VTK Guard Drones

Persistent guard drones that follow you, fight nearby enemies, and return to your inventory on command like a "guard dog" companions for the battlefield.

Deploy a squad with a hotkey, let them orbit you and engage threats automatically, and recall them when you move on. They keep their health and battery charge between deployments, so your squad is a lasting investment, not a disposable capsule.

Features

• Two drone types, deployable and mixable (up to 5 active at once):
• Guard Drone (Cannon) : blue. A rapid explosive autocannon that prioritises the biggest nearby threats. Friendly-fire safe (the blast never hits you or your own drones).
• Guard Drone (Flamethrower) : yellow. Closes in for short-range fire and prioritises the nearest enemy. Larger engagement zone than the cannon.
• Battery system : drones run on an onboard battery that drains as they fly and fight. When a drone runs out of power it disarms, flies back to you, and recharges from your Personal Roboport (it drains the roboport's energy), then rejoins the fight. Keep a charged Personal Roboport equipped to sustain your squad.
• Persistent squad : deploy and recall at will; drones keep their health and remaining charge in your inventory between deployments.
• Fire-resistant : drones are immune to fire, so the flamethrower drone's flames don't roast the rest of your squad.

How to use

1. Research Guard Drones (unlocks after the Destroyer technology).
2. Craft Guard Drones (and/or the Flamethrower variant) and carry them in your inventory.
3. Equip a Personal Roboport (and power your equipment grid) so your drones can recharge in the field.
4. Deploy with ALT + G (or the shortcut bar button) : drones come out of your inventory up to the active limit.
5. Recall with ALT + H : drones fly back and return to your inventory.

Notes

• Recharging drains your Personal Roboport's energy; with no charged roboport, an out-of-power drone stays disarmed and shows an alert until power is available.
• This is a v1 release : feedback on balance (autonomy, recharge cost, drone count, weapon tuning) is very welcome.

Compatibility

• Factorio 2.1+, base game only (no other mod dependencies).