Posted by Lethality | 14 Comments

Ask A Jedi: Who Was The Most Powerful Force Wielder? And More…

If you spend any time on the official Star Wars: The Old Republic forums, you are sure to have seen his passion and prose regarding all things Jedi. You know him as Professor Walsh. Each week (or thereabouts,) Professor Walsh will answer a few reader-submitted questions in order to enlighten us all with the ways of the Jedi. You can submit your own question at the end of the article!

Dear Jedi,

What do you think about Jedi ranks being used as classes in TOR? Jedi Knight is a rank, so what does that mean for ranks in the game? Do you think there might be specialized paths or titles such as seen here? http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Jedi_Consular

Rebel

Dear Rebel,

The Jedi ranks are fine by me as a game mechanic. They are a little awkward, indeed, but overall they are not too bad. There were other titles in lore, such as Jedi Lord and such, so we may be able to see some of those in game. All in all, while a little odd, I don’t mind them.

Dear Jedi,

Who is the most powerful Force wielder ever in the history of Star Wars. I don’t care wether you consider him a Jedi or Sith or whatever… I just wanted to know if there was a Force wielder that was more powerful than any other. I have also learned of a few very powerful Force wielders as in TCW Overlords and Abeloth but just wondering.

Clark

Dear Clark,

The most powerful mortal Force wielder ever in the history of Star Wars is clearly Luke Skywalker. He is hands down the most potent and powerful Jedi. Abeloth may indeed be more powerful than he is though. Abeloth is a being of unknown origin, and at the moment is at the top of the heap based on what we know.

Dear Jedi,

What race was the first Jedi? We know what race the first Sith was, but what about the Jedi?

Joshua

Dear Joshua,

The first Jedi were human as far as we know. They were scholars who gathered to study the Force.

Dear Jedi,

Can Jedi use weapons other than lightsabers? Why or why not?

xxUneppxx

Dear xxUneppxx,

In the game, your guess is as good as mine. In lore, of course they can, they simply do not usually. Jedi often have no need for blasters or grenades, but as we have seen, especially in The Clone Wars, Jedi made use of weapons other than the lightsaber. The reason they do not is because they have trained with the lightsaber all of their lives and the weapon allows them more options than a blaster does, though they can, and do, use other weapons when needed.

Do you have a question for our Jedi-in-residence, Professor Walsh? Submit it via the form below, and we’ll be sure to pass it along to him when he emerges from meditation.

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Posted by Sentinel | 2 Comments

Ask A Jedi: Who Was The First Jedi? And More…

If you spend any time on the official Star Wars: The Old Republic forums, you are sure to have seen his passion and prose regarding all things Jedi. You know him as Professor Walsh. Each week (or thereabouts,) Professor Walsh will answer a few reader-submitted questions in order to enlighten us all with the ways of the Jedi. You can submit your own question at the end of the article!

Sorry it has been so long since the last edition of Ask A Jedi, even Jedi Scholars need to work though. But now I’m back and ready to go…

So let’s clear the queue shall we? First up:

Hello Jedi Master Walsh,

I was thinking of venturing into the written word of Star Wars, I went into a Star Wars wiki and saw the list of books. After recovering from minor shock that left me looking like a cross eyed monkey with Absynthe, I descided I really need to get a professional opinion. About the books I mean. There are e-books, actual books, side books, not books and standard books. As I prefer actual paperback/hardback books, as a new starter what book series/collections should I get and where what era should I start? (I know thats a lot to ask but I really have an urge to read all of them but I dont know where to start!)

Your Faithful Apprentice, Az

Dear Az,

There are several series I pretty much swear by, The Grand Admiral Thrawn Trilogy (Heir to the Empire, Dark Force Rising, and The Last Command) by Timothy Zahn. This series is the series that brought Star Wars back from the brink of oblivion and takes place shortly after Episode VI. There is also the New Jedi Order but honestly, that series is long, contains a lot of filler, and a lot of the books following it were intended to retcon many of the changes it made. It does contain the deaths of a number of main characters so it is worth a look. Right now I am also enjoying the Fate of the Jedi series, and finally, who can go wrong with The Jedi Path, an in-universe text book to being a Jedi.

I think those are good places to start.

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Posted by Lethality | 20 Comments

Ask A Jedi: Most powerful Force-user ever? Also, Mandalorian Jedi Redux

If you spend any time on the official Star Wars: The Old Republic forums, you are sure to have seen his passion and prose regarding all things Jedi. You know him as Professor Walsh. Each week (or thereabouts,) Professor Walsh will answer a few reader-submitted questions in order to enlighten us all with the ways of the Jedi. You can submit your own question at the end of the article!

This week we got a whole mailbag to go through, so let me do my Ask A Jedi thing, and see what answers we can get out there!

First let us cover a follow up question from “Sneakymailman” where he writes:

Dear Jedi,

This isn’t a question, but its a comment/helpful answer to one of you’re previous questions. While there may not have been a Mandalorian Jedi in the sense you were talking, there was Bardan Jusik, who was a Jedi in the Clone Wars, then left the order to join the Skirata clan. He is force sensitive uses his force powers, and wears Mandalorian armor and is accepted in Mandalorian culture. So I think if there was ever a Mandalorian jedi, he would fit the bill. Hope this was helpful.

Dear Sneaky,

Bardan Jusik left the Jedi Order; he was not a Jedi any longer. He was a Force Sensitive and he engaged in the lifestyle and culture of the Mandalorians but he wasn’t a Jedi still. This is why I said that there were Mandalorian Force Users but not Mandalorian Jedi. He no longer follows the tenets and the code of the Jedi Order.

