X4 Foundations: Let's Talk, Drones, Part 2: The Follow Up!

[@ivantorrent495]

I have a stork with three M docks, inside it are 9 ospreys fully loaded with drones. This is the solution to your problem. In fact, you need any cruiser with 2-4 M docks. And fill it with frigates with drones to the maximum. This allows you to be more flexible in management, drones can perform different functions, since they obey their frigate.

[@T-Skillet]

I had thought to break it down like that! That’s actually a cool concept! Then the Stork can also produce drone that were lost, I think. Honestly haven’t replenished drones like that before.

[@huffinLeeroy]

I use the monitor as my drone carrier. It carries 100 drones, has reasonable turret output and shields, but unlike most other high unit capacity ships, it has 8 small docks. Keep in mind that this isn't a large-scale fleet engagement ship (though it could theoretically still fill the role, there are just better options for that). This is more a patrol ship. So I put high value in the multiple S docks because 1 dock takes too long to load all the drones, and the way I use it, it needs to be able to respond and retreat quickly. Lovin your content Skillet, thanks!

[@T-Skillet]

Thanks! I really appreciate it!

[@MattersOfOpinion-x4d]

I just started using these, I park one behind my choke point stations and use it to collect any drops with the ten cargo drones. Still 200 defence drones left to do the business and it can help the station take down fast movers more quickly and focus on the big stuff with it's plasma turrets instead.

[@moonraven8394]

Hidden ship class unlocked: Drone Carrier. Now Egosoft needs to see this and make Drone Carriers for all factions, just for the heck of it. Edit: Never thought of that myself, gonna use it in my next play simply because it's the most cost effectiv way to build a mobile gate defence.

[@T-Skillet]

It really is! Need to find a builder with more S docks. BUT!!! I will say this makes the H a very dangerous ship in the players hand. It’s already dangerous in the computers hand!

[@cdgonepotatoes4219]

Each faction has different doctrines, different ship options, but I can totally see for instance the Argon and Terrans using L carriers and the Argon particularly specialize on drones. Motivation behind this thought is because: 1. the Argon have a certain focus around L-class ships and they already employ "drone patrols" in the form of solitary Cerberi; 2. For the Terrans I was inspired by a certain mod, the Chiba-class light carrier, a modified miner that would be a perfect fit for their militia corps as a logistic core, being composed almost entirely by cheap Kukris which are sorely in need of something to taxi them over around the network.

[@katraapplesauce1203]

the way to use the drones effectivly is to be commanding the ship or be onboard, then go in f2 outside view, click the target you want, then go on map mode and right click the drone carrier and click : broadcast> attack my target doesnt seem to matter if the drones are set to escort or not but i found they try to redock when set to anything that isnt escort and the drones will swarm and attack the surface elements and hull of whatever it is you selected. Also has to be within 40km

[@T-Skillet]

I'll definitely try this!

[@katraapplesauce1203]

@@T-Skillet i tried the drone carrier with the Monitor Aux ship and the 100 drones devoured a Xenon K

[@T-Skillet]

Thats awesome!! So 236 or whatever can hopefully take on an I!!!

[@mattronin2647]

The reason why people don't use them more is because of all the limitations... Laser towers are just better, and you don't need a slow builder to field a lot of them. And unlike drones, you can scoop them up in a few seconds thanks to the cargo magnet. I was really optimistic about drones when X4 came out, but disappointed in the execution and annoyance, especially due to OOS. And after having retested all of that now, it hasn't really changed. I'll stick to LTs and static defences 😛

[@T-Skillet]

I will say it has worked better than I thought so far. I hate having to constantly click a button to deploy a LT field from a ship. If I do it myself it’s okay. But I rarely go back if anything this provides a quick place and forget. Sure you’ll check on it once in a while. Then just rearm when need and repeat.

[@gufbrindleback]

Defense drones on a big station work pretty well too. I don't think they have a specific launch / active command though, so it seems to be whatever the manager wants to send.

[@T-Skillet]

I thought they get released once the station detects an enemy or gets targeted by an enemy. 🤔

[@gufbrindleback]

@@T-Skillet They do, but I can't seem to find a way to keep them launched and ready.

[@DaemonJax]

You're better off using laser towers. They work when you're out of sector doing other things. If you're really serious about locking down a position, then you use defense platforms. Drones have too many downsides. They're nice to have, but they don't replace laser towers or defense stations.

[@T-Skillet]

There are some downsides but if your ship is in a prepared position it will work fine. Just like towers, i don't recommend using them all the time. Think this is still a pretty cool concept.

[@KirinDave]

Gosh, this seems like it's more than just a cheaper late game strategy, this is obviously cheaper and faster for early game pushes on saves where the Xenon roll a good start. I can't believe I've been ignoring these. I'm a former Gallente pilot!

[@T-Skillet]

Right! It wasn’t till the H came into game I thought about it. The H is a master in this roll cause being a drone carrier is its job. I know is dangerous but if you can, I highly recommend getting an H as soon as possible!

[@vanguardgaming704]

I'm new to X4 and was wondering if this is still viable under the timlines release As an old Eve online player I love drone boats and missile boats so thie really appeals to my game play style of combat lol.. Great info BTW thanks for that. :)

[@T-Skillet]

Believe this was done after 7.0. So still a viable option. I highly recommend an H as this is its sole purpose as a drone carrier. All other options will have limitations like in the video.... One S dock or just slow movement. Por defense turrets as well but with the amount of drones it doesn't matter.

