Game Guides Archive
Thread: Tank Bots A Man’s Best Friend (or How To Use A Bot For Tanking)
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SolarFlareOgo
Fri Oct 08, 2004 10:02 am
#1
I have been using a tank bot for some time now. And when I am out and about doing various missions, I rarely see people using bots to help them. Unless you are a creature handler you really can’t have any good pets out so this is where the tank bot comes in handy.
Why Use A Tank Bot?
Avoid death when incapped, because MOBs most of the time will turn to attack the bot while you are down
It is better for the bot to take the damage than for you to take the damage. This saves your armor and
Avoid death when incapped, because MOBs most of the time will turn to attack the bot while you are down
It is better for the bot to take the damage than for you to take the damage. This saves your armor and
lowersyour battle fatigue and wounds if done properly.
You can take on bigger and more agro mobs than you might have if you are solo.
I seem to be able to gain XP faster and better with my bot than without it.
You can take on bigger and more agro mobs than you might have if you are solo.
I seem to be able to gain XP faster and better with my bot than without it.
Here is a guide on how I use my tank bot, CannonFodder
First get a bot with some descent HAM and that has self healing modules. Descent HAM is 4K and up. Prices do vary so shop around.
Next Name and Program Your Bot.
I use only a few commands (group, guard, attack, and store)
I program them with the following commands
Group = grp
Guard = grd
Attack = a
Store = str
I use only a few commands (group, guard, attack, and store)
I program them with the following commands
Group = grp
Guard = grd
Attack = a
Store = str
Follow = f
Stay = stay
There are many other commands you can program but these are the ones I use. I’d like to hear more on how people use the other commands as well.
If you don’t know how to program the bot or name a bot, it is a fairly easy process. When you program the bot it’s various commands, put the desired name in front of the command. For example:
Select program group then say in the spatial window "CannonFodder grp"
Select program guard then in the spatial window say "CannonFodder grd"
Select program attack then say in the spatial window "CannonFodder a"
Select program store then say in the spatial window "CannonFodder str"
If memory serves me correctly, if you issue four commands with the name in front, the bot will get its new name. After you set the name, I would retrain the bot to use the simpler commands and just do “grp” instead of “CannonFodder grp”, or “a” instead of “CannonFodder a”. This way in the heat of battle you only need to say “a” and your bot will attack the target you have selected. But the beauty of programming the bot is you can use whatever commands you would like to use. NOTE: Program commands ARE case sensitive.
There are many other commands you can program but these are the ones I use. I’d like to hear more on how people use the other commands as well.
If you don’t know how to program the bot or name a bot, it is a fairly easy process. When you program the bot it’s various commands, put the desired name in front of the command. For example:
Select program group then say in the spatial window "CannonFodder grp"
Select program guard then in the spatial window say "CannonFodder grd"
Select program attack then say in the spatial window "CannonFodder a"
Select program store then say in the spatial window "CannonFodder str"
If memory serves me correctly, if you issue four commands with the name in front, the bot will get its new name. After you set the name, I would retrain the bot to use the simpler commands and just do “grp” instead of “CannonFodder grp”, or “a” instead of “CannonFodder a”. This way in the heat of battle you only need to say “a” and your bot will attack the target you have selected. But the beauty of programming the bot is you can use whatever commands you would like to use. NOTE: Program commands ARE case sensitive.
Other Things You Will Need
You will need a few things besides the tank bot
Get somecrates ofdroid repair kits (these are like stim-packs for droids)
***DO NOT GET RECONSTRUCTION KITS (only droid engineers can use these)
Get some creates of droid batteries
More than likely you will use more repair kits than batteries so plan accordingly
Ok, so now you have named and program your bot, and you have your bot supplies, let’s get to tanking.
You will need a few things besides the tank bot
Get somecrates ofdroid repair kits (these are like stim-packs for droids)
***DO NOT GET RECONSTRUCTION KITS (only droid engineers can use these)
Get some creates of droid batteries
More than likely you will use more repair kits than batteries so plan accordingly
Ok, so now you have named and program your bot, and you have your bot supplies, let’s get to tanking.
Using the Bot to Tank
This will vary with your profession, but basically this is how I do use my bot CannonFodder to tank for me.
This will vary with your profession, but basically this is how I do use my bot CannonFodder to tank for me.
Group your bot (if you can so you can keep an eye on its HAM)
Check the battery level, if it is low (around 10%, I suggest you recharge before battle)
Target your next MOB
Turn on the auto-healing (if you have a bot with droid repair modules)
Tell the bot to attack
Now, comes the hard part, WAIT for the MOB(s) to attack the bot. If there are agros, most of the time
Check the battery level, if it is low (around 10%, I suggest you recharge before battle)
Target your next MOB
Turn on the auto-healing (if you have a bot with droid repair modules)
Tell the bot to attack
Now, comes the hard part, WAIT for the MOB(s) to attack the bot. If there are agros, most of the time
they will all attack the bot, if you wait for them to get on the bot.
