Can You Use Drones While Cloaked in EVE Online? The Definitive Guide
The short answer is a resounding no. While cloaked in EVE Online, you cannot control or deploy drones. The mechanics of cloaking fundamentally restrict your ability to interact with the game world beyond basic movement, scanning, and observation. Cloaking is a powerful tool for evasion and reconnaissance, but it comes at the cost of offensive capabilities. This article will delve into the intricacies of cloaking and drone usage, along with a comprehensive FAQ to address common questions on the topic.
Understanding Cloaking Mechanics in EVE Online
Cloaking in EVE Online is a mechanic that allows your ship to become nearly invisible to other players and, importantly, to certain in-game systems. When a cloaking device is active, your ship disappears from both the directional scanner (D-scan) and probe scanner. This provides a significant advantage for scouting enemy territory, ambushing unsuspecting targets, or simply avoiding unwanted attention. However, this advantage comes with significant limitations.
Limitations While Cloaked
While cloaked, you are essentially a ghost in the machine. Here are the restrictions you face:
- No Module Activation: You cannot activate any modules other than your cloaking device itself. This includes weapons, electronic warfare modules, repair modules, and, crucially, drone control modules.
- No Drone Control: You cannot launch drones, control drones already in space, or recall drones to your bay. Your drone bay remains inaccessible while cloaked.
- Warping Restrictions: Most cloaks prevent you from warping while active. The primary exception is covert ops cloaks, fitted on specialized ships like stealth bombers and covert ops frigates, allowing them to warp while remaining cloaked.
- Targeting Restrictions: You cannot target any object or entity while cloaked.
- Hacking Restrictions: You cannot interact with any game object, including hacking structures. The act of interacting breaks your cloak.
These restrictions are in place to balance the power of cloaking. Without them, cloaking would be an overwhelmingly advantageous mechanic, allowing for unfair combat and gameplay scenarios.
The Importance of Cloaking Skills and Modules
The effectiveness of your cloak depends on your skills and the type of cloaking module you use. Key skills include:
- Cloaking: This skill reduces the CPU requirement of cloaking devices.
- Covert Ops: This skill improves the warp speed of ships fitted with covert ops cloaking devices and reduces the targeting delay after decloaking.
Different cloaking modules offer varying advantages and disadvantages:
- Standard Cloaking Devices: Offer basic cloaking functionality but prevent warping.
- Improved Cloaking Devices: Provide better cloaking effectiveness at the cost of higher CPU usage.
- Covert Ops Cloaking Devices: Allow warping while cloaked and provide other bonuses, such as reduced targeting delay after decloaking.
- Prototype Cloaking Devices: Specialized cloaks with particular stat modifications.
Understanding these skills and modules is crucial for maximizing your cloaking potential.
Drones in EVE Online: Versatile Combat Companions
Drones are an integral part of EVE Online’s combat system. They are versatile combat companions that can be deployed from your ship to engage enemies at range. Drones come in various sizes and types, each with its own strengths and weaknesses.
- Light Drones: Effective against smaller, faster targets like frigates.
- Medium Drones: Balanced damage and tracking, suitable for cruisers and destroyers.
- Heavy Drones: High damage output, ideal for larger targets like battleships.
- Sentry Drones: Stationary drones with long range and high damage, requiring careful positioning.
- Electronic Warfare Drones: Focus on disrupting enemy systems, such as jamming or target painting.
Controlling drones involves using the drone control window, which appears when you undock with drones in your drone bay. From this window, you can launch drones, assign them targets, and recall them.
Keeping Drones Alive
Drones are vulnerable to enemy fire, so it’s essential to protect them. Strategies for keeping drones alive include:
- Choosing the Right Drones: Select drones appropriate for the enemy you’re facing.
- Target Prioritization: Focus on eliminating smaller, drone-killing ships first.
- Recalling Drones: Recall drones when they take heavy damage or when you need to reposition.
