 |  |
The Phase III dark trooper was the last and most powerful dark trooper exoskeleton/droid. It dwarfed even the Phase II dark trooper, and was intended to be the armor of the next generation of stormtroopers. It was sometimes even classified as a bipedal tank.
Characteristics[]
Phase III schematics.
Had the project come to full realization, it would have produced the perfect battlefield infantry unit—an amalgam of a clone's creativity, unpredictability, and initiative combined with the resilience and firepower of a heavy battle droid. The exoskeleton provided its wearer with increased firepower, strength, and durability.
The Phase III trooper's standard weapon complement included a large handheld assault cannon and two shoulder-mounted seeker missile launcher racks that were hidden under the suit's shoulder plates when not in use. They were issued additional fragmentation grenades, thermal detonators, and concussion grenades. Phase III Dark troopers wore black armor made of the nearly indestructible metal phrik, mined on the moon Gromas 16. It provided superior protection against enemy fire including energy weapons such as lightsabers.
Some of the Phase III Dark Troopers also were equipped with an array of integrated weaponry, including a pair of dual blaster cannons, two in each wrist, and six PLEX rocket tubes located under the shoulder plates, three per shoulder.
History[]
Only a small number of Phase III dark troopers were ever constructed; one was the armor of General Rom Mohc, who used it as an exosuit in single combat against Kyle Katarn during a battle onboard the colossal factory ship Arc Hammer.[1] However, Mohc was defeated and Arc Hammer was destroyed, costing the Empire billions of credits and thus bringing the Dark Trooper Project to a premature end.
Following the destruction of the Arc Hammer, some units were still left in operation. For instance, some working models of the Phase III dark trooper were present during Tyber Zann's theft of a Sith artifact on Coruscant in 4 ABY.
Behind the scenes[]
In Star Wars: Empire at War: Forces of Corruption, these droids can only be created on a planet if Arc Hammer is placed above that specific planet. They were also featured in some of the story missions.
Like several other people and things in the Star Wars universe, the Phase III dark trooper's appearance evokes the Samurai motif, an acknowledged inspiration of Star Wars, by bearing a strong resemblance to Samurai armor.
The Phase III Dark Trooper was made into a 3.75 scale action figure in the 1998 "Power Of the Force" line, which was reissued in the 2007 "30th Anniversary Collection" line. The Phase III Dark Troopers were also made into "Build-A-Droid" figures by Hasbro in 2009, which came in pieces in several separate figure 2-packs. Curiously, they appear very distinct from one another; the 1998 figure is accurate to the sprites seen in Dark Forces, while the buildable Dark Trooper seems to have been based off of the render found in "The NEW essential guide to droids" (which is the image seen above).
Appearances[]
- Star Wars Battlefront: Elite Squadron
- Star Wars: Dark Forces (First appearance)
- "Sand Blasted" — Star Wars Tales 4
- Star Wars: Empire at War: Forces of Corruption
Sources[]
- Dark Forces Official Player's Guide
Star Wars: The Power of the Force (1995) (Pack: Dark Trooper) (backup link)- Rebellion Era Sourcebook
- The Official Star Wars Fact File 33 (MIL5-6, Military Droids)
- "Universe Preview 5" on Wizards.com (content now obsolete; backup link)
- Star Wars Miniatures — Universe
- The New Essential Guide to Droids
- Star Wars: Empire at War: Forces of Corruption Expansion: Prima Official Game Guide
- Rebellion Era Campaign Guide
- Star Wars: The Legacy Collection (Pack: Dark Trooper Phase III (Droid Factory)) (backup link)
- The Essential Guide to Warfare
- Star Wars: The Card Game — Heroes and Legends (Card: General Mohc) (Picture only)
- Star Wars: Imperial Handbook: A Commander's Guide
Notes and references[]