Basic Droid Function and Use by Drashk
Advanced Droid Functions and Use by Drashk (click link)
'Why should I own a droid?' once was a typical question that anyone would ask of a droid builder. As the game has progressed, more and more people have realized how important the use of a droid really is.
Droids have an arm in everything from combat to structure maintenance, harvesting to crafting, and storage to space flight. You can find a droid out on the battlefield or in the cantina assisting their owner with many different tasks.
If you are looking around to acquire a droid, you will need to search around on the market. Droid Deeds are listed on the market under the Deed > Droid Deed category. You will more then likely need to perform a Vendor Location search, to find many of the high end droids. If this is the first time you are looking to buy a droid, I highly recommend that you contact one of the Engineers on your server, ask around in the Engineer forums, or send a message to the Engineer Senator. Experienced Engineers should be able to answer any and all questions that you have, as well as make a few recommendations on installation options, depending on your needs.
In this guide, I will go over the basics, including droid commands and how to program a droid.
- What droid types are available?
- I have my droid deed. Now what?
- How do I program a droid?
- What are the commands?
- How do I name a droid?
- Why isn't my droid responding correctly?
What droid types are available?
There are currently 16 different droid styles that can be crafted by an Engineer. They fall into 3 categories and are listed below - Combat, Utility, and Non-Combat.
- Combat Droids (Up to CL60)
- Battle Droid
- Droideka
- Utility Droids (Up to CL30)
- DZ70
- LE Repair Droid
- MK3 Mining Droid
- Probot
- R2 Unit
- R3 Unit
- R4 Unit
- R5 Unit
- Non-Combat Droids (Up to CL30)
- Binary Load Lifter
- MSE
- Power Droid
- Protocol Droid
- Surgical Droid
- Treadwell
Combat Droids can only be equipped with combat modules and armor modules. Their only purpose is combat.
Utility Droids can have any combination of modules installed including a Combat module.
Non-Combat Droids can have any modules installed, with the exception of a Combat module.
I have my droid deed. Now what?
Once you have your droid deed, you will need to turn the deed into a usable droid. To do this, right click on the droid deed and chose the option 3) Ready Droid Unit. This will call the droid and add a Droid Control Device to your datapad. I suggest that you find the newly added DCD in your datapad and drag the icon to an empty slot on your toolbar. This will allow you to call and store the droid directly from the toolbar, without having to open the datapad and selecting the option from there.
Next, you should open up the radial menu of the droid, to see what options you have listed. Using the ~ key, while you have the droid targeted will bring up a couple of options including - Examine, Droid Options, and Program. Other menu options will be available, depending on what is installed in the droid.
The Examine option will show you how much battery power the droid has left. You can also see this information in the datapad listing.
The Droid Options menu option has Store and Recharge by default. Other items will be listed here, depending on what you have installed in your droid.
The Program menu option will bring up a Teach Pet Command window, which we will go over in more detail in Part 2.
Programming a droid can be accomplished by anyone and is pretty easy to set up, if you follow these steps.
The first thing you will need to do is call your droid out. Make sure that the droid has enough battery power. As long as the droid isn't at 0%, it will be able to learn a new command. Next, target the droid and use the ~ key to bring up the radial menu, and select the Program menu option. A Command window will open up, listing all of the commands that you can program to your droid.
Next, you will need to select a command that you want to program. Chose the command and select Train. This will generate an orange "?" flytext over the droid. This means that the droid is ready to accept a command. The next thing that you say in spatial that is, under 30 characters long, will be the designated command for that action. You can use numbers, spaces, and symbols.
Once an acceptable command is issued, the droid will respond with a white "!" flytext. This means that the next time you say the command, the droid will respond.
For Example - You choose to program the Store command. The Droid displays an orange "?" over its head. You say "Go home already!" The droid responds with a white "!". Anytime you say "Go home already!" the droid will respond by storing itself back in your datapad.
