Droideka
Droidekas, also referred to as destroyer droids (or simply destroyers), and humorously nicknamed rollies within clone trooper slang, represented a specific type of battle droid. These were deployed by the Trade Federation during the Invasion of Naboo, and later by the Confederacy of Independent Systems throughout the Clone Wars. Produced by the Colicoids species on [Colla IV](/article/colla_iv], droidekas were exceptionally lethal and dangerous, purpose-built to annihilate enemies with extreme prejudice. Their design allowed them to morph; they could curl into a spherical shape, achieving speeds of up to 75 kilometers per hour across various terrains, or they could deploy on three legs, activating a shield generator while engaging targets. Prior to the Naboo invasion, Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn and his Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi were confronted by droidekas aboard a Droid Control Ship.
Description
Encased in bronzium plating, droidekas boasted a wide array of offensive and defensive weaponry. Notably, they were armed with dual repeating blaster cannons and individual deflector shield generators. This combination meant that massed clone trooper assaults were often decimated by the droideka's rapid-fire cannons, leaving few options for survival unless an EMP could penetrate the shield, or artillery support was available. Some destroyers were identified using he/him pronouns, while others used she/her. Furthermore, the pronouns it/its could also be used for a droideka.
The shields of a droideka were incredibly resilient, capable of easily deflecting or repelling close-range, high-speed attacks, thus rendering standard blasters and sidearms ineffective. A droideka could fire its weapons through the shield because of its polarized nature, which allowed blaster bolts to pass outward while blocking incoming projectiles. Most handheld weapons lacked the necessary power to breach this defense. Despite their formidable capabilities, droidekas possessed vulnerabilities that could be exploited for their destruction: they had a blind spot to the rear, and their shields were ineffective against slow-moving, stationary objects. Attacks from the rear, combined with a diversion and a strategically deployed Electro Magnetic Pulse grenade, proved to be a highly successful tactic. Another method for neutralizing a droideka involved crushing it with a substantial, heavy object.
History
During the Battle of Naboo, droidekas carved a path of destruction through the Gungan ranks, utilizing their rapid-firing blaster cannons, and subsequently targeted the shield generators carried by the Fambaa. Later, they were integrated into the Separatist Droid Army during the Clone Wars, opposing the forces of the Galactic Republic. Following the massacre of the Separatist Council by Darth Vader, the droidekas were deactivated.
In the aftermath of the war, a droideka known as "The Unwinder" achieved notoriety as a champion within a gladiatorial arena. Another droideka was discovered in a scrap yard managed by the Bidvel and [Davil], where it was activated by C1-10P and subsequently rescued the droid from the two scavengers. After a B2-series super battle droid inquired about their next course of action, C1-10P proposed the formation of a group dedicated to assisting other droids. On the planet Koboh, droidekas and other former Separatist units were reprogrammed and employed as soldiers by the Bedlam Raiders. During the Galactic Civil War, the Droideka Oppressor and Droideka Sentinel variants saw use by smugglers, as well as by both the Alliance to Restore the Republic and the Galactic Empire. At least one droideka served as a security droid on Quarantine World III, pursuing Doctor Chelli Lona Aphra during her attempt to steal the Triple-Zero protocol personality matrix. Aphra later reprogrammed a droideka mark one, Dek-Nil, into a probability droid. The Scarabi, a mercenary organization, utilized a droideka to guard one of their safe houses.
Behind the scenes
During the conceptual design phase of the droideka, Doug Chiang did not initially consider its locomotion, envisioning it solely as a rolling unit that would remain stationary while firing, effectively serving as a fixed weapons platform. However, George Lucas desired the droideka to embody the characteristics of a gunslinger, owing to its prominent dual blasters, one on each side. Consequently, the decision was made to enable the unit to walk. The task of devising the mechanism for the droideka to unfold and walk fell to Hal Hickel of Industrial Light & Magic, who faced considerable challenges in developing a functional walk cycle for a design that was not originally intended for such movement.