Guardian Droid

Never send a human to do a machine's job!

54 (Elite)

77 (Heroic)

60000 (Heroic)

PELE Ammunition

Drone Invisibility

## Introduction

The **Guardian Droid** is General Algrin "A.I." Ironhand's tier 1 anti-tank robot unit.

## Overview

The Guardian Droid is essentially an A.I. controlled miniature tank shaped like a Renault FT Light Tank and using triangular shaped tank tracks to move. The tank has micro cameras and sensors to perceive its surroundings. It's armed with a rapid firing 40mm cannon which is just powerful enough to punch through light vehicles and make a dent on tank armor. Its treads have been modified to be made sturdier to adapt to the cannon's recoil and the droid's increased weight. The tank is not manned nor remotely controlled: it is piloted by its own A.I.

When the 40mm cannon is not enough to make much difference, Guardian Droids can be upgraded to mount TOW missile launchers, allowing them to strike out quickly and destroy enemy tanks before they can retaliate. However, these missiles have long reloading time and thus could be somewhat ineffective against a blob of tanks. To make up for that flaw, General Ironhand developed advanced stealth coatings for his droids which can be applied to allow them to stay off enemy radar, turning them into insidious ambush predators.

While highly mobile and cheap to produce, the Guardian Droid cannot take much punishment as it's essentially based off the lightly armored Sentry Droid. So while spamming Guardian Droids against enemy tanks may turn out to be effective, it will usually result in heavy losses and yielding experience to the enemy, which is something you don't want to do, thus it's always a good idea to supplement Guardian Droids with other units like Repair Droids or Phobos artillery units.

To render Guardian Droids a truly effective anti-armor force, some form of micromanagement is necessary. As the Guardian Droids mainly inflict their damage through TOW missile upgrades, it's better to spread out Guardian Droids into small labelled groups, this way they can be commanded to attack different targets simultaneously, instead of wasting all of their missiles on a single target.

Despite being a drone itself, the Guardian Droid can equip its own combat drone to increase its combat effectiveness.

## Upgrades

**TOW Missile**

* Install a TOW missile launcher on the Guardian Droid to increase its firepower. Available at the War Factory at Rank 1.

**Advanced Data Transmission**

* Makes the Guardian Droid more resistant to ECM and EMP. Available at the Strategy Center at Rank 3.

**PELE Ammunitions**

* Import PELE (penetrator with enhanced lateral effect) ammunition from Rheinmetall Defense, increases the damage output of the Guardian Droid's cannon. Available at the War Factory at Rank 1.

**Drone Invisibility**

* The Guardian Droid and its support drone becomes stealthed. Available at the Particle Uplink Cannon at Rank 5.

### Drones

Rank 1:

* **Battlefield Mechanic**: Repairs the Spider Tank on the field.
* **Scout Drone**: Detects stealth units, does not detects mines and traps.

Rank 3:

* **Jet Sniper Drone**: Anti-infantry drone, armed with dual sniper rifles.
* **Stinger Drone**: Anti-air drone, armed with a stinger missile launcher.
* **Zodiac Drone**: Anti-missile drone, armed with a point defense laser.
* **Hellfire Drone**: Anti-armor drone, armed with a hellfire missile launcher.

## Assessment

Pros:

* Very fast and maneuverable.
* Effective against light vehicles.
* Can equip TOW launchers which are highly effective against armor.
* Cheap and easy to mass produce ($550).
* Can equip its own drone.
* Being a droid means that it's immune to toxins, radiation, hijacking and depiloting.
* Stealth coating can make it invisible to enemies.

Cons:

* Main weapon is not very powerful, and TOW missiles have low rate of fire.
* Weakly armored, easy to kill with AT weapons.
* Helpless against aircraft without the Stinger Drone.
* TOW Missile can be deviated by ECM or intercepted by PDL.
* Being a drone means that it cannot gain veterancy.

## Trivia

* Originally, the Guardian Droid uses the EA made unused model found in *Zero Hour'*s game files.