Drill Containment Unit



The Drill Containment Unit (often called DCU) is a late-game post-Moon Lord mount that summons a Drill Mount, a rideable, flying vehicle that mines blocks extremely fast via lasers. It is currently the fastest controllable way to mine. It can fly and hover indefinitely, and has a mining range of 15 tiles.


 * Unlike other mounts, players cannot use any tools or weapons while riding it.
 * Unlike most other mounts, players can fly through liquids while riding the Drill Mount, though they can still drown.
 * Unlike other mining tools, the Drill Mount does not inflict damage on enemies. It also cannot mine blocks behind other blocks, rather always drilling tunnels through all blocks directly ahead of the player.

The Drill Mount flies at 41 mph vertically, 31 mph horizontally, and 51 mph diagonally. It mines all mineable blocks, including furniture and background objects, Trees, Lihzahrd Bricks, Altars (Hardmode), and Shadow Orbs / Crimson Hearts, among others. Background Walls remain intact.

Crafting the Drill Containment Unit requires a total of 160 Luminite (requires defeating Moon Lord at least twice), 600 /  720 Chlorophyte Ore, 600 Glowing Mushrooms, 20 Ectoplasm, 120 each of Hellstone and Meteorite ores, and 40 Obsidian. This also requires four different crafting stations: A Hardmode Forge for the Chlorophyte and Spectre Bars, an Autohammer for the Shroomite Bars, an Ancient Manipulator for the Luminite Bars, and a Hardmode Anvil for the Drill Containment Unit itself.

Drill Mount vs. Shroomite Digging Claw
Because the Drill Mount also slopes blocks as it mines, the number of blocks that are mined will vary.

The table below assumes that five of its lasers are mining, and the sixth laser is sloping. If four lasers are mining, it can mine 60 Dirt Blocks per second.

Tips

 * It is recommended to hold a light source like a Glowstick or Torch while mining, as this will improve visibility.
 * The player can use a Spelunker Potion with a Torch or other light source to more easily find Ores; however, the Spelunker Glowstick can be used to create a weaker glow effect at the benefit of being an inexhaustible option.
 * Since the DCU flies faster while moving diagonally, it may be a good idea while traveling long distances to fly in a zig-zag pattern. The longer the player travels diagonally before changing direction upwards or downwards, the farther they will go in a period of time.
 * Like all mounts, using it will not remove minions. Summoners can take advantage of this to defend themselves when mining.
 * A Yoyo, Chainsaw or Drill can be used when riding the Drill Mount. This works when the item is already in use and the player activates the mount afterward. However, it is purposeless as the mount will be unable to mine blocks this way. In most cases, getting off the mount is a better option.
 * As the DCU can operate underwater, you can use accessories that enhances your breath meter or even the Neptune's Shell and its upgrades to neutralize it entirely.
 * It is possible to damage enemies with the bonus effects of Turtle/Solar Flare armor or with the Thorns buff. Accessories like the Star Cloak, Star Veil, Paladin's Shield, Cobalt Shield and Band of Regeneration improve these effects. However, Minions are more effective.
 * Because the Drill Containment Unit requires a total of 600 /  720 Chlorophyte Ore, farming Chlorophyte Ore early in Hardmode is important.
 * Because of the automatic sloping it can make it recommended to use for underground terraforming, or making caves in maps.

Trivia

 * It has the highest monetary value of materials of any craftable item in the game, pricing at   from the bars or    from the base material (Hellstones and Obsidian don't have any sell value)
 * Despite this, it still only sells for, like all mounts.
 * The Drill Mount has the longest digging range of any digging tool, matched only by the Laser Drill.
 * The 1.3 trailer showed that a player was using a Laser Machinegun at 1:28 while riding in the Drill Mount, although this feature isn't available in-game.
 * This is the only mount that is crafted.
 * There is an unused sprite in the game files titled "Mount_Drill.png" that bears a strong resemblance to the DCU's buff icon, commonly interpreted as an early iteration of the DCU.
 * According to Solaris here, the original concept was to have the unit chop through the land and slope it as you dug through, in a similar fashion to the Digging Molecart. However, it was very buggy and the concept was replaced by a flying mount.
 * The mount appears to made of Martian Plating, despite not requiring drops from the Martian Madness event to craft.