SB-3 frigid super battle droid

"I knew they would do it someday. They gave a B2 a blaster rifle."

- Clone trooper

The SB-3 frigid super battle droid, more commonly known as snow droids, were a modification of the basic Confederate super battle droids used by the Trade Federation, Confederacy of Independent Systems, the New Confederacy of Independent Systems and the Galactic Droid Empire. Snow droids were created specially by Baktoid Combat Automata, the main droid manufacturer of the Confederacy, to solve the problem of regular battle droids and super battle droids performing lower than usual standards in icy environments. They were considered to be very effective and the snow droids were much taller than the other droids. They wore white plating and were capable of handling a handheld blaster and the blaster mounted to their wrist.

Snow droids won and lost many battles during the Clone Wars. Major battles they fought in included the battles of Rhen Var, Diado, and Mygeeto. After the universal control signal, the main control signal of all the battle droids on every planet, was disabled, snow droids, like all other droids, were shut down. However, after the Clone Wars, they indirectly inspired the Galactic Empire's snowtroopers, because the Empire knew that they needed a special unit for use on the snowy terrain, to increase efficiency in terrains their basic unit could not.

Design
"We are finished with the prototype, General Grievous. I hope you will see satisfaction."

- Baktoid worker to Grievous

Baktoid Armor Workshop, when creating the snow droids, had three goals for the modified droid in mind. The first was for it to have a white plating instead of blue, to help it blend into a snowy background. The second concept was for it to have a much larger size than the standard Confederate infantry droid, the B2 super battle droid, as its much larger feet were better capable of handling the weight of snow. The third was for the snow battle droid to be able to use both a regular blaster and the one attatched to its arms, so that if it's wrist blaster was destroyed in any way, it could pick up the handheld blaster of the secondary infantry unit, the B1 battle droid. In the opposite situation, a snow droid's blaster would be destroyed, and it would either be able to pick up another one, or use it's wrist blaster. After many tests and prototypes, Baktoid was able to get all three ideas into one battle droid.

Performance
"...and they are able to use both a blaster rifle and a blaster built in."

- Baktoid worker

Snow droids' aiming performance was comparable to the standard super battle droid. Both the snow droid and super battle droid had a 75% hit rate. Also, both droids could easily forget about a target if it moved outside visual range. The difference was that the snow droid could operate the E-5 blaster rifle of the secondary Confederate infantry unit, the B1 battle droid, and the blaster built in to their arms. The B2 could not operate an E-5 because its "fingers" were too thick.

Conception and creation
"Sir, our results show that the super battle droid failed almost immediately in the snow test."

- CIS droid tester

After the B2 super battle droid was introduced, the Supreme Commander of the Droid Armies and the former Kaleesh warlord General Grievous tested the droid on all terrains. The droid moved faster on hard terrains, such as rock, dirt, and sand. However, when they tested the droid on a snowy terrain, they found that the weight of the droid was too much for it to travel through the dense snow. The droid's speed on land was decreased by around 85%.

As a result, Grievous ordered a slight variant of the droid for use on frigid terrain. The product was a taller, more efficient droid that carried a blaster. The droid had a white plating instead of a blue one, for camouflauging. The droid was tall so that, even though the droid had an immense weight compared to a human, the droid still was able to walk through the snow with only a 12% decrease in speed. The droid, curiously, was fitted with a handheld blaster rifle, even though it had a blaster carved into its arms. The blaster was meant to be primary, but, if it was ever lost, it easily had a backup.

The droids were accepted into the droid army. Throughout the Clone Wars, both sides often met on ice planets such as Rhen Var, Diado, and others. Although snow droids were rarely used, they served their purpose on many worlds. Without the snow droid, the Confederacy, the government that was seceding away from the galaxy-spanning ancient government, the Galactic Republic, would have lost several battles rather than win them. They did have their share of defeats, but this only came at the hands of the Republic's reply to the snow droid, the Republic's snowtroopers.

Rhen Var
"What do we do? What do we do? We blow up the base!"

- Snow droid's response to a B1's question

The icy wasteland planet of Rhen Var held Bravo Base, a base that was home to a very small clone force. The Confederacy saw this as a good target for a massive invasion. Soon, Lucrehulk-class battleships and other large Confederate ships began to come out of hyperspace to invade the planet. As CIS ships bombarded from space, they began to destroy outposts with land forces as well.

