• Pressing the tactical button will launch the drone from Crypto ~25 m. Holding the tactical button will cause Crypto to go into drone view immediately.
  • If the drone is thrown at a wall, it will turn around.
• The drone can be deployed and flown up to 200 meters away from Crypto. If the drone is 240+ meters away from Crypto, it will automatically be recalled.
  • Hold ADS to conduct level flight while looking around.
  • When not being piloted manually, the drone is left parked in midair.
  • Crypto is left stationary while piloting the drone. Taking damage while in drone view will force Crypto out of it.
• Crypto can recall the drone at any time, EXCEPT when reviving a teammate who is down, as this will interrupt the revive on the downed teammate. The drone can, however, be recalled without interruption while shooting, healing, while knocked down, or executing other actions. The recall takes ~2 seconds.
• The drone has 50 health, which gets recovered when recalled.
• The drone can be used to open doors/Supply Bins/Care Packages, pick up squadmates' banner cards, and use both Survey Beacons and Respawn Beacons instantly. It must be within 7 meters to do these.
  • If you have Vault Key in your inventory. You can use the drone to open the Vault.
• The drone can ping items as long as they are within 12 meters. Enemies can be pinged up to 125 meters.
• Champion Banners seen through the drone's vision will show the number of enemy squads within a 200-meter radius of Crypto (not the drone).
  • Crypto can warn teammates about the number of nearby squads by pinging these banners while in drone view.
• While in drone view, weapons automatically reload, starting with the currently equipped weapon. Reloads take the same amount of time as they would normally.

• The audio range from the drone is as follows:
  • Drone Throw - 175m.
  • Entering Drone - 175m.
  • Exiting Drone - 175m.
  • Recalling Drone - 100m.
  • Piloting Drone - 110m.
  • Idle Drone - 80m.

• You can manually ping and use the ping wheel while in drone view. The following is everything that the Surveillance Drone can Ping:
  • Gear
  • Weapons
  • Attachments
  • Regen items
  • Ammo
  • Grenades
  • Map Features
  • Enemies
• The drone cannot be damaged by Crypto or his squadmates. It will block shots fired at it.
• Pathfinder's Grappling Hook can attach to the drone.
• Fuse’s Knuckle Cluster can stick to the drone.
• The drone cannot pass through Wraith's Dimensional Rift.

Mad Maggies Riot Drill can go through the drone

• If the perk Off the Grid is equipped Crypto will become fully invisible while controlling the drone.
  • Cloak prevents and removes being highlighted by:

The Motherlode, Beast of the Hunt, Black Hole, Warlord's Ire, Spotter's Lens, Sniper's Mark, Surveillance Drone, Neurolink, Nox Vision, Assassin's Instinct, Phase Breach, Void Passage, Void Nexus, Into the Void, Dimensional Rift, Smoke Launcher, Threat Vision and Digital Threat optics.

• When cloaked getting scanned by Eye of the Allfather will reveal your position.
  • If cloak is used after already being scanned it removes the full body highlight but not the orange diamond.
• Cloak won't remove the scan form Jet-Fighter HUD. Being scanned won't cause you to flicker.
• You will still leave tracks when moving while invisible.
• Moving inside of Exhibit while invisible won't reveal your position.
• When using cloak, being scanned by Focus of Attention will remove the invisibility.
• When cloaked you will still be picked up by Seer's Heart Seeker
• While invisible, Crypto won't activate Caustic's Nox Gas Traps.
• Prevents and removes locking on from Whistler.
• Prevents locking on from Rev Shell but does not remove it if locked on prior to turning invisible.
• Cloak won't disable jump jet trails when using Ziplines, Zip Rails, Gravity Cannons, Jump Towers, Evac Towers or Jump pads.

• Crypto is completely vulnerable while in drone view. Find a safe place to stay while operating the Surveillance Drone. You can crouch while entering drone view to force Crypto to stay in this stance while using it, making it easier to hide him.
• Deploying the drone while sliding allows Crypto to keep sliding while the drone deploys. You can slide into cover and/or save time this way when moving into new areas via downward slopes.
• Although your squad can see the drone's automatic Neurolink pings, the range is very limited. Remember to manually ping the enemies you see that the drone doesn't automatically detect.
• The drone's ability to see the number of nearby enemy squads is very powerful information. Communicate this information to your squad often to make decisions about when/where to move, which fights to take, and avoid being caught by surprise third parties after winning a fight.
  • The 200-meter squad detection radius is approximately the same size as your minimap.
• You can use the drone as a decoy to distract enemies while your squad is either flanking or escaping.
• Because enemy drones appear with an orange aura, flying it outside The Ring will cause it to visually blend in with the orange ring effect and its partial opacity, making it harder for enemies to spot. The drone does not take Ring damage.
• If your squadmates have died, you can use the drone to safely retrieve your squadmates' banners. Try to fly the drone in from a different direction rather than directly from yourself to reduce the likelihood of being caught doing this. Carrying Mobile Respawn Beacons in your survival slot is naturally more valuable for Crypto.
• You can heal in the drone. To do this, hold your Tactical input to go into drone view, then as the screen goes white, input a healing item like a Battery or Medkit and you will heal your shields or health while being in drone view. This can also be performed with Ultimate Accelerants to get your EMP faster, and both the Rampage and Sentinel can be charged the same way. Pair w/ an aggressive EMP for best results.

