Robots
“ | I am ready to fight robots.
Click to listen
— The Heavy
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Robots are the enemies fought in Mann vs. Machine, during missions. They were created by Gray Mann in order to destroy everything created by Mann Co. .
Contents
Gameplay
Regular robots function nearly identically to the players, being operated by bots, whilst special robots exist that use non-Stock weapons, and other forms of robots exist with abilities and directives that no class normally possesses. Unlike players, robots can notably be sapped, temporarily disabling them often in groups, or in the case of giant robots, slowing them. As noted by Miss Pauling, they run on money, and they drop it when destroyed, allowing players to use that money to upgrade their weapons or buy a Power Up Canteen. Robots follow a set path to the bomb hole, marked by glowing blue arrows before each wave, though they may stray off that path if the bomb carrier is pushed away or to pursue a player. Robots will occasionally taunt after killing a player, and the bomb carrier will always taunt to receive its buff. Robots have an infinite supply of ammo and do not drop their weapons as pickups on death.
One robot per wave will enter the field armed with a bomb. The primary directive of the robots is to transport this bomb to the hatch at the end of the map, and the Defenders must stop them. After the bomb is dropped, another robot can pick it up. Any robot can carry the bomb, excluding the Sentry Buster and the Tank (although the Tank carries a separate bomb). Spies and Snipers won't actively try to pick up the bomb, but will if forced on to it via knockback. Carrying a bomb will slow a robot to about half speed, except Giant Robots. After all robots in a wave are killed, the wave is completed, while if the bomb is transported to the hatch and detonated, the wave is lost.
Robots have rudimentary behaviour. Their main objective is to either pick up the bomb and follow the preset path to the bomb hatch, or escort whichever robot is already doing so. On the whole, they do not take alternate routes to the bomb unless the sub-wave is programmed to flank, or the bomb has been dropped in a location off the main path. Robots generally do not care about destroying Dispensers and Teleporters if they are not in the way. They are also completely oblivious to cloaked and disguised Spies: they ignore flickering cloaks, collisions with "teammates", uncloaking noises, and possible Dead Ringers. They can detect if a nearby teammate has been backstabbed, but not with regularity. They do however always notice when a Spy is on fire.
Robots receive certain buffs after a period of time carrying the bomb, with new buffs stacking with the previous ones. A graphic on the HUD indicates which stage the bomb carrier is on and how long until it receives the next buff. Upon receiving a buff, the robot carrying the bomb will taunt with an accompanying sound cue, and surrounding robots will halt to wait for the carrier. The defending team can and should use this as a window of opportunity to kill the bomb carrier, especially if the robot is getting the third upgrade. These buffs will not occur if the bomb carrier is a Giant, though the HUD graphic shows a full meter.
Stages | Upgrades |
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First stage | Defensive buff, shared with all nearby robots |
Second stage | Health regeneration |
Final stage | Full crits all the time |
Robots are all designed off of each of the mercenaries employed under Blutarch and Redmond Mann, excluding the Engineer, and share their basic abilities. Regular robots are equipped with the stock loadout of the classes. Über Medics are not noted as regular robots, despite the fact that they use their Stock weapons.
Machine | Equipped with | Abilities/Notes | Health
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Scout | Scattergun Bonk! Atomic Punch Bat |
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125 |
Soldier | Rocket Launcher |
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200 |
Pyro | Flame Thrower |
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175 |
Demoman | Grenade Launcher |
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175 |
Heavy | Minigun |
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300 |
Sniper | Sniper Rifle Kukri |
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125 |
Spy | Revolver Sapper Knife Disguise Kit Invisibility Watch |
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125 |
Special Robots
A number of Special Robots also exist, which each possess unique abilities belonging to unlockable weapons rather than the Stock weapons that most robots use and have a customized name. Each special robot also has the advantages and disadvantages of the original classes it is based off of, unless noted.
