Battle droid

This article is about the droid class. You may be looking for the Trade Federation and Separatist B1-series battle droid.

"Do not confuse me with one of your mass-produced, fall-in-line, 37-percent kill-rate-at-best, military drones."

―AD-W4, on Separatist battle droids^[1]

BattleDroidsAtTheReady-AOTC — Battle droids at the First Battle of Geonosis

Battle droids, also known as combat droids, war droids,^[2] clankers, droid soldiers, or battle bots, were a type of droid designed for combat. Over the years, many different models of battle droids were used by various factions throughout the galaxy. One such faction was the Confederacy of Independent Systems, which used a number of different models of battle droid during the Clone Wars to make up the Separatist Droid Army. Under the command of General Grievous, varying models of battle droids fought against the Galactic Republic's clone troopers until the final days of the war, when the Confederate battle droids were deactivated by the Galactic Empire and became prohibited by the Imperial Senate.

History

Clone Wars

"A Republic military presence is the only sure defense against the Separatists."
"Even extremists can be reasoned with!"
"Perhaps if one can be heard over the clanking of their battle droids!"

―Obi-Wan Kenobi and Satine Kryze^[3]

Collapse of the Republic cover art — Battle droids fought Republic clone troopers as the Separatist Droid Army.

During the Clone Wars, the Confederacy of Independent Systems used a variety of battle droids in their droid army. These droids, including B1-series battle droids,^[4] which were the main infantry of the Separatists,^[5] B2-series super battle droids, and droidekas, were produced in large factories on planets such as Geonosis.^[4] The Separatist Droid Army was led by the^[6] Kaleesh^[7] cyborg General Grievous.^[6] Droids like the B1 battle droid were ineffective in small numbers,^[8] but they had the ability to overwhelm enemies in large groups.^[9] Battle droids were led by commanders such as Grievous or Asajj Ventress,^[10] and organic officers could be assisted by specialized OOM command battle droids.^[11] T-series tactical droids^[12] and super tactical droids also commanded battle droids throughout the Clone Wars, and these units could assist organic leaders. One super tactical droid was Kalani, a general who led Confederate forces against insurgents on Onderon, but, after the Onderonian Civil War, Kalani escaped to Agamar.^[13]

C21Highsinger-BHS — c-21 Highsinger was a combat droid bounty hunter during the Clone Wars and into the reign of the Empire.

The main enemies of the battle droids were the clone troopers of the Galactic Republic. The troopers were able to think independently and creatively, while battle droids like the B1 were "dim-witted"^[14] and easily taken down by clones. However, the battle droids of the Separatists outnumbered the clones, and Count Dooku once claimed that clones were outnumbered one hundred to one. During the war, clone troopers,^[8] and even some of the Jedi, referred to battle droids by the nickname of "clankers."^[15] The Jedi adapted their training remotes to mimic the moves of battle droids to better prepare Padawans for the war against the Droid Army.^[16]

The Chiss Ascendancy came to learn of the Clone Wars and that battle droids made up the majority of the Confederacy military; when Senior Captain Mitth'raw'nuruodo "Thrawn" recounted that information to sky-walker Che'ri, she questioned the tactical advantage of such a military, understanding that an enemy had the chance to deactivate droids upon accessing their controls and that their programming could be altered during an enemy incursion into a factory. Thrawn also noted that their intended programming may possess exploitable weaknesses, concluding that a desire to lessen deaths by using droids instead of organics as soldiers was useless if it resulted in losing the war.^[17] Balmorran Arms produced the SD-series battle droid at some point.^[18]

Age of the Empire

"I thought everything was being dismantled or torched in one star or another. What does anyone need with battle droids when the Empire has Star Destroyers?"

―Has Obitt^[19]

Although battle droids were outlawed by the Galactic Empire in the wake of the Clone Wars, companies such as Holowan Laboratories^[20] and Arakyd Industries were able to evade the ban by having their products reclassified as security droids.^[21] The galactic population's general distrust of class four droids helped to turn the Joint Chiefs away from using battle droids.^[22] Nevertheless, Instructor Pell Baylo felt that Galactic Emperor Sheev Palpatine expected his military personnel to obey orders as if they were mindless droids.^[23]

Even during the early months of the Imperial Era, battle droids and other pieces of surviving Separatist equipment were considered useless in the face of Imperial technology, such as the Star Destroyers of the Imperial Navy. The smuggler Has Obitt believed that surviving CIS equipment, such as the remaining battle droids, would be dismantled or destroyed.^[19] Indeed, surviving battle droids were all authorized to be decommissioned, which really meant destroyed, in specialized decommissioning facilities on worlds like Corellia,^[24] although some surviving Separatist equipment was allowed to fall into the hands of anti-Imperial insurgents, which gave an excuse for the Imperial Military to take over legacy worlds.^[19]