• The Surveillance Drone can sometimes take more shots to destroy than intended despite only having 50 health. This doesn't include weapons that can one-shot it.
• Sometimes when the drone is hacking a Survey Beacon, the next ring is not revealed on the map unless you hack the beacon when facing its front, despite the hacking sound effect playing.
• The drone cannot fit through certain windows.
• Attempting to deploy the drone while crouching too close to a wall or cover can cause it to become stuck.
• In Arenas, one charge is used when the drone is deployed and another is used when it is destroyed. If all three charges are bought and the drone is destroyed, only one charge will be left.
• The map in the drone view is incorrect.
• There is a small window of actionable time between throwing out the drone and entering it when holding the ability button down, during which items can be used and will complete while piloting the drone.
• Being knocked while drone is active will immediately recall drone (knocked while using EMP will cancel and consume the charge)

• The drone will highlight doors, supply bins, care packages, traps, and enemies with a direct and uninterrupted line of sight within 30 meters. Enemies are more noticeably marked with a triangle.
• Enemies highlighted by the drone will see 'DRONE DETECTED' on their HUD.

• Players affected by Now You See Me... or using "Off the Grid" perk cannot be detected.
• Mirage's decoys can be scanned but won't be highlighted as an enemy.
• Enemies won't be highlighted if Gibraltar's Dome of Protection comes between them and the drone.
• If Crypto is inside enemy or friendly Bangalore smoke while in recon mode your screen will start to become fuzzy.
• Enemies cannot be detected through Bangalore’s smoke or Caustic’s gas.

• The Drone EMP and Neurolink can be used even when Crypto is not directly controlling the drone. This allows Crypto to actively stay in the fight while gathering information on what enemies are doing.
• The Surveillance Drone is noisy and its automatic enemy detection will warn enemies of its presence. If you don't want them to know your squad is nearby, you can manually ping them from a distance.
• Many maps have glass surfaces that the drone can detect enemies through. Park your drone on one side so that it can safely scan enemies on the other side.
• If you're struggling to find enemy squads, flying around with the drone through buildings and covers and looking through glass might cause them to be spotted by the drone's enemy detection, even if you didn't notice them.

• The drone may not highlight certain general things that are supposed to be highlighted.

• Takes 3 seconds to charge before detonating. The drone can be destroyed before the detonation, cancelling it.
• Affects all players (and Crypto himself) in a 30-meter radius, even through walls and other obstacles. Squadmates take no shield damage but are still slowed down.
  • The slow lasts roughly 1-2 seconds.
• Enemies hit by the EMP will have their minimaps disabled for 2 seconds. It is replaced with static and the words [SIGNAL JAMMED].

• The EMP completely destroys the following:
  • Gibraltar's Dome of Protection
  • Lifeline's D.O.C. Heal Drone
  • Wattson's Perimeter Security nodes and Interception Pylon
  • Inactive Caustic Nox Gas Traps
  • Mirage's decoys produced by Psyche Out and Life of the Party
  • Loba's Black Market Boutique
  • Rampart’s Amped Cover's amped part
  • Seer's Exhibit
  • Newcastle's Mobile Shield
  • Enemy Crypto's Surveillance Drone
  • Cargo Bots
• The EMP deals 100 damage to Octane's Launch Pad.
• The EMP deals 50 damage to active Caustic Nox Gas Traps.
• The EMP deals 50 damage to Body Shields and Evo Shields, both when equipped and on the ground.
• The EMP disables Tridents for 5 seconds, Rampart's Mobile Minigun "Sheila" when in placed mode for 17 seconds, and the electricity on Newcastle's Castle Wall.
• The EMP cancels Valkyrie's Skyward Dive if it causes shield damage.

• The radius of Drone EMP is the same as Neurolink's tracking radius. If an enemy is highlighted in orange, you know they'll be caught in the blast.
• You can activate EMP from where you last left the drone, even when you are not in drone view. This way, you can set the drone in one spot, leave the drone view, prepare for an ambush, activate the EMP, and push immediately.
• Keep in mind that you and your drone are still vulnerable to damage while EMP is charging.
  • The drone is easier to spot while EMP is charging. Try to activate EMP with your drone in a safe spot or while flying it around to avoid it being destroyed.
• EMP is very good for ending fights quickly and lessening the chances of your squad getting third partied.
  • Using EMP on enemies who are fighting or escaping outside The Ring can be effective as the slow effect can potentially be enough for the ring to knock or eliminate them.
  • Using EMP on large groups of enemies can rack up damage for Crypto's Evo Shield very quickly.
  • Using EMP on single enemies can be worth doing to take them out of the fight temporarily, rather than letting their squad group up.
  • Since squadmates do not take shield damage from EMP, a risky tactic in a pinch is to activate EMP even if Crypto and his squad will be caught in the blast, giving your team an opportunity to attack or escape while the enemy recovers.
• It's very useful for Crypto to carry at least 1-2 Ultimate Accelerants to quickly recharge EMP.
• Offensive, agile Legends make good squadmates for Crypto, as they can easily hunt down enemies after an EMP.

• On Kings Canyon, using a Charge Tower when your ultimate is fully charged, then activating the EMP exactly 2.5 seconds before the charge tower activates will remove the cooldown completely after every activation until the drone is destroyed. Note: you must have a teammate to do this.