How to Deal with Psychic Drone in RimWorld (1.6) — Fast Fix Tool (Event vs Ship vs Mech)
Psychic Drones Ruining Morale? Do This Now in RimWorld 1.6
Stop the drone: Small event, crashed ship, or mech cluster? Fix mood and destroy it fast!
TL;DR Quick Answer
Identify if it’s an Event, Ship, or Mech Cluster
Boost Mood: Tea, Beer, Soothe Pulser
Safe Room: Emanator + Recreation
Attack: Mortars or Snipers + EMP
Event
Psychic Drone — Low
No object to destroy. Endure it for .
Crashed Ship
Mech Cluster
Diagnose Your Drone:
Event? Ship? Mech?
Tactics
Tip: You win by deleting the objective (ship part / droner), not by clearing every mech.
Mood Buffs & Gear: How to Counter Drones
| Item | Effect (from defs) | Risk | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
Psychite tea
|
+12 mood (hediff thought), plus a small rest offset. Great for bridging work blocks. | Addiction if spammed | ~6 hours |
Beer
|
+10 mood (1 drink baseline). More can increase mood but also impairment. | Social fights / hangover | ~4.8 hours |
Ambrosia
|
+5 mood (hediff thought). Mild but long-lasting. | Mild addiction | ~16 hours |
Soothe pulser
|
+15 mood, scales with psychic sensitivity, stacks up to 3. | Rare / one-use | 1 day |
Foil helmet
|
Psychic sensitivity offset: −0.90 (additive). Reduces the impact of psychic effects (good and bad). | Helmet slot | While worn |
Vanilla vs. DLC/Mods
Vanilla
- Soothe pulser boosts mood (stacks)
- Foil helmets reduce psychic impact
- Safe room + recreation smooths breaks
DLC / Mods
- Royalty psycasts can stabilize pawns
- Some mods add drone-cancel gear
- Extra utility (binoculars, etc.)
FAQ: Psychic Drones
How long do event drones last?
In RimWorld
1.6.4633, the PsychicDrone incident duration is 0.75–1.75 days (about 18–42 hours).
Can soothe pulsers cancel drones?
No — they apply a separate Artifact mood boost thought (scaled by psychic sensitivity). It offsets the drone instead of ending it.
Do psychic droners stack?
If multiple psychic-drone sources affect the same pawn at once, the mood pressure can stack in practice. It’s rare, but the safe play is to assume it can get worse and treat breaks early.
Do drones affect space maps?
Yes. The
GameConditionDef PsychicDrone is marked canAffectAllPlanetLayers=true in Core defs.
Data sources (local game files):
Build version:
Event duration:
Drone mood levels & sensitivity scaling:
Ship-part droner escalation:
Soothe pulser boost:
Foil helmet sensitivity offset:
Emanator radius/power:
Drug highs:
Build version:
/game/Version.txt.Event duration:
/game/Data/Core/Defs/Storyteller/Incidents_Map_Misc.xml → IncidentDef PsychicDrone (durationDays, minRefireDays).Drone mood levels & sensitivity scaling:
/game/Data/Core/Defs/ThoughtDefs/Thoughts_Situation_Special.xml → ThoughtDef PsychicDrone (baseMoodEffect, effectMultiplyingStat).Ship-part droner escalation:
/game/Data/Core/Defs/ThingDefs_Buildings/Buildings_Exotic.xml → ThingDef PsychicDronerShipPart (droneLevel, droneLevelIncreaseInterval).Soothe pulser boost:
/game/Data/Core/Defs/ThoughtDefs/Thoughts_Memory_Special.xml → ThoughtDef ArtifactMoodBoost (durationDays, stackLimit).Foil helmet sensitivity offset:
/game/Data/Core/Defs/ThingDefs_Misc/Apparel_Headgear.xml → ThingDef Apparel_PsychicFoilHelmet (PsychicSensitivity).Emanator radius/power:
/game/Data/Core/Defs/ThingDefs_Buildings/Buildings_Special.xml → ThingDef PsychicEmanator (specialDisplayRadius, basePowerConsumption).Drug highs:
/game/Data/Core/Defs/Drugs/Psychite_Tea.xml, /game/Data/Core/Defs/Drugs/Alcohol_Beer.xml, /game/Data/Core/Defs/Drugs/Ambrosia.xml.