Subset Games Forum

I have noticed in AE that defence drones cannot be relied upon as much as before, is this intentional.

Regularly I turn them on after enemy missiles are launched (but still on the right side of screen next to their ship) and the drones fail to take any action.

IIRC this was already happening pre advanced edition. Defense drones are not 100% reliable. I've had them fail to take any action 2 times in a row as well. This happens because they need some time to turn their turret around, so if the missile comes in at an unlucky angle, they fail to target it.
Besides, drones can still fail to take action if the drone is on one side of the ship and the missile on the other side. Or something shoots down the drone. Basically, don't rely on it

That's what advanced drones are for.

Are you using a bigger ship?

I believe defence drones are more effective for small ships such as the Engi ship, as the missiles have to travel a longer distance before being shot. On the opposite end, drones won't help much when using a Zoltan shield since the shield is so huge.

I've never found defense drones to be useful. They don't always fire in time (as described by the previous commentators) and they get destroyed constantly. Drone supplies are depleted too quickly when used defensively.

I had never had a drone fail to track before AE, and its important I dont mean that it didnt shoot, or it fired too late, I mean it didnt even swing its turret as missiles that could clearly be hit fly past, saw it again today, not necessarily a bug, but it didnt used to be like this.

meeko01111 wrote:That's what advanced drones are for.

Advanced drones are far less reliable than basic drones for shooting down missiles. They are too prone to get distracted by lasers. If you want missile defense, always take a regular defense drone over an advanced one.


On the main topic, defense drones have always missed the occasional shot. It has to do with the range from the drone to the missile, so the effect is more pronounced on longer ships like the Crystal Cruiser. If the defense drone is at one extreme and the missile comes in from the other extreme, on a room at that end of the ship, that's when you'll have the missile strike before the defense drone can react.