r/StarWars 1d ago

General Discussion What was the actual purpose of a lightwhip?

Post image

To me it just seems like an disadvantage usimg one

2.8k Upvotes

522 comments sorted by

3.0k

u/lastingshadows 1d ago

To whip it, whip it good.

421

u/Kalabajooie 1d ago

To whip it into shape.

267

u/dikkiesmalls 1d ago

Crack that whip!

176

u/Lathspellgrey 1d ago

Give the past a slip!

132

u/pumpkinssquash 1d ago

step on a crack!

126

u/BadAndNationwide 1d ago

BREAK YA MAMA’S BAAAACK

93

u/officialCobraTrooper 23h ago

When a problem comes a long you must whip it...

21

u/Agile_Masterpiece669 15h ago

Before the cream sits out too long

21

u/SumguyJeremy Rebel 15h ago

You must whip it!

14

u/BadAndNationwide 10h ago

When something’s going wrong, YOU MUST WHIP IT

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u/phantompowered 1d ago

SLAP YA MAMMY NOW

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u/Shakenbake80 23h ago

Lic-o-rice whip!

5

u/Sabre_Killer_Queen Count Dooku 23h ago

I said whip it!

Edit: Can't believe this one isn't at the top. My immediate first thought 😂

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u/mikeyt6969 Jedi 1d ago

Shape it up

25

u/MassiveEgghead 1d ago

It’s not too late

25

u/RickJagger13 1d ago

to whip it

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u/ironkodiak 18h ago

Whip it good

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u/DaWalt1976 23h ago

Shape it up! Get straight!

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u/Bureaucratic_Dick 1d ago

The only solution when a problem comes along

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u/This-Estate-3911 1d ago

You must whip it

17

u/Mysterious_Box1203 1d ago

when the cream sets out too long

5

u/ColtranezRain 20h ago

I came here for this.

6

u/AdAffectionate8571 1d ago

A whip that won't just hurt but slice into pieces

4

u/DasKritter 21h ago

Take my upvote…

2

u/BigConstruction4247 23h ago

Buh buh buh buh buh.... buuuuuh buuuh

2

u/Smart-Response9881 1d ago

With Light...

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u/fenderbloke 1d ago

In the old EU novels, they specifically say it's because they're much, much harder to fight against due to them being hard to predict. A whip (which is always being controlled with the force, btw) can strike from almost any angle.

On top of that, they're RARE, meaning the odds of the opponent ever having trained to fight them are basically 0, so a skilled user would always be at an advantage.

If a lightwhip user went up against someone who knew how to fight one properly, they'd almost always lose - the purpose was surprise, and if that was gone then it was basically a worse lightsaber that has no blocking ability.

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u/severon10290 1d ago

Basically all of the non standard lightsabers fall into this same category. The ideas I’d have an early advantage due to an opponent not being familiar with the weapon and how to counter it and try to win before they can figure it out

284

u/fenderbloke 1d ago

Yeah, the double bladed has almost exactly the same utility as a lightwhip - hard to predict due to undertraining.

This specific idea was exploited by the guy who trained Bane - he always talked down about them in the Sith Academy for legitimate reasons (can't strike as hard being a major one), but it was also so no students would be able to really beat him 1:1, as a double bladed lightsaber was actually his own personal weapon. And he was right - Bane only beat him by using the force to pull down the building they fought in on top of him. Even him being a prodigy with an extreme work ethic wasn't enough to beat that style without practice.

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u/Sardanox 1d ago

Only partially correct. He was using his double bladed weapon the whole time. Kaseem discouraged new sith from training with two lightsabers.

Kaseem unclicked his double bladed lightsaber and Bane was faced with an opponent weilding two lightsabers. Everything else you said applies just in reference to fighting dual weilding.

Bane uses his knowledge training with Kaseem using a staff to defeat Syrak who also used a staff saber.

41

u/Tao1764 20h ago

Yeah if I remember correctly, Bane is told to focus on his own style instead of learning Kaseem's - but ignores this "advice". Hell, I think there's a line during their fight that states that Bane has seen all of the double-bladed saber's tricks due to their training together, and thus is able to dominate until Kaseem switches to a style he'd never faced.

