The Drone cradle launches autonomous escorts that keep pressure on enemies while the carrier maneuvers. It converts one hull slot into a small independent screen rather than another fixed firing arc.
Drone live module render
Live mini canvas: module cards reuse the current ship-module renderer.
- Role
- Autonomous escort production
- Module HP
- 100
- Mass / drag
- 0.5 / 0.1
- Build price
- Dynamic; next module starts at 100 gold
- Escort ceiling
- 2 per cradle
- Replacement cycle
- 6 seconds
- Damaged output
- 70% at 50% HP or lower
How it works
Each healthy cradle can maintain up to two escort drones and creates a replacement on a six-second cycle. Drones inherit relevant attack scaling and disappear when destroyed rather than becoming permanent ship modules.
Best uses
Add autonomous pressure while piloting defensively.
Distract targets and clean up light enemies.
Support carrier-style PVE builds with several independent attackers.
Placement and hull design
Protect the cradle: losing it stops replacements even if existing escorts remain briefly useful. Pairing two cradles raises the swarm ceiling but consumes space and mass.
Synergies
Attack upgrade for stronger drone combat calculations.
Repairer and Shield for a durable carrier hull.
Failure points and counterplay
Drone production and firing use Reload scaling, but the cradle's 70% damaged output slows its effective cycle.
Area damage can erase several escorts at once.