The mining drones in You Know The Drill are the single most important system for generating passive income, unlocked by completing the "Echoes in the Deep" mission for the NPC Ol' Rusty. A fully optimized fleet of four drones is a self-funding engine that fuels all your late-game drill upgrades and expeditions. Getting there, however, requires a precise strategy for unlocking, upgrading, and deploying them that most players overlook.
This guide breaks down the entire drone lifecycle, from finding your first broken-down unit to commanding a high-efficiency fleet that pulls resources from the most dangerous depths while you're busy elsewhere.
How do you unlock mining drones?
Before you can command a fleet, you need to build your first one. Access to mining drones isn't available from the start; it's gated behind a specific mid-game mission that becomes available once you've broken through into the second major biome, the Corroded Depths. The key is finding the quest-giving NPC, Ol' Rusty, in the main hub.
The "Echoes in the Deep" Quest
- Find Ol' Rusty: After you first enter the Corroded Depths, Ol' Rusty will appear near the Workshop in your home base. He'll have a new quest marker. Talk to him to start "Echoes in the Deep."
- Locate the Crashed Hauler: Ol' Rusty tasks you with finding a crashed cargo hauler deep within the Corroded Depths. It’s located in a large, cavernous side-chamber, usually marked by flickering emergency lights. You'll need to fight through several swarms of Skitterlings to reach it.
- Retrieve the Drone Controller: Inside the wreckage, you'll find the "Damaged Drone Controller" key item. Pick it up and your objective will update.
- Gather Repair Materials: To fix the controller and build the Drone Bay, Ol' Rusty requires 50x Scrap and 10x Tungsten Coils. Scrap is plentiful, but Tungsten is found primarily in the Corroded Depths. This part of the quest serves as a tutorial for mining the zone's primary resource.
- Build the Drone Bay: Return to Ol' Rusty with the parts. He will install the Drone Bay terminal in your base and give you your very first Scrapper Drone Mk. I for free. You can now build and manage your drones from this terminal.
What's the best drone upgrade path?
Once you have the Drone Bay, your focus shifts to upgrading. It's tempting to spread your resources around, but a focused approach yields far better results. Drones have three primary upgrade tracks—Cargo Capacity, Mining Speed, and Durability—and the resources required scale up sharply. The undisputed priority for maximum passive income is Cargo Capacity > Mining Speed > Durability.
Why this order? A drone with a huge cargo hold makes fewer return trips to base. Since travel time is dead time where no mining occurs, minimizing it provides the biggest boost to your income-per-hour. Speed is a close second, increasing the rate at which that large cargo hold is filled. Durability is a lower priority until you start sending drones into the hazardous late-game biomes.
You Know The Drill in-game screenshot
Upgrades cost a combination of Scrap, Tungsten, Iridium, and rare Automated Relays for the highest tiers. Below is a full breakdown of the costs and benefits for each path.
Drone Upgrade Tiers & Costs
| Upgrade Path | Tier | Scrap Cost | Tungsten Cost | Iridium Cost | Automated Relay Cost | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cargo Capacity | II | 100 | 20 | 0 | 0 | +25% Capacity |
| III | 250 | 50 | 10 | 0 | +50% Capacity | |
| IV | 500 | 100 | 25 | 1 | +75% Capacity | |
| V | 1000 | 250 | 50 | 2 | +100% Capacity | |
| Mining Speed | II | 150 | 15 | 0 | 0 | +10% Speed |
| III | 300 | 40 | 15 | 0 | +20% Speed | |
| IV | 600 | 90 | 30 | 1 | +30% Speed | |
| V | 1200 | 200 | 60 | 2 | +50% Speed | |
| Durability | II | 75 | 10 | 0 | 0 | +20% HP |
| III | 200 | 30 | 5 | 0 | +40% HP | |
| IV | 400 | 75 | 20 | 1 | +60% HP, Resists Minor Hazards | |
| V | 800 | 150 | 40 | 2 | +100% HP, Resists Major Hazards |
The key takeaway is to rush Cargo Capacity to Tier III on your first drone before investing heavily in other stats. This creates a reliable workhorse for farming the Tungsten needed for further upgrades.
Where should you deploy your drones?
