Which LIGHTSABER design is the best? STAR WARS

[@berkerus_]

Not Star wars related but I wanna say that i bought ur book a few days ago and it absolutely hooked me immediatly. Great Job!

[@rojalD]

Listened to it on audible, can only agree!

[@denimnoir6163]

Seriously! Shadow of the Conqueror is my favourite book I own, I'm in the process of trying to build a D&D campaign for it! Such a wonderful book

[@BestFriendsWhoLiveTogether]

I wasn’t sure if it was child friendly so I read it myself before getting for my niece (she loves this channel) and it definitely was not! - I still loved it though but, uh, DON’T GIVE IT TO YOUR KIDS

[@hannayapelekai1628]

paid comment LULW

[@crazyguyaustin828]

I just finished mine and I'm waiting on the sequel

[@omichromium]

I'm sure someone has already said this but Christopher Lee (Count Dooku), had a long long history in stage fencing and was super experienced when it came to that sort of "sword fighting" so all of his styles of fighting is based on his experience with that, lots of similarities. Also, the curved hilt is supposed to pay homage to other historical weapons like the Filipino Moro Barong and Charlemagne's sabre.

[@andrewevers2420]

Good, his legend grows

[@MingDK]

The pistol hilt is common in modern rapier fencing

[@chestermiles9500]

Also Lee was decended from Charlemange. As well as one of the influences for James Bond as he served with Ian Fleming in World War II. Oh yeah, he also released a Heavy Metal Album in his 80's. Christopher Lee is more badass than we can even imagine.

[@greylocke100]

Also at the time of filming, Lee was suffering from rheumatoid arthritis and had problems using a standard hilt, so they built one to allow him to still use his fencing skills.

[@GrimmSpector]

Lee like a few other actors actually had a hand in dictating the style of his lightsaber

[@viridian8786]

"Whyy didn't anyone make crossguard before" iirc in Rebels, we actually see a crossguard lighsaber in an episode where they went to the sith temple. The temple was a battle field and we actually see a lot of crossguard sabers. The battle was old as well as they activated a lighsaber and the battery powering the lighsabe immediately shuts down. Meaning it was old, ancient even For the whip lighsaber, I'd go with a power setting on the handle as well. In Rebels again, They can manipulate the lighsaber length, width and in Clone Wars. There were training sabers with so low energy that a person can hold it without hurting themselves

[@demi-femme4821]

The crossgaurd saber seems like a design that's hard to maintain, because lightsabers are really rugged, so the fact that that one shorted out like that speaks to the unusual nature of a crosshaurd saber. In-lore, Kylo broke his crystal and so needs those vents to disperse the energy (which is also why the blade is...that). It seems like a design that is hard to work with, so most don't bother.

[@tsamoka6496]

The cross-guard lightsaber already existed long before it was ever used the the sequel trilogy or the Rebels series. Star Wars Saga Edition RPG, Jedi Academy Training Manual supplement book, page 52. Published May, 2009. =^x^=

[@tsamoka6496]

@GrantKP Well spoken. I've said it before and I'll say it again, but it really does speak to the quality of disney star wars, and not at all in a good way, when the TWILIGHT book is objectively better than the entirety of the sequel trilogy combined. =^x^=

[@intingwithzoe5715]

Yes there were a lot of crossguarded lightsabers during the old republic time

[@JustSomeGuywithEpicGrasses]

@GrantKP the fact that you dislike it doesn't make it non-canon.

[@1989Yamashita]

When you mentioned the use of Shotguns against Jedi, that actually has a precedent in the games. In Jedi Outcast and Jedi Academy you can use guns against Jedi/Sith and there is a shotgun that can't be blocked by lightsabers. However, in the same game a Jedi/Sith can use the Force Push in the right moment to send all the pellets right back at the shooter. Risky but definitely possible.

[@cliffsimmons9692]

Reminds me of two Generation Tech videos, "10 Reasons Firearms are Better than Blasters" and "How to Survive a Jedi or Sith". Both go into the mechanics and how those principles would effect facing not only average SW foes but also force users. I'm still not convinced a force user could avoid or block automatic weapons fire from a slug thrower especially if the gun has a high rate of fire and the projectiles are moving faster than sound, much faster than a blaster bolt. But, kooky space magic so, I don't know.

[@animefan3794]

yeah, before Disney erased the Expanded universe, there were straight up lead bullet firearms in Star Wars. They were called "slug throwers" or something like that, and while considered impractical compared to a blaster, they were super effective against jedi/sith because lightsabers didn't block them. They just turned the high speed, solid lead projectile into a high speed, liquid lead projectile.

[@Spectacular_Insanity]

You're thinking flechette launchers. They're basically shotguns (handheld projectile weapons in Star Wars are often referred to as slugthrowers) that fire small blades instead of small ball bearings (shot) like normal shotguns. They only way a Force User could block it would be if they could telekinetically stop all of the projectiles... an unlikely feat that most probably couldn't do.

[@manguy01]

Don't forget, Darth Vader could just stop blaster bolts with the force. He does this when Han shoots him in Cloud City

[@stormhawkdude]

That is one of my favorite bits of EU Stupidity; if you took a Kar98 and focused on hitting some target *behind* the Force user in question and not the being themselves to remove your murderous intent, you reenacted the "Parry this you filthy casual!" meme and were more effective than a majority literal armies with blaster weapons short of artillery grade.

[@UniGya]

Interestingly the reason Count Dooku and other characters have curved handles is because they’re lightsabers designed to be used against lightsabers because most lightsaber duels will have clashes where the two Jedi collide lightsabers and the curved handle is supposed to give the wielder better leverage in clashes meaning they’re harder to disarm, they have an easier time disarming opponents, and they can break out of clashes sooner than opponents expect

[@paulozaurusrex2719]

Yeah but the problem is that the actual lore according to official star wars books is that the curved hilt is supposed to make it easier to spin the lightsaber and attack from behind

[@kyriss12]

That and Christopher Lee insisted on his light saber having that shape because he's a professional fencer.

[@Nature-hr9vk]

@@kyriss12 This actually has more to do with the lore reason than most people think. Dooku's lightsaber style is Form II Makashi which is an almost fencing lightsaber style meant for use against other lightsaber wielders. It has terrible ranged defense but is very good against other styles, to the point that true mastery of Makashi could make a wielder almost unbeatable without either significantly greater experience or exceptional teamwork. The only examples of individuals that could beat Dooku are Yoda (approximately 900 years old), Sidious (Sith Lord), or the combination of Anakin and Obi-wan (overwhelming teamwork together with Anakin being the most force-sensitive individual alive by a large margin).

[@Lady_Mando]

@@Nature-hr9vk Approve of your nerdom, I do. Finally someone who actually knows what they're talking about! Love it! I will say, Anakin did beat him single handedly when he mastered form V

[@Turd_Rocket]

That's a film trope that isn't based in actual fighting. I think Shad, of all people, would have a clip or video where he mentions how pointless it is to close the distance with a long-bladed weapon and push the shortest part of its blade against the shortest part of your opponent's blade. Lindybeige demonstrates how pointless it is in like five seconds, and (as a cameraman) shows the only reason they do it in movies is to get a camera shot of both characters and/or pause the fight so they can deliver dialogue.

[@scottyp1722]

One advantage of Ezra's lightsaber pistol is the fact that people didn't recognize it as a lightsaber.

[@channingdeadnight]

True and also Obi-Wan repeatedly explains throughout the prequels the primary reason why they aren't used by Jedi. it's because blasters are uncivilized. as a ranged weapon the possibility of hitting an innocent being is to great of a risk. Ezra made his lightsaber before he was comfortable yet relying on the force and his newly acquired Jedi abilities. being much, much older than the average padawan it took awhile to break those old habits, and blasters kill people. delimbing them is the Jedi's less-than-lethal alternative.

[@CptJistuce]

@@channingdeadnight Blasters don't kill people if you shoot their arms off. Lightsabers absolutely kill people if you cleave their chests open. Jedi, being jedi, should be able to easily make hits to less-dangerous parts of the anatomy while a normal person would be advised to just go for center of mass.

[@dominickeijzer5844]

@@CptJistuce Or they could use stun bolts.

[@CptJistuce]

@@dominickeijzer5844 It is interesting that "set blasters to stun" was only used for one scene in the entire franchise. It's an incredibly useful tool that's incredibly easy to forget(in that I forgot it was a thing until you reminded me)

[@dominickeijzer5844]

@@CptJistuce It was explored in the Clone Wars and Rebels, I believe. This along with appearing in many comics.

[@TheSonOfTheDragon]

2:14 Funny you should mention that because the late Sir Christopher Lee actually based Darth Tyranus' fighting style off of fencing since he himself was a master fencer. Infact George Lucas created and canonized an entire lightsaber style based on Sir Christopher Lee's portrayal of the character.

[@vyktorehon5995]

Absolute legend

[@lamia197]

@@vyktorehon5995 I love how Sir Christopher Lee have tons of these things that even one would make him a legend. but he has so many stuff.

[@Crazael]

@@lamia197 Soldier, actor, athlete, metal head, rock star, historian

[@Santisima_Trinidad]

@@Crazael spec ops solider at that.

[@fenrir_Lokison9]

@Subpar JennaTalia if I remember correctly, form 2 was made purely for lightsaber duels. Since everything was blasters, that form falled from grace because it has been many, many years since the last time a lighr saber duel happened. Personally, I think that Dooku was the best duelist ever...too bad he did not liked Jar Kai, so...for me, my favorite duelist is Asajj Ventress...regardless of how many times she has lose duels.

[@RaynmanPlays]

Canonically (in Legends), the Lightwhip was mostly only useful against someone that's never fought against it before. Once you know how to counter it, it's easy to do so.

[@haka-katyt7439]

Also it can maim you if there is a strong breeze.....which force wielders can make happen. Making Light-whips stupidly good against newbies, but stupidly bad against pros

[@danger_1189]

@@haka-katyt7439 i mean they’re good against unprepared pros too. it’s more that once you’ve figured it out you win pretty easy

[@PepicWalrus]

you pretty much only want to use it for a quick strike then swap to something else.

[@jaymon64anabel53]

I would like to believe it’s useful on surprise attacks. Especially if you’re using it to make your enemy’s defensive stance break. Since it’s long, they would have to change their entire blocking stance and move.

[@jorgemaiz7624]

Didn't Dooku make Anakin look foolish when he used a lightwhip against him on the Slaver planet?

[@torinnbalasar6774]

Kylo's cross guard isn't new, just the first time it's showed up in film. I remember one of the clone wars DS games featured Nightsisters welding sabers with forward swept cross guards, like the Witcher's silver sword. The cancelled(?) Old Republic show's main character was supposed to have a saber with a cross guard too, though I think that one was conceived of after episode 7.

[@briansouthparkstudio1357]

In star wars rebels it show the crossguard us a old design that when out of fashion. Kylo had to use the design because of his cracked crystal

[@desdinovvilla-lobos]

The Nightsister's sword can be seen very clearly here, at the 6:36 mark: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fYLZqWqMnq6Wd7s

[@fuzzywarrior3848]

Ezra found one on Malacor in Rebels. It's a design from before the old republic.

[@dominickeijzer5844]

To be honest, I don't see where that design would have fit into history. The Lightsaber (at least the Protosaber) is based on the Rakatan Forcesaber. Both Forcesabers and Protosabers were one straight line of plasma, no crossguards. At least the Forcesaber had handguards.

[@torinnbalasar6774]

@@dominickeijzer5844 the lightsaber isn't quite a monolithic a design: it has seen dramatic divergences from the standard model over the course of the franchise. It has also had millennia for individuals or groups to experiment with variations after the forcesabers were fully reverse engineered and understood, so it's not a stretch for cross guards to develop to fit certain fighting styles, and for even the styles that used them to have been abandoned over time as well. The reason we don't see much variation by the Galactic Civil War is because they've had centuries of stagnation, and all the users only ever expected to fight blasters, where most of the variations had little meaning or were hindrances compared to the simple guardless hilt.

[@jacobcox4565]

I think the Inquisitor lightsaber spinning is more used as a scare tactic. Seeing a lightsaber spinning that fast would be very scary to see, especially if it spins so fast all you see is a circle of light. General Grievous also used his hands to spin lightsabers like a fan and that was more for diversion and instilling fear.

[@shinisaber]

I also believe it helps with blocking blaster bolts since they were not as well trained or attuned to the force as sith or jedi.

[@koreancowboy42]

Well general Grevious was capable, considering he also used the spinning of the blades to prevent any approach to him. Since he has four arms and hands he can do so many moves. However he was fighting Obi-Wan whose skillful and had Grevious fought a lesser opponent he may have won

[@ThePapino134]

@@koreancowboy42 grievous in the movie was so nerfed he shouldve been a real menace as his jedi killer tittle was worth. like in the animated clone wars mini serie.

[@marcuspacheco3815]

Well we know it's Petey Pablo's favorite kind of lightsaber.... really every Jedi from North Carolina. Because you could hold it over your head like a helicopter 🤣

[@koreancowboy42]

@@ThePapino134 but then again... he fought Obi-wan even in the animated series. Obi-wan and awaking had always bested General Grevious and he had always fled.

[@baconberries8097]

I feel like this is worth a note: There actually is a lightsaber blaster in cannon, as in a blaster that essentially shoots lightsaber beams. It only appears in this one issue of the Darth Vader comics, the librarian lady puts her lightsaber in it to let the crystal inside act as a blaster, but the use of it caused her lightsaber to just melt. It was very powerful, even Vader had a hard time defending against it.

[@insomniacowl5392]

I was looking for this comment

[@Red4score]

Ezra uses a lightsaber blaster

[@WoodlandDrake]

Let's not forget the Death Star which is essentially a giant lightsaber

[@jarkaiacademy]

Librarian lady is called Jocasta Nu

[@jameshargrave118]

@@Red4score Ezra’s lightsaber blaster sounds different to the Liberians blaster. Ezra’s blasts act as stuns and can be blocked by a lightsaber, while the librarian’s seems very deadly and hard to block.

