Why didn't the Clone Army use lightsabers?

If the Republic Clones saw how effective they were during battle, why didn't the Clones pick up some training with them?

 

Because only those who use the Force use lightsabers....

 

Their battledroid enemies would have easily killed them with blasters. They would make good up-close weapons for anyone, even someone who isn't Force sensitive, but to deflect blaster bolts you'd need the Force. Besides, the movies give the impression that lightsabers are rare and somewhat hard to come by.

 

You need to be a force user to use a lightsaber to its fullest potential. Otherwise, they would just as well off using a big stick with a nail in it.

 

For the most part only one with the Force as his ally can use a Lightsaber, though there are cases such as Grievous who have cybernetically enhanced reflexes, but even Grievous can't use it as well as a good Jedi can.

 

Doesn't a lightsaber take weeks, even months, to construct properly? To construct a lightsaber for every single Clone Trooper in the Army of the Republic would be an extremely large waste of time. The weapons would be practically useless because the Clones would be incapable of wielding the lightsabers properly. For Jedi lightsabers are the perfect weapon however, I think Clones would much rather be suited with a good blaster rifle.

 

though there are cases such as Grievous who have cybernetically enhanced reflexes, but even Grievous can't use it as well as a good Jedi can.




Yep, he has four arms and they are all cybernetically enhanced reflexes. With only 1 lightsaber, I'd bet he'd fight rather poorly.

 

Well in the film he's nothing special even with the four.

 

they didnt use lightsabers for the same reason that president bush content removed didn't send troops to iraq with swords

 

The lightsaber is a very impractical weapon. You have to be in close combat to kill with it - which, when everyone else in the galaxy is running around with long-range weapons, is a bit of a problem. It can deflect blaster bolts, but for that property of the lightsaber to be any good you need to have superhuman speed and coordination.

In other words, only Jedi can use lightsabers effectively because they're that good. That's the whole point. The lightsaber is a symbol of the uniqueness of the Jedi, of what sets them apart from everyone else. It contributes to the mystique. And I, personally, find nothing in Star Wars cooler than a Jedi with a lightsaber.

Lightsabers, incidentally, can't be manufactured. They're handmade, and you'll notice that Jedi are not exactly handing out building manuals. I don't even know if it's possible for non-Jedi to build lightsabers. Even if it is, the Jedi are giving their lightsaber-building secrets out as fast as Coca-Cola's makers are giving out their formula to the world's most popular soft drink. And Jedi really have better things to do with their time than build thousands of lightsabers for people who can't even use them properly.

 

I don't even think it was the length of construction that would cause the problem, but the rarity of crystals. After the Clone Wars destruction of the caveern on Ilum, it was probably hard enough to get enough crystals for new Jedi sabers.

The already mentioned "Clones can't block blaster bolts" is also a very important fact.

The already mentioned "Stick with a nail would do fine" is true.

We also forgot that the Clones were considered "Resources" by the Republic. Although they were skilled fighters, how many clones would have amputated themselves playing with lightsabers?


That said, one saber in a commando unit or something may have been a good idea. They seem to be quite effective at cutting through steel doors and such. I could see Clones on a covert mission finding sabers to be a hell of a lot more convienient than a whole bunch of explosives to alert the enemy to their presence. Cutting holes in things probably does not require force use (Han, Taun Taun.)

Carnage

 

That said, one saber in a commando unit or something may have been a good idea. They seem to be quite effective at cutting through steel doors and such. I could see Clones on a covert mission finding sabers to be a hell of a lot more convienient than a whole bunch of explosives to alert the enemy to their presence. Cutting holes in things probably does not require force use (Han, Taun Taun.)




Thats true, a lightsaber would be a very handy thing to have around for non combat uses. It would also make a cool cigarette lighter, fire starter, etc.

 

I think that it would have been interesting if clones used them in close quarters combat. Don't know how the Jedi would have felt about it, though.

 

Well you'd have to be a Jedi to make one correctly. A non-Jedi can, if he/she has the proper materials but the focusing crystals will be badly tuned and the saber cannot be used to it's full potential. I think it would be difficult for clones to use a lightsaber in close quarters combat. They'd first have to secure their rifle and then draw their lightsaber. In which time the firepower of enemy units would overrun them. Also, since they lack force sensitivity, they would be unable to deflect incoming enemy blaster bolts. The only enemy the clones were facing [aside from the occasional appearance of Asajj or Dooku] were battle droids whose main weapon is a blaster. Because of this, the droids have no use for close quarter combat and the clones would be putting themselves at greater risk by initiating it. Overall I think it's best that only the Jedi, not the clones, wielded lightsabers. It fortifies the abilities of a Jedi [including lightsaber skills] as "elite."

