- "A squad of assault troopers fell from the sky and blew up the listening post. It took about six seconds. I happened to be offsite walking my greysor. The greysor ran off. Now I'm really depressed."
- ―A SpyNet operative
Assault troopers were a variant of stranded stormtroopers that were deployed in various military installations across the Galactic Empire and other combat theaters across the galaxy. Distinguished by either their standard white stormtrooper armor with gold markings, or white armor with dark gray pauldrons, assault troopers were known to partake in hit and run attacks during the course of the Galactic Civil War against the Alliance to Restore the Republic.
History[]
Following the Battle of Yavin[1] in 0 BBY,[3] assault troopers were recognized as specialized stormtroopers of the Galactic Empire[1] During the course of the Galactic Civil War against the Alliance to Restore the Republic, assault troopers were involved in hit and run attacks against enemy targets, including one attack in which assault troopers fell from the sky to destroy a Bothan Spynet listening post. The take only took about six seconds, and in the process they scared away a greysor that was being walked by one of the operatives who happened to be offsite.[4] Assault troopers were also deployed elsewhere throughout the galaxy, including various combat theaters and Imperial Military installations, like the Imperial Encampment on Naboo's moon of Rori.[1]
Organization[]
Assault troopers were a type of stormtrooper,[1] a group which belonged to a branch of the Imperial Military known as the Stormtrooper Corps.[5] Assault troopers were predominantly Human males, and their operating numbers were preceded by either TK, GK, RK, LK, or VK. Veteran assault troopers and assault trooper squad leaders were a couple of specifically named positions within the ranks of the assault trooper forces.[1]
Equipment[]
Assault troopers wore standard white stormtrooper armor. Some ordinary assault troopers wore plain white armor affixed with a dark gray pauldron on their right shoulder, while others wore plain white armor with gold markings, and no pauldron. Veteran assault troopers and assault trooper squad leaders, however, always wore white armor with gold markings. The choice of weapons would also vary throughout the ranks. The assault troopers with plain white armor made use of either E-11 carbines or Elite carbines as their primary choice of blaster, with DX-2 disruptor pistols as their sidearm. Standard and veteran assault troopers who wore armor with the gold markings primarily used either E-11 carbines, DXR6 carbines, EE-3 carbine rifles, or Elite carbines. For close ranged melee combat, these troopers made use of either stun batons, survival knives, or vibroblades. On the other hand, assault trooper squad leaders used either DLT-20A or E-11 blaster rifles as their primary weapon, and DX-2 disruptor pistols or scout blasters as their sidearm.[1]
Behind the scenes[]
Assault troopers appeared as non-player characters in the 2003 video game Star Wars Galaxies: An Empire Divided, a massively multiplayer online role-playing game developed by Sony Online Entertainment and published by LucasArts, prior to its closure on December 15, 2011.[1][6] They could be found positioned around various Imperial installations and wilderness locations. Two different graphical designs were used for this trooper. One featured all white armor with a dark gray pauldron, while the other featured all white armor with gold markings, and no pauldron. Early in the game's lifespan, it was possible for Imperial players to spend faction points for an assault trooper "faction pet" which could follow players around, and aid them in combat. These faction pets were adorned with the plain white armor and dark gray pauldron. Throughout the game, all the assault trooper, veteran assault trooper, assault trooper squad leader, and veteran assault trooper squad leader names appeared as fully capitalized when the player targetted or otherwise examined the NPCs.[1] However, in a defunct, dynamically created Rebel escort mission titled "Bothan SpyNet Post Attacked," the Spynet operative referred to "assault troopers" as lowercased, suggesting that the name of this particular stormtrooper should be lowercased during normal conversation. However, the possibility exists that the operative was merely referring to a generic group of assault troopers, rather than the specifically named group of specialized stormtroopers.[4]
Appearances[]
- Star Wars Galaxies: An Empire Divided (First appearance)
Sources[]
- Star Wars Galaxies: An Empire Divided: Prima's Official Strategy Guide
- Star Wars Galaxies: Jump to Lightspeed: Prima Official Game Guide
- Star Wars Galaxies: The Total Experience: Prima Official Game Guide
- Friday Feature: GCW Guide on the official Star Wars Galaxies website (content now obsolete; backup link)
- Star Wars Galaxies: The Complete Guide: Prima Official Game Guide
Notes and references[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 Star Wars Galaxies: An Empire Divided
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Star Wars Galaxies: An Empire Divided explicitly listed assault troopers as a type of stormtrooper. As the The Essential Guide to Warfare indicates that stormtroopers belonged to the Stormtrooper Corps, the assault troopers' affiliation with them can be inferred.
- ↑ The New Essential Chronology
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Star Wars Galaxies: An Empire Divided — Mission: "Bothan SpyNet Post Attacked"
- ↑ The Essential Guide to Warfare
- ↑ IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT STAR WARS GALAXIES™ on the official Star Wars Galaxies website (content now obsolete; backup link)
External links[]
- Assault trooper squad leader on the SWG Wiki
- Veteran assault trooper on the SWG Wiki