - 4 non-AoE shots, like FA but green (~3/4 damage per shot)
PB : Particle Beam - ENR/XRY non-AoE, number of shots increases with TL
I think that's all of them.
Rares are :
Mosquito - Gatling
Raptor - Anti-heal
Particle Nemesis - Particle beam
Punisher - Raygun
Revenge - Kami
P!tch Black
04-05-04, 13:49
cheers :D
Clownst0pper
04-05-04, 17:36
1: What Drones would you recommend for working with, as I've been using mainly force, but I've not had time to sit down and work out the damage ratios for other attack types. I'm at Dex 47 just now.
Drug for the highest AOE drones, as soon as U can use an AOE drone get yourself to the graves.
2: Why oh why am I always broke? Droning is obviously a stupendously expensive hobby, and although I research, I'm having issues remaining above 50k at any one time. It's all going on new Drones and associated costs.
Most constructors should do ur researching and constructing for free, You will get better with droning, and loose less to MOBs and general bugs.
3: What should I be looking to spec myself in with regards to Constitution? For Strength, I've just been bunging it all into Transport. Any comments on this?
Max your transport, And max your body health and athletics.
4: What combination of Imps should I be looking for? I've specced enough points to use my hovertec, as my End and Ath are fairly crap, putting most of my points into Body Health so far.
If you cant get a riggers dream, SRI, Exp mind control 3, mind control 3, special science CPU, exp reflex 4, and use PA 3 (pistol or rifle)
If you can get a riggers dream, my droner has 80 high tech, 25 vehicle, 205 remote control, 84 base implant, and 210 willpower.
Any droner who says stealthing isnt worth it, needs to test it, as U can still cap a mosquito and particle nemesis and use stealth one, which is stupidly usefull for relocating and scouting, and generally being effective. It gives u a high chance of if uve been found, to survive.
If your on saturn, direct isa/koro/kreole/ikari and ill set you up with any answers or help u need.
Isa. (capped droner)
RCL = 212
WPW = 193
Capped Player-build Mosquito = 169% damage
Capped Player-build PN = 175% damage
Drone Damage: 0.7(70%) RCL + 0.3(30%) WPW
How are you capping that Mosquito?
How are you capping that Mosquito?
yea thats what Id like to know....Ive got all the best droner imps and I got 187 rcl and 184 wpw at base dex 84 and base int 81 and I cant even cap a capped player build pb-20...i just BARELY cap a revenge
When I'm at cap I will have:
RCL = 201
WPW = 227
Now, I'm at DEX 88 with a RCL of 189 and at INT 89 with a WPW of 216.
On a punisher at 79% quality I get 139% damage. If I boost myself with the drone combat 1, which gives RCL+5, I get a damage of 158% (3,8 dmg points per skill point, averaged).
Since I'm going to get 12 more points to cap, it's quite easy to come to the conclusion that I will pretty much exactly cap the punisher (and hence the mosquito) when I'm done :)
EDIT: Something is weird.. I am very tired so I might not know what I'm talking about.
Before the drone combat 1 boost I get 161% on a 80% qual PN, but after I get 169% dmg only. it seems like the dmg gain from skill points decreses when you are reaching the cap o_O o_O
As I said I'm very tired so I might be babbling jobberish and make a fool out of myself now.. just feels like I'm missing something fundamental o_O
wtf, the numbers are correct regarding the dmg gain on the punisher from the drone 1 booster and all.. o_O
3.8/RCL seems a lot to me. Remember you get some WPW too from boosters, not much but it helps.
IIRC my boost 1 adds ~8% to damage on the rares (would have to check to be sure but I think that's right). 4WPW is a bit less than 2RCL damage wise so it's more like 1 RCL gives 1 damage if my memory isn't fecked.
Oh... forgot to mention, leave your LE in,
coz you want to AoE as much as possible you will be able to be part of a good Chaos team. Without LE droners can do alot of accidental damage to others & end up with shit SL.
take that le out it taking up a brain slot and you dont lose any sl any more when teamed
3.8/RCL seems a lot to me. Remember you get some WPW too from boosters, not much but it helps.
IIRC my boost 1 adds ~8% to damage on the rares (would have to check to be sure but I think that's right). 4WPW is a bit less than 2RCL damage wise so it's more like 1 RCL gives 1 damage if my memory isn't fecked.
