Drone Defense 2 How to Upgrade Drone Tiers

The Roblox page for Drone Defense 2 says the quiet part out loud: the early game is a little difficult, and you should increase the tiers of your units if you are struggling. That is not a loading-screen tip. It is the difference between Easy feeling fair and Medium feeling like the path is cheating.

This guide is the “how to get stronger without a lucky legendary” page. Pair it with Getting Started, spend codes on the units you actually place, and only then look at the drone tier list. A high-tier common that you upgrade every match will outrun a dusty legendary sitting at tier 1.

What a tier is (and is not)

Rarity is what the summon table rolled: common through legendary and whatever seasonal tags the shop is using this week. Tier is the persistent upgrade you buy on that owned unit so every future copy you place hits harder, lasts longer, or supports better. In-match upgrade (E) is the Oil spend during a wave. Players mix all three names and then say the game is pay-to-win.

Fix the language:

1. Own the drone (summon / quest / market).
2. Raise its tier in the lobby or unit index with the currencies the sequel actually charges (Keybugs and win resources — see currencies).
3. Place it, then spend Oil on in-match levels.

Skipping step 2 is why your “same loadout as the video” still leaks.

Why early game feels stacked

The sequel only ships 15 drones, so Solver Games cannot hide behind a 50-unit collection grind the way the original could. Instead, each of those 15 has a tier ladder that gates their kit. New accounts place the starter kit at the bottom of that ladder into maps that already know the sequel’s HP curves. Codes exist to blunt that, not to delete it. SECRET_01 and Release are 250 Keybugs toward the next tier, not a skip button.

If Easy is a struggle, stop summoning new names. Put the next Keybug pile into the two drones that already earned their keep. The resource checklist will tell you whether you are about to make that mistake again.

Practical upgrade order

1. Identify the unit that covers the longest stretch of path on Easy. That is your lane holder.
2. Identify the eco drone that prints Oil. That is your economy.
3. Tier those two first. Ignore the flex legendary until both sit a step above the starter rank.
4. Only then tier a backline or splash unit.
5. Recheck after every update. Summer bundles can look shiny and still be a worse spend than one more eco tier.

Perks you buy for the match stack with tiers; they do not replace them. A perk that adds starting Oil on a tier-1 board still dumps you on wave 8. A perk on a tiered eco drone is how you start Medium with a plan.

In-match upgrades still matter

Once the match starts, E is not optional flavour. Hold a small Oil buffer for the next eco level instead of panic-placing a third DPS name. Selling (X) a mistimed unit is cheaper than leaking a boss. The Medium solo video on Getting Started is useful here even if you never queue Medium: watch when the player upgrades versus when they place.

If you are playing with friends on a 20-player server, do not all place the same un-tiered DPS. One eco, one hold, one backline, shared Oil discipline. Online co-op does not multiply your tiers; it multiplies mistakes if everyone brought a trophy unit.

When to stop upgrading and start farming

There is a point of diminishing return on a dead map. If Easy is a stomp and Medium is close, farm Keybugs on Easy with auto-skip if the mode offers it, then dump into the next tier — that loop lives on farm resources. If Medium is not close, you are missing eco or you brought a secrets trophy instead of a lane holder.

Summer Shells are not a substitute for tiers. Spend Shells on Ducky N bundles that contain units or tickets you will actually tier, not on a complete cosmetic set for the Sea Shell Collector badge unless you already have a working board. The badge will wait. Medium will not.

Come back to this page after every summon session. If the new drone is not in your loadout planner top three, its tier can wait.