In order for the hive to effectively engage in combat they had to develop lighter ships with stronger weapons, the assault class of hive bots. These ships have good weapons, good agility, but little armor. The order of difficulty from weakest to strongest: Tycorp, Valent A-47, Prosus, and Dentek. There are also rumors of an organic based assault ship the hive uses, these ships are said to wield very powerful weapons and have good armor. Assault bots are dangerous, but are not as dangerous as the guardian drones.
The TyCorp Assault is the entry level assault bot. It mounts phase blasters- quick but low damage. In a sector with exclusively TyCorps, expect to fight two at a time. If you get your rhythm, however, you can continuously engage these individually. A backroll will generally protect you from generic or suicidal TyCorps, while an aloof TyCorp will cause you headaches if you backroll continuously. These are particularly vulnerable to a vertical strafe; you can get away with a simpler and less disorienting two-direction strafe (i.e. upward and left) if you prefer to avoid the dizziness that often comes with a rolling tactic.
This is my personal favorite bot for the Advanced Combat Practice mission. V47s mount neutron blasters, so don't fall asleep at your keys. They are fairly identical to the TyCorp (see above) aside from their armament, but are worth better experience. Ignoring a suicidal V47 is not wise, as the neutron blaster can eat away your hull very quickly. Target the more suicidal of the pair first.
The Dentek Assault is a seriously rewarding foe. Most of the time you will fight these during Hive Skirmish missions, as the mainstay enemy. Great experience rewards. That said, it is more agile than the TyCorp or Valent A-47. It has more armor than even a Prosus. The redeeming factor, however, is that during Hive Skirmish, bots like this will only attack you one at a time. A backroll will work unless your enemy is an aloof personality, in which case the prescribed tactic on the bots page is the only way to avoid hating your life against the Dentek.
The Prosus Assault is one of the most challenging assault bots in the game. They do not stop moving. Their armor is thick, and often you will find a suicide grouped with every aloof. Pick your poison, either one can and will kill you while you fight his friends. A simple attack roll is not enough, nor is a backroll. You'll need to change tactics mid-fight against each Prosus to prevail. Each kill of a Prosus has a great experience reward. Individually this bot is easier than the Dentek, but you won't fight individuals.
The Valent A-3 assault is a rare sight in VO. You'll only find them in the escort fleets of queens in grey space. If you really want to, you can engage and destroy the entire escort to get a 1 on 1 against this bot. If you do, you'll find an agile, Valent A-47-esque bot (doesn't look anything similar) that mounts positrons. It could probably be dangerous, and indeed while fighting the entire escort it has a habit of being your killer. It is simply a lot harder to notice compared to Arklan and Orne Guardians. However, if you do survive a dozen plus bots, half of which were guardians, you won't find the last lonely Valent A-3 Stygian Furie too much of a challenge.
