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“ | The robots are at our doorstep, men, and trust me – they are not going to be asking for a cup of sugar. No! These monsters are going to break down our doors, take our sugar, and sprinkle it on our graves! | „ |
~ The Soldier on the robots. |
“ | The robots are here! Protect Mann. Co. | „ |
~ The Administrator ordering the TF2 Mercenaries to defend Mann Co. from the robots. |
The Machines, also known as Robots, are the main antagonists of Team Fortress 2's co-op mode Mann vs. Machine. They were created by Gray Mann for the goal of destroying everything created by Mann Co. along with its international facilities.
Appearance[]
The standard robots are designed after each of the Team Fortress 2 Mercenaries. This also extends to the giant robots (with the exception of the Sentry Buster).
Biography[]
After killing his brothers Redmond Mann and Blutarch Mann in 1971, Gray Mann takes control of their respective companies before mass-producing and unleashing an army of robots to destroy Mann Co. facilities worldwide. In A Fate Worse Than Chess, Saxton Hale calls the RED and BLU mercenaries via video call, telling them that with Redmond and Blutarch dead, the Gravel War is over and they no longer have jobs. However, as Saxton Hale is too busy wrestling a yeti to deal with the robot threat, he immediately rehires the mercenaries to defend the Mann Co. facilities from Gray's robot army.
For an entire year until 1972, the TF2 Mercenaries, under the leadership of Miss Pauling, were able to successfully defend the facilities from the robots all over the world. However, as Gray Mann refuses to give up, the ensuing robot war ended up becoming a prolonged conflict. To try to turn the tide, Gray produces a robotic version of the Engineer, in which it is more intelligent than its human counterpart, though this creation proved to be ineffective in changing the tide of the war, following the assault on Mann Co. Headquarters at Bigrock.
Ring of Fired[]
Realizing the robot war is in another perpetual stalemate and knowing that he is starting to become like his twin older brothers, Gray Mann and some robots payed a visit to Saxton Hale at Mann Co. headquarters where Gray challenges Saxton to fight his daughter Olivia Mann.
After Saxton Hale couldn't bring himself to fight her, this allowed Gray and his robots to take over Mann Co., which resulted in the firing of the TF2 Mercenaries while the Administrator and her assistant Miss Pauling went into hiding.
The Naked and the Dead[]
After having betrayed Gray Mann, the robots fell under the control of the Team Fortress Classic Mercenaries and they were sent to kill the TF2 Mercenaries, but were ultimately defeated in the end, leaving all of them destroyed.
Functionality[]
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 and Sentry Busters, slowing them down in their path. As noted by Miss Pauling, Gray Mann's robots run on money (which acts as fuel), and they drop Credits when destroyed, allowing players to use that money to upgrade their weapons or buy a Power Up Canteen. Robots are programmed to 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 occasionally taunt the players after killing them, and the bomb carrier always taunts to receive its buff. Unlike their human counterparts, Robots have an infinite supply of ammo, do not drop their weapons as pickups on death, and cannot collect health and ammo pickups. Robots also never randomly Crit, although some have a means of gaining the Critboost effect from Medic robots or from their weapons.
One robot per wave enter the field armed with a bomb (Potentially more than one if playing on Manhattan) which behaves similarly to the Intelligence. 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 Sniper Robots do not actively try to pick up the bomb, but do so if forced on to it via knockback. Carrying a bomb slows 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 behavior. 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 Teleporters if they are not in the way. They are also completely oblivious to Spies who are cloaked and disguised: 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 can be dispatched in groups known as "squads". One robot is designated as the leader of the squad, and the other robots in the group follow and surround the leader. If the leader is killed, the rest of the group scatters and acts independently. Medic Robots automatically heal the leader of their squad and attempt to stay behind them, as opposed to other squad mates that tend to cluster in front.
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 taunts with an accompanying sound cue, and surrounding robots 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 do not occur if the bomb carrier is a Giant, though the HUD graphic shows a full meter.
Robots spawn in areas that are inaccessible to players. While they are in said area, they are invulnerable to any damages (in which they will automatically be Übercharged if attacked), immune to knock backs, are unable to attack (Though they can use support items) until they set foot into the playable area.
Robots[]
Standard Robots[]
The basic robots share the same capabilities as the human TF2 Mercenaries have, and are equipped with the stock load out of the classes. Despite the fact they use stock weapons, Medic Robots (called Über Medics) are not classified as regular robots.
Robot | Equipment | Abilities/Notes | Health |
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125 | |
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200 | |
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175 | |
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175 | |
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300 | |
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500 or 275 | |
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125 | |
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125 |
Variants[]
A number of variants based on the standard robots are featured; Their characteristics are based on weapons that can be unlocked rather than their signature weapons. Each variants are represented by a unique icon and name. Unless its is noted, each robot variant has the advantages and disadvantages of the original class they are based on.
Scout[]
Robot Variant | Equipment | Abilities | Health |
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Uses baseballs to temporarily stun players, slowing them down in the process. | ||
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Soldier[]
Robot Variant | Equipment | Abilities | Health |
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Pyro[]
Robot Variant | Equipment | Abilities | Health |
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Demoman[]
Robot Variant | Equipment | Abilities | Health |
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Heavy[]
Robot Variant | Equipment | Abilities | Health |
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Villains | ||
TF Industries Team Fortress 2 Mercenaries Mann Family Team Fortress Classic Mercenaries Others |