Crossguard Lightsaber Explained (Spoiler free)

[AgentRedgrave]

Making this for people who don't know, and because I've kinda always wanted to just geek out in an explanation thread

But anyway, back when the first teaser trailer for The Force Awakens came out, a LOT of people complained about Kylo Ren's crossguard, and said it made no sense, design wise. (Pointing out that the emitter shrouds for the crossguard prevented it from being an effective form of defense)

But there is a logical explanation, that I've read about, and it cheeks out.

That being, that it's not meant to be a crossguard. It's designed as one, but that's not the purpose of it.

Kylo's lightsaber uses a cracked Kyber crystal (a lightsaber's power source)

And well, as a result, the blade is unstable, this can be seen due to the crackling/serrated appearance of his blade

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As opposed to the more solid appearance of a standard lightsaber

​

Now some of this is from the EU/Legends canon. But I don't see why it wouldn't still apply.

But the idea is that an unstable lightsaber blade is more powerful, and, rarely, can cause standard lightsabers to malfunction ("Breaking the blade" a rare but possible occurrence).

The downside is, true to their name, they're unstable, and they could short-circuit due to the excess power.

What does this have to do with Kylo Ren's crossguard? Like I said, it's not really a crossguard, they're vents to compensate for excess energy designed in the appearance of a crossguard.

Hope this was informative, and thanks for reading

 

[Chancey289]

I find it silly people complained about the crossguard lightsaber's practicality when it's freaking Star Wars. It looked cool so who cares.

 

[AgentRedgrave]

I agree, I love the design of Kylo's lightsaber (blade, crossguard, hilt) it's deadly, and unstable, just like Kylo himself

 

[WolfOD64]

Anyone who played The Force Unleashed already knew the difference between compressed and unstable lightsabers.

 

[AgentRedgrave]

Anyone who played The Force Unleashed already knew the difference between compressed and unstable lightsabers.

Which I doubt everyone has

 

[NessPSI]

So its pretty much the Kyber crystal being cracked that makes it unstable? That leads me to believe that the lightsaber is going to blow up in Kylo's hand or something. That would be an easy way to keep the trend of losing an arm this trilogy i guess.

 

[LordOfDarkness]

That means that his own lightsabre kind of symbolises him; the lightsabre is "unstable" (not balanced), just like Kylo Ren.

 

[WolfOD64]

That means that his own lightsabre kind of symbolises him; the lightsabre is "unstable" (not balanced), just like Kylo Ren.

....and AgentRedgrave, too. ​

 

[Meg]

@.@

That is a very good explanation. I never put a lot of thought into, I just thought it looks cool. But this does make a lot of sense. Thanks for sharing! :thumbsup:

 

[Ixbran]

That means that his own lightsabre kind of symbolises him; the lightsabre is "unstable" (not balanced), just like Kylo Ren.

From what I understand its meant to represent him being unbalanced mentally and emotionally, and I'm curious to see how his character will evolve as the new series progresses. Will his mind continue to crack till it falls apart, or will he find a way to mend him self and return to the light?

 

[berto]

That means that his own lightsabre kind of symbolises him; the lightsabre is "unstable" (not balanced), just like Kylo Ren.

It's funny you say that because that's what the actor said about the role.

 

[Foxtrot94]

Hey, give some credit to AgentRedgrave, he said it first!

it's deadly, and unstable, just like Kylo himself

 

[absolitude]

1. how unstable is kylo depicted in the movie? haven't watched it, i don't mind spoiler
2. so what happens if unstable kylo uses a normal lightsaber?

EDIT : oh, forget the second question, i thought it was kylo's strength that causes the guard-like excess

 

[LordOfDarkness]

To be fair, I wasn't trying to take any credit for what others have said already. I didn't know that Adam Driver had said that same thing about Kylo Ren, nor did I see AR's second post before I posted myself.

 

[AgentRedgrave]

1. how unstable is kylo depicted in the movie? haven't watched it, i don't mind spoiler
2. so what happens if unstable kylo uses a normal lightsaber?

EDIT : oh, forget the second question, i thought it was kylo's strength that causes the guard-like excess

It's cool, and I understand if you don't mind spoilers, however, I'm sure there are people who still haven't seen it, and may come to this thread because, as I said in the title "spoiler free" so with respect for them, I wont post anything here, but gimmie a second and I'll inbox you

 

[WolfOD64]

Hey, give some credit to AgentRedgrave, he said it first!

*Sigh....*
^Edited.

 

[AgentRedgrave]

To be fair, I wasn't trying to take any credit for what others have said already. I didn't know that Adam Driver had said that same thing about Kylo Ren, nor did I see AR's second post before I posted myself.

It's cool, it's no big deal.

 

[absolitude]

so hey, is there a kylo's origin story told there? i wonder why he used the unstable core instead of normal ones, be cool if apparently he blew normal lightsaber because he's own strength hence he uses the excess type one..

PS : i dunno how lightsaber works, but if it's affected by user's strength/force/something something, that'll be nice

 

[AgentRedgrave]

so hey, is there a kylo's origin story told there? i wonder why he used the unstable core instead of normal ones, be cool if apparently he blew normal lightsaber because he's own strength hence he uses the excess type one..

PS : i dunno how lightsaber works, but if it's affected by user's strength/force/something something, that'll be nice

Like I said, unstable lightsabers are more powerful. They can actually cause, I stress again RARELY, cause an opponents lightsaber to malfunction and shut off for a time hence the term "Breaking the blade"

So it's likely a design choice. No a lightsaber isn't affected by it's users strength.

 

[absolitude]

Like I said, unstable lightsabers are more powerful. They can actually cause, I stress again RARELY, cause an opponents lightsaber to malfunction and shut off for a time hence the term "Breaking the blade"

So it's likely a design choice. No a lightsaber isn't affected by it's users strength.

so he's the 'i need more power' type of guy, wish there were more to the lore..