Friday Feature - Engineering Trader

[Q'in]

Calling all Engineers! Calling all Engineers! Game Update 12 is for you!

Update 12 will focus on Engineering Traders, with twelve new droids being added to the repertoire of chassis available to Engineering traders! Don't be left in the dark when it comes to having newest and coolest droids in the galaxy!

As announced at Fan Faire, we're working on giving these traders new droids to craft, including (but not limited to) Magnaguards, Pit Droids, Mark IV Sentry Droids (the little guys seen flying around the Sandtroopers in Special Editions of A New Hope), and Mustafar Mining Droids (the one Anakin flies on over the lava river at the end of Revenge of the Sith).

Not all droids added in this update will be combat droids. We've identified pretty unique uses for some of these droids that we hope you'll really enjoy.

We also announced that, by popular demand, Engineering Traders will now be able to craft cybernetic arms, hands, torsos, and legs. A brand new cybernetic to be released in Update 12 is Anakin's cybernetic arm from Attack of the Clones.

Droid Engineer

• New droids craftable by engineers:
  

  8D8 Originally designed for work in ore extraction facilities, 8D8 and other members of his series were strong, solid, and simple. At some point, he was modified to serve as a starship maintenance droid. Following EV-9D9's migration to Jabba's Palace's on Tatooine in Cyborg Operations, 8D8 was completely reprogrammed to serve as a dedicated torturer of both droids and organics. Although Atedeeate had been modified by his former master to perform complex starship repairs, his duties in Jabba's droid pool were menial and degrading. Atedeeate secretly despised his superior EV-9D9, but nevertheless helped her torture and dismantle dozens of helpless droids.
  ASN-121 In 22 BBY, Bounty Hunter Zam Wesell used the droid in an attempt to assassinate Senator Padmé Amidala, who was residing in a senatorial apartment in a Coruscant skyscraper. The droid cut a hole in the window of Amidala's chamber, and through this hole inserted a canister containing two Kouhuns.
  CWW8 A modified version of the standard lift droid, the CWW8 has had its lifts replaced by heavy blaster cannons. It has also had its armor modified to deflect all but the most accurate or powerful of blasters.
  Dwarf Spider Droid During the Clone Wars, dwarf spider droids were used on the frontlines, in front of platoons of battle droids and other Separatist droids. The dwarf spider droid also worked in conjunction with the larger OG-9 homing spider droid and could operate as an armored scout exploring the battlefields Though most Separatist war vehicles were deactivated after the end of the Clone Wars, the dwarf spider droids were re-commissioned through Imperial command and used by the Galactic Empire to enforce the submission of former Separatist worlds. They fought against the remnants of the very government that once used them, with the Stormtrooper Corps using the droids as their mechanical attack dogs. They were utilized throughout the Empire's reign, and it was not uncommon to see these droids alongside Stormtroopers at Imperial checkpoints.
  INS-444 INS-444 droids were a common sight in Galactic City on Coruscant, and were favored due to their ability to reach even the tallest buildings on the city-planet. An INS-444 unit nicknamed "Mick" and its counterpart replaced a window pane in Senator Padmé Amidala's apartment in 22 BBY, after Obi-Wan Kenobi smashed through while in pursuit of an ASN-121 assassin droid. These droids saw continued use throughout the Galactic Civil War and beyond.
  LIN Demolitionmech Droid During the Galactic Civil War, the Galactic Empire would also utilize these droids and many were found in civilian employ. Cybot Galactica stopped the production of the droid after a charge being held by one of the droids detonated in a mine on Gosfambling. 600 miners died of suffocation in the resulting cave-in. While it was found that the fault lay in the charge itself, the bad publicity was enough for them to quietly retire the line, though they were made in large enough numbers to appear across the galaxy, especially in the Outer Rim.
  Magnaguard The MagnaGuards were first introduced to Grievous shortly after his transformation into a cyborg. Upon activation, Grievous killed all the MagnaGuards present, venting his frustration at being treated as a droid. MagnaGuards were initially used in combat during the Battle of Parein II 4, where one of Grievous's MagnaGuards killed the Jedi Sannen by thrusting its electrostaff through his throat. The MagnaGuards proved to be formidable, able to take on Jedi and clone troopers with ease, and were regarded by some as being even worse than Droidekas. Originally, the MagnaGuards were programmed with the optimum in combat techniques. As a result, Grievous had their minds wiped and trained them all individually in the seven classic styles of lightsaber combat. Once they were put to use, Grievous would not allow any repairs to be made to the droids, believing that their numerous scrapes and battle scars made them look more intimidating to opponents. Grievous would often engage his bodyguards in practice fights as part of training, often damaging them.
