The droideka Mark II was an upgraded variant of the droideka developed by the Confederacy of Independent Systems and employed by the Zann Consortium during the Galactic Civil War.
A Mark II with its shield activated.
Like its predecessor, the Mark II was vulnerable when it was moving; however, when deployed, it was essentially a turret. This version of the droideka was different from previous types not only in appearance but also in capabilities, as they were capable of switching between blaster cannons and ion cannons, which allowed them to combat infantry or vehicles. Like the original droideka, they utilized a shield to protect themselves from harm when they were deployed.
They were highly effective against enemy artillery, as they could wait out of range and then race inside the guns' firing arc and tear the lightly armored vehicles apart. They could also use ion blasters to take down shields and could dominate infantry squads with their rapid-firing blasters, but suffered against PLEX troopers and were extremely vulnerable when rolling.
A Mark II in battle.
The Droideka Mark II was developed by Baktoid Combat Automata in their foundries on the planet Hypori during the Clone Wars, but the droids were developed too late to play a significant role in the conflict. However, the Zann Consortium later discovered some of the droids during the Galactic Civil War, in a factory on Hypori that Jabba the Hutt had taken interest in. Tyber Zann, the leader of the Consortium, built up an invasion force after Urai Fen had gone ahead to scout and personally landed near the factory. Zann and Fen didn't travel far before droideka Mark IIs were found and started firing upon them. Urai managed to make it to the console and switch the droid production machines to manual, shutting off the droids.
The Hutt Cartel then sent Bossk and several soldiers down to confront them, which started the Ground Battle on Hypori between Consortium and Cartel forces. Urai managed to reprogram the factories to produce droids for the Consortium, and the droideka Mark II then became a tool for the Consortium to use to help fight the Cartel back on Hypori and spread their corruption on other planets.
- Star Wars: Empire at War: Forces of Corruption Expansion: Prima Official Game Guide
- Scavenger's Guide to Droids
- The Essential Guide to Warfare