Assassin droid / Legends Assassin droids were droids constructed for the purpose of killing sentient beings on behalf of crime lords , corrupt politicians , and bounty hunters . History . When a crime lord , corrupt politician , or bounty hunter required an individual to be eliminated , they sometimes deployed or hired an assassin droid to execute their will . These droids generally performed with unflinching loyalty to their masters , but rogue assassin droids were not unknown . Since their missions generally required a far higher degree of independent skill , savvy , and judgment than normally possessed by simple war droids , their programming subroutines , circuitry , and memory cores were of correspondingly higher sophistication and quality . Equipped with an array of weapons , assassin droids were also used as elite infantry when the need arose for skillful and quickly adaptable soldiers with unquestionable loyalty , as with the Confederacy assassin droids deployed during the Battle of Jabiim . The Jin ' ha also produced cortosis assassin droids for the Trade Federation prior to the Battle of Naboo . The planet Caprioril was the site of the infamous assassin droid tragedy shortly before the fall of the Old Republic , in which a droid slaughtered 20 , 000 humanoids and aliens at a swoop arena in a massive explosion in order to assassinate Governor Amel Bakli . It was during the rise of the Galactic Empire that Emperor Palpatine ordered all assassin droids banned throughout the galaxy due to their constant use against himself and his forces . However , despite the Imperial ban , another Imperial , that of Holowan Laboratories Supervisor Gurdun , ordered the creation of the IG - 88 assassin droids , which later betrayed both him and his forces . In 14 ABY , assassin droids flooded the market thanks to Lannik Racto , a crime lord on Coruscant , but his operation was ended by Jedi Jaden Korr . These assassin droid models featured hand energy weapons and a powerful nimbus of electricity that delivered a near - fatal shock upon contact . The droids could not fire and maintain the nimbus at the same time , however . An inordinate number of assassin droids achieved sentient independence , including IG - 88 and C - 3PX . This is presumably due to the higher level of autonomy that is incorporated into an assassin droid ' s droid - " brain " processor design since independence is a functional requirement . These droids with no masters typically fund their independent existences through the use of their innate abilities , plying their trade as bounty hunters . Some assassin droids included HK - 47 , the HK - 50 series , IG - 88 , ASN - 121 , 2 - 124 , C - 3PX , SCr - 114 , A - 77 , Unidentified Imperial assassin droid and the Human replica droid Guri . One year after the First Battle of Geonosis , General Obi - Wan Kenobi was sent to Cestus to investigate the production of the JK - 13 droid line by Cestus Cybernetics . The JK - 13 was also known as Jedi Killers among the criminal classes and possessed shields . The JK droids were sold for almost a year throughout the galaxy . Listed in Peterson ' s Guide to Droids of the Republic , Vol . VII : The Great Corporate Expansion Era , the Tac - Spec Corporation FIII Footman droid s are considered legendary , among the deadliest personal service units ever created combining fanatical loyalty and an impressive kill ratio . These droids were both enormously expensive and on a limited production run .