After, they are attacking the bot; you can then start your attack.
During the fight
Keep an eye on your bots HAM
Keep a droid repair kit on the toolbar
Even if your bot is self healing, it may not be able to keep up with the damage it takes
As its HAM gets low, do what my friends and I call a "drive-by" healing
Target the bot
Run close to the bot (about 5m)
Hit the toolbar button that holds the droid repair kits
Run away from the bot
Retarget the MOB and continue the slaughter
Depending on the MOB and your profession, you might be able to stand close to the
After, they are attacking the bot; you can then start your attack.
During the fight
Keep an eye on your bots HAM
Keep a droid repair kit on the toolbar
Even if your bot is self healing, it may not be able to keep up with the damage it takes
As its HAM gets low, do what my friends and I call a "drive-by" healing
Target the bot
Run close to the bot (about 5m)
Hit the toolbar button that holds the droid repair kits
Run away from the bot
Retarget the MOB and continue the slaughter
Depending on the MOB and your profession, you might be able to stand close to the
bot and heal it as needed.
Tap the lair and repeat
After Fighting
TURN OFF AUTOREPAIR (after your bot has healed up)
The bot will continue to heal itself even if it is 100% healed up
Turning off AutoRepair will help save you batteries
Just don’t forget to turn it back on before you start fighting again
In case you do forget, you can turn it on while fighting
Tap the lair and repeat
After Fighting
TURN OFF AUTOREPAIR (after your bot has healed up)
The bot will continue to heal itself even if it is 100% healed up
Turning off AutoRepair will help save you batteries
Just don’t forget to turn it back on before you start fighting again
In case you do forget, you can turn it on while fighting
Other Helpful Hints and Tricks
The MOB is on me and not my bot!!!!
This does happen from time to time
Target the MOB attacking you and tell your bot to attack it
Make sure you /peace on the MOB attacking you
Then run by your bot and around your bot until the MOB gets on the bot and not you
Repeat this until all the MOBs are on the bot and off you
I am about to die!!
Get the MOBs on the bot as fast as you can.
Then burst run outta there!!!!
Leave your bot behind
Then when you are at a safe distance you can heal up
Chances are your bot will get incapped (better it than you, right?
)
Simply store your bot from your data pad then call it back out again
Help it heal up, while you heal up
Then head back and take out the MOBs
The MOB is on me and not my bot!!!!
This does happen from time to time
Target the MOB attacking you and tell your bot to attack it
Make sure you /peace on the MOB attacking you
Then run by your bot and around your bot until the MOB gets on the bot and not you
Repeat this until all the MOBs are on the bot and off you
I am about to die!!
Get the MOBs on the bot as fast as you can.
Then burst run outta there!!!!
Leave your bot behind
Then when you are at a safe distance you can heal up
Chances are your bot will get incapped (better it than you, right?
)Simply store your bot from your data pad then call it back out again
Help it heal up, while you heal up
Then head back and take out the MOBs
Use the Guard Command
When you are at peace and not fighting anything, tell the bot to guard you. I use the following macro:
/target self
/say grd
"grd" is my program for guard.
This way, when you are sitting there healing up, and you get attacked the bot will automatically
When you are at peace and not fighting anything, tell the bot to guard you. I use the following macro:
/target self
/say grd
"grd" is my program for guard.
This way, when you are sitting there healing up, and you get attacked the bot will automatically
jump in and help you out.
There is nothing worse than having your bot out and then you get jumped it is just sits there
There is nothing worse than having your bot out and then you get jumped it is just sits there
Avoid Getting Poisoned or Diseased
Bots do not get poison and disease, you can.
Get the MOBs on the bot
Then you can attack at will and not worry about getting poisoned or disease
Bots do not get poison and disease, you can.
Get the MOBs on the bot
Then you can attack at will and not worry about getting poisoned or disease
NOTE: This does not always work but it has saved me many times from black rot caused by disease
Bot Black Rot
Bots get good old black rot like we do. This is where the droid RECONSTRUCTION kits come in. Only droid engineers can use reconstruction kits. Make friends with a droid engineer. If your bot has too much black rot, then ask them to repair it for you. Vitality needs to be address from time to time as well on a bot. They use the same vitality pack as on pets. I hope others can offer more on vitality kits and what they do and how vitality works.
Bots get good old black rot like we do. This is where the droid RECONSTRUCTION kits come in. Only droid engineers can use reconstruction kits. Make friends with a droid engineer. If your bot has too much black rot, then ask them to repair it for you. Vitality needs to be address from time to time as well on a bot. They use the same vitality pack as on pets. I hope others can offer more on vitality kits and what they do and how vitality works.
Final Comments
I have used a tank bot for some time now. I have used them to help me master fencer, swordsman, pistoleer, and bounty hunter. I am using one to help me level up the force sensitive trees.
I have used a tank bot for some time now. I have used them to help me master fencer, swordsman, pistoleer, and bounty hunter. I am using one to help me level up the force sensitive trees.