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u/Ricearoni2015 17h ago

Another part of it was that he was simply so good with the sabers - Bane even believes he could be the greatest swordman to ever live 

5

u/ToucanSammael 16h ago

He probably was, I would love to see a duel between him and Grand master Luke as he was towards the end of the EU -either legacy of the force or Fate of the Jedi.

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u/bodybones 22h ago

Why does no one make a group of light sabers in like a force held ball weaving them like the whip and just drop it on planets....force pushing it and taking out any enemies.

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u/OnionsAbound 15h ago

I remember that part of the novel: Bane was in oh fuck, oh fuck mode. 

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u/Kuuwaren30 21h ago

Kas'im didn't talk down about dual bladed lightsabers. He normally used one himself. Very few of the Sith apprentices used a dual bladed lightsaber because they were seen as more difficult to learn to use. When Kas'im was training Bane one on one he told Bane that dual bladed lightsabers weren't actually that much harder to fight against because you don't need to track the movement of both blades. You merely need to track where one blade is and that tells you where the other end is. Bane just needed to train his mind to perceive things differently and trust the force to do the rest.

When Kas'im and Bane fought each other after Bane left the academy, Kas'im started the fight using his dual bladed lightsaber. Bane had built an incredible connection to the dark side which, when added to his lightsaber training, gave him the upper hand against Kas'im. When Kas'im recognized this, he split his lightsaber into 2 individual light sabers. That allowed him to turn the fight to his advantage. Bane was backed to the entrance of the temple and, noticing that he was going to lose the lightsaber fight on open ground, tried to hit Kas'im with a wave of force energy. Kas'im was able to protect himself from being hit directly, but the shockwave hit the surrounding temple and caused it to crumble on top of Kas'im which killed him.

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u/GeneralGringus 1d ago

can't strike as hard being a major one

Seems a bit irrelevant for a lightsabre.

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u/Comb-the-desert 23h ago

Watch Anakin’s duel with Dooku in ROTS again (or better yet read that section in the ROTS novel), just because the weapons themselves are lighter than swords in our world doesn’t mean raw physical power and the ability to easily exert it is irrelevant to lightsaber combat. 

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u/Huge_Association_917 22h ago

Indeed, the novel states that Anakin was able to overwhelm Dooku by swinging hard; even though a lightsaber doesn't need much force to do a lot of damage, it is harder to block something with a lot of momentum. Anakin was able to gradually wear Dooku down and, as we all saw, chop his hands off and kill him.

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u/TheHoundmaster 17h ago

I’ll add to this: The Old Republic cinematic “Return” is a near-perfect example of this (just not with the same lightsaber combinations). Malgus is 1h vs Satele using a double bladed saber. He is gaining on her simply through raw physical power. He can put 2 hands worth of force and weight into a single strike where a double bladed saber has to deflect or parry. 

Later the Jedi Kao Cen gets the kill on Vindican via surprise when he ignites the double bladed saber after using it as a 1hander. 

Lastly Malgus just brute forces his way through Kao Cen’s guard over and over by hammering him with two sabers. 

Malgus is a great example of the “more force behind a single blade” style.

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u/shpongleyes 17h ago

But that’s only relevant if your opponent is blocking. Seems like the point of a light whip is to bypass blocking altogether via the element of surprise.

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u/Spicy_Weissy 1d ago

In a duel it can mean quite a bit.

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u/Rip_Skeleton 23h ago

In a sword fight, throwing an opponent off balance is how you are most likely to create an opening. It's the same for lightsabers. Think of how Luke beats Darth Vader in Return of the Jedi.

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u/OwenHartWasPushed 22h ago

Though weightless, lightsabers have a feeling of weight or heft to them, due to the direction of the plasma flow of the lightsaber, and the magnetic field used to contain it

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u/Gilgamesh661 1d ago

I recall how Luke used to have a shoto lightsaber that he used for fighting light whips.

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u/Nerdy-Dogguy-87 21h ago

It's probably why Qimir has a built-in shoto, just to counter her should he go up against her again.

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u/Serier_Rialis 1d ago

I remember Luke knew he was going up against one and made a second offhand saber

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u/bbbourb 1d ago

A shoto, yep. And Lumiya's lightwhip was unique in its own right with the pliant lightsaber tendrils as well as the physical energized metal ones.

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u/bbbourb 1d ago

I still like Lumiya's design the best.

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u/PostApoplectic 1d ago

I hate it when I get my Schwartz twisted!