- Using Drone Augmentors: Certain modules can enhance drone damage, range, or shield capacity.
FAQs: Cloaking and Drone Usage in EVE Online
Here are some frequently asked questions regarding cloaking and drone usage in EVE Online:
H3 FAQ #1: Can I launch drones before cloaking and control them while cloaked?
No, you cannot. Once you activate your cloaking device, you lose control of any drones already in space. They will remain in place and continue to attack their assigned targets (if any) until they are destroyed or you decloak.
H3 FAQ #2: If my drones are already attacking a target, will they continue to attack after I cloak?
Yes, your drones will continue to attack their last assigned target after you cloak, until either you decloak and reassign them, they are destroyed, or the target is destroyed. However, you cannot give them new commands while cloaked.
H3 FAQ #3: Can I recall my drones while cloaked?
No, you cannot. Activating a cloaking device disables the drone control interface.
H3 FAQ #4: Does cloaking affect my drones’ damage output?
No, cloaking does not directly affect your drones’ damage output. However, since you cannot control them while cloaked, their effectiveness is limited to their last assigned target.
H3 FAQ #5: Can I use a mobile depot to refit my ship while cloaked?
No, you cannot. Activating a mobile depot or any other structure requires you to decloak.
H3 FAQ #6: Can I use a remote repair module on my drones while cloaked?
No, you cannot. Remote repair modules, like all other modules, cannot be activated while cloaked. Remember that you can repair drones’ shields while they are active and in space, but armor and hull can only be repaired at a station.
H3 FAQ #7: Can I use a covert ops cloak to warp to a safe spot and then launch drones?
Yes, you can. Covert ops cloaks allow you to warp while cloaked. After warping to a safe spot and decloaking, you can launch and control your drones as normal.
H3 FAQ #8: Will my drones uncloak me if they are attacking a target when I activate my cloak?
No, activating your cloak will not interrupt your drones, but it will prevent you from controlling them further.
H3 FAQ #9: Can I probe scan while cloaked?
Yes, you can probe scan while cloaked. This is a common tactic for scouts looking for enemy activity without revealing their position.
H3 FAQ #10: Can I use combat probes while cloaked?
Yes, you can use combat probes while cloaked. Combat probes are used to find ships, structures, and drones, which can be very useful for reconnaissance.
H3 FAQ #11: Can I hack data or relic sites while cloaked?
No, you cannot. Interacting with any object, including hacking cans, requires you to decloak.
H3 FAQ #12: Do cloaked ships show up on the directional scanner (D-scan)?
No, cloaked ships do not show up on the directional scanner. This is one of the primary advantages of cloaking.
H3 FAQ #13: What ships can warp while cloaked?
Only ships fitted with covert ops cloaking devices can warp while cloaked. These ships include stealth bombers, covert ops frigates, and some strategic cruisers configured for covert operations.
H3 FAQ #14: How long does a cloak last?
The duration of a cloak depends on the type of cloaking device used. Covert Ops Cloaking Device has a Stabilized Cloak Duration of 15 minutes.
H3 FAQ #15: Are there any exceptions to the no drone rule while cloaked?
No, there are no exceptions. The inability to control drones is a fundamental limitation of cloaking in EVE Online.
Conclusion: Mastering Cloaking and Drones in EVE Online
While you cannot directly use drones while cloaked in EVE Online, understanding the nuances of cloaking and drone mechanics is crucial for success in various gameplay scenarios. Cloaking is an invaluable tool for scouting, evasion, and setting up ambushes, while drones provide versatile combat support. By mastering both, you can significantly enhance your capabilities in the harsh and unforgiving universe of EVE Online.
This article provides a comprehensive overview of the interaction of cloaking and drones in EVE Online. For more information on related topics like game based learning, visit the Games Learning Society at GamesLearningSociety.org. Learning about the underlying game systems is what makes EVE Online so engaging.