Drone Hive: Tower Stats, Upgrades, Tips: The Drone Hive in Blockade Brigade: 375 gold, ground and air. Its drones, how far they chase, every level's stats, research and FAQ.

Plain-text version for AI assistants: https://blockadebrigade.com/llms-page-towers-drone_hive.txt. Site guide: https://blockadebrigade.com/llms.txt

Advanced Tower

Drone Hive

Drones chase enemies far past the tower's range

375 goldGround + AirResearch 75000

The Drone Hive keeps a fleet of small attack drones: 2 at level 1, up to 5 at level 10. When an enemy comes into its range, every drone at home flies out after it and keeps shooting it wherever it goes, well past the hive's own range, until it dies or gets 2.5 times the range away. It costs 375 gold, hits ground and air, never overheats, and together the drones of a level-1 hive do 22.4 damage a second, 315.65 at level 10.

Drone Hive
Build your own Drone Hive

Attributes Level 1, on the ground

Cost
375 gold to build
Unlock
75,000 XPXP to research it (main menu, Upgrades & Research)
Sell value
281 gold 75% of the gold spent on it; all of it back within 15 seconds of placing
Can hit
Ground & Air
Damage
7
Fire rate
1.6/s
DPS
11 damage a second, one hit on one target, before armour
Range
6.5 3.25 tiles
Targets at once
2 drones, all on one enemy
Power
uses 14 when firing · 1 on standby Full power only while it has a target. Switch it off to free its power.
Neighbours
+15% damage, +10% fire rate eachSame-type towers on its four sides, up to four (+60% / +40%). Connected Drone Hives need 25% less power.
Platforms
+8% damage, +0.5 range a level of heightSmall +1, Medium +2, Large +3, up to 3 stacked. Hills up to 15 (above 5 is rare).
Ground
Grass: −5% damageNo penalty on rock, or on a platform (it stands on steel, even over grass)
Level parts
Base: 1 green level light, plate 01
Research
5 items, 5 levels each250 / 750 / 2,000 / 6,000 / 15,000 XP a level, 120,000 XP for all. Sharper Stingers, Rapid Stingers, Wider Patrol, Deep Wound, Poison
Cards
Damage, Fire Rate, Range, Deep Wound, Poison, Armor Damage, Shield DamageEnd-of-wave cards: up to 5 of each a game, then Endless cards

Base numbers: no research, cards or neighbours. (+n) is the change from the level before.

How to use it

One enemy at a time

All the drones go after the same enemy and stay on it. That makes the Drone Hive a hunter for tough single enemies and leakers, not a crowd clearer.

Let them chase

An enemy only has to pass through the hive's range once. The drones follow it up to 2.5 times the range from the hive (16.25 at level 1, 23 at level 10), so a hive near the middle of the map covers a lot of path.

Slow them down

A Cold Snap or a Gravity Well keeps the target inside the drones' reach for longer, so they get more shots in before it gets away.

Poison gets past armour

Each drone shot is small, so armour soaks a lot of it. Poison research or cards add damage that goes straight to health, and every drone's hit adds to it.

Build in rows, go high

Each Drone Hive on the four sides of another gives it +15% damage and +10% fire rate (up to +60% and +40%), for every drone. Each level of hill or platform gives +8% damage and +0.5 range, and more range means a longer chase; on bare grass it loses 5% damage, unless it stands on a platform.

Build it

Pick a level, research, end-of-wave cards and where it stands, and see what your Drone Hive ends up doing, worked out the way the game does it: how many drones, each drone's shot and fire rate, how far they chase, and the damage per second of the whole fleet on one enemy. Share the build with a link.

How the configurer works it out (formula, card values, share-link format)

How the game adds it up

  • Damage: level base x (1 + neighbours x 0.15) x (1 + height x 0.08) x ground (0.95 on bare grass, else 1) x (1 + research %) x (1 + cards % + Endless %)
  • Fire rate: level base x (1 + neighbours x 0.1) x (1 + research %) x (1 + cards % + Endless %)
  • Range: level base + height x 0.5 + level base x (research % + cards % + Endless %)
  • Dps: damage x fire rate, one hit on one target, before splash, afflictions and armour
  • Rule: Every source multiplies damage and fire rate; cards and Endless cards of one stat add into one percent. Range percents are all of the levelled base, added.