[@elladan450]

9:30 To answer your question: Cross guarded Lightsabers were used on the eras of big sith wars but in the time of the clone wars and later were much more rare because Lightsaber duels were much rarer in comparison. thats also the reason why Dooku has his curved grip.

[@singularleaf3895]

And the whole length of the lightsaber, before you would see people with an extra foot or so to catch his opponents off guard. The Era of Peace turned Jedi from warriors to ceremonial peacekeepers.

[@elladan450]

@@singularleaf3895 yes exactly.

[@t_r_a_y_e9858]

This is the best explanation I've seen so far.

[@elladan450]

@@t_r_a_y_e9858 you mean my explanation? Its pretty short for an in depth look if you know what I mean

[@brandoncook1123]

In the writing of Darth Bane: Path of Destruction he is given a curved hilted lightsaber to pair with his height. By changing the angle even so slightly it would throw off the Jedi and Sith he would encounter. It was from the writer picked by Lucas to write of the Ancient Sith and KotoR and so on.

[@henryborba5921]

There are other folding double blade lightsabers. Krell had two folding double blades. Jedi temple gaurds have short yellow blades that are also double folding. However neither of these folding hilts are ever ignited when folded. They only fold when put away. It is better to have a shorter handle when it's on your belt.

[@VegetaLF7]

Exactly, Dark Rey's folding saber is exactly the same as those, she just turned them on before unfolding it. It's not as big an issue as he's making it out to be, she just effectively turned it on when in the storage configuration instead of unfolding it first.

[@personman8734]

It’s still just a dumb design in general. It’s a sword that has no blade. It doesn’t need to be foldable because it’s literally a pocket sword. It’s just unnecessary.

[@mikleangelo9733]

​@person man it makes sense for pong because his lightsabers are longer than a clone troopers torso when unfolded. It doesn't make sense for Ray though.

[@immensewraith7613]

Pong Krell did turn it on a few times, difference was his hands were big enough to grab onto both the grips at the same time and just have a big wide one

[@karlag403]

Krell needed the lightsabers to fold to carry 2 of them

[@MagicXRoads534]

I don’t know for sure, but I think I heard something about Kylo Ren’s “cross guard” actually just being a vent because the power crystal was physically damaged so the energy couldn’t be concentrated into a single blade. And I believe if you look closely that blade (and the accompanying cross guard) actually looks a bit unstable compared to a basic lightsaber.

[@MAZZ0Murder]

Iirc, the kyber crystal in the blade is cracked, which also adds to it being unstable?

[@danielijust8776]

You dont need to Look closely for that lol

[@drstone46]

@@danielijust8776 exactly you can tell by the mini blades lmao

[@shadknight3562]

@@MAZZ0Murder Yes, that is kind of their thing.

[@Skybox02]

Cross guard lightsabers weren't actually new they were just an ancient design picked up by Kylo and used by him when he made his lightsaber.

[@cooperjohnson3178]

The Crossguard actually has been seen in rebels and comics, the only thing with crossguards is that they are more susceptible to long term damage, and the older they are the more they malfunction

[@Attaxalotl]

To be fair, that one had been turned to stone by an ancient Sith weapon/temple/AI/ghost

[@timewarpdrive77]

They appeared in the old EU as well

[@marsbase3729]

True, but better damaged cross guard than damaged hand

[@Slu5h3]

That one in rebels was from the old rebublic era too wasnt it?

[@pokewack]

@@Slu5h3 yes. It was in the malachor tombs…handheld shields were also used in the clone wars tv series by mandalorians

[@Skybox02]

Ezra's "gun-lightsaber" as it is called was actually a technological advancement and most people who used them were force sensitives that escaped order 66 and they wanted to keep a low profile while also being able to use their lightsaber at the moments notice.

[@Ralnarene]

Nobody questions a gun on your hip in Star Wars... but a lightsaber in that time period and it's TIME TO KILL THE JEDI!

[@boppertron4929]

I didn't know any others used one, seems useful to be able to disguise the lightsaber as a gun, and in Ezra's case a simple and likely more legally allowed stun gun.

[@electrifiedbathbomb7383]

if i remember correctly that jedi librarian basically has a light saber rail gun thingy that is really strong

[@boppertron4929]

@@electrifiedbathbomb7383 I thought she had to put her lightsaber into the gun, in which case it'd be less like a gun lightsaber, lightsaber with gun attatched, than a lighsaber gun, gun with lightsaber attatched

[@k9turrent]

@@boppertron4929 iirc the "gun" used the lightsaber as a power source for super powered blasts. It would drain the saber in a couple shots

[@carlosreyna902]

For the lightsaber whip, there is actually a character in the high republic era books who can change their lightsaber between a standard one and a light whip by altering the plasma itself

[@GODCONVOYPRIME]

Lumiya did it first.

[@atomf9143]

The circle of the spinning Inquisitor blades is not saber-resistant, and this is often their main weakness and has resulted in the deaths of at least two Inquisitors in Rebels alone.

[@thewarderman1840]

Yeah that one sister gets hers cut in half by Ahsoka after like 2 minutes.

[@countloco5362]

It's mainly for flying in case the Inquisitor is force pushed off a ledge, falls, etc.

[@johannesseyfried7933]

​@@countloco5362 Which looks incredibly silly. Also, I believe that it's not the actual spinning, but the repulsor lifts in the Hilt that allows them to fly. Honestly, a Jetpack would have been a lot less complicated.

[@spartanvidargaming7002]

Grand inquisitors was cut in two by kanan Jarrus

[@nota444tm2]

@@countloco5362 and also intimidation. Torture even as seen in kenobi.. Though.. I think that dude is dead from being pushed into grand inquisitor's spinning blade.

[@rory8182]

Technically Kylo's crossguard isn't actually there as a crossguard, those are vents (as seen on older lightsabres) as his crystal is so badly damaged that he needs the additional venting, even with all the moderns methods which make the crossguard obsolete

[@will_marvin]

shoulda vented them at 45 degree angles away from his wrists

[@EikeSky]

@@paradoxxis8612 small addition that when Ezra, Kanan and Ahsoka are on Malacore in Rebels, Ezra picks up a green cross guarded lightsaber. The tech was there, I'm guessing both Jedi and sith fell out of love with the concept for reasons.

[@CuppaLLX]

yup, thats also why the blade looks rougher, hes basicaly ussing a scrap lightsaber

[@DarkBanks3]

@@EikeSky well jedi stopped because they made “extinct” their only lightsaber competitors. For a Jedi in the new republic era their lightsaber wasn’t even really supposed to be used, it was more of a badge of office than an actual weapon, that’s why most jedi only have the one single-bladed lightsaber.

[@Kevin100cloud]

Also I’m fairly certain it’s difficult for lightsabers to slide down each other in the first place, making true cross guards an unneeded addition. As explained in Rebels, lightsabers are attracted to each other making those cinematic lightsaber clashes, where the blade does not separate, believable. This would make it more difficult for the blade to slide up and down. Another factor would be the fact that the blade is not solid and therefore it appears that when the energies of 2 lightsabers meet they almost seem to morph into each other (though obviously not completely). Though to my knowledge, this is not confirmed in Canon, It seems like it would be very difficult for the blade to slide down as well when considering this.

[@nerdlydelicious1876]

In regards to the ‘blaster saber’ from Rebels: it was made by Ezra Bridger, a teenage boy who was taken in by the Jedi Kanan as his padawan. Ezra made the blaster modification to his saber because he wasn’t very good with the lightsaber yet. Though he couldn’t have both modes active at once, as they drew power from the kyber crystal, he could swap between using it as a ranged or melee weapon *very* quickly. When Kanan dueled a dark Jedi, one of the Inquisitors, he wielded his own lightsaber along with Ezra’s in the fight and could rapidly swap between shooting and cutting with Ezra’s weapon pretty much instantaneously. So while both features couldn’t be used at once, there was basically no time delay between using both modes EDIT: and as for the Inquisitors’ lightsaber design: no, they weren’t made from lightsaber resistant material. Which meant that when the Inquisitors went up against light saber wielding opponents who knew what they where doing those rings not only didn’t protect the wielder’s hand. They became a target. If the rings were damaged or destroyed it would render the whole lightsaber inoperable. Though to be fair this may have been an intentional design flaw. The Emperor wouldn’t want the Inquisitors getting ideas and trying to overthrow him. Lust for power is the natural state of the dark side after all. The Inquisitors were only ever meant to hunt down small fish, like younglings who survived Order 66 or padawans with little experience. If any actual Jedi Knights or masters were encountered then it would be up to Darth Vader to hunt them down.

[@clownplayer7265]

Yeah, as cool as it sounds, I've seen lots of people pointing out lots of inconveniences in the ring lightsaber. It's also noted in canon they're built upon the notion of intimidate the opponent. When the opponent manages to psyche out and power in through the ring saber often failed.

[@garethvila5108]

Honestly, I hate that Ezra could make such a change to the conventional lightsaber because its implications. It implies that in thousands of years of so many people making and using lightsabers nobody reached a conclusion that a random teenager reached. And this doesn't only apply to Ezra, I have the same issue with some other stories where someone reaches an obvious conclusion that makes everyone else seem dumb. There's a similar case in the Assassins Creed Valhalla game, where Eivor, the main character, doesn't need to cut his own finger to use the hidden blade because he can simply put it so that the blade comes from the back of his hand and not from the front. I mean, according to the previous games, it's going to take hundreds of years and the genious Leonardo Da Vinci himself to solve this same finger-cutting problem with the hidden blades, and even then Da Vinci needs to make a new design to avoid it instead of just reaching the stupidly obvious conclusion that a simple random viking thought of. It honestly drives me nuts when they do such things. And this may seem obvious, but this is not an attack on you, just expressing my personal opinion against this kind of thing. You'd be amazed with the things people have taken as personal attacks.

[@Serahpin]

@@garethvila5108 The Jedi had a taboo against blasters for some reason. A taboo Ezra never grew up with. Also, there are plenty of examples of "why didn't anyone ever think of this before" like putting wheels on luggage. Luggage has been around for millennia, but they just finally figure out you you can put wheels on them in the 1990s? Yeah, that stuff happens all the time.

[@brunozeigerts6379]

Maybe that's why Stormtroopers are such rotten shots... the Emperor doesn't want the army to be too competent... otherwise it might overthrow him.

[@garethvila5108]

@@Serahpin It's not the same as wheels on luggage, since those appeared when they became a need. People used to travel with large trunks, but when the train became a common traveling method things started changing. There were more people traveling, and many of those travelers had to carry their luggage themselves. This caused the creation of suitcases, lighter and easier to wield than previous trunks. These new suitcases became quite widespread, but they had no wheels because they weren't a necessity. When air travel became the new common method (around the 70s) it caused the creation of wheeled luggage, since it was needed. The increased number of travelers in airports made the airports themselves bigger, and people had to carry their luggage around them. This was quite a burden for many people (no pun intended), since carrying a heavy luggage for long distances can tire you quickly, and that made the wheels a logic step that wasn't a need before. That being said, there are also patents for wheeled luggage presented decades before that, and Bernard Sadow, the one that's considered the inventor of the wheeled luggage, was the vice president of a luggage company. In comparison, Ezra made a revolutionary invention as a simple teenager. An invention that would have been as useful in the Clone Wars era 20 years before him, but also would have been useful in the Old Republic era, more than 2000 years before him. I'm quite certain that in 2000 years there would have been quite a lot of people that never grew up with the jedi taboos and could have done it. It could have also been done by people who fought with jedi or against them. It's not a case of a new need, neither a case of a change in the surrounding technology. There are always reasons for why something wasn't done before in reality, and this sword-blaster has no reason for not being done in those 2000 years.

[@Brewdog2001]

I remember reading somewhere that Kylo Ren's saber was able to have a cross guard due to the Khyber crystal being fractured. That fact also seemed to allude that this kind of fracture was rare and also made the crystal unstable which explained the power of the saber.

[@ooggyboogy3988]

I’m pretty sure that’s canon

[@diecastinsanity483]

Plus I don't think it was designed with the idea of a cross guard in mind. I think they were just ports to vent excessive heat to help stabilize the blade.

[@piefpv3233]

Sith are supposed to pour all their hatred and anger into the crystal turning it red. Kylo not fully committed to the dark side at the time messed it up and cracked the crystal in the process. Rather than try again he modified his lightsaber with the cross guard to vent the extra energy. That's also why the main blade pulses with instability. its not for combat

[@imglaishy3830]

Two things about this, if I remember correctly it's not that his fractured crystal allows the cross guard, it's that it necessitates it as it would be too unstable in a normal hilt and needs to exhaust. The second thing is that after the sequels, they added cross guards into cannon in the high Republic era which is about 100-500 years before the movies with normal crystals. I think they wrote it in that the cross guards are less nimble (like in Jedi survivor) and maybe phased out because of it but I haven't found an official answer.

[@piefpv3233]

I love the crossguard stance in Jedi:survivor for a video game making that have the highest Damage value and lowest speed vs some of the lower damage high speed. great game play mechanics. even if you imagine a real lightsaber combat might not be as accurate they did a great job @@imglaishy3830

[@TheSouloftheDragon]

Cal's lightsaber from Jedi: Fallen Order deserves a special mention. It's a single blade that can turn into a double blade and if he's feeling spicy, can break it in halves and dual wield it.

[@pauledge1621]

The sith battle master in the novel Darth Bane-Path of Distruction had a similar double bladed saber

[@realJoeMavro]

Cal's/Jaro's lightsaber also has those large emitter guards in its original form, those seem like they would be very useful in protecting your hand if it should slip. My only problem with it is that the hilt's a little short. Now, Maul's lightsaber--from what I've read was originally going to be the size of a standard lightsaber, but Ray Park himself suggested making the hilt longer to make it easier to work with.

[@SmallGreenPlanetoid]

To be fair Maul's double-bladed saber was also used as a single bladed saber in the desert fight with Qui-Gon. Asajj Ventress used two curved-hilt sabers that she could join into a single unit.

