Why do drones not orbit their intended target at a range close to their optimal range.
You got heavy drones like the Praetor with a 6km optimal range trying to orbit targets at less than 2km where due to their tracking speeds they miss far more often than they should.
As a default drones should try to orbit at or near their optimal ranges to make the most of available tracking speed.
Really good question. When I started the game over a decade ago I was told that the drone orbit range what always the same and unless the drone was a sentry drone, always use omnidirectional links with a tracking script and ignore low slot tracking enhancers.
I never thought to ask “Hey CCP, why can’t the drones orbit at the optimal instead of a hard coded value” which is a fair question considering how many nerfs there have been during that time.
Because Drones are stupid.
Drones that aren’t stupid are rogue drones.
Cause they used mwd, and you should check their orbital and angular velocity that transverse on their tracking speed and volley speed etc. So they do miss targets respectively.