Robotic Drone Breakdown - How to Get It, Use It, & Optimize It - 7 Days to Die Alpha 20

[@WaywardEko]

If you have a drone, let me know what you think about it! If you haven't found one yet, how close are you getting to the right lootstage?

[@zombyslayr6667]

I have one and like it but I’m only using it on one server I play on. The other server kicks too often and I’ve heard the drone has vanished sometimes on those occasions and you’re unable to retrieve it or get another one.

[@WaywardEko]

@@zombyslayr6667 we had an instance of a drone disappearing below bedrock for someone who had a really high ping. Still working to correct that.

[@brodriguez11000]

An upgraded drone is very handy with the medic mod and two cargo mods. Gives carry capacity between motorcycle and 4x4. It will give healing, BUT not all the benefits of using the medic/bandage directly. Plus, it's pathing can be very odd. I've had it deep dive at the waterworks. I've also had it left behind at a skyscraper when I fell to my death. Also, I had it get stuck in the skyscraper that was a maze of fallen over/ upside down floors. Eventually found and I had to carry it out since I didn't have any repair kits.

[@cedricwilson1593]

i currently have a lvl 5 drone... it's a pure storage bot with 3 storage mods... bloody awesome but annoying af... i normally leave it it outside with the motorcycle. I'm not a fan of the 4x4, especially in A20 it's almost impossible to navigate around in a town with the jeep... so the motorcycle and drone combo is perfect. for longer distances... cyrocopter :P

[@WaywardEko]

I've been using bike + gyro. I pocket the bike, fly the large distances and then toss down the bike to maneuver around city areas.

[@zengrath]

So many great new additions to Alpha 20 and the Drone is one of them.

[@WaywardEko]

Completely agree! I've been loving it. Makes high tier clears so much easier to not leave loot behind.

[@frudi]

Two minor corrections. Drones can definitely be among rewards from traders. I just don't remember whether I got mine for finishing a quest or for finishing a tier of quests. And second, Mo' Power crates and trucks ignore schematic tiers, they can drop the drone schematic for you on day one if you're lucky enough. Those schematic tiers only apply to containers that drop all types of books/schematics such as book shelves, Crack a Book crates, filing cabinets, etc. Specialised crates, such as Mo' Power, Working Stiffs, Pass n Gass, etc, which can only drop a small subsection of all available schematics, ignore schematic tiers. That's why you'll also find tons of Tech Junkie books from service trucks right from day one and it will probably be the first perk book series you complete, even though that book series is actually in the highest tier of books and won't drop from something like Crack a Book crate until loot stage 80.

[@WaywardEko]

Yup - have seen them rewarded since I dropped the video. Just couldn't find it in the XML. Interesting point on the Mo Power stuff -- didn't know that but will definitely keep that in mind for my next playthrough!

[@kittencobbler]

I got a drone schematic day 6 from a Mo Power truck in a city. I instantly broke down some light post tops and got some forged steel do make the little guy. Such a great addition to the game!

[@Wearyman]

The fact that it can act as a massive pack mule and following medic all at once makes it incredibly useful. Obviously, if it could help you fight that would be nice too, but I'll take the pack mule and medic without complaint.

[@WaywardEko]

I completely agree. Honestly I think it is pretty OP right now based on the fact that you don't need any points in Robotic Inventor to use it to it's full potential.

[@Wearyman]

@@WaywardEko I suspect that they will perhaps limit the number of different mods you can employ without skills or maybe tie it's use to robotics so you have to invest at least one point, or something along those lines.

[@OCAdam]

Something I noticed when I was purposely quick open/closing the trader front door, I got the drone stuck behind the door. A few seconds later (or might be distance), the drone warped through a wooden wall to be on the other side and then fly over to me (I was on a bicycle already pedaling away). So pathfinding for the drone seems to be to attempt to get to the player; but if it can't, the drone will just teleport past obstacles and then continue trying to follow the player around.

[@WaywardEko]

Absolutely - you can lock it in a room and ultimately it will teleport to you.

[@Nathan35077]

Yeah it will literally warp speed to you if needed lol. They did well on that

[@trebornotrobert]

Soo... a bit like a minecraft pet.

[@WaywardEko]

@@trebornotrobert - a little more useful :)

[@trebornotrobert]

@@WaywardEko I meant the pathing AI, but sure.

[@s24ham]

I got a level 6 drone for doing a Tier 5 quest for the trader. Definitely helps me when mining and I need to store the resources or other items to clear up my inventory slots. It does help to give me a slight advance warning when a screamer is approaching and I can't hear her over the auger.

[@WaywardEko]

I agree on that little heads up when you are heads down doing something!

