Thanks for the quick answer about the high-powered blaster. <3 For clarification, though: I meant AT-AT commander armor as in the armor worn by General Veers, not that of AT-AT pilots. It certainly looks much less flimsy than the latter and should be able to withstand a few hits.

Yup, Imperial officer battle armour around that time period should have been identical or very similar to either that of an Imperial combat driver (including AT-AT pilots) or snowtrooper armour, depending on the variant. It likely looks sturdier because some of those chest plates included heating/life support systems, which added to the bulk but didn’t provide much extra shielding. Either would be vulnerable to a high-powered blaster rifle at close range.

Hope that helps!

~ Jacen

Would a hit from a high-powered modified blaster rifle (something a bounty hunter would use) possible have enough punch to knock an armored target (in AT-AT commander armor) who’s caught off guard off their feet and burn through their chestplate? If so, can the wound be life-threatening, or is there no such thing as a blaster rifle that can smash through AT-AT commander armor?

I am not aware of any source that says an AT-AT pilot’s armour is significantly sturdier than a stormtrooper’s, so yes, a direct hit from a high-powered blaster rifle could easily burn through a chestplate. That wound could certainly be life-threatening, but it’s just as likely that the pilot would be killed, especially from a close distance. We’ve seen such blaster rifles kill clone troopers from hundreds of feet away, and AT-AT pilot armour is said to resemble Phase II clone pilot armour.

Hope that helps!

~ Jacen

How come the empire and resistance never developed better armor for the stormtroopers ? It seems like they get knocked out with a single blast a lot!

The answer is, quite simply, they didn’t want to. The Empire and First Order both operated under the philosophy that stormtroopers were completely expendable and not worth providing with better armour. They were perfectly capable of developing it, hence why some classes of stormtrooper did have much sturdier armour, but they had such a large number of recruits that it just wasn’t necessary. Now, there is a bit of a disconnect here between what we see in the movies and how the armour is described in supplemental material. Safe to say, it appears a bit flimsier in the films than it’s described in the books because it’s convenient to have the stormtroopers die in one shot onscreen. The armour was often sufficient to deflect a glancing hit, and there are instances where we see the trooper get hit directly and get knocked out but still survive. Standard stormtrooper armour wasn’t completely useless, but it definitely wasn’t intended to ensure the safety of the troops.

Hope that helps!

~ Jacen

What material(s) is standard-issue Imperial stormtrooper armor made of? Are all armor designs used by the Imperial forces (eg TIE pilot, AT-AT commander, scout trooper and magmatrooper armor) made with the same material(s)?

It’s made of plastoid, and no, not all armour used by the Imperial Military is the same. Magma troopers, for example, wear armour reinforced with Duravlex, and death troopers’ armour is described as being much more advanced than the standard plastoid armour. Most stormtrooper variants wear armour with the same basic plastoid base.

~ Jacen

Kind of a simple question but can mandalorian armor (like TRUE/ original mando armor not the things the ones the guards for Sabine would wear) grow with their owner? My story is set in the clone wars era if that helps. It just seems to me like it would or boba fett would have to constantly be renewing his armor as he got taller. (Which I guess is possible but idk). Thank you for your time! Hope you had a happy new year!

No, traditional Mandalorian armour (specifically the kind made from the metal beskar, called beskar’gam) does not grow with its owner. As it is usually passed down through families, and since the metal is rare and expensive, a set of armour wouldn’t be worn until the child has grown into it, rather than having to be adjusted or reforged over and over again. Boba Fett’s armour is made of durasteel, not beskar, which is much cheaper and easier to refit or replace as one grows. Many Mandalorians make their armour out or durasteel or duraplast because of the price of beskar, even though they aren’t nearly as durable.

Hope that helps!

~ Jacen