Global Agenda Drobo Guide

Global Agenda Drobo Guide by Canucck

There is a huge misconception lately about what a drobo is, and how to play it. I play drobo the way it was played in beta and release, and imo it has only gotten easier. This build/spec was regarded as a joke to many top players at release because of how easy it was to play and carry teams with.

The spec I run (there are variations, I like this one):

Equipment: M&S;/Tempest/FocusArm/PT/Hornet/LD/Dome

Tempest: Damage was buffed in 1.4.1 making it more beastly than ever. The only other point for the Tempest is the knockback, although it’s a very weak knockback I find it useful for keeping people trapped in my LD/PT traps.

Focus Arm: This build carries a PT, you need it. Even as a drobo with the eng skills you can still keep a PT up for a surprising amount of time due to how ridiculous robo healing is. I run an OC focus arm and can keep my turret up through pretty much any uncoordinated fire.

PT: Carrying a PT does not make you any less of a drobo. To limit yourself to only drones is limiting your potential. A turret is GREAT tool, and the PT is the best of them. A PT is useful in so many situation I wouldn’t be able to list them all. Mainly I use my PT for area denial, I place it behind the other team and fight in front of it. This ensures that whenever I fight someone it’s always like a 2v1 for me. It’s also automatic agro, since I’m fighting in front of my PT no one tries to kill me, they try to kill my PT. If they get behind my turret I can use a drone to weaken them while I repair it, then when they get low enough switch to Tempest for the kill and save the PT in the process. If you’re using it correctly, the enemy team should wipe almost every time you use your PT like this.

Hornet: Many people have dismissed the Hornet since the nerf. Before Sandstorm I never used higher than a Rank3 Hornet. My ddlddd Hornet still does more damage than that Rank3 Hornet, and it still clear points and demolishes enemy turrets/nests. I’ve seen people run a similar build with moderate success by replacing their Hornet with a Harrier, but I wouldn’t trade this drone for anything.

LD: Hands down the most OP device in the game if used correctly. If you don’t bring it as a drobo you’re a moron. I see a lot of people use it as an escape device, they use it on their attacker and run away… THIS IS WRONG. When I place my PT behind and enemy team I walk in front of the turret ~20ft while building it then pop my LD. My LD and PT then shoot the same target, causing automatic death to anyone caught in this trap. If no one is shooting the PT, which is often the case since they’re running in fear, you can tempest them at the same time and easily rack up several kills in under 10s. This wins games.

Dome Shield: The most versatile boost in the game. You can use it to shield your PT/LD combo, shield a friendly nest that’s clearing the point, shield the point itself, block a doorway… the vandal has nothing on this.

That pretty much sums up how I play my robo. This is not an AvA build, I’ve only ever seen 1 robo make this loadout work in AvA, and I’ve seen many other good robos try but none of them made it work like him so tbh I wouldn’t even bother trying. It was a team thing that made it work. This is for merc PvP. I don’t mean to brag, but anyone that has played against me on my robo knows I’m not just blowing smoke, it works, and it’s easy. Many regard drobo as a solo build, and it does have a lot of potential for solo survivability just like any robo spec. But it’s virtually impossible not to be helping your team when using any of your devices properly with this build. Between the area denial of your PT, the debuffs on your Hornet, the slow on your LD, the repair abilities of your focus arm, and the protection of your dome shield you will always be helping your team no matter how much it feels like you’re “solo’ing.”

The last thing I’ll say is this: in beta/release anyone that tried to carry 3 drones as a drobo was regarded as a complete and utter moron. It’s not logical to carry 3 drones since you can’t use 2 drones at once, while you can use a turret and a drone at the same time. Carrying a turret ensures maximum efficiency and effectiveness. That’s not to say carrying 3 drones can’t work now with force target, but it will never be as good and as easy as this build. It baffles me how this became such a forgotten build because of how effective it is. I know AS isn’t the end-all of skill measurement, but if it means anything to you you’ll see that the lowest robo rank I received in the 4 months that I played more than 30 games with this spec was 12th.