Droids
From TF Library
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Notable Droids of the Trade Federation
"A mechanical and/or electronic construct designed and put into service to assist organic life."
The Trade Federation's history of technological innovation spans more than a century, a fact worthy of pride on the part of all Federation members. Under the innovative minds at the Trade Federation laboratories on Vinsoth, powerful automation systems have been developed, resulting in progressively advanced droid intelligences and abilities. Further, these automation systems, when blended with Federation ship-building technologies, allow for large-scale shipping and space superiority fleets to be operated at only a fraction of the ordinary cost or crew size.
Battle Droid
Designed several years before the Clone Wars, the Battle Droid makes up the main infantry force of the Trade Federation. The droid's head was designed to imitate the shape of a Neimoidian's skull to strike fear in their enemies, while their bodies were modeled after the Geonosians. While earlier models were colour coded to show their role or rank, later models were coloured to blend in with their surroundings with only a numerical marking on the back of a com-link booster pack serving to distinguish one droid from another.
Battle Droids were designed for cheap, mass production and are relatively weak compared to other military droids. Their main armament includes an E-5 Droid Blaster and a few thermal grenades. Initial programming of the droids limited them to relatively simple tactics during combat such as swarming their enemies. However, during the Clone Wars, the tactical programming was improved and made more efficient overall, though the droids' reaction times during battle remain quite slow.
At first Battle Droids were managed by a central control mainframe, typically located in a starship or a well defended facility. This created a vulnerability, however, that led to severe failures after a mainframe was destroyed, so newer designs gave the droids autonomy in the case of such a catastrophic event. Battle Droids have also been coded to take a role as pilots in battle, which allows them to take control of tanks and barges if their pilot leaves the vehicle. However, they cannot operate any of the vessel's weaponry, making them relatively useless in combat operations.
Super Battle Droid
The B-2 Super Battle Droid design arose from the Trade Federation's need for a more hardened and independent battle droid. The B-2 Super Battle Droid, often referred to simply as Super Battle Droid or SBD, is equipped with medium blasters, allowing this formidable unit to excel at confronting more challenging targets like speeders or light mechanized infantry. These capabilities combined with improved processing cores allow them to be deployed on autonomous assignments throughout the field of battle. The Super Battle Droid, unlike its predecessor the B-1 Battle Droid, has its processing units fitted deep inside its shielded torso, allowing for greater protection from enemy blaster fire.
Improving upon the B-1 Battle Droid design, the Super Battle Droid can operate independently of a droid control ship. For optimal performance, however, a control signal is most often employed to improve overall function and coordination with other battle droids. When operating independently, the droid will often disengage its target if line of sight is lost. Autonomous operation of the Super Battle Droid is indeed limited; however, it is leaps and bounds ahead of the B-1 Battle Droid class.
Standing just under two meters high, this heavy-framed metallic soldier is a capable battlefield figure. These units, while equipped by default with medium caliber wrist blasters, can be outfitted with specialized blaster rifles. Using electronic signal emitters located in the hands, the droid can fire these weapons without the use of a physical trigger. Twofold, this reduces the potential of battlefield opportunists from scavenging weapons from damaged droids and also reduces the amount of dexterity required in the hands of the droid.
Destroyer Droid
The Destroyer Droid, as it is most commonly known, was first designed due to the mass-displeasure received surrounding the restricted functions of combat droids preceding the Droideka - the name given to the droid by its original designers.
These droids are very mobile due to their ability to set themselves into a wheel-like configuration, contrasting other droids, allowing them to roll at far greater speeds than their normal pace. This design feature also allows the droid to be easily transported - offering more efficiency in the use of space than other droids; the volume of the droid in its wheel-like configuration is much smaller than when fully deployed. Allowing rapid insertion into battle because of their dynamic shape, the Destroyer Droid can easily transform, making itself into the tripodal image feared throughout the galaxy by those who have witnessed these droids in action.
Armoured in bronzium alloy, these droids can withstand harsh punishment even before the installed personal shield generator is taken into account. This shield can deflect or absorb many blaster bolts simultaneously over an extended period of time, as well as deflecting lightsabre blades, lightwhip attacks, or other physical and melee weapons. This allows the droid a huge combat advantage against typical infantry while the shield is up, although it remains vulnerable to light artillery or similarly powerful weapons, and also when in its faster wheel-mode. In order to fulfill its purpose --the annihilation of all enemies--, the Destroyer Droid is equipped with arm-mounted twin blaster cannons, as used by many atmospheric vehicles. These have a formidable rate of fire which few opponents can hope to stand against for long, and which will very rarely miss, due to the addition of radiation sensors to the droid's basic sensor suite rather than the more typical droid photoreceptors, allowing for less error in bad light conditions, giving an even more significant advantage over living opponents and lesser combat droids.
The design of these droids is unique; their menacing, insectoid appearance manages to be both very compact, efficient and using very little material yet is terrifying to opponents and resilient to attacks. Some have criticized the design of the droid for not allowing its cannons to fire while in its traveling form and that if an opponent were to come close to the Destroyer Droid, it would be incapable of hitting the opponent due to the way its arms are spread apart. They are also not very mobile in their combat mode, having a very slow movement speed, giving greater chance for the escape of the enemy, and incapability to ascend stairs. In addition, whilst in combat against those who are force sensitive, the droid can be vulnerable despite the fact its shield can withstand a lightsabre, due to its inability to stop force-based attacks.
