Super Battle Droid

The Trade Federation’s humiliation at Naboo made it painfully clear that B1 battle droids could bully civilians, but were no match for trained soldiers. In response to Naboo’s lessons, the Techno Union designed the B2 battle droid. So-called super battle droids were tougher and packed more firepower than their B1 counterparts.

Super battle droids could function without a Droid Control Ship, but their cognitive modules were limited. In battle they sometimes became so focused on reaching their targets that they shoved other battle droids aside or simply blasted them.

On Geonosis, super battle droids protected Count Dooku and the other Separatist leaders. When the Jedi arrived in force to rescue Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker and Padmé Amidala, super battle droids stormed the arena, striking down numerous Jedi with blasts from their built-in forearm cannons.

Separatist commanders noted that the super battle droids had performed well on Geonosis, and pushed to have the powerful droids added to their own armies. On Christophsis, super battle droids played what would become a familiar role in the Clone Wars: they were sent to attack a target until it was reduced to wreckage.

Obi-Wan found himself surrounded by super battle droids commanded by Separatist General Whorm Loathsom. Thinking quickly, Kenobi bought Anakin Skywalker precious time by painstakingly negotiating the terms of his own surrender, well aware of the super battle droids looking on in bafflement.

Super battle droids were key units in Asajj Ventress’s defense of a monastery on Teth, and many clone troopers died at their hands.

Separatist leaders often sought super battle droids to serve as bodyguards, confident that these massive killing machines could keep them safe. But Wat Tambor’s vanguard of super battle droids failed to save him from capture by Mace Windu on Ryloth.

Super battle droids stormed the Jedi Cruiser Tranquility under Ventress’s command, blasting clone troopers as Ventress sought to free Nute Gunray from Republic captivity.

A dangerous variant of super battle droid was the B2-RP, which incorporated a powerful jetpack and compact repulsorlift to turn a B2 into a one-droid aerial assault unit. B2-RPs helped ensure a Separatist victory at Quell.

Super battle droids’ aggressive programming made them less than ideal choices for missions that didn’t involve death and destruction. But the Separatist technologist Lok Durd used them in such a role while testing his defoliator tank on Maridun.

Super battle droids served as shock troops when Separatist forces intercepted Duchess Satine’s luxury liner on its way to Coruscant, leading to the odd spectacle of clones and B2s battling through the vessel’s lavishly appointed corridors.

Super battle droids’ massive size and destructive potential cowed populations on many captured Republic worlds, including Onderon.

B2s pressed the attack on the Onderon rebels, hunting them through the planet’s jungles with their built-in blasters and missile launchers.

Super battle droids could be fooled relatively easily when given orders that were too complicated for their cognitive units. The Republic pit droid WAC-47 claimed he was testing security measures and managed to convince two B2s to follow him into a closet and trap themselves inside.

At Ringo Vinda, Republic forces faced upgraded versions of the B2-RPs. These new models sported jetpacks with thrusters that attached to the droids’ shoulders and ankles, making them more maneuverable.

Super battle droids stormed Scipio during the Banking Clan crisis, killing Commander Thorn and many of his troops.

During the Battle of Coruscant, super battle droids patrolling the corridors of the Invisible Hand apprehended R2-D2. But the “stupid little astro-droid” proved anything but, squirting the startled B2s with oil.

A blast from Artoo’s rockets then ignited the oil, leaving the luckless super battle droids engulfed in flames while the astromech smugly continued his mission.