Sentry Drones not attacking Question

[Uittopas_Inkura]

I have a question, years ago I used to run 100+KM Sentry drone fits for ratting in 0.0, the drones would just continue to fire non-stop (which was pretty nice)

Now the drones disengage, almost after every NPC kill and do not re-engage until I manually tell them to. They are set to “attack” and “focus fire” the targets are well within my 140km drone control range. did they just change the way they behave, or am i missing something perhaps?

[Geo_Eclipse_Oksaras]

This is what i found on sentry.. idk how old this is, or when the change was, im looking that up now

Stationary Nature: Sentry drones deploy and shoot from a single location, requiring manual recall and making them vulnerable if they can’t hit fast targets.

• Range vs. Tracking: They excel at long ranges (Wardens have huge range), but have poor tracking; range scripts and tracking computers are crucial for effectiveness, especially against close targets.

• Drone Control Range: A persistent point of confusion is the “drone control range,” which limits commands; players often feel it should relate to ship-to-drone distance, not ship-to-target, for sentries.

• Faction Differences: Different sentry drones (Wardens, Curators, Bouncers, Guards) offer varied optimal ranges, tracking, and damage types, providing strategic choices.

• Recent Changes: CCP has adjusted drone mechanics to reduce damage loss from orbit velocity and improve target acquisition, differentiating faction drones further.

maybe the drone control range is your confusion?

edit: this post was similar to yours

Problem with sentry drones?

Hello. Here’s my problem. I have a Dominix with sentry drones. To be clear, my Dominix has a 105km targeting range, it controls the drones up to 60km. It’s static, and the drones are right next to it, less than 3000m away. The targets are 75km away, acquired and selected. With the ship’s bonuses and my skills, the drones have an optimal range of 103km. However, I get a message saying they can’t fire beyond 60km. Why?! For sentry drones, their maximum firing distance would actuall…

[Uittopas_Inkura]

Thanks, unfortunately that is not the case here, my Ships targeting Range and Drone Control range are both over 130km.

It’s just weird that they go idle - I should add, I’m firing auto-targeting cruise missiles at the same time. They continually chew through targets, I expected the drones to do the same, but they don’t continue firing unless I stop launching missiles, and start again…

[Andlaust]

Are you red boxed or yellow boxed by the rats? If they are out of their range and not hitting you, indicated by the yellow box, your drones won’t register they’re attacking you and thus won’t automatically engage.

[Gerard_Amatin]

Drones will only shoot automatically if something is shooting you.

With sentry drones you’re likely too far away to get shot, so your sentry drones won’t shoot.

Last time I was sentry ratting I simply had to fire upon each enemy. Still a nice way to rat as unlike regular drones the sentries don’t have travel time and will fire instantly.

[Uriel_the_Flame]

@Gerard_Amatin

Rats will only shoot automatically if something is shooting you.

Probably meant Drones instead.