B2 super battle droid

"With these new battle droids we built for you, you'll have the finest army in the galaxy."

- Foreman Wat Tambor, to Count Dooku

B2 super battle droids, also known at super battle droids,  were an advanced battle droid used by the Confederacy of Independent Systems during the Clone Wars. Super battle droids were much stronger than their predecessors, and like the updated B1's used by the Confederacy, they did not require a command system to operate, which gave the droids limited independence. Another improvement was their thick armor casing, which contained their fragile sensors. However, B2s were designed with simple processors, limiting their ability to formulate strategies. As a result, they relied on organic commanders or tactical droids in order to effectively operate. The B2 was much stronger than the B1s, with enough strength to lift a clone trooper off the ground as seen at the Battle of Teth. Despite this a variant for close range combat, the B2 grapple droid, was created. The B2-HA super battle droid was a variant of the B2 equipped with a cannon arm that could fire homing rockets. This variant could be seen commanding small units, as could be seen on Rodia. Two other variants were designed with flight capabilities. These were the B2-RP battle droid and their successor the super battle droid rocket trooper.

Having been developed before the onslaught of the Clone Wars, the first batch of B2s was put into operation on Geonosis, during the battle that started the conflict. The droids could take more hits and could stand up better to their enemies than the B1 could, meaning it saw greater production after Geonosis, but on the battle field there were often more B1's. This was due to the B1's cheaper price tag, on a battlefield there were often 100 B1 Battle Droids for every one B2 Super Battle Droid.

The B2 droids continued to see action until the end of the Clone Wars, with a number of units serving aboard Grievous' flagship Invisible Hand during the Battle of Coruscant. All units were shut down following the execution of the Separatist Council, ending the Clone War in a victory for the newly-formed Galactic Empire.

After the Clone Wars some B2s fell into the hands of Quarantine World III. These units were reprogrammed and were used as security for the location, and several of these droids confronted the Archaeologist Doctor Aphra during her mission to steal the Triple-Zero protocol personality matrix from the planet. The droids that encountered Aphra were destroyed later in the mission by Darth Vader, who had came to recruit the archaeologist.

In 34 ABY, during the cold war a number of B2 units served as security droids on Cato Neimoidia.

One Super Battle Droid was G21, who served as part of the Separatist Droid Army during the Clone Wars and gave a report to a superior that the planet it was stationed on was secured for the Confederacy and the population was under control.

Behind the scenes
B2 super battle droids first appeared in Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones. Originally, as seen in animatics for the film, the super battle droids were to dual wield E-5 blaster rifles instead of having a built-in wrist blaster.

Non-canon appearances

 * Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes

Source

 * Ultimate Star Wars
 * Star Wars: Absolutely Everything You Need to Know
 * Star Wars Character Encyclopedia: Updated and Expanded
 * Star Wars: Complete Locations
 * Star Wars Propaganda: A History of Persuasive Art in the Galaxy
 * Star Wars: Galactic Atlas
 * Star Wars: On the Front Lines
 * Star Wars: Absolutely Everything You Need to Know, Updated and Expanded
 * Star Wars: Absolutely Everything You Need to Know, Updated and Expanded