Lightsabers are known for their ability to cut through almost any material with ease.
Almost.
Any material.
But there were a number of metals and substances that were resistant to lightsabers.
In this video I’ll be covering all of them.
Most of these are Legends-only, and I will make sure to note if a material is mentioned
at all in the new canon.
Let’s start with the metals.
Phrik was a rare metallic compound that was used in light yet durable battle armor or
melee weapons.
It was used in the creation of electrostaffs, Palpatine’s lightsabers, and the armor of
the dark troopers.
It was nearly indestructible, and a holocron made of the stuff even survived the destruction
of Alderaan intact.
Phrik has been mentioned in canon, but only its name.
We don’t know for sure that it’s still a lightsaber-resistant metal, but I think
it’s a safe bet.
Cortosis was another incredibly rare metal.
It was different from phrik in that it had conductive properties that could cause lightsabers
to temporarily short out upon contact.
It was also used in melee weapons and armor.
The Imperial Knights of the Fel Empire had cortosis gauntlets they used for defense.
However they weren’t lightsaber-proof.
Lightsabers that used crystals mined on Mestare produced unique blades that could cut through
cortosis without problem, and even a regular lightsaber blade could cut through it given
enough strikes and time to recover from multiple short outs.
Cortosis is another material that has been mentioned in canon.
Its conductive abilities are still present, as shown in the book A New Dawn, but we have
yet to see it in action against a lightsaber.
Mandalorian iron was yet another rare metal.
Its ore was only found on Mandalore and its moon Concordia.
In the Tales of the Jedi, the spirit of Freedon Nadd commented that it was the only material
that could resist a lightsaber.
Shows how much he knows.
Neuranium was known for being incredibly dense metal.
Its main purpose was to shield from radiation, but it was also able to resist lightsaber
energy for a small amount of time.
Longer than most metals, anyway.
Palpatine used a neuranium-lined statue to hide his lightsaber in Legends, and the surgical
center where Darth Vader was rebuilt had thick neuranium walls.
Songsteel was a very light and luminescent metal created for the West End Games role
playing games.
It was similar to phrik and was highly resistant to lightsaber strikes.
The final metal on the list is ultrachrome, which had unique conductive properties that
allowed energy to be dispersed across the entirety of whatever object it made up rather
than a single point.
That meant that the energy of a lightsaber would not be able to penetrate any one point
easily.
However, if enough energy were poured into that spot, the entire object would melt.
Quantum-crystalline armor was the metal that covered the superweapon known as the Sun Crusher,
and while it was never tested against a lightsaber, it shares the same superconductive properties
as ultrachrome, so I wanted to at least mention it.
Armorweave was a material that offered at least a little resistance to lightsaber attacks.
In Legends it was worn by General Grievous and his MagnaGuards.
Zam Wessel’s suit was made out of the material as well as the under garment of Mandalorian
armor and even Darth Vader’s cape.
In canon, Captain Phasma’s cape was made of armorweave, however we don’t have any
real confirmation that it was lightsaber resistant.
Now we’re going to move onto creatures that had natural defenses against lightsabers,
and the first one is completely canon!
The Zillo Beast was a massive creature whose hide was unaffected by lightsaber strikes.
Emperor Palpatine wished to study the creature to create lightsaber-resistant armor for his
clone army, but as far as we currently know, that never happened.
Orbalisks were parasitic creatures from Onderon’s moon, Dxun.
They would latch onto the skin of a host and multiply until they covered an entire body.
The process was extremely painful, but would basically provide the wearer with lightsaber-proof
armor.
Darth Bane covered his entire body with orbalisks and used a special cage that would keep them
from covering his face.
Their weakness was electricity.
The Vonduun crab was a very similar creature used by the Yuuzhan Vong to create very similar
armor.
However it had more weaknesses.
Force lightning is still included in that list, but it would also crack under enough
pressure, and it was deathly allergic to the bafforr trees of Ithor.
Amphistaffs were the primary weapons of the Yuuzhan Vong.
They were genetically engineered creatures with skin strong enough to repel a lightsaber
blade.
They even had the ability to soften and wrap around a lightsaber without fear of any damage.
More lightsaber-resistant creatures included the tikulini, and the lava dragon, both of
which were wormlike creatures.
Some non-lightsaber-resistant objects could be imbued with the Force to increase their
durability.
For example, the staff of Jedi Master Vodo-Siosk Baas was made more powerful and he was able
to duel lightsaber-wielding opponents with it.
At least for a while.
Along these same lines, Sith alchemy could be used to strengthen weapons or armor to
the point that they would stop a lightsaber.
Ancient weapons known as dark swords were made of unknown materials that could parry
a lightsaber.
I couldn’t find an actual picture of one, this picture is a Forcesaber.
Finally, because I know someone will bring it up if I don’t at least mention it, let’s
talk about the Z6 riot control baton.
I’m putting it last because the actual material it’s made of can’t deflect a lightsaber,
but the two conductor vanes produced energy that could.
But with that I’ll bring this list to a close!
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