The core ship of the Lucrehulk-class LH-3210 cargo freighter, known as the Primacy, crashed on the planet Koboh. The Bedlam Raiders, a group of marauders, reprogrammed the ship's former Separatist battle droids to serve them. With the Primacy's numerous droids and resources, enough to conquer a planet, the marauders imposed their will on the world without facing much opposition.^[25]

The TRD-2 sparring droid was based upon the design of the SD-series battle droid.^[18] Former battle droids formed the Droid Gotra during the Imperial Era. The crime lord Faazah also made use of repurposed battle droids to bolster his ranks of bodyguards on the former Separatist stronghold of Murkhana.^[26] Battle droids remained active on Agamar due to the intervention of Kalani, who was able to block the deactivation order^[27] initiated by Darth Vader after he killed the Separatist leaders.^[28] When the Empire arrived on Agamar, Kalani was able to flee with several B1 battle droids.^[27]

Galactic Civil War and New Republic Era

"I'm R0-GR— last of the B1 battle droids, nearly decorated veteran of the Clone Wars, and oft-disputed hero of the Rebellion. But you can just call me Roger."

―R0-GR^[29]

MisterBones-Droidography — Mister Bones served in Norra Wexley's team during the Galactic Civil War.

Later, during the Galactic Civil War, Temmin Wexley owned a modified battle droid named Mister Bones who acted as a companion to him. After the rebellion on Akiva in 4 ABY, the two joined the New Republic and Wexley's mother Norra Wexley in the fight against the Galactic Empire.^[30] Mister Bones perished during the Battle of Jakku^[31] in 5 ABY.^[32]

A Separatist ship was en route to Agamar, but was brought down at Loradil. The battle droids remained on the world for years. When Luke Skywalker, Han Solo and his allies visited the world, the droids attacked them.^[33] Using armor and weapons from clone troopers they found on the site, they fought the droids and left.^[34]

In 9 ABY,^[35] an Imperial Remnant led by Moff Gideon continued upon the Empire's Dark Trooper project by successfully fielding several Phase-III Dark Troopers.^[36] Considered third-generation battle droids,^[37] Gideon's entire platoon of combat droids was destroyed by the Jedi Master Luke Skywalker during the second rescue of Grogu.^[36] At the same time, battle droids dating back to the Clone Wars, originally intended to be destroyed by the New Republic, were used on Plazir-15 for mass work.^[38]

Also during the New Republic Era, the Acolyte of the Beyond Kiza came under the influence of the mask of the long dead Sith Viceroy Exim Panshard, who desperately held onto life through the mask and promised Kiza power if they reached the Sith world of Exegol. Under Panshard's guidance, Kiza collected an army of old battle droids from recent and old wars alike, keeping them inside a crashed Separatist core ship on a large asteroid next to the Red Honeycomb Zone, which blocked Exegol off from the wider galaxy. Kiza's droid army,^[39] which included B1 battle droids,^[40] was left huddled and turned off inside the core ship^[39] until 21 ABY;^[41] years after any of the battle droids had last moved, Kiza modified at least some of them to each contain a fragment of a bled kyber crystal to lead her towards Skywalker, who had in his possession other fragments of the same crystal; just as how the battle droids could track Skywalker through the fragments in their systems, Panshard hoped that combining Skywalker's crystals with their own would lead them through the Red Honeycomb Zone to Exegol, where the larger crystal mound was kept by the Sith Eternal.^[39]

Kiza ultimately sent a mix of several different battle droids after Skywalker, but the eleven droids were destroyed during a skirmish on Polaar. When Skywalker traveled to Kiza's asteroid, he found the deactivated army aboard the core ship before beginning a lightsaber duel against her. Over the course of the duel, many of the battle droids were destroyed by lightsaber strikes. The subsequent overload of the core ship's forge melted down many of the others, and Kiza herself was killed. Nine surviving battle droids, while unable to process their new programming from the kyber crystals, ensured Panshard's mask was salvaged and adorned with the kyber fragments, placing it upon Kiza's dead body before they deactivated. One of the droids also scarified an arm for its lord, ensuring that Kiza's broken arm could be replaced. However, their master soon met his final end on Taw Provode's solitary moon when Skywalker destroyed the mask. Kiza's body and the droid arm were left limp and consumed by a native serpent.^[39]

One B1 battle droid, R0-GR, came to serve under the Resistance and write "droidography," a guide to the various models of droids in the galaxy, to teach organics more about the droids they interacted with. R0-GR also stated that he was the last B1 battle droid, but he had learned of the existence of Mister Bones, and this led R0-GR to say that his statement might have not been entirely true.^[29] Another battle droid was being worked on by the droidsmith Babu Frik, but he needed to abandon the unit prior to the destruction of Kijimi.^[42]