Saga Can stormtrooper armor actually protect against anything at all?

The people wearing the armor always go down with one laser blast, and in ROTJ their armor doesn't do anything against physical Ewok attacks.

What's the point of stormtrooper armor at all then?

 

It stops glancing hits, and ordinary hits from long range. (Also shrapnel from shots that hit near the wearer).

It also stops "slugthrower" ammunition (bullets)

But it can't defy the laws of physics - if a heavy object collides with the wearer - the wearer will be knocked. And there are always going to be gaps at the joints - in order to the wearer to move.

 

It protects from Ezra Bridger's little sling shot thingie (which has to go IMO). But it's pretty much like all movie armor... It doesn't seem to work. I really wish that there would be at least one scene showing that the stuff is effective, otherwise, why wear it? I guess you could argue that off-camera, troopers survive blasts that would kill others. At least, that's what I do.

 

Intimidation. That's why they wear it, truthfully.

 

Spitballs, but only if you don't blow too hard through the straw.

 

Yes, it can.

Consider the very first scene involving stormtroopers. Notice how secondary explosions caused by blaster bolts colliding with the interior walls of the Tantive IV cause nearby rebels to drop dead. Secondary explosions near stormtroopers do not have the same effect. Only direct shots kill them.

The armour protects against other things as well. In AOTC, a clone trooper who falls out of the gunship with Padme is able to rouse himself fairly quickly while she remains unconscious: it protects against physical impact quite well. In TCW, there are many instances of the armour protecting its occupants. In one episode, Rex gets shot through the chest but the sniper round is attenuated by his armour, so its effect is not catastrophic. Like it does with the stormtroopers in the Tantive IV, the armour protects many, many clones from shrapnel, shockwaves and fire.

It also protects the wearer against vacuum. IIRC, the original idea for Darth Vader's mask (and possibly the stormtroopers' as well) was as a means to protect them from the vacuum as they board the Tantive IV.

 

Armor will always take a backseat to weapons.

Um, also, ewoks taking otu troopers with rocks is sort of a symbol rather than something to be taken so literally.

 

Stormtrooper hit by a rock? Dead or knocked out.

Ewok hit in the face with a rock? He's fine.

That's my biggest issue with RotJ, but I digress.

 

I do not recall any single moment where an ewok is hit with a rock.

 

Wicket accidentally hits himself in the face with his own rock - a bolas - he's seen later in the movie, with no visible damage.

 

Because he is Wicket W. Warrick, master kipper smoker

 

Oh gee, thanks Gamiel, now I have a mental image of Wicket saying, "Smoke me a kipper, I'll be back for breakfast."

 

That was the idea

 

Gamiel, you're a real Ace.

(In my head, I spell "Ace" without the "ce" and with "ss."

 

Intimidation and uniformity.

 

Well, it didn't look like he'd built up much momentum with the rock when it hit him. And I don't think the rocks that hit the stormtroopers were supposed to have hurt them that badly. They were probably just stunned.

 

Then the Ewoks clubbed them to death and chopped their heads off.

 

Since it didn't scare 2-foot tall furry Ewoks, this answer makes no sense.

 

That just show how badass the ewoks are.

 

Harmful UV rays.

 

This, for the films at least.

Logically, the armor "protecting" them makes little sense. Considering it looks like plastic, and Rebels even quote them wearing "plastic". The armor itself would be metal, or some form of material other than plastic.

Spoiler: Clone Phase II

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Spoiler: Stormtrooper

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Also keep in mind that one is CGI, and one is on the actual set. Though, they appeared to have tried making the CGI clone armor look a bit more metallic.​

 

I don't see it, both look plastic to me
Also why cant space-age plastic be better then metal, comparably speaking

 

That's usually based on someone's opinion whether or not someone may see it. Like I said, one is a real set, versus CGI.

I don't recall saying that it was better than "space-age" plastic. Though, I won't doubt that in the SW Universe, plastic could be better.

 

Stormtrooper armor is there to offer protection to the audience. It protects the audience from seeing all the awful injuries, terrible burns, and gore that would be visible on armor-less troopers as they get blown away one right after another.

 

I agree with Darth Ladner above, but I also think it can be used for more natural like the different weather conditions.