While B1 battle droids began to slow down in the snow, the snow droids remained at normal speed. They shot down everything possible in their path, destroying numerous of the Republic's primary infantry unit,clone troopers. They blew up many LAAT/i gunships along the way, heading for the two Jedi, the guardians of justice for the Galactic Republic, sent to the planet, Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi. Though they failed to terminate the Jedi, it was still a victory for the Confederacy.

Many snow droids were stationed at Rhen Var by the Confederacy to help protect the planet from a Republic counterattack, if there was one. Soon afterword, the Republic did take back the planet. When the Republic took it back, many snow droids were destroyed in the Republic invasion.

Diado
"This is a top secret facility! I don't think I need to tell you to guard this with your lives!"

- Grievous

On the snowy planet of Diado, several Separatist leaders had organized for a secret weapons facility to be created for the creation of blaster rifles. This factory remained top secret and only the highest Confederate members spoke of it. If the factory was ever attacked by a Republic force, the Confederacy would have to spend millions of credits to build another one, and they could not afford that. Diado was an ice planet. Temperatures reached negative thirty degrees easily. Snow droids were placed along the entrances to the facility.

The facility remained hidden for quite some time. About ten months into the construction of the facility, Dark Jedi Asajj Ventress demanded she needed a starfighter from Count Dooku. She wanted the starfighter to be equipped with technology years ahead of all other technology. Soon, Dooku put the production of the starfighter, the Dark Moon, was to be way better than her previous starfighter, her Ginivex-class starfighter. The prototype of the starfighter went under production right away.

The facility's existence leaked out to the Republic eventually, and snow droids began to prepare themselves for an assault. Hoever, they found that the only person sent was a Jedi named Saesee Tiin. They immediately surrounded him as soon as they could. The snow troopers managed to shoot him a few times, but he deflected the shots and cut the droids in half. Soon, Saesee Tiin broke into the facility and stole the Dark Moon before destroying the whole factory. The battle was lost, and the snow droids that survived were destroyed with rage by General Grievous.

Mygeeto
"Defend the particle cannon turrets."

- Snow droid



Mygeeto was controlled by the Confederacy for a short time before Chancellor Palpatine categorized Mygeeto as one of the "Triad of Evil," along with Felucia and Saleucami. As a result, the Confederate officers on the planet placed the now-renowned snow droids on the planet to help protect it from Jedi General Mundi and CC-1138, "Bacara."

The snow droids' primary mission was to protect the Confederate particle cannon turrets that were helpfully shooting Republic gunships out of the sky. The snow droids suceeded in doing this, but the clones captured the turrets a while later. General Mundi's gunship landed and Mundi began to lead the battle. The clone troopers' actual mission was to recover a Mygeetan crystal for a superlaser. The remaining snow droids ran to protect the crystal.

Snow droids fought tirelessly and were even able to protect it for a while. However, just as snow droids thought that the battle was turning in their direction, the clones did something that the droids were utterly confused at. Commander Bacara and the Galactic Marines turned on Mundi and shot him down. The snow droids had no idea what was happening. After hours of defending the crystal, the droids shut down, due to the disabling of the universal control signal on Mustafar. After the shut down of the droids, the Clone Wars was declared over and the clones easily retrieved the crystal.

Later uses and legacy
"We need to act fast. Clone troopers just can't take the cold environment well!"

- Obi-Wan Kenobi, after the Battle of Rhen Var



Although large droid-based organizations such as Darth Tyler's Galactic Droid Empire did reprogram and accept snow droids as part of their military, most snow droids were kept shut down and sold to junk yards for scrap metal. Some snow droids were stripped of their blasters and used to do work around houses on icy planets. Snow droids were put to many uses around the galaxy.

The concept of a snow terrain variant soldier was not a new one, but it did directly inspire the creation of the clone cold assault trooper of the Republic's grand army. The clone cold assault troopers did meet snow droids on several occassions and both sides generally were equally capable of fighting in such a frigid climate. Another inspiration was the snowtrooper of the Galactic Empire, the successor of the clone cold assault trooper.

Snow droids remained one of the more obscure of the Confederate droids, along with other variants such as the jump droid, cortosis battle droid, and the ultra battle droid. Historians viewed the snow droid as an effective solution to a simple problem: the problem of adapting to environments.

Behind the scenes
Snow droids are based off the canon snow droids, although those snow droids only appear in one Clone Wars comic, It Takes a Thief, and the snow droids are not given a background.

Appearances

 * It Takes a Thief