DreadZone dropships are a assault dropships in Deadlocked. They are manufactured by Vox Industries and are the primary means of transporting troops into the DreadZone gameshow, when the troops are not warped in directly. On planet Kronos, they also begin to feature a double role as aerial assault craft thanks to their pair of missile launchers, mounted on the front on either side of the cockpit. They otherwise have no notable features, other than the small wings on the top and rear of the hull, and the two troop bay doors that make up most of its sides. The dropships feature a different color scheme upon accessing a new tournament level, ranging from default orange (Marauder) to blue (Avenger), green (Crusader), brown (Vindicator), and black (Liberator).
The enemies they carry are often DZ Strikers (and variants according to the last tournament), as well as Executioners, tremors, and variants of swarmers. Early on, the player often lacks the firepower to bring them down before they manage to complete their function, meaning they should be ignored while the troopers are fought instead. Later on, the additional of powerful ranged weapons like the Fusion Rifle and the Arbiter makes destroying them before they can deploy troopers a viable strategy.
Concept art.
When attacking the player and not simply dropping troops, dropships will not actually move from their position once they have engaged their attack, making them somewhat predictable. The strongest of the omega mods (the Time Bomb Mod) is also non-functional due to their machine nature. The Holoshield Launcher is also almost mandatory in battles against them, as it entirely nullifies their onslaught of rapid-fire missiles, provided the player stands close enough to the shield as their high angle let them fire somewhat above the top of the barrier.