For realsies - I don't get why anyone would even touch a vibroblade while being a member of a military force, but (for example) on Corellia, there are plenty of Republic soldiers with vibroswords willing to attack you with them.

The only reason I can imagine you'd want one is to protect against lightsabers, and even then it seems like you're pretty much screwed going up against a force-user with a melee weapon (Operatives/scoundrels exempted because they carry stealth generators and stab you in the back, putting them on a more even footing.).

I mean, there's a good reason that without some kind of edge like a stealth generator, going up against a force user with a vibroblade is suicide (and there isn't a single reason to carry one unless you expect to go up against a force-user.). I mean, at least with a lightsaber you can deflect blasterfire (though Jedi/Sith do this using, you guessed it, the force), so you can defend yourself against pretty much any weapon thrown your direction.

I mean, I could understand it for formal occasions ("I challenge you to a duel," yada yada) but past that what the hell is the use of a vibrosword?

In KoToR it was explained the armies of the Sith/Republic were going back to juggling melee and blasters to combat the newly built personal shield generators. Blasters would become useless so the soldiers would switch to blades that were not blockable by standard shields.

They also needed some sort of defense against a lightsaber as the actual Sith had made a return and blasters were ineffective. It didn't give them a good chance against a force user, but it was better than sending them to die without any way to stop a saber.

And how this links to TOR is I'm guessing the military doctrine from KoToR has stuck in the relatively similar Republic and Sith over the 300 or so years.

Two words: Kir. Kanos.

'Nuff said.

In KoToR it was explained the armies of the Sith/Republic were going back to juggling melee and blasters to combat the newly built personal shield generators. Blasters would become useless so the soldiers would switch to blades that were not blockable by standard shields.

 

They also needed some sort of defense against a lightsaber as the actual Sith had made a return and blasters were ineffective. It didn't give them a good chance against a force user, but it was better than sending them to die without any way to stop a saber.

 

And how this links to TOR is I'm guessing the military doctrine from KoToR has stuck in the relatively similar Republic and Sith over the 300 or so years.

pretty much this, and also for cultural reasons. Some species come from planets that either have not developed blaster technology, and are either uncomfortable, untrained, or unwilling to use them.

Also for the same reasons that we still have melee weapons today... they are (or can be) lighter, more quiet, ect. Blaster weapons also require power cells to run, which may or may not be expensive to those without military or underworld financial backing.

oh on the point of lightsabers... those are jedi weapons, and the knowledge of their creation, and how to maintain them seem to be pretty guarded. I have also been under the impression that wielding a lightsaber would be dangerous for someone not force sensitive... A force users heightened reflexes probably play a major factor in the reason why jedi are not known for self dismemberment...

The blade of a lightsaber has no weight, it is purely energy and weightless. The only part of the saber that has any weight is the hilt. Would be so easy to have it activated and turn the hilt just wrong where you sever something. Not to mention it probably gets even more complicated when lightsabers are clashing with each other. I could be wrong, but it seems possible that when a lightsaber hits another lightsaber, they tend to bounce off of each other unless both fighters are using their strength pushing. Reason I say it makes sense is I am pretty sure that is what 2 high powered plasma blades would do, would repel each other pretty hard I bet. Meaning you try to take on a force user, if you actually got a swing off, you would have to be careful where you saber got deflected to.

Recitation: First, weapon selection is critical. If I see one more idiot attacking a Jedi with a blaster pistol, then I'll kill them myself! Select grenades, sonic screamers, cluster rockets, and plasma charges. Mines are also effective, since many Jedi will run to meet you in hand to hand combat. Silly Jedi.

Addendum: Gas attacks are effective if you can take the Jedi by surprise - inhalation is less effective than the ones that work on skin contact, as some Jedi seem to be able to hold their breath for long periods of time.

Cautionary: Still, don't rely on it, since Jedi can fight off the effects, it just distracts them, leaving them open to another avenue of attack-

Recitation: Do not forget to activate any energy shields you possess. Lightsabers, while powerful, have trouble penetrating most military issue energy shields. Provided they are energy shields and not those crude Mandalorian melee shields.

Confession: Countering their other powers is more difficult, I do not fully understand their other abilities, but I know that many of them require that the Jedi know you are there and be able to see you, thus sniping and using cover are always advantageous.