The following list shows the standard commands that all droids come with -
- Store (Stores your droid)
- Group (Forms a group with your droid. Your droid cannot be in combat when trying to group)
- Clear Patrol Points (Clears all Patrol Points that have been set)
- Get Patrol Points (Sets your current position as a patrol point. * )
- Patrol (The droid will move to any Patrol Points that have been set, while called)
- Get in wedge formation (See below ** )
- Get in column formation (See below ** )
- Befriend (See below ** )
- Stay (The droid will stay in the spot it currently is located)
- Follow Target (The droid will follow what ever you have targeted)
- Follow Me (The droid will follow you)
* Note about Get Patrol Point - This command allows a droid to store up to 10 patrol points. Patrol points can be up to 50 meters apart. Once a droid is stored, the patrol points are erased and must be reassigned when the droid is called again.
** This command does not serve a function currently, due to changes in pet/droid behavior.
The following commands are limited to Combat Droids -
- Guard (The droid will guard who ever is targeted. If no one is targeted, or an enemy is targeted, the droid will guard its owner.)
- Attack (The droid will attack what you have targeted.)
The Power Droid has one additional command -
Recharge Other Droid (The Power Droid will recharge the droid that is selected *** )
*** This feature is currently not functioning correctly .
In order to name your droid, first open the droid's radial menu and choose the command that you wish to program. You will need to program four different commands, each time using the same name, spelled the exact same way.
A droid name can only consist of characters that are usable in character name generation. (ie. A through Z - ' ) At this time, numbers and other characters can not be included in the name of your droid. Spaces are also unavailable. Key words such as Jedi, Rebel, and Medic aren't allowed by the name filter, along with a list of other words that cannot be used during character generation.
A name can be 28 letters in length, with a one letter long command. If done correctly, on the fourth command the droid will respond with (DroidsNameHere) ? in both Spatial and above its head.
For Example - You decide to name your Droideka Tri-Barrel. You decide to use the Store, Get in wedge formation , Get in column formation , and Befriend commands, since those four commands aren't used that often. You can reprogram them later, when needed.
Following the steps listed in Part 2, you use the following commands
Tri-Barrel Store
Tri-Barrel Wedge
Tri-Barrel Column
Tri-Barrel Friends
On that fourth command, your Droideka should have been renamed to (Tri-Barrel). If not, then something is wrong...
Why isn't my droid responding correctly?
Q. Why isn't my droid learning its name?
A. This could be for a couple of reasons. It could be that you are trying to use characters that will not make it through the name filter such as numbers or part of the name is being filtered due to inappropriate language or reserved words such as Jedi, Luke, Chewbacca. Also make sure that you are spelling the name exactly the same all four times. Make sure that the droid is also powered. A droid with *Low Power* will not respond to commands.
Q. Why won't my droid respond to a command?
A. Make sure that you are giving the command exactly as you did when it was programmed. Remember that capitalization makes a difference. Also make sure that the droid is charged. A *Low Power* droid will normally not respond to any commands.
Q. Okay. It's not either of those issues. What else can it be?
A. Try storing the droid and calling it out again. On a couple of occasions, the droid will simply stop responding. Storing the droid and calling it again should resolve this issue
ADVANCED DROID FUNCTIONS
Advanced Droid Functions and Use by Drashk
In this guide, we will go over some of the additional functions that a droid can have installed, as well as cover the /tellpet command, macro creation, and additional suggestions.
Combat Droids
Combat droids are a relatively cheap and easy way to increase your overall DPS. Anyone can use a combat droid, regardless of skill or profession, as long as your character is no more then 5 levels below the droid you wish to use. This means that if you are Level 25, you can use any droid that is below CL30.
The level of the droid isn't listed on the droid deed, unless the Engineer that built it included its CL in the droid deed title. You will generally see droid deeds with 3 Health ratings - 100, 4k, and 10k. 100 Health means the droid is CL1. 4K Health means the droid is CL30. 10K Health means that the droid is CL60.
