Laser drone

"The swarm is infinite"

- Drones when attacking

The Laser Drone is a Nod aircraft squad in Command & Conquer: Rivals.

Background
Laser Drones are the result of Kane's directive to utilize recruits from Yellow Zones whose physical limitations, brought on by years of Tiberium exposure, made them unsuitable for standard service. It was found that by forcibly transplanting the cerebrum of these recruits into a Laser Drone they could provide a few days of valuable service to the Brotherhood despite their disabilities.

Abilities

 * Has vision range of 3.
 * Has vision range of 3.

Game unit
Fast, powerful, yet cheap, Laser drone squad can inflict significant damage to any ground vehicle. They can even be effective against Pitbulls and are a headache for Attack bikes. The Titan will melt against three drone squads. The population cap might make such swarming impractical.

The long vision range allows the drones to scout, but due to cost it is not a good opening unit.

Their ineffectiveness against infantry means that Missile squad will remove Laser drones from the map fast. The fragility of the drones means they will fall quickly against fast shooting units like Slingshot. Their movement speed is not as effective against anti-air aircraft, making them easy prey to Phantoms and Talons.

For a more sturdy unit that can target both ground and air, Banshee could be a better option. If a more powerful anti-vehicle firepower is required, Shade is a good candidate.

Changelog

 * 2019-01-21 Unit introduced
 * 2019-07-02:
 * Attack speed increased to 1.2 (was 1.5).
 * Damage vs. Vehicles increased to 92 (was 80).
 * Damage vs. Harvesters reduced to 68 (was 72).
 * Vision increased to 3 (was 2).
 * 2019-07-31: Attack Speed decreased to 1.5 (was 1.2).
 * 2020-03-25:
 * Health decreased to 180 (was 200)
 * Delay b/w squad attacks increased to 0.4 (was 0.3)
 * 2020-08-12:
 * Speed reduced to Faster (was Fastest)
 * Reduced harvester damage to 45 (was 68)
 * Reduced structure damage to 60 (was 92)

When created

 * Swarm ready to exterminate
 * The swarm has arrived

When selected

 * The swarm awaits
 * Awaiting orders
 * Ready to destroy
 * Processing
 * Scanning

When moving

 * I obey
 * Moving and scanning
 * The swarm moves
 * Swarming

When moving to attack favorably

 * Excellent
 * Eliminate the weak
 * Exterminate
 * They will be destroyed!

When moving to attack neutral

 * You are an enemy of the brotherhood
 * For Nod
 * Target acquired
 * Drones will deliver
 * Attacking

When moving to attack unfavorably

 * Following orders
 * Objectionable tactics
 * Unfavorable
 * As commanded

When unable to attack target

 * Unproductive
 * Impossible
 * Preposterous

When attacking

 * Can't kill us all!
 * The swarm is infinite
 * Swarm for Nod
 * You cannot stop us
 * Destroy

When under attack

 * Drones under fire
 * Systems compromised
 * Drones being attacked
 * Swarm taking damage

Behind the scenes
"Being a low cost, flying, anti-vehicle swarm built from the Air Tower, we expect the Laser Drones to give Nod players lots of new air options."

- MrBlack

Trivia

 * The voice sounds monotone and synthetic.
 * In community laser drones are shortened as LD.