Drones

Drones are an Interactable in Risk of Rain Returns, providing the player valuable extra sources of damage, healing, and crowd dispersal often at the cost of money and the risk of them being destroyed.

Most drones when destroyed will revert back to an interactable nearby the player, and can be repurchased in order to repair the drone fully. A destroyed drone will inherit the current price relative to the scaling difficulty, a drone purchased on Stage 1 for $40 will cost significantly more to repair when destroyed on Stage 5. Some special drones however are destroyed completely, and cannot be reacquired with money.

Some Items affect how drones behave directly, such as Arms RaceArms Race
Drones are equipped with explosive weaponry. Summons a drone helper.
Drones gain a 5% (+5% per stack) chance on hit to fire a missile for 300% TOTAL damage, and a 9% chance on hit to fire a mortar for 85% (+85% per stack) TOTAL damage. Summons a unique drone which regenerates each stage. granting drones a chance to fire additional explosives, or the equipment Drone Repair KitDrone Repair Kit45s CD
Repair and empower all active drones. Summons a unique drone to assist.
All drones are repaired to full health and empowered for 8 seconds. Summons a unique drone. instantly repairing purchased drones and buffing them for a short duration. Drones will also activate on kill items such as GasolineGasoline
Killing enemies sets the ground on fire.
Killing enemies burns the ground for 60% (+40% per stack) damage. and Ceremonial DaggerCeremonial Dagger
Killing an enemy fires spirit bolts.
Killing an enemy fires out 4 (+2 per stack) heat seaking bolts that deal 100% damage..

Drone Types

There are 5 primary drone types, and 4 drone types with unique behavior.

Primary Drones

• Gunner Drone - A versatile drone that aligns with enemies horizontally, and fires a single non-piercing bullet repeatedly. Upgrades increase fire-rate and damage.
• Healing Drone - A support drone that follows closely near the player, healing them when they are injured for pulses of 5 health. Upgrades increase how many times the drone can heal in one instance.
• Missile Drone - A hard-hitting drone that launches volleys of strong missiles to enemies on screen, with long reloads in between firing. Upgrades reduce volley size, but increase total damage.
• Flame Drone - A close-range drone that fires a constant piercing stream of flame, rapidly burning all enemies in its path. Upgrades create additional directions of flame, and increase damage.
• Laser Drone - A charging drone that shoots a piercing beam horizontally across the screen, hitting all enemies on the way with high burst damage. Upgrades increase charge time, but increase beam duration.

Primary Drones are what will most frequently be seen during a run, namely the common Gunner and Healing drones.

Unique Drones

• Friendly Construct - A melee "drone" that floats adjacent to enemies, and strikes repeatedly with slam attacks. Costs health to purchase. Removed permanently when destroyed.
• Arms RaceArms Race
  Drones are equipped with explosive weaponry. Summons a drone helper.
  Drones gain a 5% (+5% per stack) chance on hit to fire a missile for 300% TOTAL damage, and a 9% chance on hit to fire a mortar for 85% (+85% per stack) TOTAL damage. Summons a unique drone which regenerates each stage. Drone - A slow-firing shotgun drone that fires a short, piercing blast. Automatically granted when picking up the Arms RaceArms Race
  Drones are equipped with explosive weaponry. Summons a drone helper.
  Drones gain a 5% (+5% per stack) chance on hit to fire a missile for 300% TOTAL damage, and a 9% chance on hit to fire a mortar for 85% (+85% per stack) TOTAL damage. Summons a unique drone which regenerates each stage. item. Removed when destroyed, but respawns when advancing a stage. ^{Only one can exist at a time.}
• Drone Repair KitDrone Repair Kit45s CD
  Repair and empower all active drones. Summons a unique drone to assist.
  All drones are repaired to full health and empowered for 8 seconds. Summons a unique drone. Drone - Identical to a Gunner Drone, featuring a hard-hat for safety. Granted when using the Drone Repair KitDrone Repair Kit45s CD
  Repair and empower all active drones. Summons a unique drone to assist.
  All drones are repaired to full health and empowered for 8 seconds. Summons a unique drone.. Removed when destroyed, but can be replaced by using the equipment at any time. Only one can exist at a time.
• The Back-UpThe Back-Up45s CD
  Call drones for backup. Lasts 10 seconds.
  Create 4 drones to fight for you for 10 seconds. Drone - An emergency drone with a short lifespan, but with a rapid-fire gun bundled with 4 total drones. Granted when using The Back-UpThe Back-Up45s CD
  Call drones for backup. Lasts 10 seconds.
  Create 4 drones to fight for you for 10 seconds.. Self-destructs after 10 seconds.

Most Drones are used in two Interactables themselves, the Drone Upgrader and the Drone Scrapper. The Drone Upgrader combines 3 identical drones and creates a more powerful single drone, offering higher durability and more effectiveness in the drone's type, with the drawback of a higher single cost to repair if the drone is destroyed. The Drone Scrapper consumes a random drone and drops an Item.