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Across the Star Wars series, there is a wide variety of Stormtroopers that fans have come to know and love. While the standard black-and-white variety is the most famous, a few others stand out in the famed sci-fi series. The Death Troopers are one instance, but Sith Troopers are one of the most recent and most striking additions to the Star Wars canon.
There have been previous iterations of Sith Troopers in the canon, but the most recent and arguably most powerful first appeared in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. This version of the Sith Troopers is known for its striking red armor and fascinating yet tragic backstory. Star Wars has never been shy about introducing new enemies to the series, but the Sith Troopers stand out as one of the more interesting twists on a common foe.
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What Are Sith Troopers?
Sith Troopers | |
|---|---|
Base | The Sith Citadel on Exegol |
Affiliations | The Sith Eternal |
Leader | Darth Sidious (Emperor Palpatine) |
Unit Types |
|
Date Founded | Unknown |
Date Destroyed | 35 ABY |
Much like their fellow Stormtroopers, Sith Troopers were some of the most well-trained warriors in the galaxy. The major difference here is that Sith Troopers were the unique soldiers of the Sith Eternal cult. They were one of the key pieces in Darth Sidious’ army that was planned to help him rise to rule the galaxy once more. As was the case with Stormtroopers, the Sith Troopers were uniformly armored to eliminate all kinds of individuality, with their armor made to match the color of a Sith’s lightsaber. Darth Sidious would go a step further upon his return, further stamping out the individuality of his most loyal troops.
It’s sad to say that the Sith Troopers were essentially shells of war. Whatever humanity existed within them was stripped away. Finn should count himself lucky that he never wound up on Exegol during his time in the First Order. Sith Troopers were created to be the perfect controllable fighting force for the twisted Dark Lord Of The Sith. Darth Sidious makes this clear in the reference book Star Wars: The Secrets Of The Sith:
Far too often, clones and stormtroopers exhibited unseemly moments of free will. To eliminate such flaws, these fiercely loyal fighters have undergone extreme levels of mental conditioning and flash-imprinting. These processes have rendered them completely susceptible to my commands and have eliminated any chance of rebellion.
How Are Sith Troopers Trained?
The Sith Troopers are some of the most heavily trained beings in the galaxy. Fans of the Stormtroopers will already know that they receive serial numbers for identification. The Sith Troopers who went through similar training on Exegol were no different. What truly makes the Sith Troopers powerful is that during their training, they were subjected to the domination of their will, leaving them with no free will. This meant that the Sith Troopers were ordinary humans who acted more like droids and had no fear of death.
That very thing made the Sith Troopers even more valuable. They could take the advanced training that Stormtroopers had, and add in an unmatched level of aggression since they weren’t in full control of their minds. As long as they served Darth Sidious and his goals, a Sith Trooper would fight to the death, no matter how hopeless that fight might be.
It is also important to mention that the Sith Troopers followed the teachings of the Sith Eternal, allowing for a more aggressive attitude and outlook in the first place. This would make a Sith Trooper even more dangerous than a standard Stormtrooper, even without their minds being dominated.
What Kinds Of Equipment Do Sith Troopers Use?
Sith Trooper Equipment | |
|---|---|
Armor | Multi-layered gammaplast armor, black body glove, Clone-Trooper-like helmet with targeting and communications systems |
Weapons | The ST-W48 blaster, the FWMB-10B repeating blaster, batons |
Extra Equipment | A utility belt, typically equipped with additional ammunition and explosives |
The Sith Troopers’ armor was made from a material known as gammaplast. While it isn’t clear what the differences are from the standard plastoid armor of the Stormtroopers, the two armors are at least on the same level. Sith Trooper armor is capable of handling indirect blaster fire due to its angular design. Knowing this, fans can assume that it is also as capable of withstanding small arms blaster fire. Sith Trooper armor is also capable of absorbing impacts while not restricting mobility or visibility. Should the conditions of a battleground be unfavorable, a Sith Trooper will always have the advantage thanks to the built-in targeting systems in their helmets.
No one will be surprised to know that there is far more to the Sith Troopers than just the standard infantry unit. There are at least three other kinds or ranks of the Troopers that are equally or more deadly than the standard Sith Trooper. Other powerful members of their ranks include the highest-ranked Sovereign Protector, the Sith Jetpack Troopers, and Sith Trooper Officers. Jetpack Troopers receive the obvious addition of a jetpack, while officers are equipped with more advanced armor. While Sovereign Protector equipment is mostly unknown, they do utilize the SP-B50 blaster rifle (a powerful blaster with ranged and close-range functionality).
Depending on personal opinion, it is possible to make the argument that not only are Sith Troopers more dangerous than the average Stormtrooper due to their minds being dominated, but they are also far better equipped. The Sith Troopers wield massive heavy blasters with the ability to swap functions between a rifle and a carbine. The weapon, the ST-W48 blaster, was deadly at most ranges, adopting Bowcaster technology to make it a more powerful weapon than any standard blaster. There were a variety of other weapons that Sith Troopers would use, but more than the standard Stormtrooper of the Imperial Era, they would also use various batons to take on threats hand-to-hand.
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