[@kittencobbler]

Great video as always! Very informative. I had thought we could only use 1 cargo mod per drone.. The problem: I ran into an issue on my friend's server, where we were on stable and the drones still wouldn't allow more than 1 cargo mod. Seemed to be the issue with the drones themselves that were acquired before the stable update. The fix: She was able to go in CM and spawn a new drone in at the same level and equip more than 1 cargo mod on it. Hope this helps others who are having the same issue.

[@WaywardEko]

So here is another bug -- and it came up in the video. I still can't drop and drag more than 1 cargo mod into a drone, but I can shift+click it into the drone. Curious if that would work with the pre-stable drones because we have been using them on the server for a while!

[@ladybug591]

Thanks so much Eko. A young lady called MeowoeM uses stealth and she stated that the drone light does not wake up sleeping zombies and is really great when she is sneaking. She is fully stealthed, uses a silenced pistol and plays a beautiful game - you will see her in action if you go to her Walkthroughs of all Tier 5 buildings. They are a great refresher and up to date in Alpha 20 - she also shows the code of which factory you will be going to when the trader offers them to you. Very handy to know. Regards to all.

[@WaywardEko]

I think that I recall seeing patch notes for one of the A20 iterations that patched this to not trigger zombies.

[@GunChronicles]

Thanks for the info. I didn't know the storage mod stacked. I just found a tier 5 drone. I was shocked when I found it in the trunk of a car in the winter biome on day 25 of my game.

[@WaywardEko]

Quite welcome! Was it a car or was it a Mo Power electronics truck? Really curious on that one cause I didn't think they could spawn in a regular car.

[@GunChronicles]

@@WaywardEko It was a regular car. One of the blue sedans. I was shocked too. Lol.

[@WaywardEko]

@@GunChronicles thanks to adding to my research! Will collate everything in the pinned top comment!

[@GunChronicles]

@@WaywardEko No problem. Thank you for keeping a running tally of all this information. Good job.

[@kyodante]

I cant get mine to stack

[@kevnar]

I would much rather have a dog. Give me a dog that follows me around, that I can put armor on, use him for storage, and if anybody messes with me, he goes into take-down mode and knocks them on their asses.

[@WaywardEko]

I think we all really wanted a dog!

[@SOSGaming404]

I had my drone get downed taking a direct hit from cop spit. Things just happen. Also it warns when things agro to you, not exactly when zombies are near.

[@WaywardEko]

Yeah -- they are pretty good at staying out of harms way but cop spit gets everything. Interesting point on the agro vs near. I don't think I noticed that.

[@skybluescholar]

tip, don't fill it with first aid kits. if you have taken any injuries and your max health is capped at about 50% of what it should be, the drone will spam medic items at you to no effect, with first ad bandages being the cheaper option, it's less trouble if they get wasted

[@WaywardEko]

For sure ... it will eat your first aid kits!

[@conniee.]

I don't use the healing mod on mine, I have the light on it to let me know where it is when I'm in a multi-tiered building cuz sometimes it gets lost or is hampered by some quirk in its pathing and can't follow me closely.😊😖 Now I think I'll put more cargo mods in it with the light, then again I may just put in all cargo mods for even more carrying capacity.🤔 Btw, you can't have more than one drone activated at one time and the voice is of a female bot.😄 The only problem with this drone is it can't help you out in a firefight, it'd be nice if it could not only tell you when enemies are coming but shoot at them as well like, in the Fallout games, this drone makes me miss that little "EyeBot" I had.😒

[@WaywardEko]

Happy to see other folks using different stuff. It all boils down to preference. I just love plowing through the wasteland full rambo style with my drone running behind and healing. And yeah one 1 drone only. And I know it's a female voice but I'm so used to saying come here little buddy and carry this for me :)

[@conniee.]

@@WaywardEko 😄👍🏽

[@feralgoose7157]

The drone is definitely an added reward when you get one, Super useful, I use the medic mod and cargo mods as a no brainer, even at level 1 having the medic mod will save your butt. I keep my medical and food supplies in the drone and only keep a stack of bandages when the drone gets to far away. Keeps my inventory tidy. I also use the light mod in stealth mod, it does not debuff your stealth with the light on, not like the helmet or weapon light mod. Hopefully they weaponize it with a taser to stun the zombies that would not be too OP, but interested to see what's next. Thanks for your content.

[@WaywardEko]

Thank much! I go with the same mods ... Medic + Cargo.

[@tyraelpl]

Woah... i never knew about stacking cargo! It changes everything! Thank you!

[@WaywardEko]

Welcome! Just make sure you use the shift + mouse click method to get more than one mod in -- seems like the drop and drag is bugged!

