Patrol Drone Defense

Quickstart

1. Craft a Patrol Drone Controller at a crafting table:

1. Hold the controller and use it at the location you want to defend. The controller is not consumed.
2. A Patrol Drone appears 24 blocks above that location and permanently assigns its patrol center there.
3. Wait for hostile mobs to enter the defense zone. The drone flies toward eligible targets, fires visible tracer bursts, and eliminates them immediately.

Use another controller at a different location to establish another patrol.

Overview

Patrol Drone Defense adds an aerial security drone for protecting bases and other important areas. Once deployed, a drone operates automatically without redstone, ammunition, or further player input.

Each drone patrols around its assigned center and searches the surrounding area for hostile mobs, including targets hidden below uneven terrain.

What It Adds

How To Use

Deploying a Drone

Hold the Patrol Drone Controller and use it while standing at the desired patrol center. The drone spawns high above that position and remains assigned to it.

Choose an open area near the middle of the base or settlement you want to defend. A drone can be deployed directly over uneven ground; it does not need a flat platform or support blocks.

Patrol Behavior

A deployed drone:

• Flies continuously around its assigned patrol center.
• Searches for eligible hostile mobs automatically.
• Moves to a target when one enters its defense zone.
• Fires a burst of visible tracer projectiles.
• Eliminates the target immediately.
• Returns to patrolling when no target is available.

The drone can fly through the air without gravity and cannot be pushed by normal movement or pistons.

Using Multiple Drones

Deploy additional drones at other locations to cover separate bases or extend protection across a large area. Each deployment receives its own permanent patrol center.

Abilities And Mechanics

Defense Zone

The drone’s patrol center has a radius of 32 blocks. Its targeting area extends beyond that patrol radius, reaching hostile mobs up to 52 blocks horizontally from the assigned center.

Targets can be as much as 40 blocks below the drone, allowing the defense system to cover:

• Valleys and ravines
• Uneven ground
• Underground entrances
• Hillsides and raised platforms
• Areas separated by intervening terrain

The drone prioritizes the closest eligible target by horizontal distance and fires as soon as a new target enters the zone.

Tracer Fire

Each attack produces a visible tracer burst traveling from the drone toward its target. The tracers are primarily a visual indicator of the drone’s attack; no ammunition needs to be supplied.

Drone Durability

A Patrol Drone has 40 health. Its aerial position, lack of gravity, and fixed patrol behavior help keep it above the area it protects.

Crafting And Obtaining

The Patrol Drone Controller is crafted at a crafting table using iron, redstone, and a compass.

The controller has a maximum stack size of one. It remains in your inventory after deployment, so it can be used to deploy drones at multiple locations.

In Creative mode, the Patrol Drone Spawn Egg can be used to place a Patrol Drone entity manually. For an active automated defense patrol, deploy the drone with the Patrol Drone Controller.

Progression And Strategy

• Deploy your first drone near the center of the area you want protected.
• Place the patrol center where its 52-block horizontal targeting range covers the most important approaches.
• Use separate drones for distant sections of a large base rather than placing every drone in one location.
• Deploy drones above or near areas with uneven terrain so their extended lower coverage can protect ravines and slopes.
• Watch for tracer fire to identify where hostile mobs are entering the defense zone.