Your Drones Keep Dying Mid-Route
You unlocked the Drone Bay. You built it. You crafted 6 drones. They flew out, delivered some materials, and then… stopped. The Drone Bay says “Charging.” The drones sit on the pad for 30 seconds. Then they fly 5 tiles and stop again. Your factory is running on 10% drone uptime.
The problem: Drone Bay placement, battery capacity, and route planning. Drones are not magical delivery fairies. They have limited battery, limited cargo, and they charge slowly if the Bay is underpowered.
The Short Version
Place your Drone Bay within 10 tiles of your main power bus. Build 2 Drone Bays if you want more than 8 active drones. Assign drones to specific route pairs (not general "deliver anywhere"). Upgrade Drone Battery first, then Cargo Capacity, then Speed. A well-configured drone fleet runs 95% uptime.
Drone Bay Types and Stats[+]
Drone Bay Comparison
| Bay Type | Drone Slots | Max Drones | Power Draw | Build Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basic Drone Bay | 4 | 8 | 50 kW | 20 Electronics + 10 Iron |
| Advanced Drone Bay | 6 | 16 | 100 kW | 40 Electronics + 20 Superalloy |
| Fleet Command Bay | 8 | 32 | 200 kW | 80 Electronics + 50 Superalloy + 10 Quantum |
Drone Types:
| Drone Type | Speed | Cargo | Battery | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cargo Drone (basic) | 1x | 5 units | 100 | Short-range item moves |
| Fast Cargo Drone | 1.5x | 5 units | 80 | Urgent deliveries |
| Heavy Cargo Drone | 0.7x | 20 units | 150 | Bulk transport |
| Repair Drone | 1.2x | 0 (carries repair kits) | 120 | Automatic station repair |
Starting Fleet Recommendation
Build 1 Basic Drone Bay with 4 Cargo Drones and 2 Repair Drones. The repair drones save you hours of manual fixes. Upgrade to Advanced Bay once you have more than 4 supply routes.
Route Configuration - Pairs, Not Free-Range[+]
The Biggest Mistake
Most players set drones to “Any -> Any” delivery mode. This sounds efficient. It is not. Drones waste battery flying across the station for small deliveries when they should be running dedicated routes.
Assign drones to specific source -> destination pairs:
Drone 1: Smelter Output -> Assembler Input (loop, continuous)
Drone 2: Storage -> Assembler Input (on-demand)
Drone 3: Assembler Output -> Storage (continuous)
Drone 4: Storage -> Construction Site (on-demand, manual trigger)
Route Priority Levels:
| Priority | Behavior | Use Case |
|---|---|---|
| Critical | Interrupts other routes, always delivers first | Reactor fuel supply |
| High | Delivers before standard routes | Assembler material feed |
| Standard | Normal delivery, queues behind higher priority | Storage refill |
| Low | Delivers when idle | Overflow routing |
Battery Management - Keep Drones Flying[+]
Drone Battery Math
| Activity | Battery Drain |
|---|---|
| Takeoff | 5 |
| 1 tile flight | 2 |
| Loading cargo (per unit) | 1 |
| Unloading cargo (per unit) | 1 |
| Hovering (per second) | 3 |
| Landing | 3 |
| Idle on pad | 0 (slow charge) |
Max Route Distance by Drone Type:
| Drone Type | Max Round Trip (no charge stop) | With Mid-Route Charging Pad |
|---|---|---|
| Cargo | 20 tiles | 50 tiles |
| Fast Cargo | 15 tiles | 40 tiles |
| Heavy Cargo | 35 tiles | 80 tiles |
Charge Rates:
| Charging Location | Rate | Full Charge Time |
|---|---|---|
| Drone Bay pad | 5/sec | 20 seconds |
| Charging Pad (standalone) | 3/sec | 33 seconds |
| Emergency battery swap | Instant | Cost: 1 battery/module |
The Range Trap
If a drone runs out of battery mid-route, it drops its cargo and powers down. You must physically pick up the cargo and recharge the drone manually. Always leave 20% battery margin on long routes.
Upgrade Priority
- Drone Battery Capacity (First) - Every upgrade adds 25% more flight time
- Drone Cargo Capacity (Second) - More items per trip = fewer trips = less battery waste
- Bay Charging Speed (Third) - Gets drones back in the air faster
- Drone Speed (Last) - Speed matters less than battery and cargo for most setups
v1.1: Coordinating Ship CPU Control With Your Drone Fleet
The v1.1 Ship CPU Control system adds a new autonomous layer alongside your drones. Every completed ship has a CPU budget (CPU points) you allocate to roles in the Ship menu. Once allocated, a ship performs map tasks on its own – auto-haul, escort, patrol – without a pilot.
v1.1: A CPU-controlled ship complements your paired vs free-range drones. Drones are best for short-range, high-frequency paired delivery; a CPU ship is better for long-haul or guard duties. Assign CPU roles so ships and drones cover different routes.
Suggested division of labor:
- CPU ship (auto-haul): runs long-haul bulk transport between distant outposts or resource rocks. Give it the auto-haul role and let it ferry large loads while drones stay on the station core.
- Drones (paired delivery): handle short-range, continuous routes between production buildings (Smelter -> Assembler, etc.).
- CPU ship (escort/patrol): protects a towing or salvage run, freeing your drones from defensive detours.
Keep one rule: never have a CPU ship and a drone run the same route. That just doubles battery and power draw for the same cargo. Split the map – ships take the long, sparse lanes; drones take the dense, short lanes. Full role allocation is in the Ship CPU Control Guide.