[@xSkye629x]

That's the standard saberstaff design though? It's nothing we haven't seen already. The only feature you mentioned that is sometimes not there is the separating feature (based on builder/materials used)

[@anvos658]

Well yes if your going to have a double bladed saber, just have the advanced models where its two single handed sabers that can be attached. Thus you can single wield, dual wield, or double blade.

[@khodexus4963]

They actually designed Dooku's curved hilt to be reminiscent of a modern fencing saber because Christopher Lee was an Olympic fencer in real life. The cross-hilt lightsaber wasn't an advancement in technology, it was actually based on a very old design that was reused to help vent some of the unstable energy from Kylo Ren's cracked crystal. But that style of hilt was alot more common in the days before the end of the last great Jedi-Sith war. But after the reformation at the end of the war, there was alot of things done to demilitarize the Jedi, including discontinuing alot of saber designs that were meant to facilitate dueling and warfare. Dooku's saber was considered a controversial design specifically because it was a dueling saber in an era where the Jedi no longer fought other lightsaber users on any sort of regular basis outside of sparring. The blaster-saber from Rebels was built by a kid as his first light saber, and he had a background as a tinkerer/mechanic, so that was just something he came up with since there was only one other Jedi around to teach him, and he'd only been a padawan himself when Order 66 happened. Later when he grew up a bit, he made another more typical lightsaber and carried a traditional blaster pistol alongside it. In fact, using blasters and light sabers together was quite common before the aforementioned reformations. Also, it wasn't that Jedi weren't taught to shoot. Even in the movie era they were. Obi Wan was specifically trained in sniper style rifles which he used when under cover as a bounty hunter. All the Jedi were given similar training in the time before the Clone Wars. But it was A. illegal for them to use blasters when they weren't needed for specific missions (that was part of the reforms I mentioned above), and B. Obi Wan specifically didn't really like blasters. So when he called them uncivilized, that was his personal sentiment, not the policy of the entire Jedi Order. Anakin was quite fond of blasters, when he found an excuse to use them. And you'll recall Luke used both a light saber and a blaster right up until he went to confront Vader and the Emperor on the second Death Star. In the expanded content there are tons of Jedi who used blasters, outside of the period they were banned by the reforms. Kyle Katarn is a personal favorite example of mine. A storm trooper who defected from the Empire and helped steal the plans to the death star leading up to A New Hope, who then trained as a Jedi but never gave up his guns. Mace Windu's light saber actually DOES have variable settings to change the length of his blade. Darth Vader does as well, we even see him use it in the movies. There are scenes where his saber blade is about arming sword length, and other scenes where it's closer to long sword length, though it is debated if this was intentional during filming, or something the writers canonized later to explain why the blade length varied from shot to shot. In the comics, Vader specifically expresses his distaste for the inquisitors' spinning light sabers as very gimmicky, not very functional weapons, but it us explained that since most the inquisitors are not very skilled duelists (kind of by design since Palpatine wants them only as enforcers not potential Sith rivals) that these weapons give them a small advantage in confusion/surprise, and also intimidation. But ultimately, they don't expect them to be able to take on fully trained Jedi, like Obi-Wan. Even the aforementioned padawan was able to defeat the Grand Inquisitor one on one. Vader himself is the one called in to handle Jedi the inquisitors cannot. The legends inquisitors, who were quite prominent in the early Jedi Knight games starring the aforementioned Kyle Katarn, DID use shotgun style blasters. Though they had a different name for them (I forget what it was off hand), and they also used more regular light sabers without the spinning parts.

[@stefanbork3326]

I also know of the "hilted" lightsaber as not being a crossguard, but mere exhausts for unstable energies - therefore i doubt, those would be stopping blows .. at least no reliably ... And Dooku indeed used his lightsaber design due to the fact, that more modern lightsabers were'nt (well) suited to dueling other lightsaber users (at least that's what they sell as lore) ... So yeah - your beloved crossguards are sadly just ... hmm, heat-vents (for safe weapon use)!?! and not a defensive capacity - but maybe they could be reengineered to be?!

[@jakubrogacz6829]

Btw. whole thing with Finn smells so much of blackwashing Kyle Katarn, then there is fact that Ben Solo is not original character since I think Jacen Solo was his analogue in EU. I never really got why they just didn't make movies with a written scenario ( granted some of EU was shitty ), or even touched the Revan era which is nearly as beloved as Kyle's and Kyle's is more most probably because there are more games about him and started coming out 10 years before.

[@weasel003gaming7]

Khodexus, since you mentioned Kyle Katarn using both a blaster and a lightsaber, it reminds me of that one time in Jedi Outcast when I embarrassed a Shadowtrooper on Hard mode by using an E-11 after pushing him down with a surprise Force Push, getting decent damage in, and the moment he came at me I swapped to that one gun that can fire slugs with its primary and its secondary fires this weird purple concussion blast, and I used the secondary fire to hit behind him and fling him towards me, and I finished him off with a Lightsaber through the back of the neck, it was probably one of the most fun moments I've ever had in that game ngl.

[@championofthedarksoul4200]

@@JamesMacTavish on your comment about double bladed lightsabers Cal Kestis's lightsaber is a double bladed lightsaber that can split into 2 separate weapons and he can switch off one side so it's a single bladed in terms of versatility it's probably the best lightsaber design.

[@Emerald_Wolf]

@@stefanbork3326 Hello There. Thank you for posting this. I was scrolling through the chat to see if anyone else let him know about the cross guard being a vent. May the force be with you.

[@jawa_juice7289]

The reason for the crossguard being used is to keep the lightsaber stable. Kylo's crystal is cracked, and therefore unstable (that is why his blade looks less smooth). The crossguard was explained as a way for excess energy to escape to not overheat the crystal + explode the saber. The corssguard was actually first introduced chronologically a long time before the movies. (I think the Old Republic, maybe earlier.)

[@crisper1614]

This is exactly it. I’m surprised more people don’t know this. It’s like they are vents. Honestly thought this was common knowledge.

[@spartanvidargaming7002]

They did Ezra picked one up on Malavhor V

[@jaieregilmore971]

Kylo Ren was terrible with the crossguard,

[@raizenr2387]

@@jaieregilmore971 Go watch the opening of RoS again. He uses the guard rather effectively

[@jaieregilmore971]

@@raizenr2387 Already did that but he disappointed me when throw away his crossguard into the sea What a waste.

[@raypaquettejr]

Christopher Lee (Dooku) actually had lots of experience with fencing in college and I believe he has the most sword fight scenes in movie history. I always questioned it too but knowing what I do now I like that his lightsaber design reflects that.

[@angelemmanuelperezmuniz1474]

He also was a metal singer. No wonder why he had an army of orcs that assisted to his performances in The Lord of the Rings.

[@hyperdreamer9483]

Dooku also is a practitioner of of Form 2 of Lightsabre Combat The Fencers Form. I’m pretty sure it was also stated the Dooku’s Lightsabre is something used only by master duelists.

[@novabell24]

He also wasn’t just a master in Form II Mikashi. But THE master of the form. Mikashi is made for dueling and has a difficult time deflecting blaster fire, however, Dooku adapted it to fit both needs.

[@Boreasnorm6391]

This is why I love Cal Kestis. His lightsaber had a double blade, single blade, and separable two single blade functions. Very adaptable.

[@xxxavieroxfor9410]

Like a boss

[@purefoldnz3070]

it slices it dices it juliennes

[@CaptainFirespitter]

His, and Ezra both used the best designs for lightsabers and I love them so much because they have such versatility and intelligently designed in their use.

[@xxxavieroxfor9410]

@@lilithvia1122 that’s imposible

[@xxxavieroxfor9410]

@@lilithvia1122 you could skip illum? Wow, I didn’t know

[@TheRealGuywithoutaMustache]

I’ve always loved the concept of a double bladed lightsaber, it just looks badass too

[@josephradley3160]

But only evil characters seem to use it, like Darth Maul, Savage Opress and Pong Krell

[@hypermaeonyx4969]

you're everywhere. Thank you for coming to my Ted-talk!

[@ktosmiy9701]

@@josephradley3160 Cal Kestis: I'm a joke to you?

[@Scuzzlebutt142]

years ago a friend and I bought some lightsabers from Ultrasabers for sh!ts and giggles, and played with them a bit a fencing practice. Double bladed look badass, but are hilariously ineffective, due to only being able to use a single blade at a time. If one blade is forward, the other is back and not doing anything, as well as you know mostly where attacks are coming from after the initial, it'll come from the opposite side with the other blade. Most of the times it was parry initial attack, parry second, maybe a third, wack the guy in the head. Two single blades is much, much more effective as both blades can be in play simultaneously.

[@RainMakeR_Workshop]

@@josephradley3160 There are non-evil characters who use them. Master Bastila Shan, Master Tosan, Cal Kestis, Master Jaro Tapal and basically all Jedi Temple Guards.

[@Brodie_Loman]

So I actually have an answer about why most lightsabers that we have seen don't have the crossguard. It is because most of the light sabers we have seen were from a time when deflecting blaster fire was far more common than saber on saber combat. There was actually a green lightsaber with a crossguard found outside of a long forgotten sith temple in the rebels show. It looked like there was a large war there between a sith army and a jedi army. So it makes sense that back then, when saber on saber combat was the main type of combat, a crossguard would be much more common.

[@vitamin..e]

Yes, and if you look carefully, you can see two other lightsabers on the ground that appear to have a cross guard.

[@clarkfuckerberg8498]

@@vitamin..e wasnt there a light saber spear there to

[@Helperbot-2000]

after all, the jedi thought the sith were dead for a milennium, so why would they use weapons to counter an enemy that to them didnt even exist?

[@cytherina]

exactly, theres also a similar detail in Doocu's saber choice - he chose that kind of saber because its especially good for a certain style of lightsaber combat - the kind thats designed to counter other saber-weilders. as he was being trained during a time of peace the idea of being good a style of fighting that is useful to killing other jedi made some of the jedi's distrustful of him before he left.

[@hatTtop]

They did make more cross-guard lightsaber before, it’s in the comics. There are also light spears that are in the comics.

[@jasperrice8456]

The reason Ezra's lightsaber has a blaster is so that if he we're ever captured, or his lightsaber was taken away, it would just appear to be a blaster, so he would avoid persecution as a Jedi.

[@EvilDoresh]

Plus you can just shoot without having to switch weapons, which is handy when fighting Stormtroopers and can even catch fellow force users by surprise (which Kanan exploited when he used the lightsaber for a duel with the Grand Inquisitor)

[@Druku1977]

It was made as a blaster so he could open carry a saber without raising suspicion.

[@justin522]

If I remember correctly there were also scenes where he only stunned people with it, which is extremely useful. I was pretty disappointed when he went to a more standard design after it was destroyed, but I think its main purpose was as a symbol of his unconventional nature and ingenuity. (Which in itself explains why only he came up with it.)

[@notstazzmann9429]

@@justin522 IIrc the blaster only had a stun function and wasn’t even a true blaster.

[@justin522]

@@notstazzmann9429 I think you're right.

[@MaxWelton]

4:02 Ventress is Dooku’s apprentice/personal bodyguard/assassin/lackey, so it makes sense for him to give her lightsabers that resemble his own. Ahsoka Tano also uses curved hilts after the events of Order 66, but their curves are less pronounced than on Ventress’ and Dooku’s.

[@Tunkkis]

Surely Ventress would've constructed her own saber. She may've taken inspiration from her master, but still.

[@masterofderp8373]

@@Tunkkis nope. They were the sabers of Komari Vosa, who was slain by Jango Fett. Ventress’s sabers were given to her as a gift from Dooku.

[@MaxWelton]

@@masterofderp8373 I remember that happening in Clone Wars, the 2D cartoon that preceded The Clone Wars. Is that detail of Ventress' lightsabers still canon?

[@masterofderp8373]

@@MaxWelton not sure about if it’s in canon, but it is canon to legends due to Star Wars: Bounty Hunter

[@RTDelete]

Ezra's blaster-saber is a *stun* gun, so while being very useful, not exactly auto win.

[@LordDarthHarry]

If you stun the guy you can stab him at your leisure. In the context of a saber fight it hardly makes a difference.

[@pedromiret9195]

Were this idea expanded, it would be amazing. Also, there is this REALLY simple fix to the inquisitor´s lightsabers that would make them STUPID OP. Give them an inclined foward facing vent, like in kylo´s case. They would spin, and those vents facing one way from the blade would cover the hole. Essentially making it into a Lightsaber shield/buzzaw.

[@brentbartley6838]

And the stun blaster could be used while the blade was on, Kanaan did it during his duel with the Grand Inquisitor.

[@LordDarthHarry]

@@brentbartley6838 No, pretty sure he switched the blade off to shoot.

[@roger632]

Also, it was possible to turn off the stun blasts setting. Remember the scene where Ezra accidentally shoots both Kanan and Rex while they were in Stormtrooper disguise? Ezra noted how it was a good thing he had it on stun; and then Rex mused: "Well you should've set it to kill," because Rex was trying to teach Ezra how to use a blaster properly, and he was impressed that he shot them.

[@lucasstrong9208]

It was always my understanding that Kylo's "cross guard" is actually just twin exhaust ports, venting extra power from his janky crystal. Maybe not obvious to everyone (especially in the movies since you rarely get a chance to appreciate it alone) is that his lightsaber has a distinct sound on top of the visuals. Most hum and have a stable blade, while his crackles and the blade fluctuates like a flame. I'm sure others have pointed it out, but I just wanted to share my appreciation for that little detail. (It's easier to notice in Battlefront 2 if you just take a second in the loadout screen. Same for yellow saber Rey, hers sounds different since she's a scrapyard jedi)

[@VestedUTuber]

Just to note, at least in "canon" crossguard lightsabers were made historically. The real question is why they stopped making them. Also, in the case of Kylo's crossguard saber specifically, the crossguard started off as extra vents for the unstable energy of his cracked crystal, and their use as a crossguard was secondary.

