Repair Drones were small, autonomous flying robots used to repair vehicles. They were used by all factions in Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars and its expansion, Kane's Wrath.
Background[]
In the interbellum years between the Second and Third Tiberium Wars, both GDI and Nod extensively overhauled their military arsenals. As a part of these changes, they both equipped their vehicle production facilities with autonomous repair drones to replace the more expensive and independent Service Depots used in the previous conflict. These drones would detect and repair any damaged nearby vehicles.[1][2]
The Scrin were no strangers to the idea of repair drones, either. Their Warp Spheres and Gravity Stabilizers, used to warp in their vehicles, were also equipped with three such drones of their own design (though of course, as with the rest of the Scrin's arsenal, it was impossible to determine whether these were organic entities or not). The Warp Sphere additionally granted the ability to deploy Reconstruction Drones, which Scrin Foremen were trained to deploy in the event their armored forces sustained heavy damage.[3] These would supply much-needed repairs, which allowed Scrin forces to take far more damage than they could normally withstand.
Though the Scrin mainly deployed drones for the purpose of repairs, much like the human factions, they also used larger versions of these drones for heavier construction duties. In particular, GDI and Nod forces witnessed these construction-specialized versions at work constructing the mysterious Threshold Towers.[4]
Game Unit[]
Each vehicle and aircraft production structure is equipped with three repair drones. Each of these will automatically locate a damaged vehicle within the structure's repair radius (if there is one present) and begin repairs, healing 150 HP at a time. Drones are relegated to repairing vehicles of the type produced by their attached facility; War Factory drones will only repair vehicles, and Airfield drones will only repair aircraft, though for the latter it does not matter if they are docked or not. Note that all drones can only act within their "parent" entity's repair radius (shown when said entity is selected). Scrin drones can uniquely also heal wounded infantry, though cannot be manually ordered to do so. Note that, unlike the GDI Armory, they cannot restore lost squad members.
Aside from War Factories and Airfields (and their differently named Scrin counterparts), the GDI Battle Base (the deployed form of the Rig vehicle) and the Steel Talons Mobile Repair Transport (MRT) are both equipped with three and one drone, respectively. The Scrin Reconstruction Drones power also summons ten temporary repair drones at the target location. The drones attached to all three of these sources can only repair ground vehicles. The Battle Base's and the MRT's drones can be ordered to repair a specific vehicle via the aforementioned sources, but the Reconstruction Drones are unselectable and uncontrollable.
All War Factories, epic unit construction facilities, Warp Spheres, Battle Bases, and Mobile Repair Transports can use the "Repair Vehicle" ability, which orders all of their attached drones to repair a single, selected vehicle. This speeds up the repair process, though also can be unwise in situations where multiple vehicles require repairs. It is ideal for situations where a damaged vehicle with a large health pool (i.e. Mammoth Tanks, heavy walkers, and epic units) requires extensive repairs.
All drones, regardless of origin, cannot be selected or attacked in any fashion. However, their operation is highly reliant on the "parent" entity's power state, and will disappear if it runs out of power (though this is rarely an issue due to how War Factories and Airfields remain functional, regardless of the base's power grid's state). Once power is restored, they will redeploy after some time.
The effect of multiple repair drones will stack. In addition to the three repair drones of a single facility, multiple facilities' drones can all repair the same vehicle to significantly speed up the process. This trait is especially useful when it comes to the Battle Base, who are both mobile and possess three repair drones.
The repair drones appear to rely on their "parent" entity to remain functional. In the event that it is destroyed, the attached drones would disappear along with it.
Entities with Drones[]
GDI[]
- War Factory, vehicle production facility
- Airfield, aircraft production facility
- Reclamator Hub, MARV & vehicle production facility
- Battle Base, forward defensive emplacement
- Mobile Repair Transport (Steel Talons), mobile repair vehicle
Nod[]
- War Factory, vehicle production facility
- Air Tower, aircraft production facility
- Redeemer Engineering Facility, Redeemer & vehicle production facility
Scrin[]
- Warp Sphere, vehicle production facility
- Gravity Stabilizer, aircraft production facility
- Warp Chasm, Eradicator Hexapod & vehicle production facility
- Reconstruction Drones, vehicle repair support power
- Threshold Towers (construction only)
Gallery[]
A GDI repair drone repairing a Mammoth tank
A Nod repair drone repairing a flame tank
A Scrin repair drone repairing a Devourer tank
Scrin drones working on the construction of Threshold 19
References[]
- ↑ Electronic Arts Los Angeles, Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars. GDI Weapons, Tactics, and Systems, "War Factory Repair Drones".
- ↑ Electronic Arts Los Angeles, Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars. Kane's Arsenal, "Nod War Factory".
- ↑ Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars manual. Los Angeles, California: Electronic Arts Los Angeles, 2007.
- ↑ Electronic Arts Los Angeles, Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars. Scrin mission 4: "Threshold 19".