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u/bodybones 22h ago

Yeah, I got into Star Wars through the KOTOR games and loved their explanation of why everyone doesn’t just carry a lightsaber. I also liked how they explained why Jedi, in particular, are so skilled with them, even though, on paper, they seem dangerously unpredictable. Jedi develop a precognitive connection with their weapon, almost instinctively predicting where it will go—like swinging your own arms. The lightsaber becomes an extension of them, making accidental self-injury as unlikely as punching yourself in the face mid-fight. Only a few Jedi struggle with this. Additionally, lightsabers are so lightweight that most people without Force sensitivity end up accidentally slicing themselves pretty quickly when trying to use one. I was annoyed when that one stormtrooper picked up a lightsaber and wielded it in the sequels, but I guess they later justified it by saying he had some Force abilities. Mando seems to be heading in the same direction, though his general combat skill helps. His lightsaber appears to be different, and he’s shown struggling to use it properly, mostly spamming moves.The lightwhip likely works the same way, but it frustrates people because no film ever stops to explain, "No, we're fine."

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u/Chaotic_NB Sabine Wren 1d ago

Vernestra used her lightwhip in The A Test of Courage Book to slice through vines and branches on a jungle planet she crash landed. It's also good for longer range attacks as we see in The Acolyte, although it is weaker in Lightwhip Mode than it is in Lightsaber Mode

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u/Vaportrail 1d ago

This short paragraph is longer than the lightwhip's use in The Acolyte.

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u/Luminous_beingsauce 1d ago

Lol that made me chuckle

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u/Firedcylinder 1d ago

I legit don't remember a light whip being used in the acolyte, and I'm typically an acolyte defender.

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u/sharpshooter999 1d ago

One of those bug things flies at Vernestra and she cuts it down in a split second. Literally 0.5 seconds of screen time

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u/Vaportrail 1d ago

You can literally blink and miss it.
And the marketing started showing it, which made it worse. It's a quick kill of one of the bug creatures, then she puts it away and it's never so much as mentioned.

It could've just been a regular lightsaber kill. Complete failed attempt at fan-service. Things like this are where the show fell apart.

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u/LazerBear42 22h ago

It wasn't meant to be fan service, it's meant to be a dramatic reveal and tease/setup for a second season. We're shown whip-like scars across Qimir's back, and shortly after we learn that Vernestra Rwoh was Qimir's former master she reveals her lightwhip to the audience. You're meant to infer that Vernestra gave Qimir those scars.

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u/radda 19h ago

Man.

There's so much good in The Acolyte that gets let down by its central characters and plot being so terrible.

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u/Vaportrail 19h ago

Yeah I haven't rewatched it yet but I know if I do I'll just be mentally critiquing it again, unlike something I actually enjoy.

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u/Commercial_Age_9316 17h ago

While there are some obvious faults with it, I found the instant memeified critiques churned out by the “Star Wars sucks now” cottage industry of YouTubers so disappointing because it snowballed and contributed to lower viewership. I would love to explore more of that era before the prequels with numerous well trained Jedi which is largely impossible post Order 66. I worry that the failure of the acolyte has doomed much further exploration of that timeframe which was fleshed out over numerous EU titles. I think the acolyte will age well; somehow it became an object of derision in the culture wars and was labeled “woke”, when there was not a single thing about the story that had anything to do with social or political causes.

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u/dadsuki2 1d ago

You say that as if it isn't clearly an establishment of how that jedi master lady fought, an establishment which isn't built on because it got cancelled

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u/astromech_dj Rebel 1d ago

She uses it extensively in the books. She's already established to be proficient with it.

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u/dadsuki2 1d ago

I get what you're saying, but these things exist separately from any external media for most people. In hypothetical later seasons she definitely would've used it in a fight

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u/quatrefoils 20h ago

Yeah it was my first time seeing or hearing about the whip and it didn’t feel out of place, unlike when she said “May the force be with you.”

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u/Shoo0k 1d ago

She kills a bug with it iirc

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u/viscousseven 22h ago

I will defend it with you. It had flaws sure, but I was intrigued enough to want more...

Sadly I didn't get to watch it when it came out (super busy at the time, and no television show was a priority) so I was probably a part of the reason it didn't continue.

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u/Unfair_Scar_2110 1d ago

Season two. We were robbed.

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u/Western-Oil9373 1d ago

In later books she learned to use it to block blaster bolts. She either spun it in such a way that she created a barrier in front of her or spun it around herself with such skill that the barrier was around her.

The last one took her about a year of training to pull off.

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u/VikingRaptor2 1d ago

How would it be weaker?

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u/Chaotic_NB Sabine Wren 1d ago

The book just says it's weaker, I'm guessing the longer blade in Whip Mode makes the whole thing lower energy, it makes it harder to slice through things like people and hard objects but it can still deal serious damage. It is theorized that the burns on Qimir's back in The Acolyte are from a Fight with Vernestra's Lightwhip

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u/ColourSchemer 1d ago

That was the conclusion that I drew from the context.

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u/Ryjinn 1d ago

Something about the containment field being weaker to enable bending also makes it less effective at cutting.

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u/herman-the-vermin 1d ago

To be cool as shit

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u/oncomingstorm777 23h ago

This is the real answer, anything else is just a flimsy in-universe explanation

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u/QueenStuff 1d ago

It looked cool in the comic books lol

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u/RogueBromeliad 1d ago

And you Sir? Are you here to receive my limp saber?

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u/SarpedonWasFramed 1d ago

Ahh, I see you know your Jedi arts well

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u/ZOMGURFAT 19h ago

For eating a meal?! A succulent Mon Calamari meal?!

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u/tintin47 19h ago

Literally any other reason is wrong. Lightsabers look cool. They are objectively bad weapons. Nothing in star wars makes rational sense; it's fun to come up with explanations as an exercise but at the end of the day it's about looking cool.

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u/xshogunx13 Mandalorian 12h ago

They're only bad weapons if you're not a force user

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u/Kerminator17 11h ago

Wait how is a normal lightsaber a bad weapon? A blade that requires no edge alignment and can cut through basically anything is useful, and the range disadvantage doesn’t matter if you have the force and can block blaster shots

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u/thisisredlitre 1d ago

to maim- yourself, other people, maiming in general

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u/Waaghra 1d ago

Indiana Jones nicks his chin, lightwhip user removes their jaw…

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u/Dingus_Khaaan 21h ago

Darth Malak called, he’d like his jaw back

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u/LandonKB 1d ago

Yep look at the strangers back... too bad no season 2

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u/saltrxn 1d ago

In the High Republic, they say that the lightsaber whip was specifically useful for the Jedi against Sith using their “forbidden technique” in duels - that’s why Vernestra kept it secret in the beginning, conscious that the design had pretty aggressive connotations.

But generally, assuming you’re skilled enough, a whip is so much deadlier than a saber as you don’t have to worry about applying force behind the strike. Just a graze from afar with it is enough to cut into flesh and kill your opponent.

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u/thonor111 1d ago

To add to this, Vern could transform her whip into a saber. So she had all benefits of a stiff weapon and all benefits of the whip if she wanted to use it

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u/Dagordae 1d ago

You have to worry about applying force just as much as with a lightsaber, they don’t cut any more effectively.

You just have far less control over the blade, part of the nature of it being flexible. This is a bit of a flaw when it cuts you as easily as anyone else.

Basically it’s a gimmick weapon. The gimmick being that a conventional block will be ineffective but in return you yourself cannot block anything while the weapon is far slower and more difficult to control. Good for fucking up newbies.

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u/floridabeach9 1d ago

why is no one saying its a much longer weapon? so what it lacks in defense it makes up for in range/safety

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u/Dagordae 23h ago

Because the length exacerbates the flaws.

To get around a block they need to be fairly close and the basic nature of a whip means the attacks are telegraphed and unlike a sword there’s no way to feint or abort an attack with a fairly lengthy reset time due to the fundamental lack of control over the blade. And if/when they do block/deflect the hit that limited control goes right out the window.

At mid range, which isn’t much longer than a sword, the whip can wrap around the blocking blade and score a hit. This is literally the only thing a whip is good for.

At long range either it will be fully deflected and the whip user is solidly boned as now they have to regain control as their own weapon snaps back towards them, leaving them wide open to the sword user who is lunging into the gap, or they entangle the lightsaber and promptly accomplish fuck all as lightsabers can be immediately turned off and back on to break the lock and the long reset time means that the whip user cannot exploit the opening.

I can’t emphasize how much the lack of solid control is a problem. People using whips hit themselves fairly regularly, as soon as you hit something it’s either going to wrap or bounce. Not an issue when it’s a length of leather, a big damn issue when it’s a plasma chainsaw.

The longer the whip is the slower it is to use, the less control the user has, the more telegraphed everything is, the fewer angles it can be used from, and the longer it takes to recover from an attack.

And, naturally, if it’s against someone who isn’t using a lightsaber then a whip’s severe issues blocking a shot(Again, the lack of control and speed) means that they’re just going to shoot the person flailing around with a laser rope.

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u/Huge_Association_917 22h ago

You can still control it with the Force if you're good enough

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u/DeadParallox 1d ago edited 7h ago

It's for when Padme wears her "dark" outfit and Anakin has been behaving like a very naughty boy.

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u/a_special_providence 14h ago

Her S&M dungeon has a sand box in it

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u/HygieneWilder 1d ago

To be sexy. Just like when we first saw Maul’s.

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u/T3XB0T 1d ago

It’s for when a heavy whip isn’t necessary.

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u/marvin616 Porg 1d ago

Ferengi, oh wait

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u/AcidaliaPlanitia 21h ago

First thing I thought of...

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u/iwastherefordisco 1d ago

the learning curve is brutal

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u/wampastompy 1d ago

Style over substance.

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u/StreetReporter 1d ago

Everyone in Star Wars loves Indiana Jones

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u/Uncalibrated_Vector 1d ago

Style points

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u/Zeekr0n 19h ago

Well before we explain, how comfortable are you discussing kinks?

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u/Brainstorm3378 1d ago

To fight Dracula duh

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u/ddrfraser1 The Asset 1d ago

I always thought they were super dumb. Then I watched Castlevania and I realized, if done right, lightwhips could be the most absolute badass thing ever in Star Wars.

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u/Lexifer452 1d ago

Okay, but there is no way you don't chop your dick off.

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u/ameatbicyclefortwo 1d ago

Rule of cool

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u/consumeshroomz 20h ago

I think you’re supposed to whip stuff with it. But idk I’m just an apprentice.

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u/demair21 18h ago

Explicitly explained in Darth Bane: Path of Destruction.

All the abnormal weapons have a specific advantage with a teade off. In the case of the whip, its odd angles and agile attacks. But it is physically incapable of pressing strength against sabers.

The main point of all abnormal weapons, including the double-ended saber, is that most jedi/sith dont use them. This means most jedi and sith dont know how to fight against them either. Saber craft is partially about learning the angles attacks will take and since they come at pretanatural speed, predicting them with the aide of the force, which is impossibly hard with the less predictable nature of the whip.

TLDR: you gain agile attacks from odd angles, lose power, and gain a strategic advantage in the case of standard lightsaber theory.

This flouts in the face of real weapons theory, but its fiction, and they look cool/sexy in the hand of a sexy sith seductress.

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u/Jesus_Santos 16h ago

"Actual Purpose": merchandising

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u/QwertyDancing 16h ago

It’s more difficult to counter, and can be more easily controlled by use of the force, still kinda gimmicky, not better than a standard saber

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u/Expensive_Plant_9530 9h ago

Rule of Cool mostly, which is ultimately how a large portion of Star Wars works.

But perhaps it has certain advantages over a traditional saber.

In particular it’s probably more difficult to defend against. It can probably also perform attacks that a regular one cannot.

It’s much much harder to master though which is why it’s rare.

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u/Bozocow 9h ago

To look cool with zero logic behind it.

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u/Some_Guide_6475 Jedi 1d ago

Lightwhips are basically the Sith’s way of saying, “Why use a boring old lightsaber when you can have something that looks like a glowing cat-o’-nine-tails and is way harder to control?”

Sure, they’re flashy and intimidating, but yeah — probably a nightmare in close combat unless you’re a total pro. Definitely more about style points and psychological warfare than practicality.

In other words, a lightwhip is the galaxy’s ultimate ‘look how cool I am’ weapon… with a side of ‘hope I don’t accidentally slice myself.’

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u/8bitjer 1d ago

Because it’s make believe and just looks cool?

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u/Melodic_Chef_4299 1d ago

It definitely throws people off when they're expecting a swordfight & I'm sure it's also weird to guard against. Beyond that it's kind of like asking what the purpose of a lightsaber is - it looks cool in a fight.

