Bots

Non-Player Characters are the AI-controlled characters in Vendetta. These can range from a small trading vessel to a huge battlecruiser, and can be either Unaligned or aligned with one or more factions.

### How do I kill THAT?

On the page for each individual bot, look for the **How to Kill** section. Over time each will have this section added. Common phrases you will need to know include:

* strafe - move your ship laterally or vertically (default keys a, d, r, f)
* backroll - press and hold one strafe key, one roll key (q or e) and backward thrust (default s, you MUST have flight assist off)
* attack roll - identical to a backroll, except that you use the forward key instead (default w) **note**: let go of the forward key before you ram the bot or fly past it, you can always resume when it starts to back up.
* distance control - the technique of using forward and backward thrusts to keep yourself relatively the same distance from your target, while intentionally varying said distance to avoid taking hits

Common bot personalities:

Each bot is spawned with one of several random AI personalities. In the How to Kill section they will be identified as follows:

* aloof - the bot attempts to keep a minimum of 200+ meters from the ship it is attacking
* suicide - the bot gets right in your face, sometimes ramming your ship
* generic - a bot that attempts to maintain a comfortable shooting distance of within 200 meters and further than 60 meters

As a general rule, an attack roll against an aloof bot will only frustrate you. The best strategy is to backroll until it gives chase- each bot is determined to keep its preferred distance- and then switch to an attack roll to get close enough to unleash some death. A suicide bot is hard to hit if only because it is really close. In some bots, this prevents them from scoring hits as much as it prevents you. In others.. you'll pay for ignoring the suicide bot. Generic bots are preferred, because time is permitted to evade their fire while returning the favor is usually possible and effective.

Each unique bot in these pages has an average level of aggression (ALA, scroll to the bottom for descriptions) rating. The bot personalities are a layer on top of this, as even the least aggressive bot may attempt to ram you, and even the most aggressive just might fly in reverse to keep you out of weapons range.

### Military Bots

These bots are part of the military of a given faction. They are either defensive or offensive.

* Station Guards - Defend stations and national territory from individuals of low standing with the faction in question. These bots are found at all stations.
* Strike Force - If somebody enters a Guarded sector who is Hated or KOS with that sector's guardians, the Station Guards will call for help, bringing these bots into the sector.
* Aerna Seeker - These bots come with a Strike Force. They will persue the KOS person at high velocities and, if possible, detonate themselves on his or her hull, causing immense damage.
* Station Defense Turrets - Situated in space around major stations, these static defenses are heavily armed and armored, capable of eliminating significant threats.

### Hive Bots

Hive bots are the unallied enemies in Vendetta Online. They serve as pirates, mining drones, and target practice. All Hive Bots are Unaligned. The different known types of Hive Bots are shown below:

* Observers - Spies, small and fast.
* Collector drones - The hive's source of ores, easy to kill while they are mining.
* Assault drones - Very agile ships that often defend transports.
* Transport drones - The hive's main way to transport ores, scrap metals, and other goodies.
* Guardian drones - The hive's heavily armored ships, big, bulky, and with tons of guns.
* Overseers - These are powerful vessels that guard the Hive Queens.
* Hive Queen - The source of the hive bots.
* Leviathan - Hive Queen Creator, the embodyment of the Hive.
* Bot Data Table - A table of information about the hive bots.

### Other NPCs

There are also friendly NPC's in Vendetta online.

* NPC Traders - Keep the economy afloat by trading goods. They are each aligned with specific factions.
* GuideBots - These bots are provided for target practice in the Tutorial mission.

### Historical NPCs

* Frigate (Deprecated) - This used to be a stationary NPC located in Sector 16- it was known as [NPC] Gentu. It has been superceded by the Heavy Assault Cruiser class of vessels.