So, in the Empire, Stormtroopers are described as being the elite soldiers of the Empire. Yet there the the most numerously depicted Imperial Soldier in any Star Wars publication. So which is it, Elite or common foot soldier? And what would an example of a "average" soldier of the Empire? And where the hell is the Stormtrooper emote!?! Edited December 6, 2012 by Anonemous

Elite - Imperial Guards

 

Fodder - Storm troopers

How is that possible?

Stormtroopers are extremely stupid

Self-proclaimed elite maybe?

This thread reminds me of an old Troops parody done a long time ago (it was posted in 2009, but it's much older than that)

 

Stormtroopers are an elite independent force in the same vein as the German Waffen SS.

 

The Imperial Army wears black or grey uniforms and sloped helmets (You know the guys you see acting as security guards and attendants on the Death Star and Star Destroyers? Those guys are Navy Troopers who wear roughly the same getup).

 

The reason Stormtroopers are most commonly used in the place of the Imperial Army in the EU is because the Stormtroopers are far more distinct and evocative of Star Wars.

 

It's sort of like why the Republic Trooper in TOR looks like a Stormtrooper/Clone Commando instead of looking more like the regular uniformed troopers shown in earlier media; The white armor and facemask are iconic for Star Wars.

Stormtroopers are an elite independent force in the same vein as the German Waffen SS.

 

The Imperial Army wears black or grey uniforms and sloped helmets (You know the guys you see acting as security guards and attendants on the Death Star and Star Destroyers? Those guys are Navy Troopers who wear roughly the same getup).

 

The reason Stormtroopers are most commonly used in the place of the Imperial Army in the EU is because the Stormtroopers are far more distinct and evocative of Star Wars.

 

It's sort of like why the Republic Trooper in TOR looks like a Stormtrooper/Clone Commando instead of looking more like the regular uniformed troopers shown in earlier media; The white armor and facemask are iconic for Star Wars.

 

^ This really...

 

Stormtroopers are elite, you only see them in the movies because pretty much the entire time, the movies show things that are of high priority, hence why you see the Stormtroopers because they are an elite force.

 

The actual soldiers though, are the guys out of Stormtrooper armor.

 

Example on Endor, with the AT-STs the guys inside were apart of the Imperial Army.

Edited December 6, 2012 by Wolfninjajedi

This was elaborated on in the old 1990's West End Games Star Wars RPG. Basically the stormtroopers were said to be elite and are part of this group: http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Stormtrooper_Corps while the regular Imperial soldiers who were never really seen in the movies outside of vehicle pilots were part of this group: http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Imperial_Army. However this information only applies to the movie era and as far as we currently know the stormtrooper-like Imperial Troopers are the standard in TOR.

In the movies the only real thing that seems non-elite about them is they miss alot. However real soldiers are the same way; They miss far more than they hit. This is party due to the nature of the weapons they use and party due to psychology. The Stormtrooper carbines are similar to an M4. They are automatic (select fire) weapons and not particularly accurate unless you go to semi-auto mode and actually try to aim at your target.

Only Stormtroopers are this accurate (Jawa sandcrawler)... ...moments later: Stormtroopers can't even hit three people group

Stormtroopers are as accurate as the plot needs them to be. It sucks for us that try to find a consistency, but they are really just a plot device. When needed, they are precise as hell, and ruthless. And when needed, they are a mess, and really stupid. Same as redshirts in Star Trek

^ So true, so sad.

Stormtroopers are as accurate as the plot needs them to be. It sucks for us that try to find a consistency, but they are really just a plot device. When needed, they are precise as hell, and ruthless. And when needed, they are a mess, and really stupid. Same as redshirts in Star Trek

I think I now understand how EA sees customers

we are all plot devices!

Speak for yourselves, when I played a Stormtrooper in both Battlefront games I never dropped below 0.007% accuracy (Just kidding, never dropped below 79%)

Well, as with much in Star Wars and the Imperials in particular, the term "Stormtropper" is most likely a reference to the specialist "thrust troops" of the Imperial German Army in the Great War. I won't use the German term as they had a much different and more sinister connotation in the Second World War.

 

The Stormtroopers of the Great War were squad based assault troops used to spearhead attacks. They used machine guns, flame throwers, grenades and other close range weapons as opposed to the traditional bolt-action rifles of the general infantry. They generally suffered heavy casualties due to their role.

 

I generally view the Star Wars breed in the same light. They are always where the action is.

 

- Arcada

Potato

I was under the impression that E-11 blaster carbines were quite accurate at the ranges shown in the movies, generally 30-50 meters. This is where the majority of combat takes place on modern battlefields, and fighting inside space stations, ships, and other facilities would likely require these kinds of close range weapons.

 

With regards to the accuracy of Stormtroopers, they are the best of the best in the Empire's arsenal of troops, but even they are no match for the protagonists' formidable Plot Armor.

I'm glad people finally get the plot armor point. If the heroes in the movies were put into lore accuracy then there would be no heroes. Same can be said for the Imperial leaders...outside of the hero scenes they were heavily effective in stopping the rebels and other threats..then jedi pops up and like he chaos of wh40k they instantly become infected with the dumb.