If you are ever uncertain of which droid you should buy, contact a local engineer. You can get the name of a local engineer by looking at the creator name on all droid deeds.
The /tellpet command
The /tellpet command gets rid of the annoying spatial spam that occurs with saying your droid commands out loud. By putting /tellpet before each and every command, you can issue commands to your droid without anyone knowing. If your attack command for your droid is Attack, then you would simply use /tellpet Attack. /tellp also works.
Macros
It is much easier to set up macros for commanding your droid. Open up your Command browser and make a macro for each of the important commands. I would suggest creating macros for the following commands:
- Attack
- Guard
- Follow Me
- Group
- Harvest Target (I will cover this command below)
Once you have your macros set up, you can either fire them off from the toolbar, or you can bind each macro to your keyboard -- using the Keymap > Custom listing in the Options menu.
Attack or Guard?
If you are going to use a combat droid, I highly suggest using the Guard command over the Attack command. Once the command is issued, your droid will automatically attack any MOB that attacks you first. This is extremely useful in high combat areas and will allow you to let the droid act on its own. You can issue the attack command to the droid, if you wish to set a designated target to have it take out first. Once the droid has killed the MOB, it will start attacking any other MOB that is attacking you.
Recharging Your Droid
To recharge your droid, first you will need a Droid Battery. You can usually pick up one of those from the same place you found your droid. Most engineers will offer them in crates. Make sure that you have the battery in your base inventory -- meaning not in a bag or container. Next, call your droid and open up its radial menu. Select the menu option 'Droid Options' and you will see a 'Recharged' fly text. This should power your droid back up to full. You can double check by opening up the examine window for the droid. It should list the droid at 100%
Customizing the Color of Your Droid
Using a Droid Customization tool, you can change the color(s) of your droid. To accomplish this, you will need to pick up a Droid Customization tool from a local engineer. Place the tool on your tool bar and call out your droid. Target the droid and use the tool, from your toolbar. This will bring up a window a couple of options, depending on the droid.
Some droids will have the option to customize the Frame and the Trim. Others will only have an option for Frame. Once you select one of these, a color palette will be displayed. Selecting a color will change the color of the droid. Selecting OK will make this change 'permeate'--at least for the next 2000 calls.
The following droids can not currently be customized through the use of a Droid Customization tool - Protocol Droid, Battle Droid, and the Mk3 Mining Droid. The Protocol Droid does have an option to customize its color, during the crafting process.
Using a Droid Repair Kit
The Droid Repair Kit can be used to repair the Health damage of a droid. To use, place the Droid Repair Kit on your tool bar, target the droid, and use the kit from the toolbar. The amount of damage that is repaired by the Repair kit depends on the Kit's power, which is listed in the tools information. There is a 30 second cool down between each use.
Droid Module Functions
This part of the guide will cover all of the droid modules that can be installed in a droid and will explain how to operate them, where applicable.
Auto Repair Module
This module, when activated, will automatically repair the droid a certain amount of Health every 10 seconds. It will also heal the damage of any other droid that it is grouped with. The amount of healing that the droid offers is based upon the Auto Repair rating of the droid.
To activate the Auto-Repair function, simply select the Auto-Repair On/Off radial menu option on the droid.
Creature Harvest Module
This module will allow your droid to harvest creature resources from creatures that you, or your group, have killed. Once the droid performs the harvest action, no one else will be able to harvest from the corpse. The bonus that the droid offers is based on the rating of the droid. The maximum Creature Harvest rating that droid can have is based on the number of modules used, with 120 being the maximum. This bonus can be increased through the use of Veghash.
Installation of this module in a droid will create a new radial menu option labeled 'Harvest Options'. This option has three sub-categories - Toggle Auto Harvest, Set Harvest Interest, and Program Target Harvest.
- Toggle Auto Harvest - This option does just what is suggested. It toggles the Auto Harvest function on and off. When the function is on, the droid will automatically go to a dead creature you have harvest rights for and harvest the resource that you have selected it to.