[@tyraelpl]

@@WaywardEko Yup, thank you. It rly is and i noticed that as well. Tho maybe that's a sign of us not being supposed to do that? :D

[@AngusKart]

the stamina mod was great when you could get the drone a lot earlier. It made a massive difference in early game mining especially. but yea,. now that you dont get it til much later in game, not much use.

[@WaywardEko]

That’s my assessment as well. Typically if you get the drone when the progression wants you to - stamina will no longer be an issue as you will have stamina regen perks.

[@TheAunvre]

I suspect TFP will eventually create Weapon Mods for it (and if not, modders will). I’d like to see it get a “Shock Pulse” mod that will periodically AoE electrocute enemies, scaling with all Int Perks (balanced to be good if you have 5/5 Electrocution/Robotics). This would make it even better for defending you, instead of another shooting turret (though that could be interesting too if done right).

[@WaywardEko]

I fully expect modders to do this. I'll be curious to see how to implement without them being OP.

[@jkljkl218]

Big old bug if you are in a long brawling match even with medical bandages, the drone completely stops healing you after a while. I spent 20+ minutes fighting, drone jam packed with medical bandages (to help heal and get rid of lacerations/cuts from zombies when brawling) and after about 10 heals, she just stops.

[@WaywardEko]

I haven't run into that as much as having my drone buddy get stuck somewhere when I need it to heal me.

[@jkljkl218]

@@WaywardEko I try my best to fight in the open area, had to spend 15 minutes getting it to teleport cause I had no space left lol. It is a fun companion though.

[@wingsoficarus1139]

Just got a tier 6 drone from a tier 5 mission. Not only did it come with the drone but two of the mods for it in one of those crate bundles.

[@WaywardEko]

Nice!

[@TheBorgAssassin]

I got one, and so far, it makes a good loot mule that I tend to forget is there. Well until it constantly reminds me of enemies near by, which can be helpful when your digging up treasure. I haven't gotten the light mod for it yet.

[@WaywardEko]

Pack mule is the main use for me as well. I had the light mod and didn't find it helpful personally.

[@lho10101]

Great video. I really appreciate the looting table breakdown.

[@WaywardEko]

Thanks kindly!

[@davidmcdonnel4831]

In depth looting table was done by Guns, Nerds, and Steel: kzbin.info/www/bejne/mnOYXqSZh5qme7s

[@justinstephens3556]

Omg I didn't know you could put multiple cargo mods on it! Game changer!

[@WaywardEko]

Just make sure you use shift click instead of drop and drag.

[@OsamaBinLooney]

oh wow i didn't know you could stack the storage mods i've found the medic mod to be completely useless, since it doesn't start healing you until you are really low, and if you want to heal sooner, then you have to ask him to heal you manually, so it's faster to just keep the first aid in your inventory

[@WaywardEko]

I think a lot of people are confused on this one because there seems to be a bug where you can't drop and drag more than one cargo mod. You have to shift click it into the drone.

[@pknuttarlott4934]

The drone is always in my way preventing me from interacting with containers and building stuff. Easy fix, currently it occupies the second block up from ground raise it to the third block up.

[@cedricwilson1593]

leave the drone in your inventory unless you need extra storage... the drone almost got me killed several times during T4 and T5 quests, since then it stays outside as a storage bot... nothing else.

[@WaywardEko]

I agree this would help and wish it would get out of my way :)

[@WaywardEko]

Cedric - are you using the healing mod at all? I love it for the T4/T5 quests for the simple healing and then also for having the extra storage while in the POI. Those T5 ones get massive and I hate leaving any loot behind.

[@cedricwilson1593]

@@WaywardEko i have 3 extra storage mods in my drone and it waits outside bc it's shit blocking me... i go loud and fast through the poi's. Why the fuck would i use healing mod on my drone? it's totally useless... doesn't benefit from healing perks... i rather heal myself.

[@WaywardEko]

Different strokes :) I'm loving the healing. I'm not spec'd into Physician, so doesn't impact me.

[@poeticserenade]

This thing has single handedly made me survive horde nights where my base collapsed. I keep candy and steroids in its inventory(along with bandages) during the horde night and I can just outrun everything. Pot-shotting legs + runspeed = win.

[@WaywardEko]

I have also had this situation occur when maybe falling out of the horde base in the middle of the fight :)

[@fredtuturo1793]

found 1 tier, day 17 in wasteland in a safe in Mo'Electronic building, the cargo mod and medic are really useful i don't have the light and morale mods at this time

[@WaywardEko]

Oh interesting -- so other loot containers inside of Mo Power POIs must be getting tagged with that lootgroup. Nice find for day 17!

