🔧 How Drone Leveling Works
Two Resources Needed
- Drone Parts — consumed at checkpoint levels to unlock the next tier
- Battle Data / Combat Data — XP currency used to fill the progress bar between checkpoints
- Levels 1–150: Parts are only consumed every 5th level (Lv5, 10, 15, ... 150)
- Levels 151+: Parts are consumed EVERY level — costs escalate dramatically
- Max drone level: 300 (Level 251+ requires Tactical Weapon research)
- Each level also costs increasing amounts of Battle Data to fill the progress bar
📊 Parts Requirements Table
Levels 1–150 (Parts consumed every 5th level)
| Level | Parts Required | Cumulative Total | Battle Data / Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 5 | 5 | 11,250 |
| 10 | 10 | 15 | 15,000 |
| 15 | 20 | 35 | 18,750 |
| 20 | 30 | 65 | 22,500 |
| 25 | 40 | 105 | 26,250 |
| 30 | 50 | 155 | 30,000 |
| 35 | 60 | 215 | 37,500 |
| 40 | 80 | 295 | 37,500 |
| 45 | 100 | 395 | 37,500 |
| 50 | 120 | 515 | 37,500 |
| 55 | 140 | 655 | 45,000 |
| 60 | 160 | 815 | 45,000 |
| 65 | 180 | 995 | 45,000 |
| 70 | 200 | 1,195 | 45,000 |
| 75 | 250 | 1,445 | 52,500 |
| 80 | 300 | 1,745 | 52,500 |
| 85 | 350 | 2,095 | 52,500 |
| 90 | 400 | 2,495 | 55,000 |
| 95 | 450 | 2,945 | 60,000 |
| 100 | 500 | 3,445 | 60,000 |
| 105 | 600 | 4,045 | 75,000 |
| 110 | 700 | 4,745 | 75,000 |
| 115 | 800 | 5,545 | 180,000 |
| 120 | 1,000 | 6,545 | 180,000 |
| 125 | 1,500 | 8,045 | 210,000 |
| 130 | 2,000 | 10,045 | 210,000 |
| 135 | 3,000 | 13,045 | 240,000 |
| 140 | 4,000 | 17,045 | 240,000 |
| 145 | 5,000 | 22,045 | 300,000 |
| 150 | 500 | 22,545 | 900,000 |
Levels 151–250 (Parts consumed EVERY level)
| Level Band | Parts / Level | Band Total | Battle Data / Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 151–160 | 500 | 5,100 | 900,000 |
| 161–170 | 600 | 6,100 | 1,000,000 |
| 171–180 | 700 | 7,100 | 1,125,000 |
| 181–190 | 800 | 8,100 | 1,440,000 |
| 191–200 | 900 | 9,100 | 1,620,000 |
| 201–210 | 1,000 | 10,100 | 1,800,000 |
| 211–220 | 1,100 | 11,100 | 1,980,000 |
| 221–230 | 1,200 | 12,100 | 2,160,000 |
| 231–240 | 1,300 | 13,100 | 2,340,000 |
| 241–250 | 1,400 | 14,600 | 2,520,000 |
| Total to Lv250 | 119,045 | — | |
| Total to Lv300 | 276,295 | — | |
🎯 Key Milestones
| Level | Unlock |
|---|---|
| 1 | TD-1 'Pathfinder' drone skin |
| 31 | Skill Level 1 unlocks |
| 50 | TD-2 'Blaster' drone skin |
| 51 | Skill Level 2 unlocks |
| 71 | Skill Level 3 unlocks |
| 85 | Chip Slots unlock (requires ~server day 82-85) |
| 91 | Skill Level 4 unlocks |
| 100 | TD-3 'Silver Knight' drone skin |
| 111 | Skill Level 5 unlocks |
| 150 | TD-4 'Phantom' drone skin |
| 200 | TD-5 'Destroyer' drone skin |
| 250 | TD-6 'Colossus' drone skin |
| 251+ | Tactical Weapon research required to progress |
🎨 Row Colors:
Skill Unlock
Skin Unlock
Special
⚡ Critical Upgrade Mechanic
★ Crit Chance Strategy
- At checkpoint levels, you must fill a progress bar (Stage X/5)
- Each stage costs Battle Data to fill
- While progress is under 80%, each tap has a 50% chance to CRIT (2x XP gain)
- After 80% progress, crit chance drops to 0%
- Strategy: Use smaller Battle Data batches early (for more crit chances), then dump large batches after 80% when crits are impossible
⚙️ Drone Components
🛡️ Defensive (Left Side)
- Radar — Drone HP
- Engine — Hero HP
- Armor — Hero Defense
💥 Offensive (Right Side)
- Missile — Hero Attack + ability damage
- Fuel Cell — Drone Attack
- Thermal Imager — Drone Defense
Component Upgrade System
- Levels 1–7: Merge system — need 3 of the same level to combine into the next level
- Level 8+: EXP system — feed duplicate components directly as experience (merge covers Lv1-7)
- Strategy: Prioritize right-side components (Missile, Fuel Cell, Thermal Imager) for offense — drone damage scales your combat power more than drone survivability
🧪 Chip System
Chip Unlock & Slots
- Unlocks at approximately server day 82-85 (sources vary; check your server)
- 4 chip slots: Initial Move, Attack, Interference, Defense
- Initial Move + Defense activate at battle START (mainly shields)
- Attack + Interference trigger each time the drone bombs
- See Chip Lab Guide for detailed chip loadouts and recommendations
Chip Level Progression (Chips needed per level)
| Chip Level | Chips Needed |
|---|---|
| Lv 0 → 1 | 1 |
| Lv 1 → 2 | 2 |
| Lv 2 → 3 | 3 |
| Lv 3 → 4 | 5 |
| Lv 4 → 5 | 7 |
| Lv 5 → 6 | 10 |
| Lv 6 → 7 | 15 |
| Lv 7 → 8 | 20 |
| Lv 8 → 9 | 30 |
| Lv 9 → 10 | 40 |
| Total (Lv0→10) | 133 chips |
📦 Parts & Data Sources
| Source | What You Get | When |
|---|---|---|
| Daily Tasks | 10–50 parts/day | Always |
| Alliance Store | Variable parts | Buy daily |
| Events | Best source overall | Check calendar |
| Radar Missions | Battle Data (purple/orange = most) | Always |
| Zombie Hunting | Battle Data | Always |
| Drone Parts Workshop | ~6 parts/day | Requires HQ 30+ |
🎖️ Priority Strategy
Drone Upgrade Priority Order
- Push to skill breakpoints first (31 → 51 → 71 → 91 → 111) — these are the biggest power jumps
- Skin levels are cosmetic milestones, not power gates — don't chase them over skills
- Components: right side first (offense) — merge to Lv7, then switch to EXP feeding
- Save drone data CHIP chests for Monday (Radar Training VS day) — they score points!
- After Lv150, parts consumption explodes (500+/level) — stockpile before pushing
★ Parts Budget Reality Check
Getting to Lv150 costs 22,545 parts total. Getting from Lv150 to Lv250 costs an additional 96,500 parts — over 4x more than the entire first 150 levels combined. Plan your parts spending carefully and don't burn reserves chasing cosmetic drone skins. Focus on skill breakpoints for real combat power.
📖 Sources
Data verified from the following sources:
• cpt-hedge.com/calculators/drone-parts
• cpt-hedge.com/calculators/drone-parts