- Set Harvest Interest - This option will bring up a window that allows you to select the type of creature resource that you wish the droid to harvest. The options are Random, Hide, Meat, and Bone.
- Program Target Harvest - This option will allow you to program the command that you wish to use, in order to have the droid harvest a corpse. This is accomplished a similar manner to program other commands.
Once the Harvest Interest and the Program Target Harvest are set, you can either Auto Toggle the droid, or directly command the droid which targets you want it to harvest.
Droids can currently be hit by AOE attacks. If the droid is over CL1, this will send the droid into combat. Issuing the Follow command to the droid will have it break aggro, so that it can return to harvesting.
Crafting Station Module
There are five different crafting station modules - Armor/Clothing, Food, Structures/Furniture, Droid/General/Weapon, and Ship. All droid crafting stations are private stations, allowing you to access all of the draft schematics that you have access to. These crafting stations can only be used by the owner of the droid.
Detonation Module
This module is only usable by bounty hunters and smugglers. The Detonation Module turns any droid into a walking time bomb. The more modules that are installed, the more damage that the droid will produce, with a maximum rating of 60.
Installation of this module will create a new radial option - Detonate Droid. Selecting this option will begin the three second countdown. An alternate option is to use the /detonatedroid command, when the droid is targeted. When the droid detonates, it is removed from the datapad.
Droid Armor Module
This module adds armor and combat levels to any droid that it is installed into (1000 armor effectiveness and five combat level for each level of the module). Armor Modules increase combat levels up to CL30 and armor effectiveness to 6000. The Battle Droid and Droideka are the only two droids that can achieve a CL above 30.
Droid Combat Module
Droid Combat Modules are what give a droid combat capability. The module will add an Attack and Guard command to any droid that it is installed into. Through the installation of Droid Armor and this module, droids can reach up to CL60 with 10k Armor.
Effects Modules
Droids with Effects Modules installed are only usable by entertainers and come in six types - Avian, Confetti, Dancing Jawa, Electric Fog, Foam, and Mind Bloom. Installation of any of the Effects Modules will create a radial menu with the Effects On/Off Toggle. The Effects On/Off Toggle has a sub menu called Configure that allows you to program 10 slots. Each slot can be filled with one of the Effects Modules installed and allows you to set a delay time for each effect.
Data Module
The Droid Data Module has two main functions - Draft Schematic Storage and Astromech crafting.
When a droid is crafted with the Data Module, an 'Open Droids Datapad' submenu is added to the Droid Options radial menu option. You can store draft schematics in the droids datapad.
When this module is installed in an R-Series droid, an astromech is created. Each level of the Data Module corresponds with each level of Pilot Certification and creates a 'Program Droid' radial menu option in the datapad. This option is used to program flight commands into your droid.
Astromechs can only be used in the Z-95, Y-Wing, X-Wing, Arc-170, and Eta-2 starfighters. All other ships use a Flight Computer.
Item Storage Module
The Droid Item Storage Module adds storage for up to 10 Items in each droid. Installation of this module adds a 'Open Droid's Item Storage Compartment' submenu to the Droid Options radial menu. This allows you to access any items that are stored inside of the droid.
To place an item inside the droid, with this module, you can either open the Item Storage Compartment, or you can drag and drop the item on top of the droid.
To retrieve the item, you can either access the Item Storage Compartment, or you can place the item on your toolbar and click the toolbar icon when ever you wish to pull the item out.
Structure Maintenance Module
Having a droid with this module installed, in your datapad, adds an 'Assign Droid' option to Structure Management submenu of any structure that you are on the Admin list for. When this option is selected, a window is opened that lists any droids that you own, that have a Structure Maintenance module installed. Choosing a droid on the list will add the structure to that droid.
The droid that the module is installed in will have a new radial menu option listing - Structure Maintenance. This menu has two submenu entires - Perform Maintenance Run and Edit Maintenance List.
