Discussions Why don't any Sith or Jedi use guns?

I've been thinking, aside from Obi Wan', I've never seen or heard of any Jedi or Sith in any form of continuity using a blaster in any way. Why? Is there some kind of law in both orders forbidding their use? If so, that's quite strange and confusing considering the modern Star Wars age is commonly referred to as "The Age of Blasters", so why don't they incorporate them into their arsenal?

 

My guesses? Kenobi's "an elegant weapon for a more civilized age" attitude might have been widespread. Plus, with a lightsaber, you can deflect blaster bolts, meaning it could be a 'passive' weapon, like using your opponent's own momentum against them in martial arts. That might appeal to people who are trying to only use their power for knowledge and defense. Also, when you have an opponent with a saber, you have to be relatively close to them to use the sabers - meaning you could talk to them (try to talk them down) and you both will also have a front-row seat to the injuries and feelings of each other, which would make an empathetic creature think twice before being too vicious. Finally, a lightsaber can be a tool outside of its use as a weapon (think Qui-Gon melting through the doors).

Also, Luke uses a blaster throughout the OT, even in ROTJ.

 

What about the Sith? They're morally bad, so why don't they use them? Unless Sith have some form of honor, they could just be plain evil and use cheap tactics like Grievous did with his blaster once in a while.

 

Dunno. This is just me guessing. Maybe the Sith (or any other dark siders who use lightsabers) think using ranged weapons would be too easy, and they are prideful of their skill. One possibility.

 

I've always wondered why Anakin didn't use a gun while serving the Emperor, seeing that his life suit made him a worthless duelist to anyone moderately experienced (Galen Marek, Luke, those rogue Jedi that overwhelmed him, and so on).

 

A lightsaber can block blaster bolts in the hands of a force user and perform other incredible feats, whereas Blasters are shown to always have an element of randomness to them. Plus Sith are all about symbols of power, and using a Lightsaber to slaughter a group of enemies makes you look far more formidable than just shooting up the place.

 

I suppose that a jedi/sith can always use the force for a ranged attack , be it a force push ,lightning .or any number of different ranged force attacks. And the saber is unmatched in melee combat and in deflection capabilities . I believe , however, that a blaster would still make a great addition to their arsenal. I'm sure there are situation where maybe they'd rather preserve their "energy" and still have a way to attack or simply keep their opponents under pressure from a distance . And a jedi should make a great marksman

The way i see it jedi and sith don't carry blasters because of principles , not practicality. How much can a blaster pistol hanging on their belt possibly encumber them

 

Lol, maybe because it didn't? He kicks enough ass with a lightsaber in all the Purge comics or Darth Vader and the xyz.

 

Vader's blade work was described by several sources initially as a clumsy, awkward style that focused on using his suit's weight to overpower more delicate foes, and though his style became a little more crisp as time passed, the basic strategy never changed.

The reason Vader looked formidable at the time, was because there were no worthwhile Jedi to actually face him, and obviously no Sith besides Palpatine because of the Rule of Two. More proof of his diminished power is how when he faced Galen, a moderately experienced Duelist on the Death Star 1, he was utterly defeated, and he had trouble with Luke, a mediocre duelist later in their first real duel, being grazed in the shoulder. The next duel Luke overwhelmed Vader by mindlessly bashing his Lightsaber on his own.

 

In which one? Dark Lord? The point of the entire novel was that he was depressed in the beginning and had to overcome his self-doubts to become a real Sith Lord. Any guides don't count for much because they are secondary sources, not primary ones.

In Purge 1 he fights 8 Jedi masters and kills 5 of them. He also goes on to defeat countless force sensitive enemies like Roan Shryne, the Dark Woman (though that was in Tales), Bol Chatak, Ferus Olin, Celeste Morne powered by a powerful Sith spirit (though she later sicked her monsters at him, causing him to flee), Darth Maul (a known saber expert) and others I probably have forgotten about.

His most noteworthy defeats are against a video game character and the greatest Jedi in history, Luke Skywalker.

 

If Lord Vader goes so far as to kill you with a blaster, it probably means he deems you unworthy of the blade...

 

Vader using a blaster was awesome. It fits his pragmatic attitude.

 

I think this is a bit more suited to EUC, so moving.