 

The whole point of the Lightsaber is that it's inherently a Defensive Weapon. In the modern battles of the GFFA you must initially deflect the enemy's fire back until you are within striking distance. It just wouldn't work with a Clonetrooper.

 

I think the real question is "Why didn't the Jedi Knights use blasters"?! And what I mean to say, though the jedi were not soldiers, since they were fighting in this fullscale war and leading the clones per se, their battle tactics on the battlefield should have been more like a soldier.

Maybe I am wrong, but fighting with the lightsaber as they did was not as practical as fighting with armour and a blaster. The lightsaber was basically more of a defensive weapon for them in battle, so unless a Jedi was in close range of their enemy, the lightsaber was not as effective as a blaster. Don't get me wrong, the Jedis skills and abilities in the Force made them extremely difficult fighter to defeat. But in fighting against foes that could fire at them from long range and out of the reach of blaster, eventually even the best Jedi could not continue to deflect an abundance of fire power.

I would love to have seen some Jedi operate more like soldiers with protective armour and fire blasters. But that would have made them like soldiers, and Mace said in AOTC of the Jedi, "We are protectors of the peace, not soldiers"


Darth Sin!

 

As Obi-wan said, a blaster is so uncivilized. A Lightsaber was more fitting for a civilized age. Also, a blaster is too much of an offensive weapon. It felt wrong to the Jedi to use blasters, which is why so many during the height of the Old Jedi Order almost rarely used them. Luke's New Jedi Order was more flexible, since he had used a blaster for three & a half years. And only using them when it was of the most dire of circumstances. But for the most part, he believed in the old Jedi way of relying on the Force and a Lightsaber.

As to finding crystals, that was never an issue for the Jedi. Prior to Ilum, the Jedi went to the Adagen system and use their crystals. Or Corusca gems. Each focusing crystal had to be flawlessly made/formed/cut. Even if it was artificial like what Luke used, when he built his Jedi Lightsaber, it had to be absolutely perfect. But the type of crystal could be used from anywhere, so long as it met the standards. Mace's crystal came from a world that was not Ilum. Nor was it one of the usual crystal types.

 

Yeah, even the term BLASTer seems a tad aggressive for a Jedi. It implies destruction and killing. It would be like calling the lightsaber A "Delimber".

Carnage

 

I hear what you are saying, but in this war the Jedi were fighting against droids, so I think if they had used blasters in this case and operated more like soldiers it would not have come across as per se agressors.

In the case of Obi-Wan killing Grievous he had no choice but to resort to the weapon that was available to him. This part-man, part machine was the aggressor in this scenario and was going to kill Obi-Wan. If Obi-Wan had been intent on trying to recover his lightsaber, he would not have been around to ever see it again. It may have been uncivilized from the perspective of a Jedi to use a blaster; however when it came to this war to save the galaxy, the Jedi may should have become more like soldiers.

Darth Sin!

 

The Jedi would have opposed Clones using sabers.

 

As Qui-Gon suggests, Jedi can see things before they happen which gives them superior reflexes. This is what allows them to wield lightsabers so effectively in deflecting blaster shots etc. A clone with a lightsaber would be like someone with a sword going up against someone with a gun, in the real world. It would be suicide.

 

I like the old McQuarrie pics of Stormies with lightsabers.

A clone with a lightsaber would be like someone with a sword going up against someone with a gun, in the real world. It would be suicide.


Not neccesarily, depending on how skilled you are, and how good the gunman is. I have enough training in fencing and kendo, and other close range fighting arts to take out a gunman(it all depends on distance, and a whole of other variables in the equation). I also have experience with firearms as well, so I could also take out a swordsman as well.

 

Civilized is nice....but when you're on the battlefields of Geonosis with artillery and rockets landing all around you, I don't think a lightsaber is a good choice of a weapon. That scene with Mace Windu and all the other Jedi charging forward with the clones always gives me the shudders.

On the other hand, a lightsaber seems much more suited to small-scale commando raids like when Anakin and Obi-Wan were on board the Invisible Hand. As most of the fighting is more confined to smaller spaces, a blaster-deflecting sword is much more deadly.

I find the beginning of the Empire Strikes Back duel to be pretty cool, as Luke puts away his blaster and pulls out his lightsaber. It's almost like the lightsaber is reserved for such a duel, as opposed to running around swinging it everywhere like the Jedi in the PT did.

 

Heres Obiwan sportig the clone armor. No blaster though.

Obi-Wan in Clone Armor

 

At least when the Jedi are charging, they have a weapon that is also a shield. Charging with a Gun only is gonna get you dead real quick. Blasters do not block blaster bolts.

Carnage