[@glowhoo9226]

They stopped using cross guards because the jedi became more like peacekeepers and diplomats, rather than warriors and guardians. The lightsaber became more of a symbol rather than a weapon meant to be used in war.

[@VestedUTuber]

@@glowhoo9226 Still doesn't make sense to significantly change the design, though. But then again the Jedi were REALLY into symbolism to the point where even the use of a natural red crystal was considered taboo (in Legends, Adi Gallia got a lot of shit from her peers for doing so) and wearing anything other than light earth tones was frowned upon.

[@magister343]

@@VestedUTuber I'm guessing it had to do with the fact that Jedi would be almost exclusively fighting enemies with Blasters, not with other lightsabers, once the Sith were thought to be extinct. A cross guard is not of much use against projectile weapons.

[@darkflame9410]

@@VestedUTuber so far as the information (for Disney canon) goes, the concept of crossguard lightsabers survived up into the High Republic era (roughly 4-200 years before the outbreak of the clone wars), although the designs became more elegant and also rarer due to the lack of a need for defense against another lightsaber-wielding opponent. Meanwhile, the more “katana”-esque hilt, the standard lightsaber as we know it, became more popular as it was easy to carry, could be used to deflect blasters when needed, but also was still simple. Jedi during this time served more like knights errant / Texas Rangers, going around and helping those in need but not fighting any major wars. The last time the older style crossguard sabers, the ones Kylo Ren’s hilt was based on, wereutilized was during the last Sith-Jedi wars, of which the Battle of Malechor was a part. After this, with the extinction of the Sith (presumed by the Jedi) and thus the removal of the primary lightsaber-using adversary, The Jedi began to focus less and less on lightsaber fighting forms (specifically, lightsaber on lightsaber). Dooku’s second lightsaber (the curved one we are all familiar with) was an oddity at the time. He built it some time after obtaining the rank of Knight (his first saber, built as a Padawan, was a standard saber with design elements similar to his master’s, yoda) and deliberately scoured the archives for older / archaic designs in an effort to stand out and distance the design from yoda’s lightsaber. He was seen as a bit of an oddball for the choice at the time.

[@SkyEcho751]

Okay, Need to point out that Kylo's Crossguard was a cashgrab imitation. Specifically because in legends there were _Dozens_ of crosguard designs, many of them better then the ones in Disney Canon. Most didn't use crossguards in the Galactic Civil Wars because of 1 thing, there was almost no benefit if you weren't fighting another lightsaber wielder, in fact it might have made it harder for some normal stances.

[@danielrex7007]

Kylos light Sabre is actually a more primitive technology, because the blade energy is not as stable (like older Sabres in legends) so the "cross gaurd" is energy defussion

[@frorissting5202]

No, his kyber crystal is just broken, thats why its unstable

[@christopherfleetwood5252]

@@frorissting5202 so it’s a metaphor for the user?

[@lsaua]

@@christopherfleetwood5252 yes that is exactly why

[@zachfreedom644]

@@frorissting5202 both are true

[@sovietsocialist1652]

canonically what he did is he failed to bleed his kyber crystal (a way to bend the crystal to the users will which is why all dark side characters have crimson blades) and the crystal became unstable so he made the crossguard to vent the excess energy

[@beni5223]

actually, the reason for Ezra's gunsaber is it allowed him to conceal hinself from the empire. Since jedi's before him could openly carry it, they didn't need to develop something like this.

[@DeathComesQuick666]

that, and he was also trying to follow the tip he got about a lightsaber being unique to the person who made it... Something along those lines. Ezra never used that saber as well as Kanan did though, amirite?

[@myrealusername2193]

Wasn’t it also something about him being bad at redirecting blaster shots?

[@tempestflare4339]

True and his blaster variation used the same energy from his Kyber Crystal to stun enemies so it had a secondary purpose allowing for more open strikes on stunned enemies

[@RequiemPoete]

Plus didn't he already carry a stunning gun weapon from before? So it makes sense he'd incorporate a weapon he was used to.

[@Jemini4228]

It makes sense to have a ranged weapon and a close quarters weapon in one device as well.

[@joeloliver2279]

I think Vader’s saber being able to change length is massively underrated

[@Wertsir]

It’s not worth it for the amount of dick jokes it inspires.

[@HD-E90]

All of them can lmao

[@MeatObelisk]

well his can just extend futher more for the fact bro cannot run or be mobile hes a fucking juggernaut that slowly walks closer and closer until you just simply die

[@MeatObelisk]

​@@HD-E90someone wasnt paying attention.

[@sandhamitizer9706]

Dual phase go brrrrrrrrr

[@beammeupscott3032]

I believe the primary reason lightsabers wouldn’t have cross guards is because the number of times a Jedi would actually find and fight another lightsaber user(sith) would be astronomically rare yet incoming blaster fire would be much more common. Thus the ability to extremely quickly get a blade to block a behind the back shot or some other weird angle without needing to worry about a guard would be essential. It’s like a police officer who has a rifle in his vehicle for intense engagements just incase… but the handgun can actually be worn on the daily. If you don’t need it for any regular occasion you won’t go out of your way to make it a thing.

[@jypsridic]

that depends on what era you're in. In the movies yes, but yoda was worried about dooku's lightsaber because it was designed for fighting other lightsabers based on the models from the old republic.

[@0_Body]

Every great war against the Sith would like a word with you

[@TylerCMilligan]

@@0_Body The wars with the Sith are too late for time period he speaks of. So I highly doubt they get a word in.

[@gergernzero6904]

@@0_Body rebles showed that both jedi and sith of old did have the cross guad.

[@mauricehopes9105]

I do love that madilorians fought Jedi with common sense and tons of firepower. Flame throwers, sniper rifles, explosives, and shotguns (not blasters, regular pellet shotguns) were their tools of the trade. And they were effective enough to fight jedi to a standstill.

[@TheFairylink]

Yeh. Regular bullets would melt through the blade and would splash the defending Jedi with the molten slug. Not talking about multi pellet shots as well. Harder to parry when there's more than 2 source of impacts.

[@mememan2404]

@@TheFairylink Literally just: "Jedi can block blasters? Have fun with this buckshot"

[@maxxor-overworldhero6730]

Yeah, and even better, they learned to do all that after they first met the Jedi and got their butts handed to them. All it took was one failure as a group to immediately come up with amazingly effective countermeasures.

[@darth_dan8886]

Also don't forget webs and wires and other such entangling devices.

[@randomcrapstudios8398]

@@mememan2404 ah, I see you're a man of culture as well.

[@DolphyBlueDrake]

Shad, they do explain how the "crossguard" lightsaber came to be: This is what is called a "double-vented lightsaber" (the "guard" counts as one vent, and the tiny blade that comes out the bottom is the other vent). A double-vented lightsaber is used to contain a cracked kyber crystal (the crystal that makes the blade energy), as a normal saber would pretty much blow up if you tried to put a cracked crystal in it. Only a cracked crystal can produce the streams of energy that require double-venting. This is why most lightsabers don't have crossguards: cracked crystals are rare.

[@Ashtor1337]

You forgot they are rare due to most force users not breaking their crystal. Only powerful but untrained force users cracked their crystals. It's not a benefit it was a sign the person had little emotional control.

[@GonzoTehGreat]

Regardless of the rationale for making it, I still think it would've been cooler if it was Ren's own, innovative design. As part of the Jedi trials, a padawn must assemble their own lightsaber, so TFA could've leveraged this to show how Ren was close to completing his own training under Snoke.

[@GonzoTehGreat]

@@Ashtor1337 If they'd written the lore such that it was dark side emotions which could crack a crystal then this would explain Ren's use of this design and the reason why the Sith, in general, might favor it...

[@iivin4233]

Why wouldn't you crack all lightsaber crystals to give everyone cross guards? The only lightsaber wounds we see multiple times in the movies is wounds to the hands, excluding wounds given by lightsaber users to non-lightsaber users.

[@DaergonDragon]

@@GonzoTehGreat but instead, the cracked crystal and the saber wasn't much of a feat, rather showing the desperation and little control of Kylo. The problem wasn't only that the crystal was cracked, but that his lightsaber was imperfect because the cristal was constantly about to explode. A trained Jedi would know not to crack their crystal on purpose because nobody wants to carry around a piece of dinamite with a short fuse.

[@CapitainCutlet]

If I remember correctly, in the rebels its explained that the crossguard lightsaber is actually an archaic design (Ezra finds a few of them in an ancient Sith temple), from the times of the Sith Empire I think, and I'm pretty sure it was said somewhere that Kylo made his lightsaber following the instructions from an old holocron, and that's why it has a crossguard. That way it actually makes sense in lore, it being common during the wars between the Jedi and the Sith, but after the Sith went into hiding and started following the rule that there can be only two at a time, the design with the crossguard also gradually stopped being used as there was almost no non-Jedi lightsaber users, and of the few weapons that could go up against a lightsaber for many the crossguard wouldn't nake that much of a difference, so it was discarded in favor of the more simplistic design. That's how I understand it at least.

[@KevVIII]

I never thought of it that way, but it makes sense: Inquisitors were ex-jedi whose faith in the force (and thus their proficiency) was in the lacking side. The fact that inquisitors' lightsaber was created to compensate their lack of proficiency in the force to fight against a more hardened member of jedi who survived order 66 out of necessity makes these blades a whole lot more interesting.

[@justinduff3384]

The other thing about the inquisitors lightsabers is that by the time we see most of their stories the only jedi thought to be remaining are padawans and younglings who aren't that skilled themselves so if you are fighting a less trained opponent who has survived being hunted for years you might need the gimmick to freak them out and throw them off their game. The spinning aspect of the sabers was a fear and intimidation tactic. Also I believe that in one of the comics it is explained that Sidious and Vader intentionally gave them the gimmicky lightsabers that spin specifically so that the inquisitors would become overly reliant on the trick when using it against opponents that didn't know about it. That way if they ever tried to fight Vader or Sidious they wouldn't stand a chance since both the sith lords were very familiar with the tricks that the inquisitors could play in a fight.

[@tacomeme429]

@@justinduff3384 it's not like any inquisitor would've posed a major challenge to sidious or vader anyway

[@justinduff3384]

@@tacomeme429 you are correct but the statement still stands because a single lion will always beat a single wolf but a dozen wolves can beat a single lion.

[@JustSomeGuywithEpicGrasses]

@@justinduff3384 yeah, but a dozen wolves won't beat a sperm whale in the middle of the ocean.

[@justinduff3384]

@@JustSomeGuywithEpicGrasses and a sperm whale can do nothing against a house cat while out of the ocean.

[@mochimochi9384]

Fun fact about the Inquisitor saber, It has the spinning mechanic for a reason. That reason being to imitate and re create General Grevious's spinning/unrelenting advance which was deemed very scary during the clone wars era and is one of the many reasons Grevious could kill so many Jedi.

[@mikzpwnz_3199]

It's also a crutch for those not strong enough in the dark side to take on jedi masters but not useful enough to take on the sith lord themselves.

[@chuckhoyle1211]

Grevious also had 4 arms (thus wielding 4 sabers at a time) and was a ridiculously powerful physical combatant. I don't think he was a force user though, so he had to kill quickly and use fear.

[@justanuff]

I thought the reason he could kill so many Jedi is because he would get them into a bind and then just split his arms and kill them with another weapon. (Blaster or Saber) I mostly thought his "spin to win" move was just added to make him seem more menacing and intimidating that he actually was, because he was not a force wielder, so he could technically never master Saber combat like a Jedi or Sith could.

[@יאירימין-ע2ו]

No, the spinning mechanic is obviously to allow the inquisitors to use the sabers like helicopters and fly with ease.

[@Matto33gaming]

@@justanuff pretty sure you are all right. Jedi are powerful when connected to the force, which needs them to be calm and without fear as they are light side users. Now try being calm when a 4 armed mechanical death machine traps you in a hallway with 4 blenders advancing towards you. He was literally made to kill Jedi. Even had clawed feet just to be able to resist force push a popular Jedi ability

[@channingdeadnight]

True and also Obi-Wan repeatedly explains throughout the prequels the primary reason why they aren't used by Jedi. it's because blasters are uncivilized. as a ranged weapon the possibility of hitting an innocent being is to great of a risk. Ezra made his lightsaber before he was comfortable yet relying on the force and his newly acquired Jedi abilities. being much, much older than the average padawan it took awhile to break those old habits, and blasters kill people. delimbing them is the Jedi's less-than-lethal alternative.

[@GiubileiFernando]

The Darksaber was made at a time when vibroswords were common, so that small crossguard may have been made with those swords in mind.

[@sheevpalpatine6139]

The Darksaber was supposed to be a vibroblade at first. Before its introduction though, George Lucas told Filoni he didn't believe a vibroblade would be able to combat a lightsaber effectively so it was changed to be a unique type of light saber. They kept the child and blade shape and just changed colors around

[@anotherpeter9802]

The crossguard has been around a long time in old republic wich takes place long befor the republic and the fall of the empire

[@firstnamelastname9237]

@@sheevpalpatine6139 savgngne dto may have been a typo but it totally sounds like a star wars name.

[@ruga-ventoj]

Fun fact: there was a cut scene from the Clone Wars:the animated series, where Anakin decided to use blasters than his blade to save Asoka. He was so effective that everyone was terrified. I personally think jedi orginally dismissed blasters because it was too effective and could encourage power trips and oppressive natures. By that's just me

[@jrm6183]

Jedi with blaster is pretty op, I believe in legends there was even a sect of Jedi who used blaster primarily and they had become so proficient with them that they were able to block blaster bolts with their own balster bolts. It is pretty damn weird but very very cool.

[@alyantza]

I always go for a blaster wielding jedi or sith when playing the Knights of the Old Republic games. There's little that can survive a barrage of rapid shots from dual wielded blasters augmented by force speed.

[@ricknerinfantry]

Can I find this clip easily? Or do I need to dig?