[@toaster13666]

the drone is awesome, the storage space alone is huge, the only really annoying thing is that it triggers motion sensors and can get shot down by your own base xD

[@WaywardEko]

Oh -- that's interesting. What do you have your motion sensors set to target? I have to go play with this now.

[@AndrewEddie]

Thanks for the info. Very helpful. Side qn: what UI mods are you using in the footage at the end?

[@WaywardEko]

Thanks so much. I've been using AGF HUD - formerly Riles HUD. Here's the link: vwww.nexusmods.com/7daystodie/mods/870

[@AndrewEddie]

@@WaywardEko thank you! Still yet to play A20. My mid-2014 MacBook Pro won't even run it on lowest of low settings, and my much newer iMac is still sitting in our shipping container at the port. Very frustrating :)

[@Toadyru]

Drone amounts to an unreliable floating suitcase with stamina regeneration. Problems I have experienced...... -Don't take your drone down into the mine (way too annoying). -When fighting off a group of zombies rushing you.....the drone will plant herself in the doorway where you planned a choke point (blocking your view) -When I need to access her inventory in an emergency the drone isn't around (like antibiotics). She's no where to be seen. Even after waiting a bit the bucket of bolts is AWOL.

[@WaywardEko]

I have experienced all that pain :)

[@edschoeneberger8590]

I found the drone and the healing mode in MO boxes before the first horde night. I heard they bumped it back to later games stages.

[@WaywardEko]

Yup. They had an error that allowed mods and drones really early that was patched.

[@chrishubbard64]

@@WaywardEko Its funny, so far of all the guys I watch, only jawoodle has gotten a drone so far, and he got his day 1 of his first series before they patched its drop rate. Since then ive heard about how you can get them but havent seen anyone loot one.

[@WaywardEko]

@@chrishubbard64 - Join us on the community server! I stream every Thursday night at 8pm CST from the server and we have boxes of spare drones at this point. Granted we are on day 300 w/ 400+ lootstage. The moment we cleared 200 loot stage we started getting them pretty often. Since we are in the wasteland and snow primary - it didn't take much.

[@Shaknor]

Nice vid clear and to the point

[@WaywardEko]

Thanks Shak!

[@jackhandsome1788]

In concept the drone is a nifty little item that adds some utility to solo playthroughs. In practice, it just gets in the way and is distracting. Just another thing to micromanage constantly while questing. Hopefully the AI is improved to make it a little more useful than just a gimmick.

[@scoresdavis3435]

It's more looting inventory, it helps make less base trips. You can stack cargo mods and have so much extra space. If you play with the vanilla inventory that's huge, especially in solo. The less times you have to remanage your inventory and take it home the more time you have to scavenge and do quests.

[@WaywardEko]

The inventory is massive. It’s like having a second gyrocopter. That’s a game changer if you are doing a day of trader quests away from your base.

[@LagunaFox]

I've actually never found a drone from a Mo Power Box. I have found all of my drones (and I've found quite a few of them at this point since in the wasteland my loot stage is well in excess of 400 now) from trash piles, cars and final loot chests (reinforced chest and the small and large hardened chests). In particular I have noticed that cars especially have drones in them quite often for whatever reason. I myself did not find a level 6 drone until my lootstage got up to 401 but I watched a video recently of someone testing lootstage and they managed to find one at a lootstage of 241.

[@WaywardEko]

Wow ... surprised by the trash piles. I did find that they spawn in weapon-type containers so any end POI chests, cars, etc. I think we were finding lv 6 drones right around 300 LS pretty regularly.

[@LagunaFox]

@@WaywardEko People are always surprised by the trash and I don't understand why lol. Trash is really one of the best things to loot, you might not get anything from it like 90% of the time but that last 10% is always pretty valuable stuff in my experience.

[@WaywardEko]

I get it ... I'm a trash panda myself. Early game have had really good luck there.

[@iron_side5674]

The stamina reg is actually very good, i´m sure it stacks with drinks, and there is no other way to get straight stamina regen, only reduction of stamina usage for various scenarios.

[@WaywardEko]

I think it would be great in early game -- by the time I got one I was already up to level 3 sexy T, so it didn't have a huge difference vs the extra cargo space for me.

[@iron_side5674]

@@WaywardEko Should still be a great help with saving time then digging tunnels for example with anything thats not an auger. Do we know if multiple auras stack?

[@WaywardEko]

They don't -- we tested that specifically on my community server -- it would be a whole different story if they did.

[@philippvoid1800]

motorbike and a drone nicely modded and your the king of the wastelands

[@WaywardEko]

I completely agree... plus a gyro :) I've been travelling large distances on gyro and then pulling out my bike when I land to move around city areas.