Machine | Based on | Equipped with | Abilities/Notes | Health |
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Minor League Scout | Scout | Sandman Batter's Helmet |
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125 |
Buff Soldier | Soldier | Buff Banner |
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200 |
Demoknight | Demoman | Eyelander Chargin' Targe |
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175 |
Steel Gauntlet | Heavy | Fists of Steel |
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900 |
Heavyweight Champ | Killing Gloves of Boxing Pugilist's Protector |
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300 | |
Gloves of Running Urgently Pugilist's Protector |
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Heavy Mittens | Holiday Punch |
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60 | |
Quick-Fix Medic | Medic | Quick-Fix Syringe Gun |
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150 |
Über Medic | Medi Gun Syringe Gun |
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150 | |
Bowman | Sniper | Huntsman |
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125 |
Sydney Sniper | Sydney Sleeper |
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Razorback Sniper | Razorback |
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Sentry Buster
The Sentry Buster is the only robot not to resemble a class as it is literally a bomb on legs. It is never predetermined to spawn during a wave, and only spawns if an Engineer is doing significant damage with his Sentry Gun to the robot horde. Its arrival is announced by a theme, a HUD notification, and by the Administrator. If the team has multiple Engineers with Sentry Guns, a Sentry Buster can spawn for each problematic Sentry Gun.
Machine | Based on | Notes | Health |
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Sentry Buster | Demoman |
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2500 |
Giant Robots
Giant Robots are notably larger than other robots. They can only be slowed by a Sapper rather than destroyed by it, and they cannot be killed at full health by a backstab unless the knife is fully upgraded. They sport significantly more health than other robots, but move at half-speed. Unlike regular robots, they are not slowed at all while carrying the bomb. Their presence in a wave is noted by a red background behind their class symbol in the pre-wave overhead. Giant Robots that carry the bomb do not receive buffs for it.
Giant Robot versions exist of the Scout, Soldier, Pyro, Demoman, and Heavy. Multiple Giant Robots can occur in a single wave, either of the same class or not.
Machine | Based on | Equipped with | Abilities | Health |
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Major League Scout | Scout | Sandman Batter's Helmet Essential Accessories |
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1600 |
Super Scout | Holy Mackerel Bonk Boy |
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1600 | |
Giant Rapid Fire Soldier | Soldier | Rocket Launcher |
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3300 |
Giant Charged Soldier | Original |
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3800 | |
Giant Pyro | Pyro | Flamethrower |
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3000 |
Detonator Old Guadalajara |
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3000 | ||
Giant Rapid Fire Demoman | Demoman | Grenade Launcher |
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3300 |
Giant Deflector Heavy | Heavy | Deflector |
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5000 |
Tank
Noted as "???" in the official Mann vs. Machine update page, the tank is a rare enemy that usually appears for one or two waves per mission, rarely more than once in one wave. It has a large amount of health, but no attack method, yet can kill players via crushing between walls or props while turning. It does, however, carry a bomb, and it cannot be stopped by any means other than its destruction.
Related achievements
Mann vs. Machievements
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Gallery
Giant Robots, seen on the Mann vs. Machine Day 1: Machines page.
A diagram of a robotic Scout, seen in the Engineer Update.
Trivia
- Unlike the regular classes, who face the direction they're aiming and walk sideways or backwards, most robots are split across the waist so that their top half is facing the way they're aiming but their bottom half is facing the way they're moving.
- All robots have voice lines, robotic versions of the voice lines used by the class they are modeled on. All lack facial animations while doing so, save the Heavy Robot whose jaw moves up and down.
- All voice lines are available in robotic form, despite many of them being impossible to hear (e.g. lines relating to capping points or Payload carts).
- Giant robots use different models with slightly skewed proportions (most notably a smaller head and larger torso) and more detail to make up for their larger size. It appears the models themselves are the same size as the normal robots' but are scaled up in-game.
- They also have separate, more heavily-distorted voice lines, which are notably deeper and more mechanical-sounding than their human-sized counterparts.
External links
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