And the best theory of them all: Stormtroopers don't miss. They just give a shitload of warning shots.

I think the stormtroopers all got a batch of broken guns from the manufacturer but didn't want to tell Vader because he kept choking people who reported things to him

I believe Leia even mentions that they got away from the Death Star too easily...

the thing about vader not fearing interruption really blew my mind for some reason

That's easy. It was a long time ago and non of those stormtroopers were of the two percent who shoot to kill.

Hahaha! I love the Obi Wan impression.

Lindybeige I have a simpler explanation. Sarcasm. Obi-wan saw a bunch of errant scorches on the sand crawler and determined that it was hit by a large number of assailants with terrible aim. Obi's been known to exaggerate, tell whopping lies, and even use sarcasm. "Only Imperial Stormtroppers are so precise." [rolls eyes]

You do a great Sir Alec Guinness impersonation. I'm sure others have said the same, but I was impressed. So I wanted to add my two cents.

You sound like Christopher lee with the Pringle container.

Wow, you do a crazy good Obi Wan! :-D

Or maybe they can't hit anything because they've only got two little black-tinted lenses to look out of. "I can't see a thing in this helmet!" Evil empires, pro tip: Give your elite guard clear perspex faceplates. An unobstructed field of view is key to performance on the battlefield!

Jedi wave their hand, when they manipulate someone. If Darth Vader is controlling the Stormtroopers, does that mean he sits in front of a monitor, watching the surveillance footage and flailing his arms around, like he is playign Dragon Ball Kinect?

7 years late, but can we just appreciate how well his Obi Wan Kenobi impression was.

Instead of saying that vader was controlling his troops mentally, why wouldn't he just give a normal order to not kill the rebels and just try to capture them? Makes more sense to me.

If I was James Earl Jones, I would love the sound of my own voice too. Oh I'm sorry, If I WERE James Earl Jones.

Or being a stormtrooper is a boring job that drives people into alcoholism.

In other words, the best explanation is that Vader works in mysterious ways.

In the opening sequence the Storm troopers do just fine against the rebels on the ship, killing plenty of them and winning the battle easily.

Or--instead of the force--he just ordered them to let them go. Seriously--on Tantive IV, the first battle in the series(what prequels?), they butchered the Rebel defenders with minimal casualties. On the Death Star, they /wanted/ them to escape. On Hoth, again they butchered the Rebel defenders. On Cloud City--as stated--they /wanted/ them to escape. On Endor they were surprised and overwhelmed by a guerilla force with superior numbers and tactics. If you don't believe that an unprepared(and arrogant) but better trained and equipped force can fall prey to such a thing I have two real-world battle names for you; Little Big Horn Isandlwana Custer was an arrogant but competent(see his Civil War career) officer, who led a numerically inferior force but one with superior arms and experience against a numerically superior force who had a much better plan. As we all know, he lost. A lesser known but perhaps more severe example was the Battle of Isandlwana, wherein a numerically inferior force attacked a numerically superior one after deliberately and arrogantly backing themselves into a corner with no sound defences. 2,000 British soldiers with state-of-the-art weapons and training were butchered by 10,000 Zulu tribesman wielding gear that would be primitive in the Dark Ages. Everyone always tries to gut this theory with the Endor shpiel, but you try getting suddenly and unexpectedly attacked by a vicious, albeit cuddly foe(I'd suggest that makes it even more bewildering) that comes from all directions and knows the terrain far better than you do and see if you're able to do particularly well, even with all your modern gear. Add to the mix something that both the above forces lacked--that the Ewoks had a platoon of battle-hardened Rebel Commandoes in the mix, and you suddenly realise why even the powerful Stormtroopers failed so utterly.

They have the previous shot to use as a guide. This works fine in paintballing. From the start I always imagined the helmets to be high-tech things that enhanced vision.

