How do I set default behavior parameters for an object I want to spawn?

I'm making a character who can deploy a manually controlled item.

I create a new sprite object for the item (henceforth called "Drone"), without placing it in the layout.

I give the player object an event that lets it spawn a Drone.

I go to the properties of Drone and bestow it with 8Direction.

Uhhhh...

All the settings for the behavior are disabled. It's all just "(no instances)" written where the input boxes should be.

How am I supposed to let the object know how to behave when it spawns? Do I really have to say "On created | set this param to p, set that one to q," and so on for each behavioral attribute?

You'll need one instance of your object in the layout editor somewhere to set defaults. Either destroy the original instance on start of layout, or put it on an unused layout.