Saberstaffs/dualsabers should not holster on the back. It makes no sense. If it was a full-length staff it would make sense, because there's no room for something that long at the hip. But keeping a weapon ready at the hip is far more advantageous. You can draw it much quicker than reaching behind your back. Just put your hand to the side of your hip. Now reach your hand behind your shoulder? Try doing it as fast as you can. It's a lot quicker to draw from the hip, isn't it? Those are precious seconds or even tenths of a second maybe you would be taking to draw it from your back that could be spent assuming a guard position. There is historical evidence but the method is still uncommon. In most cases, it would only be carried on the back under special conditions.

Lightsabers don't exist in real life, but if a retractable staff did, you can bet it would be carried on the hip. And a retractable sword would be on every adventurer's hip. Retractable batons are a real weapon and they are kept on the hip when not concealed. It just makes more sense. Jedi don't carry their lightsabers on their backs, even though they are adventurers (Before anyone responds quoting Master Yoda, I know, Jedi does not crave adventure or excitement.) so why would they carry their saberstaffs on their back and why would Sith as well? They are definitely not too long to require carrying on the back.

There is only one depiction in the EU of a character sheathing their lightsaber on their back, and none involving dualsabers/saberstaffs.

I am tired of seeing all new dualsabers/saberstaffs being sheathed on the back. Please make them sheath on the hip again, or if it's possible, let us choose if they holster on the hip or back.

Hm...

https://i.imgur.com/PPYRQVk.png

https://i.imgur.com/MvvzZW1.png

https://i.imgur.com/7JbBARk.png

https://i.imgur.com/BkYG1aW.png

https://i.imgur.com/qIHggya.png

https://i.imgur.com/GvSEH6C.png

https://i.imgur.com/5gEkqTj.png

https://i.imgur.com/fVq33xo.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/rvyTkYe.png

https://i.imgur.com/PiFsN6Z.png

https://i.imgur.com/9GTVsns.png

https://i.imgur.com/QGrFzXp.png

Are you confused? You should reread the OP. Keep rereading it until you understand.

I specifically stated that lightsabers and saberstaffs/dualsabers should be considered retractable for all intents and purposes. Therefore, there is no need to store them on the back like an adventurer would with a traditional, full-length sword. Nearly all the characters in those pictures can be identified as adventurers. Some of them I don't recognize.

Are you confused? You should reread the OP. Keep rereading it until you understand.

 

I specifically stated that lightsabers and saberstaffs/dualsabers should be considered retractable for all intents and purposes. Therefore, there is no need to store them on the back like an adventurer would with a traditional, full-length sword. Nearly all the characters in those pictures can be identified as adventurers. Some of them I don't recognize.

Your implication in the original post is that you wouldn't back-carry *any* weapon like that unless it was a very long weapon like a "full length staff"(1) or (by implication) a big sword(2). The images are mostly (but not all) ordinary-sized back-carry swords.

As for who the people are, well, I recognised the dude from the Witcher video game series, and two randoms from Elder Scrolls Online (the very last picture), while one picture was a mannequin showing off a sling for a back-carry sword, and one looked like it was from Game of Thrones. Many of them looked more like stuff worn by SCA(3) types, frankly.

(1) That's ... unclear. After all, a jo is a fighting staff, but it's originally based on a shoulder crutch, so at *its* full length, it's only about four feet long. A bo or an English quarterstaff would be close to six feet long, but both are small compared to (EDIT: finish sentence) a full-sized lit dualsabre, which is probably closer to eight feet unless the blades are significantly shorter than a singlesabre's blade.

(2) A "claymore" (properly Gaelic claidheamh-mòr) is, quite literally, a big ("great") sword.

(3) Society for Creative Anachronism. Don't they teach kids anything these days?

Are you confused? You should reread the OP. Keep rereading it until you understand.

 

I specifically stated that lightsabers and saberstaffs/dualsabers should be considered retractable for all intents and purposes. Therefore, there is no need to store them on the back like an adventurer would with a traditional, full-length sword. Nearly all the characters in those pictures can be identified as adventurers. Some of them I don't recognize.

And my point is many do and I'd call what I'm doing when wandering around in SWTOR adventuring.