[@everythingknife8763]

To the Jedi, the light saber was a badge of office. Also, very few non-Jedi have actually seen a light saber so it could be brought places that blasters could not.

[@DarthLocutus0]

I'm pretty sure that's actually the reason the Jedi forsake ranged personal weapons - they view lethal force as a last-resort option *only.* And blasters make things far too easy.

[@RainMakeR_Workshop]

There is actually a sniper rifle specifically for force users in the comics that uses lightsabres as ammo called the "Lightsabre Rifle". It can only fire five shots before the Lightsaber itself is melted from its destructive power. Its supposedly the most powerful handheld blaster in all of the Star Wars universe and is basically a handheld version of the same technology used in the Death Star... Aaaand of course, its banned and kept in a secret room of forbidden artifacts at the Jedi Temple. But to be fair, the Jedi are supposed to respect Kyber crystals and the destruction of one is considered a great loss.

[@SuperMurray2009]

Lol the smart weapon of the Cyberpunk universe

[@lamia197]

Force saber right? It was banned because something with the darkside if I remember correctly

[@jmurray1110]

Yeah jocasta nu used it in the darth Vader comics

[@solarissv777]

@@jmurray1110 in my head canon, her saber melted because this weapon was originally created by another Jedi, and intended to be used with his/her lightsaber, that most likely had additional cooling.

[@solarissv777]

@@taddad2641 how about kyber crystal reactor powered mechs (Titanfall size), armed with the giant lightsaber (2m - 3.5m), capable of deflecting turbolasers + kyber superlaser technology based startfighter lasers on the offhand + ability to fly (in space as well) + shield (impervious to handheld blasterfire and can withstand a few hits from starfighter or other heavy weapon) + some compact hyperdrive (say class 8) for microjumps (that can be actually accurate due to Jedi precognition) + first class droid brain companion, that would assist the Jedi in piloting the thing and gathering/processing the information, and secretly report on questionable actions back to the Temple. So basically "Peace through superior firepower". And the thing is that this all could be done with the Republic technology ang Order's resources, but then order 66 would fail spectacularly.

[@ssjbread2803]

For Kylo's saber, the canon explanation for his saber having a crossguard is that he cracked his crystal and his blade is unstable; the crossguard isn't there for protection, it's there to redirect excess energy because otherwise the saber would explode. Also, High Republic has crossguard sabers.

[@crash5904]

The cross guard lightsaber has existed in Star Wars before Kylo Ren’s lightsaber. The cross guard lightsaber is actually an ancient lightsaber design.

[@Astraeus..]

They did exist, yes, but IIRC those pre-Disney weren't designed that way because of any cracked crystal or wtv (probably because pre-Disney lightsaber crystals weren't all literally just one fu@$ing thing, meaning they weren't ultra rare but also in unlimited supply when it was convenient). The ones before were designed as they were to actually take advantage of having those extra bits of lightsaber, with those who made them having done so to accentuate their own evolving styles of lightsaber combat. Some had physical crossguards as well (mainly decorative, as using them to block another saber would just have them sheared off) and there was a Jedi near the fall of the Republic who used one with only a single extra blade that stuck out at a 45 degree angle instead of 90.

[@Necroxion]

The EU version was actually forked and not fully perpendicular

[@manguy01]

which makes even less sense.

[@Necroxion]

@Magnus The Red EU, not Disney canon

[@velazquezarmouries]

It would be good for form one light saber combat because form one is tailored for metal swords

[@lordofthenerds66]

There is a scene in clone wars when a Jedi is fighting Grievous and has him in a bind. Jedi had 1 saber, Grievous was using 2. While they're in a bind, Grievous uses a third arm to pull out a blaster pistol and shoots the Jedi in the gut. I thought I'd ask for your thoughts on this.

[@Goblin_Hands]

When Grevious was considered OP?

[@lordofthenerds66]

@@Goblin_Hands The episode is called Lair of Grievous. Check it out if you want. It also shows Kit Fisto being awesome as well.

[@mauricehopes9105]

Griveous alternates between being a terrifying force of nature that can kill multiple jedi at once, and a coward who runs at the first sign of danger. Go watch the animated clone wars. Grivious takes on 7 jedi and kills 4 of them. Later mace windu almost kills him single handily. Grivious is a glass cannon that can do immense amounts of damage, but if you can defend against that he's defenseless.

[@PotatoKernels]

@@mauricehopes9105 grievous cuts the force connection from jedi using fear, Mace windu wasn't fearful of grievous and is also a master of the force so it was easy for him to defeat grievous

[@Maxvla]

When I watched the new trilogy, where Rey was already skilled with a staff, I assumed her lightsaber would be a lightsaber staff, sort of a polearm where it's an overall very long weapon, with about 2/3 of its length as the handle. It would give her a lot of control, reach, and be extremely flashy for the movies. I think it would contend with the best lightsaber designs in terms of effectiveness and classy/simple aesthetic.

[@ElJefe3126]

When I think of designing a light sabre, that's the first thing I think of. There is also supposed to be a material in the Star Wars universe that extinguishes any blade that comes in contact with it. An experienced duelist would just re-ignite the blade, but if you weren't expecting that and went to disable the staff-sabre by chopping through the staff part, that would be an unpleasant surprise.

[@scottski02]

Rey not using a double-bladed lightsaber was such a bonehead move among dozens of other bonehead moves for the sequels. If she's skilled with a staff, a double blade is such an obvious, natural progression of one of her only talents that is actually explained in the movie. But no, just have her pick up a sword-equivalent she's never used before and defeat a trained Sith. Ugh.

[@ghosty918]

@@ElJefe3126 Pure Kortosis (which is what you are referring too) doesn't just turn it off, it overloads the saber making it unable to reactivate for some time. But its also very rare in the current timeline and mostly found in 10,000 year old plus weapons as part of an alloy. Kortosis Weave is that alloy, it doesn't turn off a saber but can withstand lightsaber strikes.

[@Jamoni1]

A pole-arm light saber would have been a good choice. like a 1 foot blade with a single crossgaurd? Could have been reminiscent of Kylo-Ren's, fit with her skill set, unique, and looked cool. I've never seen the Last Jedi, though, because KK can go to hell.

[@chetawanung-adjmagool9967]

Plenty of saberstaffs (either a lightsaber with exceptionally long shaft grip or a lightsaber with extendable grip) exist in the Legends universe. In the original Episode IX script ("Duel of the Fates") Rey actually crafted a blue double bladed lightsaber out of combining Luke's one she tore apart the movie before with a part of her quarterstaff. I think it's a much better development than Rise of Skywalker's "Eh, just put the two pieces back and tape it with a strap or something."

[@J_Bread]

Not every lightsaber can be a cross guard as you need a very powerful kyber crystal as a regular crystal doesn’t exert enough power. As for kylo he has a cross guard lightsaber because when he bled his kyber crystal (a process of pouring your pain into a crystal to make it red) it cracked so it exerted more power.

[@JohnGeorgeBauerBuis]

A cross guard made out of lightsaber resistant material would work, but would increase bulk when the weapon is placed on a belt, and only be relevant when fighting against another lightsaber and to prevent accidents.

[@ranger3576]

Just popping in here to say that Rey dark side lightsaber(the folding double bladed one) isn’t actually the first one to be designed that way. In the clone wars tv show, a Jedi master named Pong Krell used a pair of folding double bladed lightsaber. The folding mechanism was so he could more easily carry them on his belt.

[@KongoKaiNi]

Finally someone else that remembers it!

[@ranger3576]

@@KongoKaiNi I’ll be honest, when I first saw Rey’s lightsaber in the movie, I had completely forgotten that Pong Krell had two of them. It wasn’t till I bing watched Clone wars again that I noticed it. Though I feel like Krell could get away with it since he used two and was like a jedi version of Grievous.

[@madgizmo2212]

His lightsabers are also a lot more compact and less stupid looking in design.

[@greysonjones5429]

the jedi temple guard also have them

[@GiubileiFernando]

And it's not meant to be used with the hinge folded and both sabers ignited.

[@hypermaeonyx4969]

General Grevious did shoot a jedi padawan while blocking his lightsaber at the same time, although he did have the help of his four arms, 2 arms wielding 2 lightsabers blocking the padawans attacks and a third arm holding a gun came up and shot the padawan twice in the gut

[@hungcuong606]

I wish he use that trick more often i be honest that make him much more dangerous then with all four lightsaber like two hands wielding lightsabers allowing him to block and do melee attack anyone getting close and two other hands wielding blasters for long ranges

[@boqueefya3623]

Not to be that guy but the jedi you mention was a knight. He was a new knight and used to be kit fistos padawan

[@macekreislahomes1690]

@Martina Gerber Hey Sepertest Droid, external links that aren't helpful regarding the video are too far, especially if likely going to a sexual site.

[@hypermaeonyx4969]

@@boqueefya3623 eh he was still a padawan to me

[@pansyconvoy]

A lot of the reason why jedi didn't upgrade to different types of lightsabers too often is because they didn't want to be too aggressive. They saw their light sabers as tools not weapons, And they thought that having more aggressive blades made them more aggressive

[@Zane_Fukkatsu]

I think another of thus comes down to the jedi's culture. The lightsaber is almost sacred and is "supposed" to be a last resort. Add in that they hated change in general on tip of how dogmatic they were then it makes sense why they wouldn't try and make the lightsaber more of an offensive killing tool.

[@OnlyPretending]

The lightsaber types, usage and techniques were actually incredibly well thought through before Disney. Certain EU books actually go into quite a bit of depth in their usage and how they would function in practice. Darth Bane instructing his apprentice Darth Zannah in the defensive usage of a double-bladed lightsaber comes to mind.

[@theanarchist9733]

The blasters being "uncivilized" was a joke, they actaully don't use them because you can't block an attack with a blaster Also the circle *isn't* lightsaber resistant, and many inquisitors have died from the lightsaber circle getting attacked, and from the hole being taken advantage of

[@SwitchFeathers]

Based on how they're used, it appears like they're resistant from the outside, but not the inside. I kinda like how stupid the Inquisitor sabers are, they're such an obviously bad design and yet they're without a doubt my favorite lightsaber design.

[@prodigypenn]

I believe it wasl also a philosophical issue as well, jedi are generally defensive, and blasters are not really defensive weapons, they are offensive only, you defend yourself wityh a blaster by being attacking with the blaster.

[@corruptangel6793]

Obi-Wan genuinely doesn't like blasters because they're messy and chaotic. He actually went on a decent rant about them in the original '77 novelization, which was ghost written for George. It was pretty funny. The reason the Jedi don't use them, or rather the reason Yoda's order didn't, was because they're a weapon pure and simple. So it sends the wrong message about Jedi, that they're expecting a fight. It's the same reason they didn't wear any armor. Plus the only defensive power a blaster has is intimidation. A threat of violence if the other doesn't back down. Which is, as Obi-Wan said, a deal of absolutes which Jedi do not do. A lightsaber in comparison is as much an energy shield or utility tool as it is a sword. It only becomes a weapon when they need it to be.

[@Grab_001]

@@corruptangel6793 I was about to disagree with you because obviously the Saber is a weapon. It's ultimately destructive. But you're right. You can use the saber to protect others as well as yourself by deflecting blaster fire. You can, like any other bladed tool, use it to cut things like wood and open doors. Stuff like that. There's a similar ideology with the Aiel in the Wheel of Time book series. They don't use sword. Swords are disgraceful because their only purpose is to kill others. While they are a warrior people, they prefer to use spears, axes, bows, stuff like that. Spears are good for hunting and easy to craft, as they live in the Wastes and resources are scarce. Axes can be used to chop material. Stuff like that.

[@imnotmike]

@@SwitchFeathers There have definitely been examples of the outside of that ring being hit and having it destroy the lightsaber, though. On one occasion, Kanan hit the outside of the ring of the lightsaber and it caused the thing to malfunction and then the inquisitor tried to use it to fly away, but the damaged ring caused the blades to turn off and he fell to his death.

[@JaimieSch]

On the gun lightsaber from Rebels: Yes it's shown to only be used when the beam is off, so you can't shoot while in the bind unfortunately. It also fires stun rounds, not lethal bolts, which is probably in keeping with the jedi not wanting to kill people unless they have to. If you like jedi using guns and lightsabers, you'll love Kannan Jarrus in Rebels because he does use a blaster a fair bit in the show. It's mostly because he doesn't want people to know he's a jedi to start with, but he keeps using it at times even after the Empire finds out he's a jedi. Makes even more sense that his apprentice is the one with the gun saber, although Ezra does get his weapon destroyed by Vader at the end of season 2 and then replaces it with a regular green lightsaber for the rest of the show.

[@The_clockwork_regent]

One of the reasons and it’s stated by Ezra that he carries the blaster light sabre is to help conceal the fact that it’s a light sabre because certain types of hold out blasters weren’t illegal while the empire was in power😁

[@Jack-Hands]

I believe it Is lethal. It was Ezra's slingshot blaster that wasn't lethal( and the only kind of blaster in Star wars not able to penetrate Stormtrooper armour).

[@berniethekiwidragon4382]

He also built it this way because he was not yet adept using a lightsaber.

[@untamedhybridz]

Lightsaber pike. Best design, hands down. They're common in SWTOR and Legends material. Pole weapon logic, with the potency of a lightsaber's plasma blade.

[@peter-jx3uc]

also think the temple guards are considered to have double bladed pikes

[@ModernDayKnight03]

And now the Hacksmith has made a real one :)

[@The-Legendary-O]

The cross guards of Kylo Ren’s lightsaber have been shown to not get instantly cut by other lightsabers. I believe it is made of a lightsaber resistant material known as phrik.

[@thetalantonx]

That's phriking useful.

[@rustkarl]

I think the Magnaguard electrostaffs were made of the same material. Maybe not as effective as mandolorian beskar but at least common enough to see use in small elite units.

[@The-Legendary-O]

@@rustkarl Yes, I do believe you are correct. If I’m not mistaken, phrik was better at deterring lightsabers than beskar because of how it distributes heat or something, I don’t know, I made that heat part up.

