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Drophyds are a species in Tools of Destruction, mentioned in A Crack in Time, the Ratchet & Clank comic series, and All 4 One. They are small, orange fish from the planet Zaurik in the Polaris Galaxy who are deadly when piloting nanotech combat suits. The drophyds formed an alliance with Percival Tachyon after he built their combat suits and recruited them for the Imperial Army.

Ratchet and Clank fought the drophyds throughout Tools of Destruction after they first invaded Metropolis, Kerwan. They later encountered them as Tachyon's troopers around the Polaris Galaxy. Prior to this, the drophyds played a significant role in the extermination of the lombaxes.

History[]

As a child, Percival Tachyon bought the drophyds' loyalty with raritanium.[1] Tachyon then built the space pirates to scavenge materials for the drophyds' nanotech armor.[2] Although the lombaxes had grown weary of Tachyon, Alister Azimuth, the elder councilman of the Center for Advanced Lombax Research,[3] entrusted Tachyon with all their secrets, which Tachyon used to build his army and develop nanotech combat suits for the drophyds. The drophyds then accompanied Tachyon as he ravaged Fastoon,[4] prompting the lombaxes to flee the dimension.[5]

The drophyds had a rivalry with the terraklons. The terraklons invaded Zaurik in a battle that led to their defeat, resulting in their greatest assassin, Lord Vorselon, losing his body.[6][a]

The drophyds fought for the Imperial Army as Tachyon took over most of the galaxy. They accompanied him in his quest for the Dimensionator and his crusade in the Solana Galaxy when Tachyon attacked Metropolis to get to Ratchet. From Rykan V onwards, the drophyds gained a more red-gold appearance, and from Reepor onwards, they upgraded once again with black combat suits. After Tachyon successfully obtained the Dimensionator and brought the cragmites back, the drophyds continued to fight for Tachyon and joined the attack on Fastoon.

Characteristics[]

Drophyds are small, orange fish. Their most notable feature is their eyes, which are very large and yellow with small black pupils. Drophyds are known to be unpleasant.[8]

Drophyds primarily fight in their nanotech combat suits. When their suits are destroyed, the defenseless drophyds flop around on the floor and can be easily killed with basic weapons or by being stepped on. They also explode when outside of water.

Drophyds are used as food in Polaris, with fried drophyd[9] and drophyd stew[10] being notable dishes made from them.

Units[]

Infantry[]

Drophyd infantry consists of drophyds in humanoid nanotech combat suits in two variants: drophyd sentries and drophyd troopers. The former use melee attacks with pincer arms, while the latter wield long-range laser attacks. Both can be equipped with shields that block low-caliber weapons, as well as cloaking devices in certain cases to sneak up on Ratchet. Drophyd troopers sometimes also use jetpacks and hover above the ground. There is an elite variant for both types with thicker black armor that includes extended visor protections.

Vehicles[]

Drophyds also pilot a number of vehicles. The flying Tachyon gunship comes equipped with arms that can either fire twin laser beams or launch explosive grenades. Enforcers are large, durable, four-legged mech suits capable of jumping long distances and clinging onto walls while attacking with rapid-fire cannons. Drophyd cyclocannons are tanks with large wheels that spray rapid-fire laser blasts in front of them. Tachyon transport ships sometimes attack but are primarily used to transport infantry units.

Behind the scenes[]

They are voiced by David Boat.

Drophyd models were originally going to be reused in A Crack in Time for moon enemies.[11]

A drophyd in nanotech combat armor was made available as a multiplayer skin in Full Frontal Assault as part of the downloadable add-on Intergalactic Foot Soldier Pack.

Notes[]

Annotations[]

  1. It is unknown when the drophyds fought the terraklons and whether this occurred before or after they joined the Imperial Army. It is possible that the terraklons' defeat at Zaurik led to their imprisonment and subsequent participation in the fighting at the Imperial Fight Festival. Because the Festival was where Emperor Tachyon sent captured enemies and forced them to fight to the death for the amusement of his most elite drophyd troops,[7] suggesting that the terraklon battle at Zaurik, where Lord Vorselon was defeated, was a defeat at the hands of the Imperial Army, and that Tachyon forced them to fight for the drophyds' entertainment.

Citations[]

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