Advanced Recon Commando / Legends Advanced Recon Commandos — also known as Advanced Recon Clone troopers or simply ARC troopers — were an elite variant of clone trooper in the Grand Army of the Republic during the Clone Wars . Although much rarer than other clones on the galactic scale , they were also among the most skilled soldiers in the galaxy . History . Beginnings . During the early stages of the clone army ' s planning and development , Jango Fett and his Mandalorian military advisors advocated the creation of clones capable of handling covert missions too delicate for the standard units . To achieve the desired results , the Kaminoans did not apply the standard behavior correction and enhanced the prime clone ' s genetic sample to increase physical prowess . The first attempt at genetic alterations failed , resulting in the Null - class ARC troopers . The Nulls were the first clones of Fett made by the Kaminoans , and served as prototypes for the Grand Army . Only 6 of the 12 Null prototypes survived the embryonic stage of development . Once they were deemed a failed project by the cloners , they were adopted and trained by Kal Skirata , who saved them from termination . The Nulls ' botched genes made them unstable and more violent and unruly than the Kaminoans had hoped for . Having learned their lesson , the Kaminoans succeeded in their second attempt at creating stable clone soldiers , generating 100 ARC troopers , designated the Alpha - class . After completing standard flash training and accelerated growth , these clones were placed under the direct tutelage of Jango Fett . Under Fett ' s strict discipline they learned to use their fierce independence , innate creativity , and physical superiority in combination with their training in advanced weapons and vehicles to become virtual one - man armies . After completing their training , the ARC troopers were locked in stasis on Kamino until they were required . The early war . Two months after the Battle of Geonosis , a Confederacy assault on Kamino prompted their early activation . As droid detachments closed in on Tipoca City , Prime Minister Lama Su activated the Advanced Recon Commandos and authorized their deployment to hot - spots across Kamino in a last - ditch effort to save the planet ' s precious cloning facilities . The ARCs worked with a force of Jedi to repel the droid forces . Following the First Battle of Kamino , the ARCs were integrated into parts of the Grand Army of the Republic . As the ARCs took their place in the larger world , they developed distinct personalities due to their unaltered nature ; some gave themselves names , others formed relationships outside the GAR . Once integrated , Advanced Recon Commandos worked as solo operatives or in small squads led by ARC captains , either performing self - contained missions or supplementing larger Grand Army of the Republic operations . One notable exception was the aftermath of the Battle of Hypori , where a twenty - man ARC trooper team under the leadership of Captain Fordo engaged General Grievous in combat . As the Clone Wars progressed , some battles were won by the Republic largely thanks to the ARC troopers , most notably the Battle of Muunilinst , where the Muunilinst 10 disabled Separatist defenses that were causing damage to Republic forces . Soon , as their reputation spread among the GAR and throughout the galaxy , the Advanced Recon Commandos proved time and time again as to why they were they regarded as the best of the best in the Grand Army . As perfect soldiers , the ARCs and Jango were almost exactly alike ; in fact , the leader of the Muunilinst 10 , Fordo , had adapted the same blaster - spinning routine as Jango Fett . Clone Commander Training Program . Though only 106 Advanced Recon Commandos of the Alpha and Null classes were originally produced , they were able to pass on the ARC tradition to new officers after the death of Jango Fett in 22 BBY . Following his escape from Rattatak in early 20 BBY , Alpha - 17 " Alpha " , one of the earliest ARCs , returned to Kamino to flash - train the second generation of clone trooper commander s in the same manner that Fett had trained him . This Alpha training program was designed to equip clone trooper commanders with similar training to that of the Alpha class . During this training , the ARC trained clone commanders were taught to think more creatively and to bring out their independence and tactical decisiveness . They soon became some of the most outspoken and independent clones , and those who graduated Alpha - 17 ' s program were awarded the title of ARC commander , becoming a tight fraternity of elite soldiers . Soldiers such as Rex , Davijaan , Bacara , and Cody , though not genetically modified in the same manner as the Alpha class , participated in this program and were able to adopt some of the individualized practices of the ARCs . This brought a new sense of creativity to the strategy of Grand Army of the Republic . Clone commanders of ARC designation trained by Alpha - 17 and others should not be confused with those Alpha - class ARC troopers that achieved the rank of " Commander " during the war . Further ARC expansion . During the war , the shortening supply of ARCs and their high demand for tactical missions forced the GAR to look