Deep Core Protocol Overhauls Combat: 20 Drones, Simultaneous Skill Procs

Published 4 September 2026, this update from developer Shinum rewrites the combat fundamentals of Deep Core Protocol across drones, direct attacks, skills, and passive mechanics.

What changed

Mining Drones

• Maximum drone count raised from 6 to 20
• Attack interval cut from 2.6 s to 0.43 s
• Damage per drone increased from 30% to 55% of player damage
• All drones now participate in boss fights; previously only one drone ever attacked a boss
• Each drone rolls for skill procs individually
• Drones hover over ore and turn translucent while idle, removing view obstruction

Direct Attacks

• Attack speed ceiling raised to 2.56× (was 2.03×)
• Attack radius now scales up to 2× — previously capped by pickaxe tier
• Direct damage multiplier increased from 2.22× to 4.76×

Skills

• The one-skill-per-attack limit is removed; every skill that succeeds its roll fires simultaneously
• Proc rates updated: Quantum Drill 4%, Core Explosion 5%, Arc Storm 7%, Mining Pulse 4%, Orbital Laser 1%
• Skill blast radius, chain distance, pierce width, and beam width now scale up to 1.69×
• Impact effects linger longer with a smooth fade

Reworked Mechanics

• Cascade Fracture (formerly Overkill) — excess damage carries over undiminished and chains on every kill
• Impact Charge (formerly Momentum) — every 6th hit charges the next strike for up to 4.3× damage and 2× radius, including on bosses
• POWER branch redesigned; the empty mid-game node stretch has been filled in
• Continuous Drive Control node moved closer to the tree's centre and reduced from 216,000 to 18,000 Gold

Localization

• 116 strings fixed that displayed raw Korean text across English, Japanese, Simplified Chinese, Russian, Spanish, and Brazilian Portuguese — covering relic descriptions, Core Matrix nodes, and settlement/Rebirth/New Game+ text

Taken together, the changes shift the game away from click-dependent, single-proc play toward dense, automated cascades — a meaningful change in pacing for anyone deep into the skill tree.