End-of-wave cards

Each wave offers 3 cards. Up to 5 cards of each stat a game, then that stat comes only as grey Endless cards (a random amount in the range shown). Percent per card:

CardNormalCommonRareEpicLegendaryMythicalEndless
Damage2%5%10%15%25%35%1-5%
Fire Rate2%5%10%15%25%35%1-5%
Range2%5%10%15%25%35%1-5%
Deep Wound1%1%2%2%3%3%1%
Poison1%1%2%2%3%3%1%
Armor Damage2%4%6%8%10%12%2%
Shield Damage2%4%6%8%10%12%2%

Research

Unlock: 75,000 XP; its upgrades: 120,000 XP for all.

  • Sharper Stingers: +10% a level, 5 levels (+50%), 250, 750, 2,000, 6,000, 15,000 XP
  • Rapid Stingers: +6% a level, 5 levels (+30%), 250, 750, 2,000, 6,000, 15,000 XP
  • Wider Patrol: +6% a level, 5 levels (+30%), 250, 750, 2,000, 6,000, 15,000 XP
  • Drone Hive Deep Wound: +1% a level, 5 levels (+5%), 250, 750, 2,000, 6,000, 15,000 XP
  • Drone Hive Poison: +1% a level, 5 levels (+5%), 250, 750, 2,000, 6,000, 15,000 XP

Where it stands

  • Each same-type neighbour on its four sides: +15% damage, +10% fire rate (up to 4).
  • Each level of height (hill + platforms): +8% damage, +0.5 range.
  • Bare grass: damage x0.95 (no penalty on rock, or on a platform: it stands on steel, even over grass). One tile is 2 range units.

This tower's own rule

  • Drones 2, 2, 2, 3, 3, 3, 4, 4, 4, 5 (levels 1 up), all on the hive's one target; each hits for the damage at the fire rate. They chase up to 2.5x the range from the hive.

Worked examples

Share-link format

A build is the page address + #build: + parts joined by ~, in any order; parts left out are 0 / none. Opening the link loads the build and scrolls here. Links shared from the page also carry ?utm_source=...&utm_medium=...&utm_campaign=tower_build&utm_content=... before the hash; they are optional.

  • l<N>: tower level 1..10
  • r.<stat>.<N>: research level 0..5 of a research item (damage, fire_rate, range_radius, deep_wound, poison)
  • c.<stat>.<digits>: end-of-wave cards of one stat, one digit per card = its rarity (0 Normal, 1 Common, 2 Rare, 3 Epic, 4 Legendary, 5 Mythical); at most 5 a stat
  • e.<stat>.<amount>x<count>: Endless cards of one stat: count cards of +amount% (only once that stat has 5 cards)
  • n<N>: same-type neighbours touching it, 0..4
  • h<N>: height: hill + platform levels, 0..15
  • g: standing on bare grass (no platform)
  • s<N>: level of the Cold Snap over it, 0 = none (1..10)
  • sp0: that Cold Snap has no power (it cools nothing)
  • w<N>: water tiles beside it, 0..4 (sides not taken by neighbours)
  • k<N>: towers in its connected chain, itself included (at least neighbours + 1)
  • kw<N>: water tiles beside the whole chain

Every level

Base numbers: no research, cards, height or neighbours. Damage and fire rate are one drone's: every drone fires at that rate for that damage, so damage per second here is one drone's; multiply by the drones for the whole hive. Leash is how far from the hive the drones will chase. Power is what it needs while it has a target.

LevelUpgradeTotal spentDamageFire rateDPSRangePower
1build 37537571.6/s116.514
25819569.51.66/s166.817
39001,856121.72/s217.120
41,3963,25214.51.78/s267.422
52,1645,416171.84/s317.725
63,3548,77019.51.9/s37828
75,20013,970221.96/s438.331
88,06022,03024.52.02/s498.634
912,49334,523272.08/s568.936
1019,36453,88729.52.14/s639.239

Drones2 at levels 1-3, 3 at levels 4-6, 4 at levels 7-9 and 5 at level 10. A new drone is the biggest step up a level gives: the whole fleet's damage per second jumps with it.