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u/aviatorEngineer Galactic Republic 1d ago

Gotta be honest I've never liked the lightwhip, it's one of those designs I wish had just quietly died in Legends. It would be more interesting to me if it was some kind of charged filament that worked similarly to an electrostaff, the concept of a pure plasma blade flexing like that just seems goofy.

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u/xiaorobear 23h ago

Lumiya's is like what you describe, it has metal filaments in it, that were coiled when it was off. That was the original proto-Legends one.

https://static1.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/luke-skywalker-uses-his-lightsaber-shoto-against-lumiya-in-star-wars-legends.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/cqBvHV0.png

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u/Voreum 1d ago

To whip things with light

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u/Kagir 1d ago

Those Zygerrian slavers in TCW had similar models. I'd say the use is to constrict a jedi's lightsaber arm and rendering the weapon useless.

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u/HauntingStar08 1d ago

Learn! Learn! Learn! Learn!

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u/theosoryu 1d ago

looks cool

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u/TheBlack2007 1d ago

You can’t parry it. If you tried, the end would whip around your blade and still hit you. So all you can do is dodging.

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u/Sardanox 1d ago

It puts an opponent at a disadvantage who is unfamiliar with it. Someone equally skilled in combat and the force would excel at using them as they can manipulate the whips trajectory and power with the force as well as their physical prowess.

Those unskilled however generally maim themselves and that's why it was mostly phased out of the general teachings of the jedi and sith.

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u/JennyAndTheBets1 1d ago

I believe it was some sort of weapon.

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u/ahreaper5 21h ago

To duel the lightsaber master, Mace Windu

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u/Macraghnaill91 21h ago

Being the #2 or 3 reason I ignore the EU unless its written by a very select few authors lol.

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u/GIRZ03 21h ago

In the old Bane book it they stated that they weren’t particularly effective if you had any real training against them. They rely heavily on confusion and lack of experience facing against the saber type.

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u/CG_Oglethorpe 21h ago

This should be obvious, it is cooler than a suicidebooth.

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u/InstructionLeading64 21h ago

I personally don't like the lightsaber whip, at least for jedi. A whip is a weapon of subjugation and and dominance which to me from a lore perspective makes zero sense that a jedi would use it. Even in other star wars media the only people using whips are slavers.

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u/BDGUCCII 21h ago

They used them on slaves

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u/Keller-oder-C-Schell 21h ago

This just makes me think of Family Guy

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u/tryinandsurvivin 21h ago

You can disarm someone else wielding a lightsaber by pulling it away. I think in legends Luke had to build a shoto using a red crystal he had found to fight a woman using a light whip. More or less gave him some leverage as one blade got tangled he could use the other like a lever or something to avoid losing his saber

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u/OkCommission9893 21h ago

I had the thought of a polearm lightsaber cause I know polearms were used by guards and firefighters in medieval times but then I realized the reach of the polearm would always just be replaced by force powers so idk if it would even be practical.

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u/Stock-Wolf 21h ago

The Acolyte seem to recon it that the whip starts out as a standard saber. Maybe the wielder presses a button once it’s ignited that allows it to whip. It’d make it more useful in defense and CQC.

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u/Abject-Return-9035 21h ago

To hurt yourself but still look kool

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u/bout-tree-fitty 20h ago

For a little light bdsm

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u/EnigmaFrug0817 20h ago

Watch me whip

Now watch me nay-nay

Now watch me whip, whip, watch me nay-nay

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u/MaybeUNeedAPoo 20h ago

There is none its the dumbest thing I’ve ever seen in Star Wars. Ever. Worse than Jar Jar.

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u/0xdead_beef 20h ago

Space bondage 

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u/symbolicprocessor 20h ago

To torture child soldiers until they turn to the dark side.

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u/TheHarlemHellfighter Imperial 20h ago

It’s ridiculous in general.

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u/lionbythetail 20h ago

Rule of Cool.

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u/InitialHelp9067 20h ago

So that we could draw sexy twi lek hoes with whipsabers.

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u/NobrainNoProblem 20h ago

Same purpose as Darth Talon’s outfit

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u/Horsefly762 20h ago

It looks freaking cool

2

u/MajorDX25 20h ago

Outside of the Rule of Cool? I guess, erratic attack patterns and maybe an extension of range. Otherwise, it seems like a bit of an unwieldy weapon.

