B1 battle droid/Legends

"Useless things. A greater danger to us than to Jedi."

- General Grievous

B1 battle droids were battle droids that made up the backbone of the Trade Federation Droid Army and the Separatist Droid Army. It was the successor of the hunter-killer droid.

B1s were perhaps the most numerous&mdash;and expendable&mdash;soldiers in galactic history, and, unlike most organic soldiers, they were capable of action in hostile environments like underwater or in space. They were designed to swamp their enemies with sheer numbers.

Design
"Roger, roger."

- Typical response of a B1 battle droid

B1 battle droids' heads were designed to imitate the shape of a dead Neimoidian's skull. In this way, they were intended to strike fear into an enemy's heart. In addition, their bodies vaguely resembled those of the Geonosians.

B1 battle droids were physically identical to their direct predecessor, the OOM-series battle droid; unlike OOM models, however, they were not color-coded according to function, if any. However, some were painted with different colors to blend into a certain environment.

B1s were usually slaved to a central control mainframe located on a remote starship or some other well-defended facility. However, this could lead to massive failure if the central control mainframe was destroyed, such as during the Battle of Naboo, in which Anakin Skywalker destroyed the Droid Control Ship. The monumental defeat at Naboo spurred interest in independent battle droids, and this technique gained ground following the battle.

In extreme cases, the droids would deactivate the electromagnets that kept their limbs attached. During the Clone Wars, clone troopers learned to aim at the hips, torsos, and arm joints of the B1s to quickly destroy them.

B1s were designed for cheap mass-production. As a result, they were very flimsy and vulnerable, but were capable of swamping an enemy with their hugely superior numbers. Other models, like the droideka, B2 super battle droid, grapple droid, and air battle droid, were more expensive.

Battle droids used E-5 blaster rifles, blaster pistols, and thermal detonators in combat. They spoke with a monotonous, slightly high-pitched mechanical voice. The voice varied between units around the time of the Battle of Naboo, but by the end of the Clone Wars, the voices seemed to be standardized.

Performance
B1 droids seldom employed sophisticated tactics in battle. Massed parade ranks or simple swarms were used, and they rarely displayed a concept of cover. During the Clone Wars, however, there was the inevitable development of wartime, and B1 programming began to show some improvement. Nevertheless, their in-battle reactions were often slow, and such initiative as was shown was slight. Although they appeared to be weak, some B1s were able to take down an enemy in hand-to-hand combat as seen in the Battle of Grassy Plains where some battle droids were able to take Gungans one on one.

Although the earlier generations were entirely dependent on Central Control Computers, post-Naboo models featured some degree of independence and personality.

Invasion of Naboo
"Dumb droid!"

- Jar Jar Binks

B1 battle droids were used extensively during the Invasion of Naboo by Viceroy Nute Gunray. Although the droids were statistically flimsy, with overwhelming numbers they were able to subdue the Naboo and maintain surface control of the planet. The Trade Federation invasion force which held Naboo until the Battle of Naboo was mostly composed of B1s, droidekas and other mechanized vehicles such as AATs, MTTs and STAPs.

Upon their arrival to the Trade Federation blockade of the planet, Jedi Knights Obi-Wan Kenobi and Qui-Gon Jinn highlighted weaknesses of the droids. These technical shortcomings, including a slow reaction time, weapon inaccuracy, and straight-forward tactics, stemmed from the nature of the Trade Federation quantity-over-quality production of B1s.

The "primitive" Gungan Grand Army and the bulk of the Trade Federation invasion force ultimately fought openly in The Battle of Grassy Plains. Although the uneven nature of the terrain and innovative tactics of the Gungans initially posed a problem, the overwhelming supply B1s and other automata on the battlefield proved to be the trump card.

The turning point and saving grace of the Battle of Naboo proved to be the destruction of the Droid Control Ship by Anakin Skywalker. After the Central Control Computer of the droid army was destroyed, all mechanized units on the Grassy Plains reset and became inanimate, harmless constructions.

Aftermath
Upon the closure of the Naboo crisis, the Galactic Republic passed legislation that prohibited the Trade Federation's use of droid armies and the development of military hardware. The Trade Federation, however, relocated its military research and production centers to extra-Republican territories like Geonosis.

During this time, the Trade Federation began to recuperate from Republic ordinance and the incredible financial loss from the Naboo fiasco. Existing models of battle droids were improved and new generations of soldiers were developed, such as the Super Battle Droid.

The B1s, however, were retooled and refitted. Learning from the destruction of the Droid Control Ship above Naboo, the Trade Federation upgraded B1s with on-board independent intelligence centers that could operate without a master signal. The spherical centers of the Droid Control Ships were also redesigned to operate on land, which proved to be easier to defend.

Clone Wars
"For all the droidekas and super weapons that you destroy, the B1 will get you by the end of the day"

- A 607th Clone Trooper

After the Trade Federation joined the Confederacy of Independent Systems, they became a part of the Separatist Droid Army. B1s would be the Confederacy's most common soldiers, with rumors of quintillions churned out on countless CIS factory worlds. However, their uselessness frustrated Confederate commanders, such as General Grievous.

They participated in many battles including, but not limited to, the Battle of Geonosis, Battle of Muunilinst, Battle of Coruscant, and Battle of Kashyyyk.

Following the execution of the Separatist Council by Darth Sidious's new apprentice, Darth Vader, most, if not all, of the B1s were de-activated. However, some would be re-activated to serve in the various Confederate Remnants.

During the Clone War, Null-5 (Prudii) spoke to and manage to 'convince' an important Separatist metallurgist who gave him vital clues on the metallurgic structure of droids, by adding 5% extra carvanium to the droids via the main factory computer, these droids crumbled when hit with any weapon. The sabotage acts were so successful that the kill ratio for Clone Troopers was raised from 1:20 droids to 1:50 droids during the first year of the Clone Wars.

Post-Clone Wars
"Send a message to the ships of the Trade Federation: All droid units must shut down immediately."

- Darth Sidious to Darth Vader

Soon after Order 66, surviving Jedi Olee Starstone and Roan Shryne fled to Jaguada, a former Separatist base. Attempting to contact Jedi on Coruscant, they accidentally activated the droid guards. They were swiftly shut down. Vader discovered their position, and sent troops from the planet to destroy them. The Jedi activated the droids to serve as a rearguard against the troopers.

During the Galactic Civil War, B1s left over from the Clone Wars were discovered on Geonosis by Rebel pilot Wedge Antilles after crash landing in his X-wing. Several stormtroopers that landed on the planet in escape pods managed to destroy many droids by using E-web blasters, but they ultimately fell to the battle droids' overwhelming blaster fire.

Other B1s that weren't deactivated were used in the Death Watch Bunker, known crash sites on Tatooine, Stone Wall Labs and Borvo's Vault on Naboo, and even on Kashyyyk.

Impact on galactic society
Toy versions of the B1 battle droid were known to have been manufactured, as Boba Fett had some of his own during his youth on Kamino. It is unknown if the Trade Federation approved this.

The extensive use of B1s by the Confederacy also contributed to the general distrust of droids in society during the Imperial era.

Non-canon appearances

 * LEGO Star Wars: The Video Game
 * LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga
 * The Lesson
 * Rather Darkness Visible
 * Star Wars: Republic Commando: Order 66
 * Number Two in the Galaxy

Notes and references
B1-Kampfdroide Droide de combate B1 Droïde de combat B1 B1 Battle Droid Dróide de batalha B-1 B1 stridsdroid