The funny thing is - they started putting dualsabers (in particular) on the back because people complained they looked too bulky when slung at the hip. 🤔

Just shows ya can't please everyone. 😂

The funny thing is - they started putting dualsabers (in particular) on the back because people complained they looked too bulky when slung at the hip. 🤔

Just shows ya can't please everyone. 😂

This

I for one hate the imagery of too large weapons, of any kind, on the hip.

Who would do that in reality? Have any weapon hanging down to your knees?

This

I for one hate the imagery of too large weapons, of any kind, on the hip.

Who would do that in reality? Have any weapon hanging down to your knees?

I for one more still love and use the Tempted Apprentice Dual Saber for this very reason because it hangs from the hip and is one of the only ones that is only finger tip in length from the belt. More so than "no back holstered dualsabers/saberstaffs" I personally would like to see more new ones like that.

This

I for one hate the imagery of too large weapons, of any kind, on the hip.

Who would do that in reality? Have any weapon hanging down to your knees?

Most people who carried swords throughout history? Throughout history swords were usually carried on the hip and a lot of them were a hell of a lot longer than (an unlit) doublebladed lightsaber. Why? Because it's a lot easier to draw your sword from the hip than from the back, with a regular scabbard it's even impossible to draw it directly from the back. You can actually see this is in some video games, as back carry swords usually have to clip through the scabbard to be sheathed or unsheathed. The Witcher 3 is a fine example, the way Geralt retrieves his swords from his back is quite literally impossible (to compensate, the sword simply clips through the scabbard).

Dualsabers holstering on the back is asinine and an eyesore. Staves and swords, whatever. But dualsabers should always go on the hip. It's a lightsaber, not a staff. Not to mention that potential clipping with clothing items and armor (or tentacles) is almost always worse on the back as opposed to the side.

No clue why they started doing this.

It depends on your character. On my Shadow and assassin the dualsaber/saberstaffs on her hip looked like they were tripping her. My characters are small and therefore them placing it on their backs looks better than half-dragging it on their hip. Remember, not everyone has a bulky character where a dualsaber/saberstaff works well on their hips.

Furthermore, not all sit on your back, there are only a few that do. Most that look right fit on your hip, so it depends on the lightsaber.

It depends on your character. On my Shadow and assassin the dualsaber/saberstaffs on her hip looked like they were tripping her. My characters are small and therefore them placing it on their backs looks better than half-dragging it on their hip. Remember, not everyone has a bulky character where a dualsaber/saberstaff works well on their hips.

No, it doesn't. There were few or no complaints about how Satele looked with her dualsaber/saberstaff carried on her hip. And Type 2 Female is the shortest of the female body types (though Type 1 is only a fraction taller). It looks absolutely ridiculous stowed on the back. It's not a physical staff. Even if it were, for all intents and purposes in this universe, it's retractable.

Seems like the best way to handle this would be to let you set a placement toggle, maybe even per outfit, but that's probably asking a lot from this game's apparent infrastructure.

That would probably be the best idea as that way each person can choose how they want it to be placed instead.

As someone who has been involved with Medieval Reinactment, Medieval Fairs, and who has studied German HEMA and personally specialized in pole-arm combat styles, I can tell all of you that dualsabers would NEVER be placed on the back. Dualsabers are comparable to retractable batons and exentable weapons. It is simply more efficiant and life-saving to wear them at the hip. Besides, pole arms were never worn on the back via a strap. They were always carried in one hand or the other, regardless of time period or culture. The only exception is if you were rich enough to afford slaves or retainers to carry your weapons for you. But again, your main weapon is always carried by hand or at the hip.

It is ergonomically impossible to carry a weapon on your back and then draw for combat. All those tv show and movies where you see the knight or warrior grap a huge-*** sword from the back is poppycock. It would be impossible unless your arms were proportional to that of a chimpanzee in terms of arm-body size ratio. It's an example of Hollywood visual effects trying to make a combat sequence more appealing without any regards to historical reality.

So to sum it up, all dual sabers and retractable pole-arms should be worn at the hip. As per gear such as the Beskar spear which still to long once retracted, it should be held in hand. I.e. always drawn. But I'd be a fool to request the developers re-do all game animations to show this historical accuracy. So one last time: dualsabers worn at the hip at all times whilst not in combat.