  Mark IV Sentry Droid The Mark IV Sentry Droid, also known as the IM4, was a small, multi-purpose sensor droid manufactured by the Imperial Department of Military Research and employed by the Galactic Empire. Hundreds of Mark IV droids were deployed from Devastator during the Galactic Civil War to scout the planet of Tatooine, where they searched the crowded streets of Mos Eisley in cooperation with Sandtroopers searching for C-3PO and R2-D2. One such droid interrupted an ASP-series droid assembling what it thought to be an illegal antenna. The ASP droid responded by smashing the Mark IV.
  Pit Droid These saw much use on Tatooine in Watto's Shop and at the Boonta Eve Classic working on podracers, though a handful were also purchased by Aneesa Dym to make repairs to her ship, the Dusty Duck. During the Boonta Eve Classic of 32 BBY while the racer Ody Mandrell had his pod in a pit-stop, a single DUM-series pit droid was sucked into the engine and thrown out the opposite end of the engine. The droid "survived," (even letting out a cheer of excitement) but Ody's engine did not, costing him the race. Pit droids were also used to scavenge any reusable rubble from podracers that had blown apart. This action could be quite hazardous, as the droids were likely to be destroyed by functional podracers that were still running the course; the low cost of an individual unit made the loss of a single droid worth the risk.
  Super Battle Droid The B2 super battle droid (SBD) was an upgraded version of the B1 battle droid, with superior armament and armor. B2s were used by the Trade Federation, the Techno Union, and later, on a much larger scale, the Confederacy of Independent Systems. The Galactic Alliance also used some B2 units during the Yuuzhan Vong War. During their first deployment at the Kashyyyk Trade Rebellion, the new B2 designs proved to be a match for the local Wookiee warriors. Super battle droids saw use throughout the Clone Wars as soldiers for the Confederacy along with their smaller cousins and the dreaded Droidekas. Though the first B2s seen on Geonosis wore an unpainted dull silver tone, many of the droids used in later battles of the Clone Wars were painted dark blue, likely to differentiate them from the red coloration the Confederacy used for its standard battle droids, or perhaps due to varying manufacturers. Some Super Battle Droids were used as scouts to observe the plains of Geonosis, mostly because of their brute strength and their ability to destroy modest ground targets. This pleased many of the local Geonosians affiliated with the C.I.S., thus sometimes using the B2s as "spire guards."
  Union Sentry Droid The Union Sentry Droid (USD) was first seen in the game at Mustafar as a level 89 Elite Boss outside of the Old Research Facility (POI).
  Guardian Mark II Droid The Guardian Mark II Droid is a variation of the GV/3 Guardian Droid made by Cybot Galactica who were famous for their protocol units. The original droid was designed from the earliest concept sketches to be the ultimate protector, companion, and friend. Four-legged domesticated guard animals are common on countless inhabited planets. The Guardian's similarity to these creatures is no accident.

• New combat modules and combat commands for droids:
  
  • Flame Jet (cone fire attack)
    
  • Electrical Shock (single target attack)
    
  • Droideka Shield (damage reduction buff)
    
  • Torturous Needle (single target attack)
    
  • Regenerative Plating (droid self repair)
    
  • Battery Dump (AOE electrical attack)

Corellia Droid Dungeon

• A new quest series for players around level 50. In this quest you get to investigate the underground Droid factory and help Corsec end the droid threat. If you've completed the last of the legacy quests, talk to Agent Taarna in Nashal to start the new quests.

Chapter Gift

• Everyone will receive a Hologram of Jedi Knight Skywalker's Cybernetic Arm when they log in once the Game Update is live.

You can login now to help test the new update or join the discussion by joining the TestCenter Update Notes thread.

Sources
The New Essential Guide to Droids

• Star Wars: The New Essential Guide to Droids is a 224-page reference book published by Del Rey, the twelfth book in the Essential Guide series. It was written by Daniel Wallace, and illustrated by Ian Fullwood. It was released June 27, 2006.