Next, from across the bay, meaning coming straight from the UK, comes this question from reader Snodge. Snodge writes:

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Posted by Professor Walsh | 4 Comments

Ask A Jedi: Can non-force users wield a light saber?

If you spend any time on the official Star Wars: The Old Republic forums, you are sure to have seen his passion and prose regarding all things Jedi. You know him as Professor Walsh. Each week (or thereabouts,) Professor Walsh will answer a few reader-submitted questions in order to enlighten us all with the ways of the Jedi. You can submit your own question at the end of the article!

Dear Jedi,

Can a non-force user wield a light saber? If so, how come we don’t see more of them out there?

Dear Anonymous,

This is a complicated question, but in short, yes. Non-Force Users can indeed use a lightsaber.

Han Solo did it, but didn’t fight with it. In a non-canon story Boba Fett did however. In Episode III, the Clone Wars miniseries, and Star Wars: The Clone Wars General Grevious does too. In Star Wars: The Clone Wars season 2 Pre Viszla does it as well as one of the thieves who stole Ahsoka’s. In season 3 of the same show we know Cad Bane jumps on the bandwagon as well. Finally we have Anja Gallandro, who appeared in Star Wars: Young Jedi Knights in the novel Return to Ord Mantell by Kevin J Anderson and Rebecca Moestra.

So we have G, T, and C canon examples of it happening.

Now, how come we don’t see any more of them out there? Well, to be honest, they aren’t very good weapons unless you are Force Sensitive. You need to Force to block blaster bolts with them because that requires being able to predict where a shot that moves at that high of a velocity will land. You can’t really beat a Jedi with one unless you are Force Sensitive or otherwise enhanced.

• Pre Viszla got more or less humiliated by Obi-wan Kenobi when he tried it.
• General Grevious had to rely on cybernetic augmentation and we saw how that didn’t help much against Obiwan.
• Boba Fett even lost the second Darth Vader decided to use the Force against him.
• Anja Gallandro was only as effective as she was with her lightsaber because she was hopped up on drugs, even then it was shown how sloppy and unrefined she was compared to a Jedi.
• The Thief that tried it was easily beaten by an old and physically infirm Jedi Master in one motion.

So, you end up basically with what a lightsaber is: a melee weapon that has as much of a chance of damaging you as it does damaging your enemy. Yes, it is cool, yes it can cut through just about everything, but it is still bringing a knife to a blaster fight unless you have the powers needed to make up for that weakness.

Dear Jedi,

Who was your favorite Mandalore? Personally I prefer Mandalore the Preserver

Dear Anonymous,

I don’t have a favorite Mandalore, if I had to have a favorite Mandalore it would have to be good old Canderous Ordo.

Dear Jedi,

Do you know if there was ever a Mandalorian Jedi? If not, then why?

Dear Anonymous,

We know that there were some Mandalorian Force Sensitives but mostly it is their lifestyle. In order to be a Jedi a Mandalorian would have to turn their back on their culture. Since being Mandalorian is a culture and not a race if you turn your back on being it, then you aren’t one. So that is the main reason why there are no Mandalorian Jedi.

Do you have a question for our Jedi-in-residence, Professor Walsh? Submit it via the form below, and we’ll be sure to pass it along to him when he emerges from meditation.

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Posted by Lethality | 1 Comment

Ask A Jedi: Will the Light Side/Dark Side struggle go on forever?

If you spend any time on the official Star Wars: The Old Republic forums, you are sure to have seen his passion and prose regarding all things Jedi. You know him as Professor Walsh. Each week (or thereabouts,) Professor Walsh will answer a few reader-submitted questions in order to enlighten us all with the ways of the Jedi. You can submit your own question at the end of the article!

Dear Jedi,

I just watched the new timeline entry and I was wondering: why didn’t the Jedi Council intervene in the Mandalorian Wars? If this was covered in KOTOR I can no longer recall the reason and am curious.

– Emcee Beanyboy

Dear Beanyboy,

We don’t actually know the answer to this question. There are a number of theories however; I believe that the Council saw that there would be a great catastrophe if the Jedi became involved in the Mandalorian Wars. Interestingly enough if this was the case, which it was alluded to, then the Jedi Council was correct. Revan went to war, fell, and ended up causing much more damage than the Mandalorians did.

Dear Jedi,

My question to you is do you believe that the struggle between the Dark Side and Light Side will continue to the end of time? I understand there have been thousands of years of peace at times but what is your opinion on the matter?

– Dylan

Dear Dylan,

Nope. There will always be a struggle. The Dark Side seeks to conquer everything (including the Light Side) while the Light Side simply seeks balance (thus only fights the Dark Side until balance is achieved and then works to maintain that balance) so the Light Side won’t ever “destroy” the Dark Side, only beat it back into balance. You can’t reason with the Dark Side, as such is against the nature of it, and you can’t destroy completely it unless you are willing to break the balance.

I hope my opinion helps to shed some light.

Dear Jedi,

If you were a Jedi, color would your lightsaber be?

– Mandoran Elite

Dear Elite,

There is no actual significance to the color of the lightsaber. While it is true that as of KotOR they put some specific tendencies on color, and in the movies it is implied that the Sith always use crimson, it has never been stated for Jedi. We have seen all manner of Jedi use all manner of lightsabers. Yoda used green, Luke used blue, then green, Obi-wan used blue, then white, Mace Windu used purple, and we even saw yellow. There have been exotic colors of lightsabers too, including at least one that changed colors like a rainbow.

Personally? I like silver.

Do you have a question for our Jedi-in-residence, Professor Walsh? Submit it via the form below, and we’ll be sure to pass it along to him when he emerges from meditation.

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