Saying a stormtrooper's ability to hit a sandcrawler is "good shooting" is like saying "Hey, look, I managed to shoot the broad side of a barn!" Same reason why they managed to hit the Lars homestead. Nice, big targets. hehe

Other reasons: -see your "shoot to kill" video -they have bulky gear and such a small viewport on their helmets -most of their blasters are very short and meant for more short ranged shooting -they have not received adequate training, if you look into the lore it's not the best

Others have put forward much the same theory, and I think there is some credibility to it. At the opening scenes of A New Hope, the stormtroopers make short work of the security force onboard Tantive IV. And Leia is hit twice by stormtroopers. First with a stun blast on Tantive IV, then by a real blast outside the backdoor to the shield generator on Endor's moon. The stormtroopers in Cloud City were probably under restrictions, too. But no such restrictions were on the snowtroopers that stormed the rebel base on Hoth.

Most imperial stormtroopers are no longer clones by this time. They were recruits and conscripts.

Darth Vader just told the stormtroopers NOT TO KILL HIS SON AND DAUGHTER. It makes sense, because he wants Luke to return to the dark side, and seriously holy crap the dark side is just evil, not demented. great vid, but I think this theory holds better than yours. no long-range force usage needed.

The storm troopers are extremely precise and horribly inaccurate.

Your Alec Guinness impression is much better than you James Earl Jones. :D

Why are Storm Troopers bad shots? Plot armor makes blasters have -12 accuracy.

The stormtroopers could have been given orders not to kill them.

1:52 Best old Obi-wan voice ever!

2020 still loves the voice. great channel !

This is the most fantastical channel on KZfaq and I love it!

Don't try the "we don't need to see his driver's license" thing with the police, it gets you arested!

I know that this is an old video but, do you think that Darth Vader was using the force to make sure that Luke and Leigha wouldn't shag?

As I recall, that was one of the few things that they did actually hit.

Wow that is a very very good way to explain all the missed shots. It ties cloud city, the sandcrawler and death star together very well. Good job!!!

another theory: a lot of stormntroopers were untrained conscripts and often enough they were acually put on the frontlines... the death star takes quite a lot of manpower to... man... what if the troops used in both cases were actually these untrained conscripts, while the ones that killed the Javas would be trained or even elite forces?

I prefer the explanation that the Stormtroopers are simply so fanatically loyal that they will follow any order unquestioningly; they were simply ordered to not hit them.

Ive been binge watching your videos, at first I thought you were just another nerd, but now im certain your one of the few people living life and are truelly interesting. thanks for pumping me up for life.

Best obi wan impression ever! Been repeating those lines in that manner for quite some time but I still can't get it as excellent as you.

Holy God this was needed. I had a shit night. Thanks, Lindy.

Your Alec Guinness impression is way better than Darth Vader XD

Just another high quality LB video. It's what I've come to expect.

I am glad you didn't point out the helmet "flaw", as it is established in lore that troopers have HUDs in the helmets, but turn off when someone else puts it on.

Imperial Stormtroopers can't shoot straight in Star Wars and Empire because Vader ordered them to herd the heroes where he wanted them. He let them escape at the end of Star Wars to track them and follow them to the Rebel base. The Imperials killed off the rebels in the beginning rather well, and slaughtered the rebels on Hoth. However, on Bespin, Vader uses them again to herd Luke to the carbon freezing chamber. Vader's goals are worth far more than the lives of his men, and Grand Moff Tarkin actually comments on just that in Star Wars. But Return of the Jedi (in my opinion) was the turning point of Star Wars when it became more like the prequels; meant to sell toys and maximize profits with name recognition and the like. Which meant Lucas just kept doing what he was doing, and gave the Stormtroopers bad aim because of plot rather than purpose. It's the same reason Han didn't die in RotJ: Lucas thought it would hurt sales. The story was meh, the script was blegh, and the ewoks were pretty stupid and clearly meant to sell toys. The name ewoks isn't even said in the whole film. We just know it because of all the branding.

Darth Vader told the storm troopers to take them alive. Would you dare oppose a direct order from Darth Vader and risk killing them? That's why storm troopers can't shoot... except on Hoth, where they killed off loads of Rebel scum during the attack on the shield generator :) Which kind of proves the point.

