Defense Drone II?

[zarakon]

Yeah I hate that, especially when it is trying to shoot down the lasers fired from enemy attack drones, and missing.

This is the one thing that it really needs to stop trying to do.

Otherwise I love it, especially when it's shooting down Ion blasts.

[actionhero112]

Personally, I prefer one of each - when missiles aren't flying, I'd like laser shots to be stopped, so that I don't have to pour all my scrap into the last two shield points, while the Defense, Mk I reliably stops the missiles.

Upgrading your Drone Bay capacity from 2 - 6 and the reactor cost for 4 levels will cost more than the last two level of shields plus the 2 level reactor cost. The shot that the Drone Mark II shoots down can easily be stopped by the upgraded shield.

Not only that but the opportunity cost of powering the Defense Drone II is usually engine power or weapon strength, neither of which are appealing to me, especially considering how bad it is. To each their own I guess.

SOMEWHAT OF A SPOILER HEREIN: Def drone II is also really good on the end boss (last stage) since it can reduce teh ridiculous shot count of the super weapon by two or more sometimes. It's really very good.

Making a suggestion to have it prioritize missiles wouldn't go amiss, but :"boo sux" isn't really useful/helpful.

Spending the energy and scrap to upgrade and use the defense drone Mark II on the Final stage of the fight is better invested in engines.

You didn't read what I wrote. This is advice to players, who might use it in their playthroughs, it's not just about airing a personal grievance, it's a tip/strategy/advice not to buy it. I'm also asking for reasons why it doesn't suck. So I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't summarize my topic incorrectly.

[zarakon]

Spending the energy and scrap to upgrade and use the defense drone Mark II on the Final stage of the fight is better invested in engines.

I have to disagree. Evasion is random, unreliable. The defense drone has some randomness regarding where it is and where the shots come from, but overall it's much more predictable. Also, a huge portion of your evasion chance comes from crew expertise - cutting engine energy in half doesn't reduce your evasion by half.

It's also a pretty good substitute for a cloaking device if you don't find one. It can't nullify an entire large volley at once, but its advantage is that it's always on.

[icepick]

Spending the energy and scrap to upgrade and use the defense drone Mark II on the Final stage of the fight is better invested in engines.

Eh, depends on the ship. This isn't really generalizable over every ship. There's NO upgrade needed for the torus. And if you happen upon a def II I'd argue for microing between that and whatever else floats your boat.

You didn't read what I wrote. This is advice to players, who might use it in their playthroughs, it's not just about airing a personal grievance, it's a tip/strategy/advice not to buy it. I'm also asking for reasons why it doesn't suck. So I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't summarize my topic incorrectly.

You started with this gem "I hate it. It sucks." which IS your personal grievance. It sets the tone for the whole thread, but point taken. I apologize.

[ComboBreaker]

woah,all the sudden hate.

MK2 was the only thing that helped me to go through sector 6 with hull below 30%(no shops were presented),so it deserved my trust.

[actionhero112]

Spending the energy and scrap to upgrade and use the defense drone Mark II on the Final stage of the fight is better invested in engines.

I have to disagree. Evasion is random, unreliable. The defense drone has some randomness regarding where it is and where the shots come from, but overall it's much more predictable. Also, a huge portion of your evasion chance comes from crew expertise - cutting engine energy in half doesn't reduce your evasion by half.

It's also a pretty good substitute for a cloaking device if you don't find one. It can't nullify an entire large volley at once, but its advantage is that it's always on.

48 % evasion tends to be quite efficient at dodging shots. And while the percentage is a random variable, the law of averages applies here.

You have to spend 4 energy to power it up, in order to shoot down 1 laser shot. Even the shields don't require that high of a power cost.

No, it isn't even reliable, because you don't choose what it shoots down. At least with the first defense drone you know it will shoot down missiles. But with the second defense drone, it might shoot down a burst laser shot your shields could easily handle, and completely ignore the Hermes missile, allowing it to wreak havoc on your hull and systems.