[@The-Legendary-O]

Palatine’s lightsaber is also made of phrik

[@Riwillion]

Those phriking phriks at Disney! When will they learn that their world-building actions have consequences?!!

[@rudolphantler6309]

Dooku's curved handle was supposed to enable more blade control for very precise attacks. Also Ventress got hers from Komari Vosa, and those could join to form a curved staff. Edit: Oh you did get to that one! Maul's staff handle was long and good, but Exar Kun's wasn't and looked quite dangerous with it's short hilt. Ironically after Exar Kun but before Maul it was actually the Zabrak race's cultural weapon, a staff that inspired the saberstaff. The folding staff isn't folding to be used that way. That is just a mechanism to make it easier to holster! It wasn't exclusive to Rey. Temple Guards and Pong Krell also used them. Kylo doesn't actually have crossguards. Those are heat vents. Either by design or due to the unstable nature of the blade. It is stupid because it gives more chances to cut yourself. Yes indeed it does, because lightsaber usage requires such a flexibility that a crossguard would hinder such movements. Crossguards WERE made before. In Legends a Jedi called Roblio Darté had one. In Canon, Jedi back in the times of The Mandalorian Wars made some. Those were real crossguards. If it is just a heat vent, there is no evidence that it would actually block a blade!! Handheld shields were used by Darth Desolous and Zakuul Knights. Even some Yinchorri. Even though I am an Original Trilogy and Legends / Expanded Universe fan and I tend to hate most things Disney, Ezra's blaster saber is my favorite in Rebels. But it actually fires stun bolts. Which is smarter than blaster bolts because those cannot be redirected with a saber blade. Just like some more familiar metal slug projectiles which are even worse. Were they made before? Not sure! But Kyle Katarn was known for sometimes using both a saber and a blaster pistol. In two separate hands at the same time. Jedi not using guns is usually not really principle aside from the fact that jedi tend to preach pacifism and sith aim to learn to shoot force attacks from their fingertips. Not using guns is like Star Wars's classic heroic idol culture of a macho hero deciding to use melee instead of ranged to show how his side of the force is right. There isn't really an inconsistency, it is more like people who wield swords do not really belong to a gun battle. It's just that jedi tend to get duped into protecting some incarnation of the republic, and darksiders are raging lunatics. Darth Maul cannot separate his saber into two, but Cal Kestis can. Using two sabers within the lore also had roots in some culture which used two swords for fencing. Using two lightsabers initially was studied under Ataru then it became more of a standard under Niman, which are lightsaber forms. Wielding two is called Jar'Kai. Malgus's saber has blades to stab with if the saber itself goes in deep enough. Or just a torture device when turned off. The Darksaber has an awesome handle! The tonfa is absolutely stupid. Maris Brood wielded them. Saber Whips suck against an opponent who uses a regular saber. Although Lumiya was badass. The spinning staff may be gimmicky, but it's main draw is just a simple intimidation of those who are easily frightened! The helicopter motion may be stretching it quite a lot but if a force used has a special force connection to his saber crystal, who's to say they cannot learn to form rotor blade bodies around the saber blades using the force? Especially since synthetic aka almost all red crystals tend to be funky. If they can affect the physical world with telekinesis, this is basically the same thing just faster and have the help of the crystal force connection. The real problem is, the rings hinder quick switching of grips. There should be a function to retract the rings into the two emitters on the ends. For when the poodoo hits the FAN! A very small portion of these modern inquisitors were actually trained as well as full on jedi and then continued to learn more from the dark side. That can potentially be as badass as some mediocre sith! On paper they could be on the same level as or higher than Maul! Of course Maul met dumber ones. Furthermore old pre-disney inquisitors were more badass. Edit after a couple of days: You've missed out on some saber types. 1. shotos 2. longer blade sabers like that of Desann (neat hilt too) 3. long hilt single sabers like that of Darth Nihl 4. quick deactivation/activation sabers to bypass melee blocks 5. variable blade length sabers = suddenly makinging your short blade a long one or vice versa 6. and I believe some sabers had an extra force nexus crystal in them as an additional source for the wielder to draw upon force power

[@R0-83-RT]

Speaking of lumiya's light whip it does somewhat accommodate the problems with the weapon acknowledged in the video. About having to turn it off and on again, Lumiya's light whip has metal Beskar whips as well to ensure on or off Lumiya has a weapon to strike. Though I don't recall it ever being a problem in universe Light Whip Users having to make their whip not hit the ground. The Beskar whips also providing more surface area for defense, midigating one of the light whip's main weaknesses, along with being able to entangle lightsabers adding an extra function as well as a way to actually use some leverage.

[@jacobpullen6949]

Kylo’s crossguard is shown to function in last jedi.

[@SackMonk]

You ever want to see a form of a lightsaber that's completely stupid? Lord Nyax's armour. Look it up, and tell me that's not just a funny-to-watch way to lose a fight

[@PlatinumGrande]

Stun bolts can be deflected

[@rudolphantler6309]

@@PlatinumGrande DEFLECT verb verb: deflect; 3rd person present: deflects; past tense: deflected; past participle: deflected; gerund or present participle: deflecting cause (something) to change direction; turn aside from a straight course. "the bullet was deflected harmlessly into the ceiling" NOPE.

[@hikaru248x]

Shad, I highly recommend getting a replica of Dooku's lightsaber, even if it's a cheap toy. The effects the curved hilt has are surprising (and quite fun to toy around with). I personally found that the curve amplified power and speed on both wrist extensions and two-handed slashes.

[@SanityVideo]

My issue is it has a straight angled cylinder for most of the grip which makes it tend to twist in a way an actually curved hilt doesn't do as much. Ventress's lightsaber was a real curve and it wasn't a cylinder. I haven't tried a replica of it but the replicas of Dooku's saber always twist in my hands.

[@JonatasAdoM]

@@SanityVideo You are no match for the power of the dark side.

[@EvilDoresh]

And that is why pistol grips have become the standard in fencing.

[@rippilot2113]

I liked that the mandalorians in the Clone Wars series had plasma based bucklers that came out of their gauntlets because their kit was almost entirely designed around the idea of countering Jedi.

[@teslo8020]

My take on crossguards - they are proven to be in Star Wars in the past, based on a rebels episode, but maybe they were phased out due to their larger size. After all, the Jedi assumed the sith to be gone for millennia, and their main opponents were criminals who use blasters. When guarding from blaster fire a straight blade with less bulk is quicker and fulfills the same job. Just a thought!

[@joshuaeason3426]

They did away with the cross guards basically because the technology got better and there wasn't a need for it anymore. Originally they needed the side vents to help stabilize the power of the crystal or whatever (I may be slightly wrong about that detail) the reason Kylo Ren adopted the cross guard design was because his kyber crystal was cracked and behaved super unstable, that's why it spits and crackles and looks more rough than a typical smooth, humming lightsaber blade

[@joshuaeason3426]

Also the little "cross guard" vent blades or whatever you call them posed a greater risk for personal injury by the user, do a wrist flourish with a real cross guard sword and try not to hit your wrist with it while maintaining proper grip alignment. It's hard lol

[@MarcieIsForager]

I heard the explaination why crossguards arent used more often has to with the fact that lightsaber combat in general just got rarer over the ages so they didnt need it a standard lightsaber worked perfectly well for deflecting blaster bolts

[@thecrow501]

Also something about the kyber crystal needing to be unstable as well

[@devinlomeo1257]

from my understanding it looks like that because Kylo Ren has so much raw force power that the kyber crystal energy burst out the sides because the energy couldn't escape the hilt fast enough.

[@THE_UNION_______0]

It wouldn't have enough current to go through 3 holes because kilos kyber is unstable

[@merlith4650]

there's hundreds of various lore reasons/theories to why crossguards aren't used. i always chalked it up to the fact that the lightsaber is a fictional weapon that we don't truly know how it "feels" or functions when it clashes with a different lightsaber, on top of the fact that users have supersenses and reflexes. that uncertainy could create an argument that jedi didn't crossguards as useful as they would in real life. anyway, the reason behind the lack of crossguards in the franchise is due to what inspired them. even though they are called Jedi "knights", George Lucas was more inspired by old samurai movies which is why the standard feel and design of lightsabers are more closely related to japanese sword designs which famously lack any notable crossguard. even the jedi's attire of robes are clearly heavily japenese inspired as they look like an asthetical mix between a kimono and the modern day keikogi uniform (used by various japense martial arts like Karate, Jiujitsu, Judo, etc)

[@flyingdeathcatsgo]

I'd say the advantage of the tonfa lightsaber is when you don't have the blade out it's a regular tonfa. For less lethal takedowns it could be useful. Considering the Jedi's primary job is peace forces I don't think it's a bad idea.

[@MrYago-xd7um]

I went the opposite route and thought one side is a saber and the other side a full blaster, but then again both of us forgot about the "Traitor" scene with the riot baton. Maybe the whole thing should be nonlethal.

[@solarissv777]

With the focus on peace keeping, I just don't understand Jedi distaste of blasters, as unlike the lightsabers they have a non lethal stun option.

[@ruga-ventoj]

More or the same thought. Especially if the handle is made of Beskar or other resistance metals. Also thought the blade should have 100% come form the short end. It's closer to the control point of the weapon, makes it easier to stab with the blade, and if you want to hold the tonfa like a traditional sword, the tonfa handle becomes a guard.

[@solarissv777]

@@ruga-ventoj but does it really need a blade? Tonfa seems to be more of a defensive implement, so maybe a corthosis coating would be more preferable. And if you need an offensive option - just built a blaster into it, possibly, with a muzzle on the shorter end. If you-re going tonfas only and need a defensive option to protect from blasters - use vambraces with shield projectors. Otherwise have a regular blade in the dominant hand and a tonfa in the offhand

[@supsas]

Another interesting thing about Dooku’s curved lightsaber (and really curved lightsaber handles in general) would be its striking angle. In the Bane books they use a curved saber and people have to actively adjust how they fight otherwise they would still be hit by the blade because the curved hilt changed the angle that the blade came in so it’s more awkward to defend against

[@Goblin_Hands]

True, the Inquistor's weapon has a weakness when you blatantly leave it extended in front of you, but it seems just as good as a saberstaff, if you watch the Inquisitor fight vs Kanan, you can see him use it in the beginning mostly as a single or and saberstaff, but every once in a while has it spin to block shots, or for a surprise or to jump/fly higher. That's incredibly useful in the hands of someone skilled. The only issue is like Ezra's blaster saber (which Kanan also used as a stun while the blade was off), is that the handle is small. Seemingly only one hand can fit the handle, whereas the saber staff can definitely give you the two handed strength you need. All 3 of these seem to be the best gimmick lightsabers tbh.

[@ccscrew7728]

Another blatant flaw with the inquisitor sabers is that a single hit to the circular guard area will cause the entire thing to become unstable.

[@afanofstuff9123]

@@ccscrew7728 and now thats wrong because in the newest Kenobi episode not giving details but one of those blades got cut in half and it still works fine hell damn you star wars hindsight Edit:the blade wasn't cut in half vader just disassembled it to two blades

[@jasondiend4248]

@@afanofstuff9123 The saber wasn't cut in half. It was split in half. Very specifically because her saber is designed to do that. They already have the toys designed with this in mind as well. news.toyark.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2022/05/Reva-TBS-04.jpg

[@kronoscamron7412]

They are crap and the helicopter mode is only good for defence not even much as a thrust to the handle (stationery) can have a skywalker effect. If the inquisitor tried to evade this thrust they end up losing a limb .

[@Tavvowo]

@@afanofstuff9123 i think the guy your replying to is referencing that one fight in rebels where they damage his saber and he tries to fly away but his saber fails and he just falls and dies

[@pandamonium1930]

The inspiration for Kylo Rens lightsaber actually came from Star Wars: The Old Republic, a game set thousands of years before the movies

[@Djarra]

I thought it came from JJ watching 'Game of Thrones'

[@thebrewingsailor9172]

Are you sure on that? I've played SWTOR since launch. I've completed 6 of the 8 class storylines and all the 4 Force User classes, I don't remember seeing cross guard sabers till we saw it on the trailer for TFA and they released the cross guard sabers and over charged mods for the blades in conjunction with the TFA release.

[@t.w.mackay11]

@@thebrewingsailor9172 Crossguard sabers were intro'd after the success of TFA

[@thebrewingsailor9172]

@@t.w.mackay11 Okay, I couldn't remember if it was in the run up to, or after, but yeah. I didn't think they originated in SWTOR. Thanks!

[@t.w.mackay11]

@@thebrewingsailor9172 All good! My bad for replying to you. Was trying to reply to OP

[@thundergamer9554]

The reason why Kylo Ren's lightsaber has the extra "blades" was actually properly explained. The Kyber Crystal, which is used to power a lightsaber, in his lightsaber is actually cracked, causing the energy in it to be ridiculously unstable. So they sort of act as exhausts. It's also why his "blade" is not completely straight at times. If the exhaust system wasn't there, the saber would probably explode upon ignition. Edit: there are different explanations but I say this one makes the most sense

[@Attaxalotl]

It's also been done intentionally. There's an ancient lightsaber from Rebels with a crossguard; dating from a time when actual lightsaber duels were more common and it's blade looked fine.

[@ercwst]

If that casing was there just to protect the wielders hand from injury when manipulating the Saber close to the cross guard but the blade was inside still it could explain it better. Then if that portion of the guard is damaged it can just be replaced between fights.

[@guhmuhfuh]

it was done intentionally and was popular during the high republic era (I have no clue whether or not this is canon though)

[@TakBonez]

​@@Attaxalotl still a weak in universe explanation, why not just get a new kyber crystal. Too convoluted, leaving it at based on an ancient lightsaber design would have been better.

[@user-fd3vn5yq3h]

@@TakBonez the planet with the crystals exploded

[@King_Randomgrandpa]

The wip is cool and all, with high benefits (like wrapping around a lightsaber, pulling it away, and being flexible in general), but the high benefits also makes it high risks too (wip being pulled away and hitting your self). I personally like the double bladed lightsaber the most, because you can use it as crowd control in a way, like hitting two people at the same time.