[@mindbreaker2415]

I have had problems with the drone getting stuck on a lower floor of a POI or my Base. Its warning system is a bit junk. While it does work sometimes, frequently it will give me a warning after I have already started fighting the zombie. I have had several time when a zombie would attack me from behind and the drone never gave me a warning.

[@WaywardEko]

I’ve also run into issues with it getting stuck in my base and POIs - the warning helps … most of the time :)

[@Gringo_Lingo]

I love it; can just fly with the gyrocopter. Now just waiting to find a level 6…

[@WaywardEko]

Getting that last slot is really nice!

[@clanpsi]

I like it, but I wish it hovered higher. It often gets in the way. I also wish you could open it up, like vehicles, without having to pick it up to change mods and check its health.

[@WaywardEko]

Yes and Yes -- especially would like the ability to change mods/repair without picking it up.

[@poeticserenade]

Click the command to make it stay where it is. Then just run to it when you need too. It's not shooting zombies. It doesn't need to be next to you always. I just wish there was a "call" command after you set it to stay in a spot.

[@WaywardEko]

@@poeticserenade a call command would be incredible. I don’t know how they would implement that from a UI perspective.

[@poeticserenade]

@@WaywardEko When you summon it put a device in you inventory that's a remote to summon it to you. If zombies can hunt you down so can a drone.

[@TheMadwizz]

Great video. How does the drone if at all effect you if you go stealth?

[@WaywardEko]

It's a bit of a nightmare for stealth. Even without the light mod, I've had it wake up all the zeds.

[@TheMadwizz]

@@WaywardEko Replying 7 days later :D I have yet to find a Drone in my playthrough and I play a stealth build. So I vary much appreciate the info on how the drone will help or hinder me, Thank you. I guess the drone will need to stay a safe distance from me when I find one.

[@ladybug591]

@@WaywardEko A young lady called MeowoeM uses stealth and she stated that the drone light does not wake up sleeping zombies and is really great when she is sneaking. She is fully stealthed, uses a silenced pistol and plays a beautiful game - you will see her in action if you go to her Walkthroughs of all Tier 5 buildings. They are a great refresher and up to date in Alpha 20 - she also shows the code of which factory you will be going to when the trader offers them to you. Very handy to know. Regards to all.

[@warpmonkey]

Yup, I got a level 4 drone from a Tier 5 quest reward.

[@WaywardEko]

Yup - definitely quest rewards, weapons crates, and end POI crates, have all come up now!

[@rav3ndawn]

Thanks for the drone breakdown

[@WaywardEko]

Quite welcome Sir!

[@SLEEPYJK]

I'm kind of surprised TFP didn't add some sort of offensive weapon mod to the drone. It would be really cool if they added a mod with a shocker, or maybe a 9mm. The health one is alright but players will most likely have bandages on their hotbar so it's kind of meh.. To keep things balanced you could add a long cooldown timer in between shocks. For a weapon, you could make it weaker/slower than other guns in game. The storage mod is alright as well but by the time you actually get to the point of getting a drone, having storage issues isn't that big of a problem as you will have more inventory slots open and/or you will have vehicles for storage. If you're an extreme horder I can see the advantage.

[@michaelsorensen7567]

I'd be ok with a shocker mod for robo sledge turret 😁 And not having to have bandages on belt means more room for other stuff you'll need on point in clutch moments. Imagine your gun breaking mid horde and having to get into inventory instead of belt to fix it

[@WaywardEko]

I think they ran into either issues or balance concerns ... cause in the XML it's actually called 'gunBotT3JunkDrone' which would imply combat ability. I will say that when I do wasteland mission days, I fill up a gyro, my drone with 3 cargo mods and every last slot in my inventory.

[@WaywardEko]

I agree with Michael here. I am able to run into combats that I would never approach because I don't have to worry about flipping over in my tool belt to heal mid combat.

[@michaelsorensen7567]

@@WaywardEko I hadn't considered that drone lets you keep firing/swinging your sledge/whatever instead of doing the bandage animation... That's even "huger" than I thought!

[@TheJoey7676]

Thx for that nice video

[@WaywardEko]

Thanks kindly!

[@ToConnect2000s]

The Armor plated is totally needed for the Ravenhearst mod :)

[@WaywardEko]

Does it get damaged a lot in Ravenhearst? In vanilla it almost never gets hit.