Yeah it's very weird... I double checked the dmg gain on the punisher o_O
I'll just have to cap and find out it seems :p
take that le out it taking up a brain slot and you dont lose any sl any more when teamed
tell that to the stubborn Melee tanks who don't team and get int he way at every moment :p
Even without that brainslot you'll level up damn fast. Not only that but you'll ensure you don't get screwed soul light and you can level in peace since a droner standing defenseless in a cave especially when their body gets left behind becomes a prime target for a trigger happy wuss who likes easy kills to take you out. Keep it in . . Level up nicely without fuss.
LE was something I thought of mentioning but tbh I'm not sure on as I haven't tried LEd levelling in forever.
I capped Jernau in the Graves ages ago when poison really hurt and mostly before the new cave-spawn rules. At that time you pretty much never saw any non-droners in there and PKing was very very rare (I doubt I got PKed more than 3 or 4 times in total and then only by people red to me). These days poison sucks and people are more bored so it seems PKing is a problem there. I guess killing 10/12 pistol spies is too risky for these clowns and they need a completely helpless target :rolleyes:. The same seems to be true of El Farid. On this basis I would recommend the LE.
OTOH it will slow you a lot as droners always need more DEX.
My recommendation would be to keep the LE out as long as possible then put it in once you can drug to an RK-100. I haven't tested this but it looks possible and would make life less stressful. Remember that you won't need or get PPU support so you aren't missing out on much except that brain slot.
/edit - wrt SL and LE : Unless it's been fixed even an LEd droner can lose SL just for existing in a hunting zone so the LE won't save your SL. Maybe this is fixed now?
Clownst0pper
05-05-04, 11:56
Hmm, curious, The only thing I suspect is having 210 willpower boosts drone dmg?
As with 207 (with drone 3 if i ask for it) I cap a punisher :eek:
I used to have all INT in WPW and I couldn't cap a player build Punisher even with drone 3.
That was before drone eyes, RD & RI though. Maybe I'll try it again.
Something still looks odd to me though as back then I used 4 drone chips and now I use 3.
just thought id mention a few things.
First, the fire type on drones specifies wether or not the rounds will track the targets or have dumb fire mode (No Guidance).
No Text= Tracking gun(rounds will follow the target)
<insert text here>= anything other than No Text means that the shots are dumb fire and dont track the target.
Also, Reflex booster 4 backbone is good, a filter heart 1 or 2(if u can use em), atleast get enough str for all the low lvl bones so u get some extra agility and such. I use that and MC2/3 and Exp. MC2/3 . My droner gets like...i think +18 from all those imps. in dex so it helps alot until u can get rare imps.
u want some resist force in str just incase and some ath and agility so u can run faster than a new character can. I'd cover more but alot has already been said. =P
Exp Reflex is better than Reflex - Less INT hit, More DEX, more CON subskill points and the -WEP is irrelevant.
Spies using FH2 o_O.
i just think u should get imps that give much dex so u get dex up and u can use the higher lvl drones they take like minor dammage with poison.
go and drone at the graves.
dont put TO much into hlt put some in atl and end, ur a droner right so u dont get into fight with ur body so when u are found u can try to run away faster and longer also get some vehicle use so u can get a hovertech. (life saving ;) )
Dribble Joy
24-03-05, 04:47
stop...
BUMPING!!!!
Jesterthegreat
24-03-05, 09:14
everyone said bump...
i feel i should too...
bump!
oh and KK plz put exp mindcontrol 3's in a vendor :p
Original monk
24-03-05, 11:36
lol snake, stop the bumping man, its really confusing me lol
i always think yipie that person and that person is back or boo that person is back lol
hehe, stop met die oude posts van een jaar oud terug te halen lol (trans: stop rezzurecting them old threads hehe)
edit: and while im here : someone please tell me where the heck i can get gatling 3's lol ... there more rare then a hull of ds in the middle of chran church :/
and if they aint in, bring em in as a database or fsm item please (certainly make em constructable)
"BUMP" me baby one more time.. :angel:
Powered by vBulletin® Version 4.2.3 Copyright © 2024 vBulletin Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved.