Practice Mode

Lore & Background

In the Star Wars universe, the lightsaber is the signature weapon of the light-side-wielding Jedi Order and the dark-side-wielding Sith Order. However, the lightsaber can also be wielded by non-Force-sensitive characters as an ordinary weapon or tool. The Jedi use lightsabers of various colors: most commonly blue and green, but also purple and yellow. The Sith wield red-bladed sabers. Others include white for independent Force-sensitive characters. The color of a lightsaber's blade is given by its kyber crystal. A lightsaber's hilt is built by its wielder and is, therefore, unique in design. There are several variations outside of the traditional single-bladed lightsaber, such as the double-bladed lightsaber, the curved-hilted lightsaber, crossguard lightsabers, and the Darksaber.

In Their Own Story

The hum of the VR headset fades as you step back into the familiar grid. The song has been a wall of fire for weeks, a relentless barrage of cross-blocks that shatters your perfect streak every time. You open the menu, selecting Practice Mode, and the world slows to a crawl. You set the loop to start just before the final chorus, the most treacherous part of the track. The music begins again, but this time it is gentle, deliberate. You raise your sabers, watching the blocks approach with lazy grace. One cut, one miss, reset. Again. And again. The chaos resolves into a pattern, and finally, you feel the rhythm not as an obstacle, but as a partner.

Reader's Guide

An active lightsaber gives off a distinctive hum, which rises in pitch and volume as the blade is moved rapidly through the air. The blade can cut, burn, and melt through most substances with little resistance. Lightsabers can deflect blaster bolts. It can be deflected by another lightsaber blade, by energy shields, or by the metals beskar and phrik. The blade has been used to weld metal, and has been shown to leave both cauterized wounds and bleeding wounds in flesh.

Did You Know?

• The lightsaber's distinct appearance was created using rotoscoping for the original films, and with digital effects for the prequel and sequel trilogies.
• The lightsaber sound effect was developed by sound designer Ben Burtt as a combination of the hum of idling interlock motors in aged movie projectors and interference caused by a television set on a shieldless microphone
• For the original Star Wars film, the film prop hilts were constructed by Roger Christian from old Graflex press camera flash battery packs and other pieces of hardware.
• Korean animator Nelson Shin drew the lightsabers with a rotoscope and suggested inserting one frame that was much lighter than the others to make the light seem to vibrate.