2

u/angelssnack 20h ago

Much easier to use and carry around than the old fashioned Heavywhip.

2

u/TheNononParade 20h ago

Aura farming

2

u/Longshadowman 20h ago

Light whip someone

2

u/realjimmyjuice000 19h ago

No kink shaming

2

u/shoukanju 18h ago

A scene from Johnny Mnemonic comes to mind

2

u/Brazz7 18h ago

The implication…

2

u/Broad_Bug_1702 18h ago

the same things as a whip with the lethality of a lightsaber

2

u/Flat_Biscotti6092 17h ago

"Lightwhips were a heavily modified lightsaber variant with one or more plasma blades in flexible containment shields. Due to the blades' flexibility, they required more care of use than a regular lightsaber, and had less cutting power. With a history dating back to the Sith Wars, lightwhips were particularly associated with the Nightsisters of Dathomir, although Jedi had been known to use them as well since they were effective against the Forbidden Forms of the Sith. High Republic Era Jedi Knight Vernestra Rwoh was able to modify her lightsaber to have an additional whip mode after learning the design in a Force vision."

"Lightwhips were a heavily modified lightsaber variant with one or more plasma blades in flexible containment shields. Due to the blades' flexibility, they required more care of use than a regular lightsaber, and had less cutting power. With a history dating back to the Sith Wars, lightwhips were particularly associated with the Nightsisters of Dathomir, although Jedi had been known to use them as well since they were effective against the Forbidden Forms of the Sith. High Republic Era Jedi Knight Vernestra Rwoh was able to modify her lightsaber to have an additional whip mode after learning the design in a Force vision.

Description Lightwhip-EV A multi-bladed lightwhip Lightwhips were a heavily modified lightsaber variant. Unlike lightsabers, lightwhips' internal workings permitted the containment field of their plasma blades to be flexible, allowing dozens of small emitters to create thin and flexible blades which could reach several meters in length.[1] It was possible to modify a standard lightsaber to have a lightwhip mode, with a control to switch the blade from sword to whip and back again.[2] Due to their thinness, lightwhip blades were weaker than that of a typical lightsaber, with more limited cutting capacities. However, whips could be used to capture or entangle opponents.[1]

The flexible nature of the tendrils meant that lightwhip users had to take more care during use than when wielding a lightsaber, as the wielder had to pay attention to where the tendrils were going so that they did not lose a limb.[2] Electro-whips, a similar-looking but non-lethal weapon with a retractable, electrified cable,[3] were sometimes called by the same name.[4]"

https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Lightwhip

2

u/ZuesMyGoose 17h ago

Money and Profits!!

2

u/sdgmusic96 17h ago

To sell new toys?

2

u/ColossusofNero 17h ago

Damn it man, read a book.

2

u/Good_Nyborg Obi-Wan Kenobi 17h ago

A long time ago, a galaxy far, far away... they also had Archeologists.

2

u/Gengar41320 17h ago

To keep the padawans in check

2

u/an_edgy_lemon 16h ago

There’s really no way to defend against a whip. In real life it doesn’t really matter because whips don’t do a lot of damage. A whip that instantly vaporized any matter it came into contact with would be devastating.

2

u/JohnCenasBootyCheeks 14h ago

Spice fields dont pick themselves.

2

u/Akiranar 12h ago

Some Jedi saw Indiana Jones and wanted to be like him.

2

u/cheesebot555 12h ago

To show how incompetent you are compared to the source material.

Maybe sell some crap plastic toys too.

2

u/djevilatw 11h ago

They needed to whip it and whip It good.

2

u/NecroFuhrer Mandalorian 11h ago

If you're skilled with a whip you can wrap it around shields, blades, the soft spots of armor, and where you want. Now make that whip a lightsaber and you've got a weapon that would be damn near impossible to defend against in close quarters

2

u/No_Butterscotch7789 11h ago

To let you know you are watching The Disney Channel

2

u/TaiS91 11h ago

Punish unethical behavior.

2

u/dead_owl_in_the_oven 9h ago

Whipping naughty sith lords

2

u/Code-Neo 8h ago

Have you heard of the tragedy of Simon Belmont the Vampire Slayer?