Bots work well but can be expensive to maintain with batteries and repair kits. Be patient, wait the 15 seconds it takes to call the bot before you attack. It is usually worth it when the MOBs con red. It is really worth it when they con red and are agro.
As a side note, I’d like to thank my friend Ifli, master droid engineer on Bria (free plug here:
his vendor is in Mos Theran on Tatooine (-2238, -6350)). If he had not gone the droid engineer path, I probably would have never used a bot.
his vendor is in Mos Theran on Tatooine (-2238, -6350)). If he had not gone the droid engineer path, I probably would have never used a bot. Happy Tanking!
Message Edited by SolarFlareOgo on 04-19-2005 09:53 AM
Sawro
Fri Oct 08, 2004 11:30 am
#2
This will probably be a very nice approach to hunting after thecombat balance when peoplewill no longer be able to solo 99.9% of everything in the game.
SolarFlareOgo
Fri Oct 08, 2004 2:16 pm
#3
is it bad to reply to your own thread? 
Anyway, yes the combat revamp is a ways off, at least it looks like it is. Even with all of that, bots do help a lot. Some professions can solo big things like rancors and such, but not all professions. A tank bot can help you level up. When I decieded to get rid of my swordsmand andfencer skills and go pistoleer, the bot helped me out a lot. I was able to solo baz nitches (with my bot) and I leveled quickly. My point is we all could use bots more in this game. It is Star Wars and there were bots everywhere in the movies, and they were helping in combat a lot. Try it out, you might actually like it
Happy hunting....
Koch20
Fri Oct 08, 2004 2:40 pm
#4
Would I be correct in assuming they wouldn't work well against nightsisters. I've been going through sets of armor in 3 days hunting NS. It'd be nice to have a bot take the damage for me.
ciry
"To tired to attack" Ciry 
SolarFlareOgo
Fri Oct 08, 2004 2:53 pm
#5
I have used them against Nightsisters but I was also in a group with others who had bots. I have taken a solo nightsister with the bot and did okay. But those things are pretty good NPCs as far as their attacks, so it might not be a good idea to take on more than one or two nightsisters at a time (which in the cave is almost impossible). I mainly use the bot for lairs and animal spawns, but they do work well with some NPCs.
That reminds me of another thing, if your bot has self healing modules, it will heal other bots around it. So if you havea group of self-healing bots together, they will take way more damage since they tend to heal each other if they are in proximity of each other. So tell your friends to get bots too (since you can only have one bot out at a time), and do nightsisters with them.
hamstarcloud
Fri Oct 08, 2004 3:16 pm
#6
what kinda bots can u use to tank for you? do they need to be probot droids?
SolarFlareOgo
Fri Oct 08, 2004 5:40 pm
#7
I have used probots and R4s. I am not sure what is best. My probot was before the droid engineer patch. Since then I have been using an R4. I guess it would depend on the HAM of the bot. And if the bot has self-healing modules. I would use a probot if it had the HAM and modules. But as I sit and type this, I lean towards R4 because they don't just shoot their target they buzz saw it too.
Ybagi
Fri Oct 08, 2004 8:52 pm
#8
My Non CH pet has 7K Health now and I'm looking into getting a 10k heatlh one in the near future, how does this compare to the bots?
Some other things I like about my pet are the fact that it has special attacks, and does not need batteries all the time.
Do bots have specials?
ReggaeMaster
Sat Oct 09, 2004 12:57 am
#9
Sawro wrote:This will probably be a very nice approach to hunting after the combat balance when people will no longer be able to solo 99.9% of everything in the game.
In other words: You are safe to do above tip for a long time 'cause we all know the Combat Balance ain't happening anytime in the foreseeable future.
Afoi
SolarFlareOgo
Sat Oct 09, 2004 11:36 pm
#10
The bots do not have specials (at least the ones I have used) unless you count the self-healing as special. A 7k HAM non-CH pet is nice and prob. better than the bot. Sounds like your pet is a good one. I like my bots but your pet sounds better and bots are an alternative for those who can't find a 7k HAM pet
KaylBreinhar
Sun Oct 10, 2004 3:40 am
#11
Bots haven't had AR2 for a while now. Had it all stripped off months ago. Now all you can manage is 40% across the board barring LS damage.
Yasha
Sun Oct 10, 2004 4:41 am
#12
Just as an additional note you might mention that "/tellpet <cmd>" can be substituted for any pet/droid command so long as the taught command is longer than 3 characters.
Atobusarragra
Sun Oct 10, 2004 4:43 am
#13
You cant have a bot AND a pet out at once, at least as far as I'm aware...perhaps if you are CH. I've tried but it wont let me. I'm MRifle/Mdoc...If you can please tell
Also, this is a great thread on using tanks
However, as far as I was aware anyone can use droid reconstruction kits (wound kits for droids)...at least that is what I've been told by my MDE friend....I havent actually tried it myself though...might post a message on the DE forum about this, as I'm certainly no expert...
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