[@auri1075]

If it gets stuck, in a sealed room, does it tekeport out when you go away? I noticed that when i left it at a trader it appeared a few seconds later around me, but im unsure if it was just some rubberbanding because the building kind of unloaded. Id like to know the extent of its teleporting capabilities, to be more relaxed when speeding through a poi. It really takes quite some extra seconds to be checking on it just in cade it doesnt follow you, which in a game where time is -money- *survival* is quite a setback.

[@WaywardEko]

I wish I could say your little drone would be ... reliable, but it's pathing abilities are questionable at best. There are times when it paths like a boss through your base so it can stand directly in front of the chest you are trying to open ... and there are other times that it will get stuck in a corner of a POI while you are getting your face eaten by a zombie and wondering where those sweet heals are. So ... I'd say it's a nice toy that is not to be trusted :)

[@auri1075]

@@WaywardEko that sucks! Well, i guess i will stick to using it as extra inventory space, if i leave it next to the vehicle all the time there shouldnt be much problem... i hope.

[@darcfaze6482]

I got my drone at a Tier 5 snow biome factory, but mine is a 4, with 2 slots, and it will NOT let me add 2 storage mods, only one. This may be a new change.

[@WaywardEko]

Try shift clicking to get it in. Drop and drag doesn't work for some reason.

[@darcfaze6482]

@@WaywardEko Thanks! I'll try that!

[@darcfaze6482]

@@WaywardEko Many thanks! that did the trick

[@bethepepper]

Excellent video

[@namegoeshereorhere5020]

I've found drones in lots of places, I know for sure in cars and loot bags. How do you add more than one storage mod though? I can only do one, won't let me add more. I just figured it was like weapon mods where it won't let you add two of the same or similar function.

[@Shaknor]

If the drone has more than one mod slot you can add multiple cargo mods into it.

[@namegoeshereorhere5020]

@@Shaknor No kidding. Can't add more than one storage slot though.

[@WaywardEko]

I know the issue you are having - if you saw I think I ran into it on the video. I tried to drop and drag the second cargo mod and it wouldn’t let me. I’m not at my pc but I believe you have to shift + mouse click on the cargo mod with the drone open to make it go in.

[@Tengokuchi]

I'm running with one morale and 3 cargo.

[@RookieEyes22]

I love my drone! Even tho it gets in my way a fair bit. Annnd I use teddy head. Makes it cuter and I don't use auger/chainsaw, so that stamina is nice. Also stam might be nice for melee build?

[@WaywardEko]

So my one challenge is that in late game, melee sadly can't keep up. Even with all the perks, it's really tough to use melee for horde nights or POI clears. And if you are using it you likely have TRex as well as other perks that return stamina on kills. I'd be ok w/ the companion mod getting bumped to 20% regen.

[@Se05239]

What's the primary reason for the drone to take damage? You hitting it or are zombies actively going for it? If the drone dies, is it permanently gone?

[@WaywardEko]

Zombies can hit it but they rarely do. You cannot damage it, but your teammates can. If it dies it just drops to the ground inactive but you will have a map marker for where it is. You just pick it up and repair it.

[@Se05239]

@@WaywardEko Thanks for the answer.

[@whiteraven550]

Do yo know the price for the drone when buying it from a trader? I know it probably depends on quality level and better barter also influences the price, but a loose range would be good to know. I've gotten the option ro buy a gyrocopter for 90k and hope the drone is significantly cheaper.

[@WaywardEko]

I'm doing trader runs now to fill out 3 solar banks, so I'll keep watching and pin it in the top comment when I find out.

[@brodriguez11000]

I got a level three as a tier reward after doing a couple quests. And on that note stock up on robotic parts, not just for drones, but this game loses turrets, and sledges like one wouldn't believe compared to A19. That's one of the reasons I carry an auger around.

[@WaywardEko]

We've had issues of drones falling through to bedrock -- it's a nightmare for servers and can cause havoc.

[@RolopIsHere]

I got a drone lvl 6 as a reward for a mission lvl 5, fetch and clear the shamway factory on a wasteland at day 35.

[@WaywardEko]

That’s crazy early ! Good stuff.

[@Zonker66]

Has anyone notices that in Creative Mode, choosing a tier 5 drone tends to have a higher durability than a tier 6? Also, I NEVER even tried to used multiple cargo mods!!!

[@WaywardEko]

I didn't notice that ... and yes! on the cargo mods.

[@MIHUKI5]

You can get one very early by just spending three or four points on Better Barter :)

[@WaywardEko]

Truth! I was late to spec into better barter this run.

[@fortified8192]

The Drones are pretty nice!

[@WaywardEko]

I’m a fan so far!!!

[@mikekollross8810]

I found a level 5. I’m level 52. But I moved into the snow biome with day raids into the waste land early on. Aka better loot. Triple storage mods for the win.

