TOPIC: Dual Lightsabers are Overpowered

I've been thinking about this a lot. Fighting with two lightsabers should make you practically invincible. I've tried this out myself with people and run scenarios in my mind. You could win a duel so quickly with two lightsabers.

Imagine this:

One lightsaber strikes at the enemy, they block the blade of course.
The second lightsaber quickly finishes them off from the other side. There is NO WAY to block two lightsabers from two different directions.

Anyone have any thoughts?

Don't block and stay still, parry one blow, disengage one saber from the other, and get into a position to parry the other. Look at how its done with real swords to get an idea of how it would be done with sabers.

Ravrohan wrote: Yet you must admit how much of an advantage someone with two sabers has over someone with one.

Oh sure, it can be an advantage if someone knows what they're doing It's just not a certainty if someone has two sabers over one.

Yea and I wondered why more people didn't use 2 sabers in Star Wars. Everyone should be using them! Also wondered why Grievous wasn't more powerful, since he can wield 4 sabers at once...

Within the setting, its more about how in tune with the force you are than physical ability. Because it's not easy to wield even one lightsaber, it takes a lot more effort to use two with the same proficiency. Like it's a force talent in itself.

Grievous I think was just limited by animation budgets and poor choreography.

Okay, yes. Having 2 sabers feels like an instant advantage. Aside from the fictional aspect of concentration and talent needed for wield lightsabers, let's just think of it like a sword:

If you don't know what you're doing, 1 of your 2 swords can easily end up in the way of the other. Wielding 1 sword with both hands requires much less coordination than wielding two. Also requires less strength and dexterity. You can swing 1 sword harder and faster with both hands. Same with guarding, you'll be faster and if somebody is swinging hard, much more likely you're going to stop it with 2 hands than one. Can you block 1 blade using 2? Of course, but it doesn't change the disadvantage, you still don't have leverage which makes all the difference in the world.

They both have their pros and cons. The idea that there is NO WAY to defend yourself from 2 lightsabers... it just isn't true.

Ravrohan wrote: Interesting of you to bring up the force. Of course the force is required to wield a lightsaber well, yet we know canonically that non-force sensitives can wield lightsabers, such as Cad Bane did on Teth when he fought Obi Wan and Quinlan Vos.

Ravrohan wrote: Interesting of you to bring up the force. Of course the force is required to wield a lightsaber well, yet we know canonically that non-force sensitives can wield lightsabers, such as Cad Bane did on Teth when he fought Obi Wan and Quinlan Vos. However of course they aren't nearly as effective. SO your point does make sense. I guess that's why people like Asaaj ventress only swings her sabers in the same directions.

Interesting topic! Lightsaber fighting falls into schools of form. I would think to become efficient with 2 blades you have to form a style with them (or use a current form and modify it). Its just like someone with a dual bladed lightsaber. They have to use a form and practice alot to be good at using it. Dooku and Maul did a pretty good job against 2 jedi......

I just dont see someone with 2 lightsabers winning against a master of 1 blade.

ModernJedi wrote:
Well, just like the statement about someone with two sabers being unbeatable by someone with one, it's just not the case. If we're talking a master of 2 blades or a master of 1, the deciding factor isn't going to be how many sabers you have. If that master of one blade doesn't have experience fighting someone with two blades, they're probably in big trouble, and vice versa.

Niman-Jar'kai and to a lesser extent Ataru are the forms that most traditionally incorporate two saber combat styles.

Thanks for all your thoughts guys! I definitely recommend you try this out yourself with a friend. I've tried dueling with 2vs1 and I slew the other person within a matter of seconds.

Suppose it all does depend on your mastery of your own style, and your experience fighting other styles. Makes sense!

That does sound fun. Did you give them a rematch?

Wielding two swords is much harder and you need to master your skill with one sword. Good combination could be shoto and lightsaber.
But it can be also really good if you know how to use them. As for myself, I'd rather use one sword to block opponent and the second sword I'll use to attack. But I'm defensive type, who waits for opportunity to kill opponent with one strike.

Double lightsabers are not overpowered. They are useless against two single blades and are difficult to use, because one blade is always pointing in the opposite direction as the other.

You_already_lost wrote: Im talking about dual wielding lightsabers, not double lightsabers (maul style)

ModernJedi wrote: Yea we gave it a couple tries and Dual Sabers won every time. The single saber fighter was overwhelmed instantly

So to provide context, I often dual wield in spinning choreography. I am pretty decent at it and have a fair number of tutorials that have been well received. That said, if I were to duel, I would opt for a single saber to get an advantage based on my style and ability. This is for a few reasons.

1. Economy of motion. when we are talking about unskilled users, sure dual sabers is an a great advantage. This is because the more sabers you have and the more you move them, the more visual noise you create. If your opponent is not comfortable with attacking, this will throw them off. The same goes for spinning and any other flash. You won't see this though with professional duelists. A professional duelist does not care what you do with the saber if it is not a threat. They will defend when needed and look for an opening. Pro sparring matches are a lot less exciting than fights in the movies for this reason. Skilled combatants practice an economy of motion unless they are messing with you. The shortest distance is a straight line, and once it forms, you have a problem if you can't interrupt it. This is not to say that dual wield cannot have this economy of motion, it is just not as well suited to it. More blades to move means more movement means more openings if you are not careful.

2. Reach. If you dual wield two weapons you will be awkward unless you are using shorter weapons. longer weapons will swing wide and leave you wide open. If you use shorter weapons like they do in doce pares, you get a big advantage to speed assuming you can close. If you watch a match of escrima against kendo, quite often the escrima person puts this to good advantage. If you watch a match of escrima against foil or epee though, the reach often trumps this and the escrima combatant often gets stabbed as he tries to close distance. Movie saber is very martial arts based, but practical saber dueling when it comes right down to it, tends to be more like the European schools. For this reason, I prefer the advantage of reach.

Now for the record, in the right hands, dual wield is a great style. Like all styles, it has advantages and drawbacks. If you are quick and agile, go for it. If you can dodge a strike with minimal parrying, you can close and do real damage. I know that I am more calculating than kinetic, so I would go with a single wield if I wanted to have a better chance to win.

MystByte wrote:
Oh, well then...

dual lightsabers do have an advantage for a short period of time. However, since each hand is holding a lightsaber, you would get tired easily. This makes it not effective against soresu and djem-so.

I always carry two lightsabers but usually fight with one. I only activate the other if i see a chance to catch them unawares.

Carry a lightsaber and a gun. Then, in the middle of combat, knock their lightsaber somewhere, and shoot them.