Droid Engineer Archive
Thread: Combat Droids worth the time???
I really hate to say this.... butmy alternate has been using a new probot and a CL10 (captured/tamed) Swamp Gurrcat on LVL15 Imperial missions and, if healed properly, it does well enuf. I certainly wouldnt use it to take on a herd of Faamba.... but then I have no deathwish.
sssssssssssSSS(:-<
), I can't answer for how good that is in comparision to the pet option, but he didn't try and run away.
Made a sarcastic LE combat droid too, but someone begged me to sell it to them in Coronet Starport Oh well, it's not like I don't have more parts!
I think a lot of people using droids as tanks need to keep some perspective. While I've certainly touted their new abilities, I've also kept in mind where those abilities fall in terms of their overall performance in the big picture.
Most people still think of droids in terms of the way they were used before patch 7. You basically threw the droid at whatever was coming and when it ran out of HAM, you stored it until it regened itself in several hours.With the new droid changes, this way of working isn't going to let the new one's last very long. They do require some additional support like creature pets. Repair kits need to be marketed as much as the new droids do.
People also need to keep in mind that these droids aren't that much more powerful than comparable creature pets. They are simply more effective at the same level because of their immunity to state effects that can cripple creatures. So you don't go throwing a droid at something you wouldn't go throwing your non-CH pet at, because you'll end up with a trashed droid. BUT, when you throw your droids at the same level of opposition you send your pets after, you can expect that the droid will outlast it because of the subtle advantages over creatures. No panicking, no intimidation, no bleeding, no delaying,dizzying, blindness or stunning.
Droids aren't more powerful than pets, just more effective. And as it was with non-CH creature pets, new owners of these improved droids need to learn that there are limits to just how much of an edge these new droids offer. Even at CL15, non-CH pet owners in the early days would throw their pets at creatures that would curl the hair of an experienced CH, but after a few incaps and trips to the cloning center, these new pet owners learned just how much of an edge their pets offered and made more realistic choices in targets to engage.
Also, DE's need to market their droids to the right type of players.
A potential owner grinding xp isn't going to want a probot cannon out there robbing him of potential xp by causing a lot of damage, nor is he going to want thelower HAM costs distracting him with repairsin the middle of a heavy fight. An LE repair droid for this kind of owner would make more sense, since the higher HAM would make for a longer lasting tank and the lower damage would maximize his xp brought in.
An Artisan that needs a protector out in the field is going to want the higher damage output, because while the extra HAM of a tank would be nice, the fact is he lacks the ability to dish out the damage to the attacker in time before the droid takes the fall. In this case, the droid needs to be able to cause as much, if not more, damage than the owner.
For someone like me who has maxed out his combat profession and now does missions more for the loot/money, the R3 makes more sense because of its more rounded nature. It can take a beating that would scrap a probot, it can outdamage an LE attack droid,it can switch roles and be a melee fighter or a ranged fighter (to the best ofmy knowledge, the LE is pure melee, the probot is pure ranged, I could be wrong) as the case may require and being a Creature Handler and an Overt Rebel, its not working alone very often. The multirole capability of the R3 allows me the flexibility to apply it in different situations as the battle around me changes shape.
Combat droids suffer from the same problem as all our other droids suffer from; there toys. They have no place in advanced combat, are far to expensive for newbies who actualy see value inthem, otherwise there use is really limited, and not a favorable alternative to creature pets.
Of coarse the only way not to make money is not to sell anything. I made afew factory runs and have a dedicated vendor to them and droidstims. They dont sell well, but they do sell, maybe one every couple of droids. I've made 100 combat droids in all, and sold like 12 since patch 7, which isnt worth the investment so far. I'm quite angry at em. But they do sell. Its up to you if you want to put in the effort which i belive is exausted better elsewhere.
I really think they should implement a "Shoots sparks out of its mouth module" should sell just as well.