GoldThe levels without a new drone add damage, fire rate and range only, and they get dear (level 10 alone costs 19,364 gold). Early on a second hive, with its own 2 drones, is often the better buy.

Research

Research (main menu, Upgrades & Research) makes every Drone Hive you build stronger. Each item has 5 levels for 250, 750, 2,000, 6,000 and 15,000 XP (24,000 XP for all 5).

Sharper Stingers

+10% damage on every drone shot a level, +50% at level 5.

Rapid Stingers

+6% fire rate for every drone a level, +30% at level 5.

Wider Patrol

+6% range a level, +30% at level 5. The drones chase further with it.

Drone Hive Deep Wound

An enemy hit by your drones takes +1% damage from every tower a level (+5% at level 5), until 4 seconds after the last hit. Wounds from different towers add up.

Drone Hive Poison

Each drone hit leaves poison worth 1% of the hit every second a level (5% at level 5) for 4 seconds, straight to health past shield and armour. Every hit adds more.

Height and ground

  • Each level of height: +8% damage and +0.5 range.
  • Hills: up to 15 levels on every map; above 5 is rare.
  • Platforms (small +1, medium +2, large +3) stack up to 3 high: up to 9 more levels, on flat ground or on a hill. Research unlocks the sizes and stacking.
  • Highest it can stand: 24 levels, +192% damage, +12 range.
  • On grass: −5% damage; no penalty on rock, or on a platform (it stands on steel, even over grass).

Drone Hive FAQ

How far do the drones chase an enemy?

Up to 2.5 times the hive's range from the hive, measured straight across the map, not along the path: 16.25 at level 1, 23 at level 10. Range research, height and water beside it add range, so they stretch the chase too. Once the enemy is further than that, the drones give it up and fly back.

Does each drone attack a different enemy?

No. Every drone at home flies after the hive's current target, so they all hunt the same enemy, in the order of the hive's targeting choice. They stay on it until it dies or gets beyond the chase distance, then the hive sends them after the next enemy in its range.

How much damage does the Drone Hive do?

Each drone fires at the hive's fire rate, for the hive's damage, so the whole fleet does damage x fire rate x drones on one enemy: 22.4 a second at level 1 and 315.65 at level 10, before research, cards, height and neighbours. The damage per second in the level table is one drone's.

Can the Drone Hive hit flying enemies?

Yes. It targets ground and air, and the drones follow flying enemies just like ground ones.

Can enemies shoot the drones down?

No, the drones cannot be hit. But the hive builds a fresh fleet whenever you upgrade it, so drones out on a chase drop their enemy and start again from the hive. The drones also need a moment to fly out: they only start shooting once they are right over their enemy.

Is it better to upgrade my Drone Hive or build more?

Early on, build more, side by side. A second Drone Hive costs 450 gold and brings 2 more drones, and both get the neighbour bonus. Upgrading to level 2 costs 581 gold and adds no drone: new drones come every 3 levels (2 at levels 1-3, 3 at levels 4-6, 4 at levels 7-9 and 5 at level 10).

Is the Drone Hive good against armour?

Not on its own. Each drone shot is small and does no extra damage to armour or shields, so armour soaks a big share of every hit. Armour Damage end-of-wave cards help, and Poison research or cards add damage that goes straight to health. Against heavy armour, put a Magnet near it, which tears armour off enemies in range.

Why are my drones not attacking?

It does not overheat, so it is short of power or has nothing in range. With LOW POWER or NO POWER the hive drops its drones' targets and launches none until power is back. A Drone Hive needs 14 power at level 1 and 39 at level 10.

How much power does a Drone Hive use when it has nothing to shoot?

Only 1: with no target it stays on standby, lights and radar on. It uses its full power only while it has a target: 14 at level 1, 39 at level 10 (the tower panel says "uses N when firing, 1 on standby"). If the grid cannot give it that, it stays on standby too: it keeps tracking enemies but cannot fire (LOW POWER). The panel's Switch off button turns it off completely: it draws nothing and does nothing until you Switch on again, so you can choose which towers run when power is short.