I love your character impressions. :)

Your impressions are superb :)

Erm... no, the stormtroopers were ordered to miss. The whole plan was agreed with Grand Moff Tarkin who asks Vader if the tracking device was secure, and warns that he was taking a great risk with the plan. The same applies to the battle on Cloud city: The plan was to separate Luke from the others and herd them to different locations. The battle of Endor is different as the stormtroopers had difficulty seeing the smaller ewoks, who were used to hiding in the forest. But when they could see, they were accurate. No Jedi mind tricks needed.

I always thought The Force was protecting the heroes. Meaning, in the Star Wars world, Plot Armor is an actual natural phenomenon brought on by The Force, which shapes physical reality. So all of the really lucky things that happen are not flukes - they are active participation of The Force as a character in the story, protecting our heroes.

LOL where was this guy in 1977 when I was actually pondering these questions, I actually had to wait for over forty years now to get the answers. Sir, I owe you a big thank you.......Thank you!

thank you MindyRage this video was very insightful

couldint darth vader just have ordered the stromtroopers to not him the rebels, instead of using the force? (or to let them escape, but make a show of it?) i mean hes fucking darth vader, what lowly trooper would be "over zealous" enough to disobey a direct order, when Vader's own generals are killed by HIM PERSONALLY for less

I'd think it would be harder, to control with the force, many troops that Vader was not immediately in the presence of. Maybe in cloud city (given there were fewer with him) he did this. But, as for the other situations. Well storm troopers also have communicators built into their helmet. Vader could have just said over the communicators "Shoot at the these people a lot. But, any one who hits one of them will have to personally answer to me."

Oh my god, Others have said this but your Ben Kenobi impression is spot on, mate. I'm late to the party in this but, oh my god.

Love the little extra bit of text at the end. XD

The Stromtroopers are not clone warriors, they are recruits and conscripts, the clones had an accelerated lifespan and are all dead by the time of the original trilogy. Also the prequels never happened.

He could have been using the force to make them miss.... or he could have ordered them to miss.

Another thing that eludes to this same notion is that Lea exclaims, "They let us go" after they escape.

Jame Earl Jones extends his vowels in order to control his stuttering.

I believe its because one, it wasn't the 501st, and two, probably they are either POG or new recruits on the ship, seeing how you don't really need to use weapons inside a space fortress.

Stormtroopers are lousy shots due to a combination of recruiting (Clone production stopped after the empire was formed) and the poor vision from helmets. My theory is that Darth Vader ordered them to not shoot them.

Haha, I said aloud "Oh, that's a Pringle's tube..." just a mere two seconds before Lloyd mentioned it too. :-D I love these little coincidences. Anyway, great video, as always. :-)

your obiwan immitation is spot on! Very nice indeed

Why did you disguise a Pringles tube and then explain what it was?

Or, y'know, he could've just told them to miss, being in charge and whatnot.

Your impression of Sir Alec Guinness was brilliant!

I like your theory. Very well thought out.

Wouldn't it be easier to just give the orders to pretend they are being chased? Much more plausible, and not necessary to use the Force on the whole station (garrison, whatever). As easy as inform the Commanders that they needed them escaping and the chain of command takes place... Serves also for the Cloud city. Specially if Fett had an arrangement with Vader as it is said. Just my thoughts.... I must admit I did my theory from yours though. Thank you Master Jedi. ;-)

Ah, but while you remembered that Obi-Wan commented on the precision of the Storm Troopers in battle, you forgot his comments on blasters in general...that they are "clumsy and random". Thus, though the Storm Troopers were pretty good shots on the whole, their weapons were not very accurate instruments.

Helps to start out with an awesome voice.

In the novels they explain that the lack of shooting skills is a result of the cloning process being flawed since the Kaminoans never gave up their secrets to perfecting it. The emperor attacked Kamino and took over the cloning of the troopers and he really didn't care that they weren't as good as the original clone troopers because he was cranking out such large numbers that it would make up for it.

I hate the bad rap storm troopers get. They massacred the rebels both at the start of the movie and on hoth and clearly let them go or were manipulated by the force on the death star. My theory for them being beaten by the ewoks is well.. the heroes were defeated by the ewoks as well. No one brings up that everyone including a Jedi were successfully captured. Clearly the ewoks are more competent then they appear.