The Perform Maintenance Run option will open up a Maintenance Run window. This window will list all structures that have been assigned to the droid. Each structure listing will have the name of the structure and structures location. The window has three options - Cancel, Add, and Go.
To perform a maintenance run, select a structure and click 'Add'. This brings up the Maintenance Amount window. This window lists the current maintenance pool and has a slider that allows you to add credits from your bank/inventory account directly to the structure. This window has three options as well - Cancel, Revert, and OK. Selecting and amount and OK will bring up the Maintenance Run menu again.
Once your have chosen all the structures that you wish to add to the Run, you can select the Go button. This will launch the droid into action. The droid will be unavailable for a period of time, depending on how many structures were added to the run. A system message is generated, with the amount of time it will take for the droid to perform this action. You can call any other droid you own during this time period.
The Edit Maintenance List command opens up an Edit Maintenance List window. This window lists all of the structures that are assigned to the droid. Selecting any of the structures on the list and choosing delete will remove the structure from the droids list.
There is a known issue with this module becoming non-responsive if a structure is deleted without first removing the structure from the droid's maintenance list.
Merchant Module
The Merchant Module can turn any droid into an advertisement barking tool, which is only usable by a trader. The installation of the module adds a new 'Get Merchant Waypoint' radial menu option. This menu has 3 submenus - Record message, Set Waypoint, and Toggle Barker On/Off.
The Record Message option allows you to create a text message that is up to a total of 128 characters in length. To program the message, simply select the Record Message option then say your message in spatial. The droid will remember this message until it is stored. Using the Toggle Barker On/Off option will toggle this function on and off. The message will repeat about once every 60 seconds, when someone enters into its range, which is about 15 meters.
The Set Waypoint option allows you add any waypoint currently listed in your datapad. When the Get Merchant Waypoint option is chosen, the droid will add the waypoint that was selected, with the Set Waypoint option, to your datapad.
There is a known issue with droids automatically storing when a ship terminal is used, or when you leave the area of the droid. This means that you must stay at least 100 meters from the droid, while it is barking, or it will store.
Playback Module
The Playback Module, when installed in a droid, will produce a new radial menu option - Access Playback Module. This module can only be used by an entertainer. Accessing the radial menu brings up a window with the Record/Play and Delete options.
Record/Play - This option will play a track, if one exists, or will record a track as soon as the musician starts to play. The track length is 30 seconds and must be recorded each time the droid is called from the datapad. Flourishes will not be recorded, when played, but the droid will perform a /bandflourish when commanded during playback.
Delete - Deletes any current songs recorded.
Personality Chip
There are six different Personality Chips that can be installed - Geeky, Prissy, Sarcastic, Slang, Stupid, and Worshipful. Each chip will produce difference responses in Converse style droids, when you program them and from random occurrences. Calling the droid, keywords, and someone entering or leaving the area are some of the queues. The Personality Chips can only be installed in the following droid types - LE Repair Droid, Surgical Droid, and Protocol Droid.
Modules per Droid
Each droid body has a different number of modules that can be installed. Since the Battle Droid and Droideka can only have combat modules installed, I won't include them in this part. I will also simply this list by only including the Advanced model of each droid. The module slots for each droid do not include Armor modules, since Armor modules are handled by an armor specific slot. All of the Advanced droid models have room for one or more armor modules. The module slots do not include Personality Chips. The Surgical Droid, LE Repair Droid, and Protocol Droid have a specific slot for the Personality chip.
- Room for 6 Modules
- R3 Unit
- MK3 Mining Droid
- Room for 5 Modules
- Probot
- R2 Unit
- Room for 3 Modules
- Binary Load Lifter Droid
- LE Repair Droid
- R4 Unit
- Surgical Droid
- Room for 2 Modules
- DZ70
- MSE Droid
- Protocol Droid
- R5 Unit
- Treadwell Droid
- Room for 1 Module
- Power Droid