Not all depths are created equal. Each biome offers a different mix of resources, and sending a low-tier drone into a high-tier zone is a recipe for disaster. Drones will automatically harvest the most valuable materials available in their assigned zone, so strategic deployment is crucial for targeted farming.
You Know The Drill in-game screenshot
A Biome-by-Biome Deployment Strategy
- Shallow Veins (Early Game): This is Scrap country. The income is low, but it's a zero-risk environment. Use this zone when you first get your Mk. I drone to build a stockpile of Scrap for your first few upgrades.
- Corroded Depths (Mid Game): The bread-and-butter biome for the majority of the game. It offers a fantastic balance of Scrap and Tungsten. A fleet of two or three drones with Tier III Cargo Capacity stationed here will fund almost all of your mid-game needs.
- Crystalline Caverns (Late Game): This is your primary source of Iridium. However, the environment is hazardous, with periodic energy pulses that will damage drones. Do not send any drone with less than Tier IV Durability here, or you will face constant, costly repairs.
- The Molten Core (Endgame): The ultimate high-risk, high-reward zone. This is the only place drones can passively find ultra-rare Geodes and Automated Relays. However, the intense heat and frequent magma flows will rapidly destroy any drone below the maximum Tier V Durability. This is an endgame-only deployment zone for your most advanced fleet.
Advanced Drone Tactics for Maximum Profit
Once you have a handle on the basics, you can employ more advanced strategies to squeeze every last credit out of your automated workforce. This involves building a specialized fleet and using game mechanics to your advantage.
Building a Specialized Fleet
You can own a maximum of four drones. Unlocking the additional drone slots at the Drone Bay costs an increasing amount of Scrap and credits. Instead of building four identical drones, consider specializing them.
- The Scavenger Fleet (Early/Mid Game): Build three cheap Scrapper Drones with upgrades focused purely on Cargo Capacity. Deploy all three in the Corroded Depths. This creates a massive, constant firehose of Scrap and Tungsten to accelerate your other drill and weapon upgrades.
- The Balanced Prospectors (Late Game): Your workhorse fleet. Two drones with maxed Cargo and Speed deployed in the Corroded Depths for steady income, and two drones with maxed Durability and high-tier Cargo deployed in the Crystalline Caverns to farm Iridium.
- The Relay Hunters (Endgame): Four identical, fully maxed-out drones (Tier V in all stats). Deploy all four in The Molten Core. The income from basic resources will be lower than a balanced fleet, but this is the only reliable way to passively farm the Automated Relays needed for the game's ultimate upgrades.
The Drone Recall Trick
One of the game's hidden mechanics is the warning system for environmental hazards. The HUD will flash a red "Seismic Event Warning" or "Energy Pulse Imminent" message about 30 seconds before it happens. If you are back at your base, you can use this window to access the Drone Bay terminal and hit the "Recall All" button. This instantly brings your drones back, avoiding all damage from the event. You can then immediately redeploy them once the danger has passed. Mastering this simple trick will save you thousands of credits in repair costs over the course of your career.
You Know The Drill in-game screenshot
Frequently Asked Questions
Can mining drones be permanently destroyed? Yes. If a drone's health is reduced to zero from environmental hazards or failing to recall it during a Seismic Event, it is permanently destroyed. You will have to build a new one from scratch, but you do not have to re-purchase the Drone Bay slot.
What is the maximum number of drones you can have? Four. The Drone Bay comes with one slot unlocked, and you can purchase three additional slots, for a total fleet of four active drones.
Do mining drones work when the game is off? Yes, they do. Drones continue to gather resources while you are offline, but at a reduced rate of 25% efficiency. The game calculates your offline earnings for up to 24 hours since you last logged off.
Where is the best place to find Automated Relays? Initially, you find them as rare rewards for defeating major bosses and in locked security chests in the Crystalline Caverns. For a renewable source, the only option is deploying max-tier drones in The Molten Core, where they have a very small chance to find one with each completed trip.
The Final Drill-Down
The drone system in You Know The Drill is more than just a fire-and-forget income source; it's a strategic mini-game. The path to wealth is clear: complete "Echoes in the Deep" as soon as you can, pour all your early resources into Cargo Capacity upgrades, and be disciplined about deploying your drones only in biomes they can survive. A fleet of four specialized, high-tier drones is the mark of a veteran miner, and it's the engine that will carry you through the deepest, most dangerous, and most rewarding parts of the game.