Minions are the non-playable AI soldiers (NPC) that appear in the multiplayer of Titanfall and Titanfall 2, alongside the campaign of Titanfall 2. They serve to populate the multiplayer maps, as to create a more exciting environment to play in, help serve as something for lower-skilled players to shoot at and act as a source of points in Attrition and Bounty Hunt game modes.
Types of Minion[]
Titanfall[]
In Titanfall, there are two main types of Minion available to each faction; the Grunt and the Spectre. Grunts are regular human infantry, typically deployed at the beginning of the game when only Pilots are on the field. Spectres are deployed when Titans are called in, posessing heavy-duty weaponry to serve in AT roles. Both types are deployed via Drop Pod or their respective dropship.
In Hardpoint Domination, Grunts will move in to secure a captured hardpoint, using the computers on the terminal and defending the objective.
In the mission Get Barker, an additional minion type will be deployed; Search Drones, on the side of the IMC, patrol Angel City looking for Robert "Barker" Taube. They are nonaggressive, however, and will not attack players. Similarly, many maps have MRVN worker droids that will walk around and perform maintenance, but do not actually have any combat role.
Heavy Turrets can be found on several maps, as stationary AI.
Frontier Defense[]
Frontier Defense adds several new variations of minion to the sandbox, in addition to outfitting Grunts with new weaponry such as Spitfire LMGs and Hemlok BF-Rs. These new variants include the Suicide Spectre, Sniper Spectre, Cloak Drone, Mortar Titan, Nuke Titan and Arc Titan. A friendly AI type, the Light Turret, has also been added.
Titanfall 2[]
Titanfall 2 adds several new enemy types to the roster, due to the addition of a single-player campaign and Bounty Hunt mode.
Campaign[]
There are several types of minion seen only in the campaign of Titanfall 2. This includes attack versions of the drones from the first game, the Rocket Drone and Plasma Drone, the Prowler - alien fauna native to Typhon and the Shield Captain, an IMC Marine wielding a Particle Shield. MRVN Automated Assistants also make their return for the campaign, and a flying variant of MRVN known as the Maintenance Drone has been introduced as a passive minion type.
A standalone emplacement known as the Medium Turret has also been introduced.
Simulacrum infantry known as 'Specialists' can also be seen in a handful of missions, deployed as light reconnaissance and wielding Mag Launchers, alongside deploying Ticks and Drones.
Multiplayer[]
In addition to those listed above, both campaign and multiplayer have a larger variety of NPC to fight. Grunts and Spectres make their return. However, two major types of minion have been introduced; the Stalker and Reaper. These two automatons are upgraded Spectres, with the Stalkers designed for anti-Pilot combat and the Reapers serving in light anti-Titan roles.
Also appearing are the Tick, walking fragmentation bombs, and the deployable turrets known as the Pilot Sentry and Titan Sentry.
Unlike the first game, where most multiplayer modes had Minions enabled, only two modes - Attrition and Bounty Hunt - have AI enabled.
Combat[]
Being weak, poor at aiming, and lacking intellect, Grunts are easy to avoid and flank. However, their attention to you may draw the unwanted presence of an enemy Titan. Both Grunts and Spectres can be taken down by traditional shooting or by Execution, but the Spectres can be taken down another way- by using your Data Knife to overload its memory and have it fight by your side, increasing your team's numbers slightly.
Stalkers deploy from Drop Pods in groups of four. Their weapons aren't much of a threat to a moving Pilot, though they are bullet sponges and will take a lot of damage before going down.
Reapers require concentrated fire from several small arms or focus fire from one or more Titans to efficiently destroy. They typically roam in packs of 2-4, and while little more than a nuisance to a Titan alone, can be very effective in groups.
Gallery[]
