Drones

Drones are small, lightly-armed combat robots equipped with very small mass effect fields that allow them to levitate. They are also equipped with basic VI programming allowing them to adapt to changing situations on the battlefield, and have a small amount of shielding. Combat drones tend to be deployed in wings as 'cannon fodder', creating distractions for marines to operate safely. Soldiers refer to friendly drones as 'flocks' and enemy drones as 'swarms'. Drones are a key element of the Alliance's military effort but they are also used by the geth.

Alliance Drones
These are encountered as part of the UNC: Rogue VI assignment on Luna.


 * Advanced Assault Drones. A standard Alliance drone equipped with shields and weaponry with about the same weight as a pistol.
 * Advanced Rocket Drones. Similar to the assault drone but with a rocket launcher. Once one rocket has been fired it takes a while for the launcher to recharge.

Other drones:


 * Surveillance Drone. A spy unit. One of these was shot down by the geth; Shepard is sent to retrieve its data module.
 * Message Drone. Not seen in-game, a message drone was used to alert the Alliance to the attack on Shanxi.

Geth Drones
It isn't known if geth drones, like armatures, are individually sentient or not. Either way the geth seem to view them as expendable resources.


 * Geth Recon Drones. Recon drones have fairly weak shields and weaponry, but seem to be immune to biotics. Richard L. Jenkins was shot and killed by recon drones on Eden Prime.
 * Geth Flyers. Standard geth drones seen on Virmire. They forced the salarians to bunker down and retreat but were wiped out by Shepard when they went to recharge.
 * Geth Rocket Drones. Like the Alliance rocket drones, these are equipped with a rocket launcher. They are mostly seen on Virmire.
 * Geth Repair Drones. Sometimes deployed alongside larger units like geth armatures or geth juggernauts, repair drones will fix any damage to the larger geth, making any attack a waste of time until the drone is destroyed.