Well, fuck. Now what am I supposed to do? A System Repair Drone!
GOOD QUESTION, ME! Don't sell that little guy! 15 scrap might be gamechanging in some conditions; but let's look at him for a moment. Clunky, stupid, and slow. You can't control what he does (at first glance). Anything he can do, an engi can do just as well, and skill up while doing it! How do you make the little guy useful, you might ask?
1. You said I can control him?
Not exactly. Even in the future, AI isn't perfect: if a system repair drone fixes everything then starts going home, he won't stop for any new damage until he's home, even if he passes through a damaged room. The solution to this is to wipe "go home" from his list of things to do. TURN HIM OFF, THEN BACK ON. The System Repair Drone will then start his to-do list over: Repair all the things, go home.
2. Okay, that problem's out of the way, so why should I keep him when anything he can do, an Engi can do better?
The System Repair Drone isn't your be-all end-all maintenance tool. Just because he is sub-par to your crew members, doesn't mean he's a waste of space. Like all Drones, he is SITUATIONAL when it comes to repairing. He also opens BLUE OPTIONS, such as the burning space station and the ship being pelted by asteroids.
3. Okay, so when does he come on?
A: For some reason you want to repair a room being attacked by boarders, or you want to repair a breach where a boarding drone is keeping your crew from doing the job.
B: Your crew is in an airless hell of a medbay and your O2 needs repairing. (Bet you wish you hadn't sold him now! I sure did...)
C: You're understaffed and can't afford to pull your gunner/engineer for repairs.
D: You need to pull away from something being repaired and don't want the bar to reset.
Just another nugget of knowledge for the forum.
