Battery Drone

[IgRA]

Scout's Recon drone to be replaced by the Battery Drone - a slower unit (medium armor speed, has some acceleration like a vehicle), without the ability to fly, but it can use ropes. Works a lot like survivor - can be controlled by anybody nearby or by a comms user, though the drone doesn't have a morale. Has low sight range and no weapons. Model - Widow mine, with yellow light on top of it.

It's main ability is to build an unpowered battery, enabling to power up one turret or shredder; costs 5 supply and has a few seconds of constructing time. The drone then must remain static, on top of the battery to actually project the field - the battery doesn't do anything unless the drone is connected to it. While at it the bulb on top of it burns green. Can't build a battery near another power source, be it preplaced or one built by a drone; distance - 12 (most of the screen), or even more for a large power field source. Battery drone can also deconstruct the built batteries (Engineer can too).

It gets attacked by enemies, almost as often as a regular player without stealth, so it should be covered by a turret, or players while it moves around. Isn't very durable - 60 hp and 4 armor.

Scout can only have 2 drones at a time, each costs 30 supply and has 5 minute recharge time; it is also expensive to repair it. But if it gets killed, a toolkit user or Engineer can fix up its carcass, the bulb on the damaged drone glows red.

[Dark]

I'm not sure what exactly is the result you are trying to achieve with this idea.
I mean, what's the general, big picture impact on gameplay of this?
Scout - Engineer synergy? Ok. But why?

If I understand correctly, it would work like a mobile power source for turrets.
It's been suggested before and I've been thinking about it to give players ability to (one way or another) "boost" power sources.
The main problem I notice with it is that all of those kind of ideas might boil down to: boost Reactor Core defence as much as possible.

I see the same problem with this suggestion.
Drone's mobility and other fancy features might turn out irrelevant when it's just going to be used to babysit reactor. (Until it gets moved to end-game siege area near the end.)

I can see that you're trying to prevent that problem by making this drone restricted, very expensive and vulnerable, but I'm worried that players will just try to look for ways around it - try to look for safer ways to make battery drone babysit reactor.

[IgRA]

Finally I got around to respond..
Yes, it is a mobile power source, for both turrets and shredders. The point of it is to create optional placements at any place of the station. Not tied to the restricted battery areas. It's not only a Scout Engi synergy and Scout Heavy synergy, because it creates another unit to defend for the team - it's like survivor that doesn't fight back. My way to make it unable to improve the main facility defences is the battery build restriction. It's meant to improve player influence over areas where there are no energy sources.
Really, the point is something I couldn't explain more directly than this: the pre placed batteries don't and can't fulfill one simple thing engineers lost after their addition - creative making of turrets outside of this box of strategies aimed to either secure a win or prevent something potentially game ending. It's the smaller scale things. What are more often done by players manually right now - a filter dies and they come to repair; an area gets infested and they react post factum. Ofc the Engi can't be everywhere, neither can heavy, but there could be more activity options, more ways to clear station, encouraging to think ahead perhaps. I want the two classes to get an option to potentially do it again - to only be limited by their strategic and tactical knowledge when placing this one turret/shredder. Because just one is not op, it is a support unit and it won't last without teamplay, and with the more influential turrets it would only survive for a time if you are really good at this knowledge. And, well, if a truly op area is found, where a grenade turret for example, doesn't risk being killed, the build restrictions are still possible to add. But I can't think of a truly safe area that covers an unsafe one easily - in pando just 1 unit can die anywhere, almost at all times.
Anyways, this is just an aspect of the game that could create more of what you seem to encourage anyway, if done properly. Batteries were not made to restrict engineers completely - it was for clarity and to make more varied defenses. Most Engi players wouldn't be interested in my way of thinking - better if we could place more turrets in places where there isn't enough charge with this new tool, they say. Well, I mostly share your mindset there Dark. Some extreme cases could be tweaked, the way most were in first month after the rework. I don't really want an op, self sustaining defense, I want to use a bit of extra supply and cooperation it would take to use Battery drones as smartly as it can be. The only turret that can cover itself in more than 1 direction wouldn't be able to cover the drone for long. While Heavy would look where he's shooting - by losing drone he loses ability to place shredders anywhere he wants.