[@WaywardEko]

Yeah - level 52 and snow biome you are instantly at 124 lootstage before stepping into a POI and 160 in the wasteland -- so the wasteland pushes you above that lv 5 threshold.

[@klausschaap1834]

Medic mod is nice, waiting for the combat mod

[@WaywardEko]

Really curious if we will see that in A21.

[@Xavier-hx3gk]

Every time I pick it up, it's taken some damage from being activated. Does this happen to anyone else? It's not much and it's always the same amount. I've been assuming it's just use damage.

[@WaywardEko]

Strange. I don't think I've noticed that. I went some 20 days in game before mine crashed based on damage. They seem to mostly stay out of harms way.

[@TRG_TTV]

I JUST got my Drone schematic from a Trader around day 50 but can't find mods for it yet :(

[@WaywardEko]

Keep checking the trader! Also make sure to check the moPower trucks if you see them.

[@TRG_TTV]

@@WaywardEko I'm also gonna switch up the quests I take, trying to see if I can find quests in certain locations for a higher chance of finding them

[@HecticNoobster]

Soon as the episodes i make on my channel on 7 days to die. i can buy the drone schematic before horde night 14 from the trader on the secrete stash 3

[@WaywardEko]

I think secret stash if one of the fasted ways if you unluck better barter!

[@RedmoonIndustries]

pulled a tier 5 drone yesterday off a tier 5 quest

[@WaywardEko]

Nice! Yeah - confirmed now they they can me rewards from high tier quests! Thanks and grats!

[@goriaakash]

Can you update an existing world to alpha20? Im scared some stuff will be lost, im new to 7 days started playing in alpha 19

[@WaywardEko]

Nope. You can't update over the major alpha jumps -- that said a lot of what makes A20 good is the new world generation.

[@goriaakash]

@@WaywardEko alright, thanks alot!!

[@HecticNoobster]

Also could you be able to deploy multiple of em and how many can follow you.

[@WaywardEko]

You can only deploy one ... unless the game glitches. I think they fixed it. I had a situation where my drone duplicated along with everything in it ... and I had two for a while. That is not intended.

[@HecticNoobster]

@@WaywardEko Aw. that would of been awesome if you had 3 of em following around you and helping you aid in on your adventure. hope fun pimps can also add someone SMG or shotguns to the drone it can shoot the zombies and gain XP for it but wont hit you if there are able to do that. Or Even add like a robot human to follow you and give it a gun and help out in horde night's and stuff.

[@vacgyverfin5170]

Mine lost the inventory i put in it in first 5 minutes... Never used them since.

[@WaywardEko]

ugh ... we've had lots of problems with that -- especially in the early days of A20.

[@greycastle4732]

How do we change the drones voice volume? I want the voice but not full blast

[@WaywardEko]

I don’t think they have an option for it - would be really nice though.

[@DjOdyssey1971]

Strange, i tried to do more than one cargo mod and it wouldnt let me. It let me put one of each mod in the drone but when i removed all the others and tried to add the extra cargo mod just wouldnt let me. Could they have nerfed it since you made the video? Or is it some glitch i have on my end?

[@WaywardEko]

Try to shift click instead of drop and drag and let me know if that works!

[@DjOdyssey1971]

@@WaywardEko Thank you that did the trick. I really need to stop trying to drag and drop lol

[@Nathan35077]

How dare you even ask such a question! ED-F is the best 😂 idc if he was useless, it makes me feel like I’m not so alone in my travels. And yes I pretend he (well, she I guess..) is the newest version of ED-E from fallout 😂 ED-F.

[@WaywardEko]

It is nice to have a companion! And it’s far from useless!

[@Nathan35077]

@@WaywardEko yeah they went above and beyond my expectations honestly especially with inventory. And I have a feeling there’s more to come. Specifically being weaponizing it. It’s just probably a pretty hard thing to do for them so it may be awhile

[@_ric]

Going to be honest, I don't like it. Part of me finds it gimmicky, part of it is down to the dreadful audio clips (thankfully they can be muted), part of it because it feels OP and the final part is that it looks like it gets in your way all the time. Wouldn't remove it from the game, but I'm unlikely to use it myself.

[@WaywardEko]

All fair points. It does feel OP. The voice doesn't bother me - but I totally get your perspective there.

[@gtnogme]

Got a lvl 3 Drone as a Tier 5 mission reward. Day 80+.

[@WaywardEko]

Nice! I was thinking that I had seen them as trader rewards but couldn't find the code link. Thanks!

[@Rhainee]

My drone terrifies me all the time, and the morale mod makes it worse xD

[@WaywardEko]

Little cute murder bear :)

[@zengrath]

I believe mo electronics trucks can have a drone as well.

