Droideka/Legends

"We have them on the run, sir&hellip; They're no match for droidekas."

- Rune Haako, to Nute Gunray

The droideka (a compound word combining the Basic word "droid" with the Colicoid suffix eka, meaning "hireling" or "drone"), also called the destroyer droid or wheel droid, was a type of heavy battle droid used by the Trade Federation and the Confederacy of Independent Systems. It gained a reputation for deadliness over the course of the Clone Wars. Droid commanders such as General Grievous favored the droideka for its resilience and firepower, as well as the fear it could instill in even the most powerful Jedi. They were deployed in many battles over the course of the Clone Wars, such as Muunilinst, usually in moderate numbers due to their cost, and were also used as guards in various Confederate installations. After the Clone Wars, remaining droidekas would fall into the hands of a variety of factions, such as smugglers and criminals.

Description
"Droidekas are fast&hellip; very fast."

- Urai Fen

The original design was made by the insectoid Colicoids of Colla IV, who were displeased by the limitations of Baktoid Combat Automata's basic B1s, and chiefly manufactured there. The Trade Federation used trading in rare meats as a way to ease bargaining with the ravenously carnivorous Colicoids, and were able to get special rates on these normally very costly droids. Before the Federation's defeat after the Invasion of Naboo, these droids were usually slaved to a central computer. This technique fell out of favor in the aftermath of said battle, when they would function independently as the B2 super battle droids did. However, the droidekas on Colla IV were not slaved to a central computer, making them independent. This made them much more expensive and deadlier.

They were more formidable than the Federation's more numerous B1 battle droids for several reasons. They were able to transform into a wheel-like configuration, allowing rapid movement and compact storage. When they encountered their targets, the bronzium-armored droids would unfold into a tripodal weapons platform, equipped with powerful, built-in twin blasters and often personal shield generators. These shield generators could endure much punishment, capable of deflecting or absorbing any manner of firepower up to a light artillery bolt, as well as lightsaber blades and physical attacks. Additionally, the effectiveness of these droids was bolstered by the lack of true photoreceptors; instead, droidekas utilized non-visual composite radiation sensors, less likely to be distracted by mere light-based trickery.

Droideka dispensers were sometimes used as transport and dispense for these droids. They were capable of deploying droidekas right into a combat zone, and proved a nuisance to enemy troops for this reason.

Pre-Clone Wars
"Master! Destroyers!"

- Obi-Wan Kenobi, upon seeing a droideka aboard the Saak'ak

Droidekas were used before Naboo in the Trade Federation's attempt to annex Alaris Prime and expel the Wookiees attempting to colonize it, but the Wookiees, with the intervention of Jedi, were able to repulse the Trade Federation forces.

The Trade Federation utilized large numbers of droidekas during the Invasion of Naboo, where they proved highly effective against Naboo forces. They were used to great effect against two Jedi&mdash;Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi&mdash;on the flagship Saak'ak, where just two of them forced the Jedi to flee. They were also used during the Battle of Grassy Plains, where they massacred Gungan warriors and were responsible for destroying the Fambaa shield generators. However, they were disabled when Anakin Skywalker took out the Droid Control Ship. After the crisis, the Republic obtained some droidekas from the reparations given to the Trade Federation, and used them onboard Outbound Flight as security enforcement, and would be obtained by the Vaagari by this way.

Clone Wars
"Incoming! Find cover!"

- ARC Trooper Alpha, upon taking laser fire from droidekas during the First Battle of Kamino

After the Trade Federation joined the Confederacy of Independent Systems, droidekas became mass-produced in Separatist droid foundries and were a common element of the Confederacy armies. They were used in the initial Battle of Geonosis, where most of them were stored aboard Lucrehulk-class core ships and those ones were hence unavailable for the battle, although they were used heavily in the arena stage of the battle. Over the course of the war, they proved extremely effective against enemy clone troopers and Jedi Knights, with even Obi-Wan Kenobi suffering scars from them, and they posed a challenge even to elite Republic soldiers such as Delta Squad, as proved aboard Prosecutor. They were also sometimes used as bodyguards for high-ranking Separatist figures such as San Hill. However, they met their match in the JK-13, which was not brought into mass production as the Jedi feared it would be. Indeed, the mere presence of droidekas was enough to make Jedi or other enemy forces retreat or surrender. During the First Battle of Cato Neimoidia near the end of the war, squads of droids pinned down a group lead by Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi, and were only destroyed by an artillery strike. An unusually large concentration of droidekas were used in the assault on Coruscant, where they were repulsed by Yoda. In the same battle, droidekas also formed part of the team that captured Anakin Skywalker and Kenobi aboard Invisible Hand, although the Jedi exploited a weakness in their shields during the firefight on the bridge.