[@vanguardgaming704]

@@T-Skillet Tried this with a Ospery lol. And was pleasently surprised at how effective one was. Will build 3 in the near future and see how well they perform. Thanks for the idea. ")

[@DaemonJax]

It was never really viable.

[@dusk1947]

Did they fix the drone recovery speed with this thing? In testing, it would only recover them through the standard S dock, one at a time.... I haven't gotten one to play with yet. I remember watching another channel early in testing of that Xenon drone carrier, and many of of considered it's excruciatingly slow drone recovery to be it's primary weakness. Though, that point doesn't diminish the effectiveness of the drones. And it's moot, if the ship is being deployed in a static defense or is staying in a general vicinity. Neverminded, I should have watched it further. Yes, this ship would be excellent if: it deployed drones slightly faster, and it recovered multiple drones much faster.

[@T-Skillet]

Right! That's the biggest pain point i have about this ship.... and the amount of drones. However, i move the position point towards the interior of the sector and recall the drones. Typically at the tail end of fighting or when a relief force shows up. Typically Argon since my fleets are elsewhere. But it has been holding the line in the Void without additional help. The H though.... That's really the ship you need for this. Quick release and capture of drones. Plus pretty decent weapon systems. I've seen it decimate a Paranid fleet.

[@cyanidecologne9018]

It's free! I might do this again for a paranid only Godrealm warrior playthrough. Been ages since I used the original faction stuff n I never play paranid / haven't done TRI vs the world yet

[@T-Skillet]

It has been a pain to get the TRI story finished. Just saying there are some easier routes. lol

[@talude7574]

I do wonder if the boron ships can get the drones back faster, and if so, by how much time?

[@T-Skillet]

Believe the H would be the quickest. Think that mechanic. Just need more S docks to dock and release.

[@jasoncramer6717]

wait I'm curious about the ship that bailed. I've never seen a ship bail that I wasn't personally shooting at. was that your ship that bailed to save the pilot? or an enemy ship that bailed due to the overwhelming odds? I love both of those options by the way, I value my pilots more than most of my ships, I wish they would bail more, and if there's a way to farm enemy ships without being there, that's nice too!

[@T-Skillet]

So…. He was caught in the crossfire…. Aggro’d against the drones and then found out he made a mistake…. It was completely accidental. A way to farm ships…. This has happened with three SE’s…. Laser towers mk1…. It’s not relatable at all though! So be careful. I was not present in the sectors either. So the bailing mechanic is a bit odd in my opinion. I’ve seen AI bail against other AI but also not reliably.

[@jasoncramer6717]

@@T-Skillet thanks for the info! poor little guy didn't know what he was getting into .😆

[@T-Skillet]

It happened so fast… he immediately regretted what he did…. But his escape pod was also classified as an enemy…. So… ☠️

[@Mondfischli]

...how far do you get around mines, especially cluster mines 🤔

[@T-Skillet]

I’d keep them within max distance of your guns.

[@robertstretton3347]

The price of a builder compared to a T defence platform you would get 6 defiance platforms for thr price of one builder

[@T-Skillet]

Well… how much for the blueprints for turrets, shields, admin module…. Then the cost of material and time…. And I guess a builder? 🤔 I’m also a big supporter of mobility, so a stationary defense is not something I typically do. However!!! I should build one.

[@halloweentimemachine]

If you put an aux in the fleet and set the construction ship to resupply, would it rebuild drones on its own? Also, I wonder if you set up a little collector ship with a repeat order to “dock and wait” and “collect drops” if this would make a decent little material farmer. (Never tried a repeat order with dock and wait)

[@T-Skillet]

I believe that would work for the replenishment of drones. Not sure how that repeat order would work just due to the breaks in combat that tend to happen.

[@jasoncramer6717]

@@halloweentimemachine in line with this, will an aux ship re supply itself? Like load an aux ship up with defense drones and materials and it can be a self sustaining war forge.

[@halloweentimemachine]

@@jasoncramer6717 you can assign an aux ship a trader and have them trade for commander-they should keep it stocked. My only issue with this has been that they don’t stay docked when they aren’t working, so if the zone gets hot, they get blasted.

[@jasoncramer6717]

@@halloweentimemachine good to know

[@robertstretton3347]

Each to his own i say, me def platforms is the way i go then i add a cheap sout on repeat orders pick up drops and then depart them at hq always nice to go to the HQ and sell for 100,000,000 😊

[@T-Skillet]

When it comes to HAT space or ZYT coming up I’ll do a station. I’ll try this out. Never been one to do defense stations. But this play through is all about doing things I normally wouldn’t do.

[@gbjbaanb]

All of the ships stats are nonsense. Why is the Osprey so slow v the Cobra, you expect it to be slower but not a quarter the speed. Why can the Colossus E carry only 28 S ships? Its a carrier! One that carries less than a builder or a miner or a supply ship - that can also repair and resupply (but not carry missiles to use, only to resupply). X3 had its problems, but X4 takes them to a new level.

[@T-Skillet]

Capacity changed when E variants were introduced. That frustrates me too

[@cyanidecologne9018]

The original factions already lacked ship diversity so they nerfed all their carriers during the model update. I get they were clown cars but yea could have rebalanced it better for sure. Now terrans obliterate everyone even harder