[@WaywardEko]

Good call -- I believe that falls under the same loot group.

[@wulk0r]

is that a mod bottom left corner or is it in vanilla?

[@WaywardEko]

That is a custom HUD - www.nexusmods.com/7daystodie/mods/870

[@wulk0r]

@@WaywardEko thx

[@NeoFreezz]

the pathing AI for the drone is pretty bad. and the headlight is detrimental to stealth characters

[@WaywardEko]

The pathing is amazing sometimes and abysmal at others. Interestingly the headlamp doesn't affect your stealth level. That said, I think the drone in general triggers sleepers just by being there.

[@NeoFreezz]

@@WaywardEko it certainly affected my stealth level. In complete darkness my stealth would be 0. However when the drone decides to shine its blue light on me i'd go up to 30s.

[@WaywardEko]

I have to go back and test again -- I tried this and mine stayed at 0 -- wondering if it depends on where the drone light is pointing -- ie in my case the light may not have been on me.

[@masterofthedeathwing2839]

i bet no one is asking for this but i *REALLY* want to be allowed to put weapon flashlight mods on my robot turrets

[@WaywardEko]

Interesting!

[@masterofthedeathwing2839]

@@WaywardEko i do ALOT of tier 5 missions at night. sentry guns with lights on them would be really nice.

[@l8tonk720]

does the gyro actually work yet

[@WaywardEko]

Sure does - I use it all the time - mostly flying into trees and buildings :)

[@disaadalwulf4670]

How do I get the ui you have in the bottom left?

[@WaywardEko]

AGF HUD --> www.nexusmods.com/7daystodie/mods/870

[@disaadalwulf4670]

@@WaywardEko tysm, do you install them like any other mod just out it in the mod folder?

[@WaywardEko]

@@disaadalwulf4670 yup! Super easy

[@disaadalwulf4670]

@@WaywardEko awesome, thank you so much you're the best!

[@jking487]

That drone saved me from getting snuck up on mining or in poi

[@WaywardEko]

Same here!

[@williamwinder3466]

Can you employ 2 drones at once?

[@WaywardEko]

Nope - only one. It is completely separate of the junk turret and sledge turret numbers though.

[@info8984]

The drone really needs some weapons to help out in combat.

[@WaywardEko]

I’m so mixed on this. By the time I got the drone I was mowing through zombies on Warrior difficulty. Right now I’m loving it for the carrying capacity and healing - interestingly it’s call a gunbot in the XML.

[@bjf10]

@@WaywardEko I have been pretty confused by this, as IIRC the drone description says it can fight, and it has that increased toughness mod...

[@brodriguez11000]

Just means a fully maxed intelligence with two junk turrets will need even more ammo. Plus, to shoot or not is something stealth players will want to control.

[@info8984]

@@brodriguez11000 Fair enough, setting for it would be nice if it had a toggle.

[@WaywardEko]

The drone has no combat abilities. I think they originally planned on it having some and decided that would be OP.

[@Tengokuchi]

I read that you don't get any benefit from the physician perk from the drone so that really sucks. I guess it's still better than nothing.

[@WaywardEko]

That is correct. You lose the efficiency but it’s nice to have the backup heals without thinking about it.

[@scoresdavis3435]

So ik this kinda sucks to know after you already released your video but it's called the robotic drone. The game or community never call it the junk drone

[@WaywardEko]

Lolz - good times. I think in the dev streams they kept calling it the junk drone and it must have stuck in my head.

[@MIHUKI5]

Drone = bigger backpack :)

[@WaywardEko]

Agreed!

[@Gragonite_EX]

I wonder if someone could mod Google assistant in.... I wanna hear some stuff from the bot and keep my lonely char company :,)

[@WaywardEko]

If you go check out www.youtube.com/@Genosis he modded it with his own voice!

[@peterruzak2694]

I warns you of trouble and can heal you .

[@WaywardEko]

I like both of these things!

[@2strokegaming]

I will soon have a robotic girlfriend🤪

[@WaywardEko]

Oh my!

[@juggazombie131]

Biggest waste of time id rather have a shopping cart that i push around

[@WaywardEko]

I'm sure there's a mod for that :)

[@gb2827]

It's a Her not a Him!

[@WaywardEko]

I mean ... it's a drone :)

[@gamingaccount6904]

they are obviously NOT male.

[@WaywardEko]

yeah?

[@erich6860]

Other than extra storage,,, I see no point to the drone,,,, Yet.

[@WaywardEko]

But the storage is massive. Having the equivalent of a second gyrocopter of storage is amazing!