Unarmed droidekas were used as shooting range targets as part of the training of clone sharpshooters.

At the end of the Clone Wars, the droidekas were de-activated after Darth Vader's execution of the Separatist Council under Emperor Palpatine's orders.

Aftermath
The remaining droidekas were purchased by the Corporate Sector and other organizations, such as the Galactic Empire. By the time of the Yuuzhan Vong War, a few system security forces still utilized droidekas. Droidekas were also used by colonies on undeveloped worlds in Wild Space as perimeter guards at night to guard against native predators. Some fell into the hands of smugglers and criminals, and the Vagaari managed to obtain at least one unit. During the early years of the Galactic Empire, many droidekas were used by Gizor Dellso in the Battle of Mustafar. All were destroyed when the Empire bombarded the planet. Due to the strength of their blasters and their built-in shields, droidekas proved to be a serious threat to Jedi, especially when in groups. A few years before the Yuuzhan Vong War, Luke and Mara Jade Skywalker encountered a droideka aboard the remains of the Outbound Flight Dreadnaught-class cruisers. Even though it was decades old and not operating at its best, the two still had a difficult time defeating it. However, this version had some interesting additions, one of which was the ability to fire its blasters while in rolling configuration.

Design flaws


Despite being a formidable droid, the droideka had one major design flaw. Its shield was designed to enclose the droideka in a standing position, but if the droid was to be knocked on its side or against a wall, the shield would have no way of distinguishing the wall or floor from a blaster rifle or lightsaber. This meant that the shield generator had to continue supplying energy to the shield, resulting in an overload, as demonstrated during the rescue on the Invisible Hand. The shorted-out shield generator would leave the droideka vulnerable. Also, in the rolling position, the droideka's shield could not be activated, leaving it vulnerable while rolling from place to place.

Droidekas have a hard time maneuvering on downward slopes and climbing up stairs. In their rolling configuration, they would have to go back quite a bit and then speed up, launching themselves up the stairs. They could also try to transverse stairs in walking configuration, although it was extremely hard for them to coordinate their three legs on stairs.

Additionally, there were limits when a droideka could fire at a target. If the target got very close to it, the droideka would miss its shots because its blaster arms were spread out.

Droideka series and variants
There were three known series of droidekas. They were outwardly similar; the differences were most likely internal. The first, the P-series droideka, was used in the Invasion of Naboo in 32 BBY. The W-series droideka was used in the Battle of Geonosis in 22 BBY. Later, the Q-series droideka was used aboard the Invisible Hand in 19 BBY.

Three known variants of droideka existed. The first was the grapple droideka, used around the time of the Invasion of Naboo. It was equipped with electronic grapples and was designed for melee combat, and lacked blasters. It also seemed to possess weaker shields than average.

A second, the droideka Mark II, would see action on the battlefields of the Galactic Civil War. This model had four stubby legs, an ion cannon, and was larger than the Separatist models. Since the plans for it were discovered on the old Separatist droid-producing world of Hypori, it may have been a dropped CIS project. It would be employed by the Hutt Cartel briefly, then quite extensively by the Zann Consortium.

A third droideka variant was the K3-I Buzzer Droid used also during the Galactic Civil War. This variant was used on Station Gamma above Ord Mantell. It was weaker than an average droideka and lacked shields.

Behind the scenes


According to the DVD commentary of The Phantom Menace, a droideka's blaster is meant to sound similar to those of an All Terrain Armored Transport. This is adhered to in the Episode I game and Jedi Power Battles games.

Strangely enough, droiekas do not seem to ever use their shields in Attack of the Clones.

It should be noted that in Star Wars: Clone Wars, droidekas are depicted as being much easier to defeat than their movie counterparts; however, this can be attributed to the typical exaggeration in the cartoon.

Notes and references
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