Evaluation: A technique that Revan used frequently was to attack a Jedi indirectly. This method only works if the Jedi is adhering to the self destructive path of pacifism and sacrifice.

Answer: Kill their allies, or place them in jeopardy, many Jedi will leave themselves exposed to help another. That is why there is many less Jedi then there was a decade ago.

Explanation: Statistically, overplanning the assassination of a Jedi seems to backfire.

Extrapolation: There are many theorists who claim Jedi can see the future, and I don't know if that is true, but it seems that impulsive acts are more comment to succeed than planned incidents. Jedi, like sand-kivers, seem to sense trouble a few seconds before it happens, they are tricky little pests

Answer: In addition to traps, mines, and orbital bombardment, Revan and the sith often employed meatbag assassins for some Jedi, skilled in the same techniques as I was trained in. Strangely enough, Revan believed that meatbags who did not use, or beleive in the force, were especially important, since in many respects, they were more difficult for a Jedi to detect. Revan had many of them trained to "hide their minds" as it were. Again once these techniques were learned, the percentage of living Jedi began to decrease accordingly.

Answer: Generally this was done by broadcasting strong emotions while thinking about something else. It was a curious technique but seemed to be effective in blinding the Jedi. Whether guilt, lust , fear, - they act as mental interference making finding the intentions of the broadcasting meatbag difficult.

Answer: Obviously, a force sensitive broadcasting such emotions puts themselves at risk of not using their powers properly. Since it seems to require an inner calm which most meatbags don't seem to possess. As much as a jedi could not use the technique, the sith lords cannot use it for much the same reasons - such passions as guilt, lust, or fear are rarely strengths to the sith code.

Statement: The master felt it was ironic that only people who had experienced such passions, could harm a Jedi in such a way. That to kill a Jedi, you had to be a human being. Revan found that amusing.

Statement: Odds is also a good tactic, there are few Jedi that can long hold their ground against a hundred attackers all firing at once, or being turned on by their own troops. But the most effective weapon against Jedi seems to be the erosion of the spirit.

Answer: Revan claimed that psycological warfare against jedi was important because much of the power comes from their state of mind, their connection to this religion called the Force. Revan said that many jedi have the capability to form connections to the life around them, although few of them realized the extent this is possible.

Recollection: I believe my master speculated that many jedi did not fully form such connections because of their discipline, because they never opened their lives to the passions around them. I believe Revan termed it that "One would need to be a human being to develop such connections" It is something that the Jedi code did not teach. One either knew it instinctively, or not.

Because of personal shields.Something like the deflector shields,like the one used to protect ships and stations.

In Kotor 1,when you talk to a guy in Taris,he explains that the new advanced shields practicaly makes you immune to blaster fire(the shields wears off after a several direct blaster hits),so vibroblades and such were needed to counter that.

At least that was the case 300 years before this game.

The blade of a lightsaber has no weight, it is purely energy and weightless. The only part of the saber that has any weight is the hilt. Would be so easy to have it activated and turn the hilt just wrong where you sever something. Not to mention it probably gets even more complicated when lightsabers are clashing with each other. I could be wrong, but it seems possible that when a lightsaber hits another lightsaber, they tend to bounce off of each other unless both fighters are using their strength pushing. Reason I say it makes sense is I am pretty sure that is what 2 high powered plasma blades would do, would repel each other pretty hard I bet. Meaning you try to take on a force user, if you actually got a swing off, you would have to be careful where you saber got deflected to.

Exactly,

and also, I wouldnt want to know how many soldiers would cut themselves if they would be allowed to wield one. Also, the creation of an Lightsaber (Thats the most im allowed to say, sorry, top secret rest ) requires usage of the Force and using it requires beeing force sensitive aswell to a certain degree.

Do you really think you could wield an cylinder twice as hot as the sun without having the force to protect you? adorable

sincerly,

Master Mon'wan Daystar

[/Roleplay]

I think HK 47 said it the best when he explained the best way to fight jedi

Recitation: First, weapon selection is critical. If I see one more idiot attacking a Jedi with a blaster pistol, then I'll kill them myself.

Do you really think you could wield an cylinder twice as hot as the sun without having the force to protect you? adorable

You don't need the force to wield a lightsaber, Grievous wielded 4 "cylinders as hot as the sun" and didn't melt.....

