The Ultimate Guide to Taking Star Wars: Jedi Lightsaber Combat to Unprecedented Heights

Highlights

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor expands and improves on the already impressive lightsaber combat of its predecessor.

The game features five distinct lightsaber stances, each with its own playstyle and set of moves.

A potential sequel could enhance combat even more by incorporating additional lightsaber stances, specialized upgrades, and skill trees that branch out for each stance. This would enable players to further specialize in a specific gameplay style associated with their chosen stance.

In Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, the sequel to Jedi: Fallen Order, the foundations of its predecessor were built upon and expanded in various ways. Every aspect of the game, such as level design, unlockable cosmetics, and presentation, received impressive upgrades. However, the most significant and notable improvement was seen in the lightsaber combat of the Star Wars Jedi series.

Taking inspiration from the Soulslike genre, Jedi: Fallen Order introduced a slower and more strategic style of close-quarters combat, which was unique for a Star Wars video game. Jedi: Survivor further enhanced this formula by introducing new lightsaber stances, powerful abilities, and intelligent AI. Despite these improvements, the Star Wars Jedi formula is not yet perfect, leaving room for potential features to be added in the next sequel.

How A Star Wars Jedi: Survivor Sequel Could Expand Lightsaber Combat

Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order introduced players to the choice of two lightsaber stances: the ability to seamlessly switch between a double-bladed and single-bladed lightsaber. Star Wars Jedi: Survivor took this concept and expanded upon it, providing players with a wider selection of five lightsaber stances. While the single-bladed and double-bladed stances returned, they were enhanced with new movesets and specialized skills.

In addition, three new stances were introduced, including a dual-wield stance that was previously only available as an unlockable special attack in Fallen Order. The other two new stances were a crossguard stance and a blaster stance. Each of these stances played a distinct role in combat, offering players a unique playstyle. While some lightsaber stances in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor were undoubtedly superior to others, the majority of them had their own purpose and added depth to the gameplay.

In the next installment, it would be exciting to introduce a wider range of lightsaber stances. While Star Wars Jedi: Survivor has already covered the most popular styles, a sequel could explore unconventional approaches, such as a Force lightsaber stance. This particular style, though rarely seen in Star Wars media, showcases the extraordinary abilities of the most powerful Jedi and Sith, as they manipulate their lightsabers using the Force rather than their hands. Including this stance in a Star Wars Jedi sequel would not only highlight the growth of Cal Kestis as a Jedi but also exude a remarkable sense of style.

Another potential addition for a Star Wars Jedi sequel could be the incorporation of a lightsaber pike. This weapon, as seen in The Old Republic and briefly in The Clone Wars, resembles a staff with a shorter lightsaber blade at one end. By incorporating the lightsaber pike stance, players would have access to spear-like movements that are currently absent in the existing Star Wars Jedi games. Furthermore, introducing physical stances in the sequel would offer a range of defensive, offensive, and neutral maneuvers that can be seamlessly switched, introducing a strategic element to combat.

Specialized upgrades and abilities for each lightsaber stance would be a great addition to enhance the combat in Star Wars Jedi. While previous games like Fallen Order and Survivor have already introduced distinct abilities for each stance, a sequel should take it a step further by implementing a branching skill tree for each stance. This skill tree could be similar to the class tree found in MMO games, allowing players to specialize their stances in a specific category. For example, the blaster stance could offer multiple paths, each utilizing a different type of blaster such as pistols or repeaters.

The game, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, is currently available on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S, and there are plans to develop versions for the PS4 and Xbox One.