for clone troopers to fill their role . As early as 21 BBY , clone troopers who demonstrated exceptional ability could be promoted to ARC trooper and would receive similar duties , though they were not genetically engineered in the same ways as the Alpha and Null classes and lacked ARC training . In this manner , clone troopers Fives and Echo of the 501st Legion were given the designation of ARC Trooper following their successful defense of Kamino . Aftermath of the Clone Wars . After the Clone Wars , all remaining Alpha - class ARCs in the Grand Army were offered either retirement or the option to train their successors , the stormtroopers , passing on their combat experience . Due largely to their individualism and also to imperial hostility to the free - spirited nature of the ARCs , most deserted during the final days of the Clone Wars , though those who remained were able to help in the training of stormtroopers . Many went rogue , following in Jango Fett ' s footsteps by becoming bounty hunters and assassins . These include Alpha - 26 " Maze " , Alpha - 66 " Muzzle " , and Alpha - 02 " Spar " ( who deserted during the war for political reasons ) . Some ARCs later joined the Alliance to Restore the Republic , and some adopted the Mandalorian culture of Fett . For those that remained in imperial service , a number of ARC troopers were assigned to become part of the Imperial Commando Special Unit , a special forces unit that was attached to the elite 501st Legion . Legacy . Some ARC - style troopers , possibly a new batch of ARCs , took part in the Kamino uprising by leading the secretly grown clone anti - Imperial troopers against the Imperial stormtroopers of the 501st Legion in a fight to liberate Kamino from the Empire . The anti - Imperial clones failed , however . During the Empire ' s reign , specialized stormtroopers known as shock troopers bore armor similar to that used by ARC troopers . They were also armed with DC - 17 hand blasters . Characteristics . ARC troopers were known to be fiercely independent , innately creative , and physical superior to any other contemporary soldiers . This , combined with their training in advanced weapons and vehicles , made them veritable one - man armies . They normally developed distinct personalities due to their unaltered nature ; most gave themselves names , others formed relationships outside the GAR . Because of their training as independent soldiers , they were more prone to questioning orders . In one unforgettable incident on Ord Cestus , ARC trooper Alpha 98 ( known as Nate and later as Jangotat ) disobeyed an order from his Jedi commander and sacrificed his life to destroy a local group of despots . ARC troopers had special training that allowed them to act without thinking . They claimed it was similar to the Jedi ' s use of the Force . Many ARCs were strongly influenced by their trainer Jango Fett , especially aspects of his Mandalorian culture , most notably Spar . The Null - class ARCs were similarly influenced by Kal Skirata and all of them deserted the GAR for Mandalore after the war . Some ARCs served specialty roles such as heavy gunner and pilot . Rank system . Though ARC troopers most commonly worked alone and rarely had troops directly under their command , they generally held high ranks and authority over standard clone troopers . Alpha and Null class ARCs often maintained the officer color scheme of the Phase I clone trooper armor , shown below . Equipment . Equipment : Special equipment : Created early in the war , ARC troopers wore a more advanced and versatile version of the Phase I armor , along with command pauldrons and kamas . They often had a periscope rangefinder attachment on the right side of their helmets , similar to those on Mandalorian helmets . While each mission profile required a different loadout , ARC troopers were commonly armed with the WESTAR - M5 blaster rifle , DC - 15A blaster rifle s , DC - 17 hand blasters , and frag and reverse - polarity pulse grenade s . When heavier firepower was required , ARCs donned specialized armor to bear the weight of reciprocating quad blaster s , PLX - 1 portable missile launcher s , or Z - 6 rotary blaster cannons . Many individual ARC Troopers also had bandoliers and pouches for extra equipment , such as EMP grenades and extra ammunition . ARCs received training that gave them access to vehicles which usually required a specialized clone trooper to operate . To enhance ground range and mobility , ARCs made use of the BARC speeder , named for the Biker Advanced Recon Commandos who used it . For small squad operations , Advanced Recon Commando pilots could pilot LAAT / i gunships to drop units behind enemy lines . Advanced Recon Commando heavy gunners used larger weapons . Behind the scenes . According to Genndy Tartakovsky on the DVD commentary , the design of the ARC troopers came from Hasbro . In " " , the ARC troopers ( named in the game ) are the heavy weapons specialist . They appear in the campaign ' s Geonosis mission . As the ARCs were in stasis at that time , they were not canonically present at the battle there . In " " , the clone heavy trooper s on Geonosis are given the appearance of ARC troopers . As the ARCs were in stasis at that time , they were not canonically present at the battle there .