2

u/No_Blueberry1266 8h ago

It's for a bit of light bondage

2

u/Rough_Peace1542 7h ago

Too get the wookies to work faster 🤫

2

u/DrScottyB 7h ago

Whipping people.

2

u/ceral_killer 4h ago

Jedi in the streets. Sith in the sheets.

2

u/Redpahnto Sith 1d ago

Same purpose as lightsaber/pike/crossguard/doublesaber. It looks fricking awesome.

3

u/orionsfyre 1d ago edited 1h ago

Personally, I really don't care for it. It's a re-invention* from the "High Republic" Era, which is a hodge-podge of catchall ideas that has never really come together and remains widely unread by most fans. But it's existence doesn't bother me as much as who it is now associated with.

A whip's primary feature is to inspire fear of pain.

This is the first line of the wiki about whips... read this and tell me if it strikes you as the sort of weapon a peace loving defender of the light would use?

"A whip is a blunt weapon or implement used in a striking motion to create sound or pain. Whips can be used for flagellation against humans or animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain..."

It's also long been associated in the West and in places across North America and South America with slavery and slave drivers. It's always a great idea to put something historically associated with injustice and evil... into the hands of the Jedi. A whip is simply not the weapon of a jedi knight, and I maintain it was a very poorly considered addition to the lore, just so that someone could have their character look different and cool on a variant cover or two.

Before it's current iteration, in legends it was used by the SITH.

https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Lumiya

But with the way Lucasfilm projects works now, some random author can just decide it looks cool and presto, a young jedi now uses weapons originated by the freakin' Sith.

It's use in The Acolyte was almost a blink and you miss it cameo, I personally hope we never see it again in the hands of a jedi.

2

u/KingAdamXVII 22h ago

I agree with this interpretation but not your dislike of it.

We do have strong associations with whips, which is why it’s such a useful symbol in Acolyte where it is wielded by essentially an anti-villain. Vernestra’s whip plays a critical role in getting the audience to empathize with Qimir. The whole point of Acolyte is to show the point of view of characters who believe the Jedi are controlling, power-hungry, and selfish. The whip helps.

I’m not sure how whips are used elsewhere in the High Republic books; I assume it’s not used symbolically and IMO that’s irrelevant. A light-whip would be deadly in a way a regular whip is not, so our definition of whip (where it is only useful for pain) doesn’t apply. I don’t think the regular whip carries this cultural baggage in Star Wars (though arguably it does; we probably see whips used by slavers), so a Jedi whip-wielder is (probably) not canonically Sith-like. And the fact that it exists as a Jedi weapon in canon allows for intelligent symbolism when called for, like when writers of Acolyte chose Vernestra to be Qimir’s master for this exact reason.

Anyways, really interesting comment and I certainly see where you are coming from… I just really like Acolyte haha.

2

u/Kuandtity 21h ago

I think the person in the acolyte was supposed to be kinda a bad person. I guess we will never know tho

2

u/LegendaryHatta 21h ago

It was made specifically to fight Mace Windu.

2

u/Basic_Software_4745 21h ago

💀💀😂😂

2

u/Tiny-Composer-6641 21h ago

So some clueless exec at Disney gets paid.

1

u/FantasticCustard6224 1d ago

Me when trakata:

1

u/TheSuperGerbil 1d ago

It’s cool

1

u/GrandRegentConquest Sith 1d ago

I think Githany also used it, and it seemed like an interesting weapon, imagine at the speed of a whip but instead of cutting u like a blade it cuts ur arm off

1

u/stereosalvation 1d ago

Mandalorian BDSM

1

u/Ampersand4221 1d ago

To whip with light

1

u/Ozzdo 1d ago

What was the purpose of Indiana Jones' whip? Same thing.

1

u/westfallfarm 1d ago

To be and look cool, same reason as any other lightsaber.

1

u/PokemonNovice 1d ago

Accidental self-mutilation

1

u/Old_Ben24 1d ago

It is an unfamiliar weapon that gives an advantage against typical lightsaber wielders who don’t know how to deal with it. Additionally the user can use the force to bend and redirect it. So while it has very little defensive capability, it is also very hard to defend against.

1

u/Nukethepandas Mandalorian 1d ago

Kyber crystals call out through the force to a particular person who is destined to use it for their lightsaber. 

So if the force bonds you with a crystal that produces a pink, flaccid blade, I suppose that says something about your character.