I agree it would be verry difficult to use it effectively, but anyone could pick one up and turn it on.

The force-field will make sure nothing gets burned unless in direct contact with the blade.

You don't need the force to wield a lightsaber, Grievous wielded 4 "cylinders as hot as the sun" and didn't melt.....

I agree it would be verry difficult to use it effectively, but anyone could pick one up and turn it on.

The force-field will make sure nothing gets burned unless in direct contact with the blade.

Grievous was a droid, I think they have a higher heat sustain then normal humans.

But even Grievous' Blades must've been made by some force user, and kept charged by some.

Grievous was a droid, I think they have a higher heat sustain then normal humans.

But even Grievous' Blades must've been made by some force user, and kept charged by some.

Non-Force users can use lightsabers, assuming they have a traditional ignition mechanism. All you have to do is press the button and swing away. However, creation, proper utilization, and maintenance of one by someone who isn't Force-sensitive is another story.

Without the proper combat training with a weightless blade, you're probably going to accidentally brush the blade of a lightsaber against yourself sooner or later. One could probably overcome this liability with enough training and resources (cybernetically enhanced senses, lightsaber resistant armor, tutored by a Force-wielder), but that's quite a hassle.

For the rest of the galaxy at large who want to just slash and smash things, vibroweapons are the way to go. Canonically, they're pretty deadly, the vibration mechanic turning glancing blows into critical hits. And if you're going to have to face off against a Jedi or Sith in melee, it's better to have a chance at defending against their blades than no defense at all. If armor has reached the point of being able to absorb blaster bolts, you might as well have armed forces skilled in the use of multiple forms of weaponry. If a lightsaber is being blocked by a vibroblade, it's hard to simultaneously use it to deflect incoming blaster bolts. Having a good swordsman in a squad engage a Jedi or Sith while a gunner shoots the engaged target in the back is a sound theory in the curious game of tactics and warfare that transpires in the Star Wars universe.

Cyborg actually. Han Solo wielded a lightsaber for a brief moment in Empire

 

They were taken from the corpses of Jedi.

i could easily use a lightsaber to cut open a dead horse or something. would i want to spin it around and preform complex combat moves with it? no...i'd probably cut myself in half.

I believe something is in place to keep the hilts from getting that hot. Would be a waste of some of a Jedi's concentration if he always had to focus on keeping his hand force shielded. and like stated, various people held lightsabers who weren't force users. as stated about han solo. And when Luke first held a lightsaber, he wasn't trained yet.

I am curious why it actually requires a force user to create a lightsaber? If it is just because of the precision required to set the crystals right, it seems that either a very skilled weaponmaker, or well created and programmed machine could still make them.

I believe something is in place to keep the hilts from getting that hot.

The entirety of the heat generated by the lightsaber is contained with a force containment field, the technological kind. It won't burn anything until it actually comes into contact with it. That forcefield is also why a lightsaber displays resistance, because it doesn't want to let material that isn't burned pass through and break the cycle of energy.

I am curious why it actually requires a force user to create a lightsaber?

The crystals used in the creation of a lightsaber have to be 'activated' before they can function properly. One must imbue them with the Force, something only a Force-user could do presumably.

 

The crystals used in the creation of a lightsaber have to be 'activated' before they can function properly. One must imbue them with the Force, something only a Force-user could do presumably.

ah, ok. I just thought they produced some special energy themselves or something.

Is that how the Rakata managed to make the first lightsabers? Because their technological science and the force was all intertwined together with them? Because from what I understand they weren't the same type of force users like jedi and sith, but yet it was apart of their culture, the force perhaps naturally ran through them or something. IDK, I need to study Rakata lore

Lightsaber plasma is enveloped in powerful elctromagnetic feilds. they don't release alot of heat unless struck by something more substantial than air.

its the reason Lightsabers have to be modified to work submerged in water.

non forcesuers can use lightsabers provided the lightsaber crystal has been properly attuned by a skilled force sensative. Improprly tuned or flawed crystals lead to...accidents.

Non force users should not weild lightsabers because the neglagble weight of the blade will result in grevious self injury in the best case senario.

Though cyborgs, and individuals on preformance enhancing spice have been able to do so due to their enhcancements.

the slow blade penetrates the shield

No one but Patrick Stewart can deliver that line, and not make it sound like sexual innuendo.