I think the aaact was just a remnant of his stutter

There's a linguistic oddity I've found that is either coincidence or the result of cultural cross-pollination. The term "far-fetched" is the same in English and German. In German, it's "Weit hervor geholt" which is basically "brought here from (a) distance." I find it somehow comfortable to see that your explanation of why the stormtroopers can't shoot can be described using essentially the same phrase in two different languages. Lovely observations on the Darth Vader voice though. Absolutely brilliant.

In Episode IV Princess Leia says that she beleives the stormtroopers let them go. You don't even need the force to do this, just order the troopers to miss.

Could you also explain why light beams from blasters move slower than bullets from ordinary guns?

wait. couldn't darth vader just, you know, tell them not to shoot them? since he's in charge of them?

Your voice acting is superb

I loved the demonstration of how easy it is to do a Darth Vader impression using only a Pringles tube, and then the complete invalidation of that by showing how good Lloyd is at Obi Wan impressions (and so therefore his Darth Vader may have involved a bit of skill on his part as well). I liked the cunning plan to disguise the Pringles tube and then tell us what it was at well ;)

He wouldn't even need the force. He was considered to be of higher rank and therefore could simply order them to act threatening but not hit them. Also, the force itself could effect the outcome. Every main character had a strong connection to the force whether they knew, or believed it, or not.

The Troopers just played to much FPS Games, and can only shoot from the hip xD

oh lindybeige we love you! you are spot on!!!!

Lloyd, your Obi-Wan impression is spot on. Also, two of the main characters do actually get shot in Return of the Jedi. One of Jabba's guards shoots Luke in the hand, and then later on a stormtrooper shoots Leia in the shoulder.

during the "Clone Revolt" on Kamino the Kaminoans stopped supplying clone troopers and refuse to cooperate with the empire. So the Storm Troopers you see in the older movies ain't clone troopers, just enlisted troops, ordinary people. Now some of them would be clone troopers still but they are in the minority, most likely special forces. If you played Battlefront they even talk about alot of clone troopers being stationed at the first death star when it exploded so they were even fewer after that

They could have just been given orders to let them escape; no force powers needed.

>znaszlisiora It depends in which you think is canon. There are the series of movies which clearly tell that the stormtroopers are clones. Then there are two series of Extented Universes (Fanfic, literature, tv-series and games from other sources) in which the troopers are either clones at first and later replaced with natural humans (after the new movies) or natural humans from the beginning (before the new movies). I think most people would pick the "they are all clones" if they have only seen the movies.

He didn't even need to use the Force to get them to miss...he could simply issue an order to deliberately miss them. I totall agree with your theory...makes oh so much sense.

or he just ordered them to act like their putting up a fight and did not use the force.

You do a really good Alec Guinness

I thoroughly enjoy Lindybeige and his videos.

could you... please start 20 more videos with Darth Vader’s voice? it’s so hilarious and enjoyable 😆

I liked the bit about Vader's voice but then you called stormtroopers clone warriors. Urgh. Yes I'm being petty.

Or instead of using the force for it, they could just have been given orders to that effect.

Your Alec Guinness impression is impeccable.

My hypotheses: 1. Their helmets made it hard to aim. They needed bigger eye holes or lose the armor that doesn't seem to protect against anything. 2. Subconciously, they don't want to kill anyone they don't have to. They're imperial grunts, not Sith lords. 3. Supressive fire. Keep your foes pinned down until your buddies can flank them.

Is there an explanation for why "laser beam" weapons appear to operate at speeds which are below those of an under-powered airsoft gun? In space these weapons appear to operate much faster, in fact the speed which they travel seems to be the speed of a schoolboy's pen across a sheet of paper and the further back the observer is positioned the faster these "bolts of light" appear to be travelling.

"these *clone* warriors" CLONES? THEY ARE NOT CLONES!

I've just read it into and it seems that there is a semi-canon explanation - the E11 blaster rifles (ones every Stormtrooper is using) had a couple of upsides. They were light, compact, versatile and easy to produce. They weren't, however, too accurate and had high recoil due to light design.

Great Alec Guiness Impersinations :D.