The Force Awakens - Spoilerific Discussion.

[Haighus]

It does make sense that Finn isn't great with a lightsaber though- I believe the fluff for them has them as notoriously difficult to use, because they are very easy to accidentally chop part of the wielder off if they are not careful. Jedi mitigate this by being force sensitive, but other users are liable to injure themselves. With most weapons, you can feel what the tip is doing by it's weight, you don't have that with a lightsaber. It is probably why Finn does so badly in the duel with the Stormtrooper with the riot gear- the weapon would've felt like nothing he had ever used before, and he was probably trying to not chop himself too.

I think Kylo Ren's fighting abilities are fine in the last few scenes though- he has been hit by a flipping bowcaster round...

[Erik Setzer]

I don't think people are giving the bowcaster enough credit there. We see it all through the movie wrecking people, this guy took a hit and is bleeding like crazy and STILL manages to get through a couple of lightsaber duels and only loses the second when Rey started letting in the Force more (and gave in to her anger a bit, really). But by then he shouldn't have even been able to keep going. Pretty much just going through sheer force of will. Still gets no respect.

At least the argument that Rey's not trained as a Jedi is a better one than "he lost to a girl!" like that's supposed to mean something. The Stormtroopers' commander is a woman (wearing armor fashioned from Palpatine's old personal ship). There's female Stormtroopers. This isn't a setting designed by lonely single guys.

[Morgrim]

Lightsabers are tricky to use for three reasons. The first is that screwing up tends to cut bits off (which is why they first learn on less powerful training weapons that only burn a bit, not cut). The second is that while the blade has no weight, it does have quite a lot of inertia, so it's got resistance in ways that are very disconcerting. The third is that the beam isn't a uniform tube, it's a plasma beam going up and down again. So it's got 'sharps' and 'flats' a little like a metal blade, and if you hit with the sharp side it'll dig in and slice but if you hit with the flat side it'll bounce off. You see it rebounding a few times in the fight with Ren because neither Finn nor Rey know how lightsabers work. (Also you can't really 'see' the details of the blade, so Jedi and Sith use the Force to keep track of the orientation of their blade, and Rey's not been taught how yet.)

[Erik Setzer]

All good points, but I do think being trained to use a similar melee weapon will help you put up a better showing with a lightsaber than some average person who only knows how to fire a blaster.

[Tyrendian]

All good points, but I do think being trained to use a similar melee weapon will help you put up a better showing with a lightsaber than some average person who only knows how to fire a blaster.

that's for sure! Trained professional with a completely unfamiliar exotic weapon beats the snot out of random thug with said unfamiliar exotic weapon. Doesn't mean he can hold a candle to an expert with said weapon though - randomly thrown together example with two historic weapons: I highly doubt a veteran Roman Legionary, no matter how good he was with Gladium and Pilum, would last two seconds if given a Katana and told to fight an equally skilled Samurai with it.

[Haighus]

that's for sure! Trained professional with a completely unfamiliar exotic weapon beats the snot out of random thug with said unfamiliar exotic weapon. Doesn't mean he can hold a candle to an expert with said weapon though - randomly thrown together example with two historic weapons: I highly doubt a veteran Roman Legionary, no matter how good he was with Gladium and Pilum, would last two seconds if given a Katana and told to fight an equally skilled Samurai with it.

Having the Samurai bleeding out from a heavy wound to the flank from a previous encounter would level the playing field somewhat though...

[Charistoph]

Lightsabers are tricky to use for three reasons. The first is that screwing up tends to cut bits off (which is why they first learn on less powerful training weapons that only burn a bit, not cut). The second is that while the blade has no weight, it does have quite a lot of inertia, so it's got resistance in ways that are very disconcerting. The third is that the beam isn't a uniform tube, it's a plasma beam going up and down again. So it's got 'sharps' and 'flats' a little like a metal blade, and if you hit with the sharp side it'll dig in and slice but if you hit with the flat side it'll bounce off. You see it rebounding a few times in the fight with Ren because neither Finn nor Rey know how lightsabers work. (Also you can't really 'see' the details of the blade, so Jedi and Sith use the Force to keep track of the orientation of their blade, and Rey's not been taught how yet.)

To be fair, it IS possible for a non-Force user to learn how to use a lightsaber (like a certain Deathwatch member).

But as with all things with the Force user, the Forcer still has that edge. In addition, some lightsaber crystals begin to resonate with the user, making the Force user able to use it more effectively.

[Erik Setzer]

In addition, some lightsaber crystals begin to resonate with the user, making the Force user able to use it more effectively.

Wonder if using a flawed crystal is causing Kylo any issues... Or if it's just an excuse to have a badass looking lightsaber that sounds amazing.

- - - Updated - - -

Oh yeah, can't remember if it was mentioned on this thread, but Kylo Ren's special Force sound was created by super slowing a cat's purr.

Every time my cats snuggle up to me now, I think of Dark Side mind powers.

[eldargal]

Yup, its actually canon that Kylo Ren's lightsaber is kind of **** so that's why it behaves the way it does.

[YorkNecromancer]

I highly doubt a veteran Roman Legionary, no matter how good he was with Gladium and Pilum, would last two seconds if given a Katana and told to fight an equally skilled Samurai with it.

I'll take that bet.