I'd honestly like to see drones that have either a support role that attend MECs and Sectopods(similar to Drones from EU/EW) and ones that use their weapons more frequently and have higher damage(though still not a lot). I think they could be really cool and interesting additions, instead of just annoying floating roombas that stun your soldiers.

Their purpose could also be overwatch removal. They charge in first to trigger overwatch (and perhaps get blown up, but draws the fire from more important units). And if they survive, they shot people for low damage and low stun (prioritising units in overwatch).

I also had an idea for them to have a flashbang function, similar to the stealth scan function: charge up one round, then disorient a large area. I don't think it can be instant; it might be too powerful combined with their speed?

I kind of like the normal Drone we see at first during campaigns, the Recon Drone. Doesn't do too much damage and can be plucked out of the air with your choice of Boltcaster, Fleche, Shotgun or Cannon. I think they are perfectly fine how they are now.
Compared to the drone from the LWAP, where i got them from, i made them shoot a bit more often to make them less of a stun only unit. Again, i think this works well. Btw, the stun is not for 4 turns, it's for 4 actions. That's 2 turns.

Now where i do agree is that this doesn't cut it anymore after a certain point. I didn't have much time yet, but i made my first step towards a more interesting tier 2 drone with the Cloaking ability. It's a bit gimmicky right now, but works fine. Not great, but it does it's job.

Hunt for stealthed units is already something they do indirectly thanks to their high detection radius and slightly erratic flight path. Maybe that can be expanded on, i can take a look at some point.

Marking players is a great idea, too. I like that a lot, holotargeting drones sounds like a perfect fit. Maybe even keep concealed and mark from there without attacking and breaking concealment Oo

Having them in pods with Sectopods, maybe even as a specialized repair unit, is also something that sounds good and deserves some testing.

The flashbang idea could work, would remain to be seen if its needed. The next patch is bringing some changes with it that will make Riot Control soldiers appear more often and there's also the Anti-Riot MEC walking around. I don't want to have too many Flashbang effects around.


Any drone changes will not make it into the next patch - i am currently working on the last few bits for it and i want to get it out in the next couple of days. But for the one after that, i can certainly think a bit about doing some more stuff with the Drones.

Well, it's good you have some ideas to turn them into a more interesting unit, that was my main purpose. Right now I've cut them out as I'd rather fight another random advent trooper. But I'll keep an eye on the updates and maybe put them back in for my next run!