[@tamao1973]

I just want to point out that when Kanan used Ezra’s saber against the grand inquisitor, that was as close as they could have gotten to shooting and sabering at the same time

[@CryoCoffinVampire]

Interesting thing about the crossguard lightsaber, they were the norm 200 years before the movies. The reason they existed is that the energy from the kyber crystal power source was not channeled properly and needed an outlet. Eventually they were phased out when energy could be channeled into a hotter blade. Kyle Ren has a crossguard because his crystal is cracked and has unstable energy flow.

[@jakewatson668]

The crossguards also appear in an episode of Rebels

[@ANewKindOfGamer]

what I heard about why there arent any crossguard lightsabers in the prequel era was mor along the lines of, Theres been no Sith for 1000 years, so they dont design lightsabres around Saber vs saber combat anymore, but instead around Saber vs Blasters, so crossguards, curved hilts etc were unnecessary and phased out over time

[@ijc9837]

So, they did explain the cross guard. Kylo's crystal was cracked and unstable therefore the beam was unstable and overpowered. So the cross guard was basically venting the extra plasma in order to obtain a stabilized blade.

[@hughmann9568]

Not to mention fully functional cross guard lightsabers existed in legends. Kylo's improvised saber is actually a surprising stroke of genius for him. Considering he is a whiny manchild and not Darth Caedus/Jacen Solo... 😭

[@jakubrogacz6829]

@@hughmann9568 Oh but he is. Disney just kind of stole him without stealing him...

[@zachprior5127]

I think Ezra’s lightsaber can be explained a bit because it was made from scraps that his friends had around, so mostly ship and blaster parts

[@amlong897]

Just jotting down some thoughts while watching: Curved hilt lightsabers: Dooku used a curved hilt because it was excellent for dueling, and paired well with the dueling centric style in which he was specialized. He was considered an extreme oddity for his time in universe in specializing this way, because any lightsaber wielding foes the Jedi would have faced at this time were thought long extinct. The Sith were believed to have destroyed themselves a thousand years prior, and save for the occasional rumors that would arise, the Jedi had no evidence to believe otherwise. For the same reason: Crossguard lightsabers: These were also extremely rare because again, the utility in them is primarily dueling centric. They were much more common in the old republic era (with a number of interesting variants: it's not stated outright, but based on depictions in media, it seems to have been much more common to create crossguard lightsabers with physical guards made of lightsaber resistant material. A potential reason for this might include the added complexity (and thus, failure potential) of creating a single unit lightsaber with 3 orthogonal beams being emitted, or even just that they would have been significantly more unwieldly than a physical variant. Beam production in the SW universe induces some sort of gyroscopic effect in the lightsaber being used, which was a stated reason for it being so extremely difficult for non Jedi to wield lightsabers. You apply force in direction X, lightsaber naturally moves in composite vector X+Y. For what it's worth, those appearing with beam based crossguards in media were often of a specific variant utilizing a single secondary beam projected to form about a 45 degree angle with the primary blade. These were used specifically for enhanced blade locks and ability to disarm the opponent while in such a lock. Lightsaber guns: Couldn't be fired while the blade was activated, at least in the depictions we've seen thus far. These suffer the same drawback that gunswords have in real life, in that you're handicapping the potential of each individual element. The bolts of Ezra's lightsaber pistol weren't shaped by the emitted field in the same way the lightsaber blade was, so they dissipated quite quickly. At their best they were able to stun, but at any sort of distance they weren't much more than a distraction. And they were weak enough that adversaries actually powerful enough to cause Ezra trouble were pretty much unaffected by them; IIRC there's a scene of the inquisitor flexing on him by just spreading his arms wide to let the shots hit him, to demonstrate they did nothing. Blasters in general: The reason Jedi didn't use blasters in general actually goes a bit deeper than the "so uncivilized" line from Obi-Wan in one of the movies. Jedi were seen as a group in the republic of highly powerful and mysterious beings that elicited a lot of distrust. They were incorporated by the Republic as peacekeepers, negotiators, ambassadors, etc. Because of the distrust felt for them by so many different civilizations, a militant appearance of armor, shields, blasters, etc would have had a negative effect on their perception. The lightsaber was seen as ideal for the jedi because it was a defensive weapon in the ecosystem of modern weapon usage. Wielded with skill, it would protect the Jedi and those near them from blasters and projectiles, but was significantly hampered in its offensive potential by the distance factor. With it as a defensive implement, the Jedi largely did not need armor, and could wear simple clothing to appear both non threatening, and "normal" to the groups that they were visiting. Armor, specialist training in more conventional weapons, etc were much more common in the old republic times of wartime, and can actually be seen in the clone wars series as a shift that occurs as the clone wars drag on. I think I've wall of texted you enough here, but for what it's worth, a LOT of the things that seemingly don't make sense in the star wars universe using the rules OF that universe actually do, if you read a bit deeper.

[@lilwartank1]

To add onto the blaster comment, after order 66 when Jedi were going extinct, many did begin to use blasters as the old traditions were practically dying and Jedi not using blasters (or rather all the resources they could) was literally a matter of life and death Jedi especially during the clone wars were very controversial in universe and many Jedi weren't sure if they should have been involved in the war at all. Most planets began to regard them as war mongerers (which is also why they were considered forgotten so quickly, the emperor blamed the fall of the republic on them and basically used them as a scapegoat) so a Jedi using a blaster would have probably been a huge deal However after they were basically fighting for survival I believe almost every Jedi used a blaster in some sort of capacity even if not as their main weapon (Ezra, Kanan, Luke, etc) so Jedi weren't above using blasters when needed, they were mostly just discouraged the majority of time we saw them as they were considered a sign of peace (which worked during peacetimes but they failed to adapt once the actual titular wars of star wars happened)

[@komradekalashnikov40k18]

Also the crossgaurd isn't ALWAYS a design choice you choose. Sometimes you have to have one. For example. The crossgaurd for kylo-ren is a exhaust for his cracked kyber crystal. It wasn't a design he chose. He HAD to do that.

[@fartelous]

People actually read this whole thing

[@raizenr2387]

You can wall of text me about Lightsabers all day.

[@minerdxxd733]

that scene where the Grand Inquisitor was just eating those blasts weren't from Ezra's lightsaber, it was from his weird slingshot thing

[@MrBodies07]

Just aesthetically, I always liked Dooku's. Always felt the angled handle was very elegant/refined and a good extension of his character

[@mattroxursoul]

I keep hoping if I watch enough times he will win against Anakin and kill Sidious. Sort of like Hoping Sarumon will win, think that may just be Christopher Lee magic though.

[@N-i-L]

On top of the rapier fighting style he uses, just looks like a pompous badass

[@Shadohime]

So, on Kylo Ren's lightsaber, there's a reason the design hadn't been used before. Lightsabers, when they clash, don't slide against each other. This is due to the magnetic field that contains the plasma blade. When two lightsabers are clashing, they're locking magnetic fields, and therefore they don't slide down one another. This is also the reason why they make those noises when they clash, like radio interference. Kylo Ren's lightsaber is designed the way it is because he has a flawed focusing crystal in it, and it generates a lot of excess heat. The 'crossguard' was put in by him as a way to bleed off the excess heat when the saber was activated. Personally, I don't mind the way it looks, but I just wanted to state why your concern regarding the base lightsaber design is flawed.

[@whoahanant]

I think most people would agree with this had we not been shown at least 6+ times that they lose their hands quite easily. So rather than worrying about the bind part since they don't really slide, it's more about the skill of cutting hands rather than aiming for their body or blade. Which is countered by a cross guard regardless. But like others also said, jedi didn't really need to fight sith often, they had to deal with blaster fire. So overall having a weapon that can be whipped out and around in seconds is more useful than a cross guard UNTIL the sith began appearing more often and putting pressure on the jedi. Most jedi and padawans had never even seen or fought a sith most times so honestly it feels more like the higher jedi could've made use of cross guards more than most others. I also think the other part people forget is that the sith are equally dumb for not having cross guards either. Cause Kylos wasn't even on purpose. His entire sword exists purely on the fact that he screwed up his crystal with "hatred" that isn't really well thought out. I have to agree that the jedi had very little reason to worry about cross guards until sith began adding pressure. That could've been a cool advancement in the universe if in order to combat the new enemies they had to develop a new weapon which then meant a new fighting style altogether. Then you could possibly see jedi using shields more often as they needed something to counter the blaster fire more effectively than their new sword. Or have to begin wearing 2 sabers rather than 1. 1 with cross guard and 1 without to use in various situations. I feel like overall it all could've had a smoother transition with Kylos weapon had Kylo not introduced this concept so late into the game. The concept would've had to been brought up before Kylo. Which I believe it was. In a Jedi temple or something there was a cross guard saber but without sith to fight the design was dropped in favor of the sleeker one they use most of the time to redirect blaster fire.

[@Wright805]

@@whoahanant Not really. Practically every time a duelist loses a hand in a lightsabre duel its caused by an upwards strike. A cross guard would have made no difference at all.

[@declanhandley-byrne4335]

If Star Wars Rebels is to be believed, lightsaber blades actually somewhat attract each other with a sort of pseudo-magnetism. This means that a lightsaber's crossguard might be able to divert the opponent's blade to a certain extent, especially if the opponent's blade is shifting towards your hilt.

[@wooblydooblygod3857]

Also electric things like force lightning and magnaguard staffs do this even more noticeably I think

[@ghostnappa2012]

If I remember correctly, Count Dooku's lightsaber hilt was based on Charlemagne's sword, of whom Sir Christopher Lee is a descendant of; so there is some historical precedence for it

[@thil2894]

Not his sword, Joyeuse, but his cavalry saber.

[@uglystupidloser]

you guys are nerds. i love it.

[@ghostnappa2012]

@@thil2894 ahhh, that's the one. Thank you!

[@LegalSC]

Bout half of Europe is a descendant of Charlemagne.

[@megashark1013]

Sir Christopher Lee is indeed a descendant of Charlemagne, as is almost every other currently living european according to geneticists.

[@TJDious]

Dooku's saber handle shape makes his striking angles more unpredictable to an opponent not familiar with the style.

[@TheFairylink]

the style being Makashi, the dueling form, made specifically to duel other lightsaber wielders. Makes sense, right?

[@inquisitorichijou883]

Count Dooku was a master of a lightsaber style that focuses on dueling. The style he uses is called Makashi and focuses on parrying strikes of other blades and control the enemy blade. It's a lot about adjustments in the angle of the blade. THe curved handle is said to give the user a better control of the blade's movement.

[@hyenascreech2183]

The curved handle has only been stated in lore to make it trickier to defend against. Nothing more

[@HelljumperE7ZJ]

Actually, in canon, ancient Jedi had used cross guards. However they really stopped until the High Republic l, when cross guards were more for show. Kylo's is meant to help vent power from his cracked kyber crystal

[@謎思特異]

tbh,I don't like the crossguard, feels like an obvious double edge sword that will cut the user

[@mr.octopus6972]

Kylo who ?

[@darkness8572]

If I remember correctly about this fact I heard about the cross guard was that the enemy's blade would get caught in a magnetic field that the guard generates so it would end up getting stuck and unable to cut the guard

[@jaxsondenton8252]

The “Jedi aren’t using blasters and it’s dumb rant” is true, completely true. But I believe that, in hopes of saving my faith in this series that I love, it’s used to show the hypocrisy in even the best of the Jedi. Even Obi-Wan isn’t able to avoid acting as if he is better than the life and death struggle because that’s what the Jedi order teaches. The Jedi won the last war and they for the most part think they’re never going to lose.

[@azh698]

I like creating dual blaster jedi in KOTOR. They're fun.

[@jeggsonvohees2201]

Well at least you can recognize your cope.

[@tophatowl6724]

Its almost like the jedi constantly sabotage themselves in the name of tradition and this is an on going theme with the order. The same way the sith suffered from constant in fighting when there were more than 2 and that was a flaw in their order. One of many mind you but i feel like ppl just forget that "the order does dumb stuff caus its tradition" is a consistently written flaw that comes back to bite them in the ass many times

[@jeggsonvohees2201]

@@tophatowl6724 Or it's bad writing. Just a thought.

[@tophatowl6724]

What is bad writing is to write an entire order of people that, without fail, always make the right and most logical decisions. Show me one group in history that hasnt forsaken a more effective strategy/tactic/structure due to idology or traditions. Hell, our society rn is still hell bent on not giving ppl the equal opportunities for looking different which is EXTREMELY cruel and inefficient. These flaws are extremely normal in societies

[@EzraeL91]

I'd suggest that lightsabers could not have a crossguard because since the republic was at peace for lots of time they became like a rapier, a side weapon to use for self defence and as a status symbol, not as a weapon of war. Also, most of the time Jedi and Sith fights non force users that rarely uses melee weapons so a crossguard it's useless and takes away energy from the main blade, probably reducing the "cutting" power.

[@jeggsonvohees2201]

That doesn't explain why sabers "couldnt" have a cross guard. There's also no evidence that having cross guards reduced "cutting power" in any of the canon films or shows.

[@rolandswift4311]

@@jeggsonvohees2201 The resource and art design books state that the cross-guard on Kylo's lightsaber diverted power away from the blade, and in legends low power blades were stated to have less cutting power and be susceptible to shorting out if the blade hit one that was more powerful.

[@ulysses-pact]

Plus, maybe the guard restricts some of the mobility of the user, so if you don't have any use for that, is just better to not have

[@Echo_419]

@@ulysses-pact it's been stated multiple times and demonstrated over and over that a cross guard does *not* hinder the user's movements.

