Actually, not all parts of a robot need to be equally complex.

Imagine a robot with a 'delta' brain, but moving on 'alpha' robot limbs. If the limbs get blown off, then go to any old alpha clinic and get the fixed. If the brain is blown up, well, nevermind.

So the robot would just need to go to the delta clinic to get its brain worked on (regular maintenance, etc) , not its limbs.

But would an alpha body be compatible with a - much more complex and demanding - delta brain?

I dunno. Can you go from riding a motorcycle to peddling a bike?

Crap, how my much simpler digital camera talks to my PC, which talks to plenty of more complex computers all they time, I'll never know, much be cheating...

Can a PC get alpha arms and delta legs? Yes

The delta brain only needs to talk 'cybernetic body' which all good cybernetic parts already know how to understand.

The great thing about Snatcher type robots is that they don't need major repairs. Once exposed they are completely expendable and they are programed to fight to the death on such an occasion. Of course, a corp would not consider its multi-million nuyen investment to be expendable so it is strictly for the crazies who want to conquer the world or one of Deus' secret pet projects. Routine maintenance is another matter. In the game the Snatchers were advanced enough to set up their own clinics for their maintenance. SR drones can repair other drones, with the proper equipment and autosofts. The only problem is the equipment.

As for Thirds, they were made to be baby factories. Because of this, it was not in their nature to do dangerous work. Most of them were artists of some type. Novelists, painters, even a country-western singer. For most of them, the most dangerous place they were ever going to see was their own bathroom.

The only exception was Armitage, who was a proof of concept model constructed from parts of an incomplete assasin android. As such, she retained the previous models love of violence and destruction, as well as the ability to stage full a ten-round SMG burst down to nothing.

However, in an SR game, any such character would probably have to have the corporate sellout flaw like a good cyberzombie does.

Edit: It isn't the grade of the parts that matters so much as how they are integrated with any organic tissue. With a fully inorganic android there would be no need for a delta clinic. However, when you begin attaching organic parts to it then everything should be Delta. The organic componets are cultured specificly for the android and the mecanical componets are designed specificly to integrate with the organic componets in the best way possible.

I'm still a major fan of the "drone with sentience" model. Because they use fiber-optics instead of nerves and use standard drones for bodies, a robotic PC of this type can connect directly to the sensors and motors on a cyberarm, saving lots of money and allowing them to connect to the type of cyber of their choice without difficulty. They also can easily repair themselves using ordinary optoelectronic parts of the type found in a 2060 TV remote, as opposed to requiring them to buy cyber in a Delta-grade clinic. As an added bonus, because they gained sentience entirely "by accident" (read: because of the Deep Resonance), they are extremely unlikely to be tied to a corp or owner.

Guys, if your rigger pours tons of money into a super robot brain, then the best option is fitting it for MIJI and Remote Control of drones.

You can have it be your rigger, using standard drones as a body, but pulling all the might of the processor in the safe location as the juice for aiming, moving etc.

I'll actually have to look into this idea, because that opens up for an "automated" team rigger. You simply have your Decker program tactical patterns and command codes, and then the team uses their radio to request actions from the riggerbot.

Oh. Horror. Corporate riggerbot. Supermind placed in some bunker and called to location by an alert priority system.. If the runners don't take out the lines, the local signal amplifier will suddenly belong to the mother of all riggerbots.