Love that last frame on the page posted above, very reminiscent of The Dark Knight Returns.

 

The sword is a very intimate weapon. It seems natural that beings such as the Sith and Jedi would gravitate to the lightsaber's elegance, ferocity, and range of practical uses.

Another answer is that I willingly make any leap of logic necessary to accept an idea as cool as lightsabers.

 

In the Darth Vader novel, while it still takes him a while to get used to his suit, he still kicks the butts of other jedi. And by the time of a New Hope, his jedi kill count exceeded that of anyone else in the galaxy. Also, you'll note that Galen Marek (whether you consider him canon or not) and Luke Skywalker are both exceptional examples. It's entirely possible that Jedi as strong as them could have beat him even before his suit. It's difficult to make such an argument as it is entirely speculative, but they were incredibly powerful.

 

For a Jedi, the use of a lightsaber has a symbolic meaning. Though their weapon is a saber, they use it as a shield to defend themselves and the innocent. Due to the skill that is obtained and the requirement to use their lightsaber in close quarters, it coupled with their Force powers allow a Jedi to easily control the battlefield with a mix of physical and Force power to make sure that casualties can be limited and a nonlethal end to an engagement can be better achieved. Due to the lightsaer being such an iconic symbol of the Jedi Order, conflict can be prevented by the aggressors seeing that weapon hanging from their belts and convince them to find less violent means to settle their disputes.

That and a lightsaber can serve more then one purpose as proven by the hundreds or so stubborn blast doors in Star Wars history that have been efficiently cut in two by lightsabers. That or use your lightsaber for a glow rod.

For a Sith, they live on the violence and chaos of the dark side and where best can they find it tyen in close quarters where such strong, negative emotions of combatants desperately trying to kill one another allows then to have their fill of the horror and fear that their presence and deadly skill with a lightsaber will induce in others.

That said, there have been many Jedi who have nonetheless taken up a blaster when needed. In the New Jedi Order, blasters and other weapons such as explosives and grenades have been widely used. Mara Jade, a former Emperor's Hand, had been trained in the use of more exotic weapons and used many during her career. The Myrkr Strike Team (a percentage.of it which was comprised by the Solo children) made extravagant use of blasters and explosives to give them an extra advantage over the Vong and their voxyn.

Even the Old Republic had Jedi that used blasters. The best example would be the Gray Paladins who believed they should have minimal dependency on the Force and, thus, would train in more offensive weaponry like blasters that did not rely so heavily on their control of the Force. Etain Tur-Mukan, a Jedi commander during the Clone Wars, favored using the big but powerful cocussion rifle.

 

I thought the Force Unleashed 1 was already established as high canon due to it's significant plot relevance (Shaak Ti's fate, creation of Rebel Alliance).

 

I think you'll find that many fans make their own canon.

 

Technically, TCW is high canon, but because of how badly it messes up the continuity of the books that preceded it, some fans ignore that canon. Canon, at least in the starwars universe and how it relates to fanbase is a tricky subject.

 

You might be interested in this lady:

http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Laranth_Tarak

She was a part of a subgroup of Jedi that use weapons other than lightsabers.

 

Obi-Wan always saw the blaster as random and clumsy weapon, foresight was needed to use a lightsaber. It's elegent and has a lot more uses then a blaster. Using a lightsaber allows you to talk your opponent down in a peaceful way.

It makes a great lock slicer.

 

TFU is C-canon and overlaps with a lot of C-canon sources that also deal with the early Rebel Alliance. It is not even on the same level as TCW officially.

 

I'm sorry, I'm not familiar with how canon is determined in the Star Wars franchise. Does this imply TFU's events are non-canon or overwritten? I always viewed it as a significant plot bridge between ROTS and ANH, so if it is indeed not canon, I feel a bit like an idiot.

 

My understanding was always that the movies are the ultimate sources, so other sources, like books, comics, etc, are all 'canon' unless they contradict the movies, in which case the movies take precedent. The TV show is somewhere between the two (probably because of how much of a hand Lucas had in making it). If it contradicts the movies, the movies "win." But if it contradicts EU stuff, the TV show "wins."

 

It is sorta canon. But so are the stories that claim the Rebellion came into life from the petition of the 2000. These kind of contradictions happen all the time in Star Wars EU. That's why fans can have endless discussions about this or that.