[@ulysses-pact]

@@Echo_419 "maybe" It was a hypothesis of mine

[@JainaSoloB312]

Canon explanation of lightsabers: "It's heavier than I thought." "Energy constantly flows through the crystal. You're not fighting with a simple blade so much as you are directing a current of power. Your thoughts, your actions, they become energy, they flow through the crystal as well and become part of the blade." [Later...] "The blade feels lighter!" "You're connecting with it. It's becoming a part of you." So while literally speaking the blade is weightless, for all practical intents and purposes, how it feels and how it's wielded is similar to weighted blades. It's also elaborated on the mental and emotional connection between a lightsaber and it's wielder, and it's said that the blade becomes lighter as the wielder spiritually connects with the living crystal through the Force. This episode also mentions "The blades will be drawn to each other." indicating a more mystical reason for the types of binds we see in SW, though not necessarily retconning the Legends explanation of oscillating magnetic fields shaping and containing the plasma blades, fields which attract and repel each other depending on various factors. Something else important when evaluating lightsabers and the duels they're used in: Precognition changes literally everything. Being able to vaguely sense your opponent's intent changes everything. A single move could have 100 feints (both physical and mental) thanks to limitless cutting angles and The Force. Lightsaber duels are a chess game of subtle feints and precognition, played at 1000mph where every strike is check and virtually every single movement is a potential strike. Kylo's lightsaber: When Kylo poured his hatred into the kyber crystal (a ritual all Sith undertake to "bleed" their crystal, which is what makes their blades red), his emotions were so powerful they cracked the crystal, making it very unstable, it could explode. So Kylo copied an old crossguard lightsaber design from thousands of years ago during the Scourge of Malachor (a reference to the Old Republic era from Legends) in order to give this crystal vents to prevent the energy from building up and detonating. These vents of plasma function well as quillions, with the metal casing protecting Kylo's hand from the plasma within. It symbolizes Kylo's own mental instability, volatility, and devotion to antiquity. It's very practical, fits the lore perfectly, and tells us everything we need to know about Kylo as soon as we see it. It is genius storytelling in addition to being a cool gimmick to sell toys.

[@Matthaios_Hesychia]

Yep. Wanted to point out the Kylo thing too. Love that explanation.

[@drake1360]

Only thing I disagree with is that if the audience doesn't know the history behind the crossguard design (which would have been impossible prior to the movie coming out, and still impossible if you only watch the movies), it would tell you nothing about him, making it no more significant than Maul's double-bladed saber was. Nothing inherently wrong with that, cool for the sake of cool can work, but it's a lot less impressive than you make it sound.

[@JonatasAdoM]

@@drake1360 Yep. I took from Lord Tyranis lightsaber that he was an elegant fighter that had class. From Kylo I just had a "wait.. what?" reaction. I don't think the problem is the cross guard so much I think it is the way it looks like the thing is constantly malfunctioning

[@JonatasAdoM]

Bear with me because I lost my train of thoight. However, what you say here gives the impression lightsabers canonically now work more like Harry Pktter wands than lightsabers. It used to be that you would wield them through the force, not that you needed them as an extension of your power.

[@anonymouspotato7538]

It's not that the blade is weightless, it's that the plasma has to be contained by a magnetic field, and you're experience the resistance that magnetic field has against being moved.

[@Uhyae]

The handle of count doku was based of on of his relatives that had a sword with a tilted hand like that it was made to make more precise attacks but it hinged his defence

[@juantheace1212]

This is an extract from Wookiepedia on the lightwhip's canon page: "It was possible to modify a standard lightsaber to have a lightwhip mode, with a control to switch the blade from sword to whip and back again." This might help in decidig if it is OP or not :D

[@MegaPokefan97]

Now, I'm imagining a lightsaber duel: right when they enter the bind, it enters whip mode, and fucks up the opponent

[@jeggsonvohees2201]

Was that current canon or legends?

[@jakobr_]

All I can think of is “Shit! Hate it when I get my schwartz twisted!”

[@L_______]

@@jeggsonvohees2201 i think if im not wrong that the lightsaber whip is legends now and not canon

[@jeggsonvohees2201]

@@L_______ I checked that too, but they made it canon again in the High Republic series.

[@darkkrow69]

The curved handle on Dooku's saber was requested by Christopher Lee due to his experience in fencing. The best Lightsaber was used by Ka'sim in the first Darth Bane book. Ka'sim teaches Bane how to defeat people who use double bladed lightsabers. Bane successfully used this to kill a rival Sith. Later, when confronting Ka'sim, Bane is confident in Defeating Ka'sim until Ka'sim splits his double bladed lightsaber in to two separate sabers. Bane figures he can't beat Ka'sim so instead he drops a temple on him.

[@darth_dan8886]

Honestly, this is more a virtue of Ka'sim's raw skill as a duelist rather than the fact that the lightsaber can be split. He managed to wear down Bane enough by that point in the duel that when Bane felt he was getting the upper hand and Ka'sim did the split, Bane just went "frick this shit I'm out, take a few dozen tons of rock instead". Bane, obviously, was far more skilled in the Force than Ka'sim, but it left him inferior as a raw duelist in the end.

[@doubleyousee72]

When it comes to the crossgaurd sabers, it was explained that they were used in older times and they are a somewhat ancient design that jedi did use during the high republic era. In klyo rens case the reason why his saber is cross gaurded is because his lightsaber literally produces too much energy and he needs those vents to bent out the excess causing the cross gaurd. When it comes to lightsaber resistant materials, cannon explained them as being so ridiculously rare and expensive that u cant make anything too big

[@boxhead6177]

But its still a retcon where the writers group has to cover hundreds of plot holes in the movie. The sudden appearance of a totally different lightsaber design on screen we never seen before is now a 300 year old technology... Why? So they can use it in existing series (The Old Republic) and newer series like the High Republic, which in the timeline existed before Skywalker Saga. Like dual lightsabers were not a thing until the door opened up on Darth Maul... but now there everywhere both past, present and future of Star Wars.

[@totallynuts7595]

"When it comes to lightsaber resistant materials, cannon explained them as being so ridiculously rare and expensive that u cant make anything too big" Mando and Boba Fett wear body armour made from it. If it's that rare and expensive why not sell it and retire? Funny you mention cost, the Mjolnir armour from Halo (the Spartan armour) was equivalent in cost to one of their battleships (like a Star Destroyer), or maybe more. And that armour made the Spartans into tanks. If Beskar is at least that expensive, both Mando and Boba would have been set for life probably...

[@MightyDragoon]

@@boxhead6177 in the comics Luke did use a shoto saber on occasion and that was before Maul.

[@boqueefya3623]

Im glad someone said this as it really isn't a plot hole

[@johngalt1494]

Yeh this, there was an old one shown in rebels serving as a visual example.

[@Hamond1989]

Having just stumbled upon this and hearing Shads rant about how Jedi would be way more efficient with Blasters, yeah funnily enough in Kotor running a dual wield blaster pistol Jedi was ridiculously strong if you made a good build

[@Casterspellproductions]

The cross guard was necessary, kylo cracked his kyber crystal while pouring the dark side into it as one does to turn it red, if it weren't for the cross guard the excess energy would cause the saber to overload and possibly explode

[@JustSomeGuywithEpicGrasses]

It seem that it's the historical design for when you crack your kyber crystal.

[@maraoi]

it's the same reason his blade looks like it does

[@silverspirit920]

canonicaly correct, and also, kylo specificaly chose that type of venting system, as in star wars lefends we see different venting systems like a smaller blade on the bottom of the hilt.

[@Casterspellproductions]

@@LiberatedAmon that's legends. In Disney canon the sith pour their pain and hatred into the natural crystal until it's forced to bleed. This process can be reversed as Ashoka did to construct her white lightsabers from rebels

[@WeesloYT]

@@LiberatedAmon Disney doesn’t make Star Wars you tart

[@d_3634]

15:15 There was actually a jedi who researched and developed a thing called a far killer. It was basically allowed you to use a sniper to fire a lightsaber beam at someone i think miles away. The jedi order hated the idea though, so they restricted the information and prototype and kicked the jedi who came up with it. It may have also served as partial inspiration for the death star.

[@Tarnthewarrior]

That's so stupid though "You mean you made something that would allow you to kill someone far away without getting close? Get out of here!"

[@d_3634]

@@Tarnthewarrior Their reasoning from what I remember was basically because it's just a weapon. They're okay with laser swords cause you can say it's a defensive tool, but cross the line at laser guns. But they also kept a prototype of it in the vault cause why not?

[@TaskMaster5]

@@d_3634 It would make sense to keep the prototype locked away. Letting that information/prototype get out would be pretty bad for the Jedi. It'd essentially be a great weapon to use AGAINST the Jedi, let alone send the general galaxy into a whole new arms race of being able to weaponize lightsaber tech in all sorts of ways. Jedi would keep that shit under wraps.

[@noirangel6416]

Is that the one the Librarian Jedi Jocasta uses? The one where the ammo is a whole lightsaber, and after a few shots, the saber "ammo" melts?

[@d_3634]

@@noirangel6416 yep

[@roberthui9714]

I enjoy Darth Maul's the most. It's has two blades and is actually realistic. The inquisitor lightsaber is just dumb.

[@SuperMurray2009]

Mauls lightsaber is far more likely to get yourself killed tho. One false move and your legs are gone.

[@ASTROLOR]

The inquisitor lightsaber is bad because you can shoot the ring off the blade and disable the lightsaber while the double bladed lightsaber can still function without the other blade.

[@deathrayman8074]

@@SuperMurray2009 More skillful, you see.

[@oliverworley5162]

Advantages on the inquisitor lightsaber (other than flying coz that's dumb) Intimidation Can still function as a single bladed so it's the same at least as a basic sabre, but also offering more utility When thrown it is increasingly more dangerous as it doubles the Lethal area and the spinning can make it a giant wheel of death I do belive that the spin would help blocking blaster attacks from multiple foes as its less dependent on your reaction and the machine would allow it to defend a greater area than you can alone. To solve the problem of the handle being the weakness, move the dam thing when it spins. You don't have to move it much, but enough so that you can't really target it easily. I don't really know, I'm just playing devil's advocat

[@brucechmiel7964]

@@ASTROLOR yeas and no.

[@reubentherblazer9756]

The Cross Guard Lightsaber has actually appeared before Kylo Ren was even introduced. In Star Wars Rebels, Ezra went to an abandoned jedi temple, and found a Cross Guard lightsaber in there. So it has actually been used by both Jedi and Sith before in the past; not just in the prequels.

[@brotherkhrayn3525]

You mean Sequels, right?

[@EqlipseWing17]

Sorry dude but it wasn't in a Jedi temple he found it but on the sith planet I forget what it was called

[@jonathontoney2338]

The ancient jedi did have cross guard designed sabers, they show them in the show SW Rebels. They fell out of favor when there was no longer sith around to fight. Most of the fighting from that era onward was mainly against blaster-wielding opponents. Any standard melee weapon a lightsaber would just cut through so no need for cross guard there either. In the books etc there were lots of evolutions on the lightsaber. At one point it was common for them to have blades like the dark saber but shaped like an average long sword. Shad check out the channel EckhartsLadder great source of halo/sw etc content he covers a lot of that. Inquisitors were former low-ranking jedi and padawans so they were not fully trained jedi knights, the exception to that was the Grand inquisitor who was a former jedi temple guard. They might not stand a chance against someone like Obiwan or Mace Windu solo, but in a group they were more than enough to hunt down most of the jedi left in the galaxy especially when backed up by legions of stormtroopers.

[@thejestersshow978]

I would like to address why other lightsaber wielding people didn’t use cross guards. KYLO REN HAD A CRACKED KYBER CRYSTAL. That is why he had the option to have a cross guard. Cracked kyber crystals release more energy and their for you need to release that energy somewhere. Jedi and with in the past have used cross guards and other designs to release this energy. Kylo had a bit of a useless cross guard, as the light saber, if passed down the blade, would hit the metal part of the cross guard, not the plasma part. Getting into some finer detail, the curved handle lightsaber was used by mostly people who dueled, not as much for people who deflected blaster shots. Also red and blue blaster shots don’t indicate good guys versus bad guys. Red shots were cheaper and less powerful than blue shots, and going further, the mandaloians disintegration rifle was basically just compressed blaster fire. The inquisitors lightsabers were reguarded as better twin sabers, but we’re more prone to damage. I could talk about lightsabers all day, but this is all I wanted to say. Cross guards are not a plot hole, they are from cracked kyber :) Edit: Lightsabers have a power, focus, and length setting on the handles, so they can change size and power (and you need to focus the blade because you need to focus the light from the kyber into the focusing crystal in the handle)

[@ronanevans425]

Not to mention a more useful crossguard lightsaber existed before Kylo Ren in the high republic books a Jedi named Stellan Gios had a fold out crossguard lightsaber it looks super cool and seem much more practical with no oversized vents like Kylo’s

[@twilightrave]

Then you also have all of the different styles of cross guard/vented lightsabers scattered throughout star wars legends and the old republic.

[@ZiotGaming]

You need to remember that the jedi didn’t like these additions or anything that made lightsabers more deadly. Lightsabers we’re meant as a defensive weapon before anything else. Adding things to make it more deadly would turn it more into an attacking weapon which went against what they stood for. This is the same reason why jedi didn’t wear armor or use blasters.

[@vegeta002]

@@Demonarrows1 Most sith aren't exactly an exemplar of intelligence or common sense.

[@tlsgrz6194]

You need to remember that Star Wars is what George Lucas thought was cool, and what hundreds of authors later on tried to either surpass or somehow retroactively justify.

[@mathis8210]

@@vegeta002 Even more of a reason for them to try out many ridiculous designs, which could be bloody deadly murder weapons.

[@fduranthesee]

**Jedi wore armor, more-often in the Old Republic and also in the middle-to-last years of the Clonewars. There also were Jedi that used guns, though it wasn't a main thing. Sith never used guns, though I think it's more that they'd see it as an insult or case of stubbed ego.

[@barethor5869]

@@Demonarrows1 Most of the more unique and potentially more deadly variants we do see were Sith light sabers

[@427Arbok]

One note about the lightsaber whip... if the user could control its motion fully with the Force, then it gets incredibly overpowered incredibly fast. Presumably the opponent also has that opportunity, though.