Game Theory: Star Wars Lightsaber Vs Halo Energy Sword 

Mat pat 3 yrs ago: 2:07 “and nobody wants to talk about midichlorians” 2019 matpat: *does an entire video about the science of midichlorians

The Energy Sword may only have 10 swings, but those swings are only spent when they make contact.

But what happens when you bring a gravity hammer into the ring

Fun fact: The lightsaber has way more destructive power than its given credit for. The Death Star is pretty much just a lightsaber that ignites itself into a planet.

Fun Fact:Knights of the Old Republic mention (and make you use) crystals to produce the color of the light saber. Without it, the beam cannot be produced.

I'm sorry, but your claims about the energy sword's battery life are pretty off. You're going by the games, which always puts gameplay balance over canon (unless we really believe a Marine can take a dozen plasma bolts to the face no-problem). Considering all the research you put into the video on why a back-tap would kill a Spartan, I have to say I'm a little disappointed. Now, in your defense, the canon has never officially comment on the battery-life of a Sword. That said, there are sources that can give you an idea of how long an energy sword could last in battle. As examples: - In the Spartan Ops cutscenes from Halo 4, Spartan Paul DeMarco is seen cutting through several Sangheili with an energy sword we know has seen prior action. - In "The Duel" from Halo Legends, the Arbiter, Fal 'Chavamee, cuts down several Sangheili before his blades run out of power. - In "Halo: Hunters on the Dark", Spartan Frank Kodiak has an energy sword he's been carrying around since the Covenant War (the book is set a little over 2 years after the war ends). So, no matter how you slice it (sorry for the pun), the idea of "10 hits" just doesn't hold water.

No matter which sword wins, all of us lose. *Let's face it; we'd all cut our own arms off within a minute or so.* ~Honest Trailers.

You’re forgetting something, the wrist protection around the energy sword may work if it was blunt, however since the beam can cut through anything all the lightsaber would have to do is put a little weight on the end and physics would tell you that the wrist would be amputated.

Matpat: Energy sword lasts 10 swings Prequel duels: Oh, they are screwed!

How to start a fandom war 101

"Don't pull a deathbatle on me" I laughed to hard to that

Nobody: Lightsaber: *YeEtUs SkEeTuS yOuR hAnD iS nOw DeLeTuS*

No according to obi wan’s physics it is the high ground

Fun fact about the game theory logo, the red part of it is actually a reference to the red ring of death from the Xbox 360

Oh no, " The energy sword seems like it's almost designed to counter lightsabers" We have another theory on our hands

I think you missed something huge, the halo energy sword does not lose any charge until it actually strikes something dead.

*gets lightsaber stuck in energy sword* *turns the lightsaber off and activates it again*

11:50 As seen in Halo 2 when you play as The Arbiter, the energy sword takes way less energy to use. So really you could swing 34 times as arbiter. This could mean that there is a proper trick/form for energy swords that takes less energy when you swing that a human wouldn't know. So I think there isn't really a defined limit because it depends on your skill.

Mat, you forgot one VERY important detail. Length of the blade! The energy sword is meant to be a quick assassination blade, so its length is that of a long dagger or shortsword. The lightsaber, however, is designed for long reach, which is what you praised to be a good thing when you talked about fencing. In a real world battle, reach is everything. The user with the energy sword would only have the advantage if they attacked from the shadows. But if both users fought head on, the lightsaber wielder would have a HUGE advantage. The energy sword would be greatly hindered by its reach while the lightsaber user would feel safe making long jabs and strikes. Also, if the lightsaber did end up getting stuck in between the energy blades, the user could just turn the lightsaber off and then back on, another HUGE advantage of a lightsaber that you didn't mention. Lightsaber wins this with little to no contest unless the energy sword attacks first with an ambush.

the energy sword's battery is a game play mechanic, its not cannon. the sword arbiter uses in halo 5 is over 3400 years old. he had it reforged, not because it didn't work after all that time, but because he wanted it to have parts from the sword he used to kill truth.

I'm not sure you peeps in the comments get it. The energy sword isn't designed for Humans, it is designed for Sangheili. That is Elites for you anti-haloists. The shape of the energy sword is designed for elites, the blades sticking out the back dont affect elites because they have two thumbs! So for you people saying the shape is flawed, its not, you aren't supposed to use it. The energy sword is meant for dueling, anything else such as assassinating and anything that is dishonorable. Get over yourselves for thinking it is just for short battles and not armies but who the hell brings a knife to a gunfight! In reality you would use a plasma rifle, sword for hand combat. Think its to slow or to big? Look up elite physical charts and anatomy. Elites are far superior to humans in every aspect except size. Look this stuff up before you criticise. Good video matpat, I enjoyed it.

The energy sword in game has 10 hits, but in lore it has much higher rate, the 10 hit cap was just added to balance the weapon out a bit.

You also neglected to mention the energy swords fatal design flaw. As you said, its blades stretch past the wrist. Meaning if you dont want to impale your arm on the pointy end at your hands, you have to keep your wrist pretty much straight all the time, since twisting it would cause a bit of self injury. This in turn severely limits the control you have over your own weapon, and you are left with pretty clumzy swings and thrusts. So basically the hand protection screwes you over. On the other side, light sabers usually dont have any hand protection at all. Which also leads to all those hands flying off of peoples arms all the time.

Some issues being design: if you really want to compare two items also consider the way they’re used. It’s comparing the armor on a horse to the armor on a human. Lightsabers are designed for and by force sensitives NOT for regulars. A more legitimate comparison ( in spite of the change of material) is a vibro-sword. Also known to be very destructive to flesh, but also much more commonly used by non force sensitives. If you really wanna get nit picky on the lightsaber though, some can extend and shorten blades, and sometimes are rapidly deactivated and reactivated to bypass an enemy weapon. I do think that in actual war the lightsaber has a huge advantage. But for pure dueling purposes, it just depends on a lot of other factors.

PLASMA + KATANA = PLASMATANA

This was the first ever video I watched of game theory

What's so hard about swish, swish, stab?

Actually, the energy sword lasts much longer than you’d actually think. In the expanded lore it takes a lot of hits before it runs out of power, it gives more reason to come out on top.

Lightsabers being able to be moved around like a normal sword would be an overwhelming advantage and an undoubted win for the jedi

I love how he misses the lore that says that a lightsaber needs 10 years before they need to recharge.

Just remember guys, the energy sword is also a key.

The energy sword can last much longer in the halo lore but in game it is only ten swings so it’s balanced same with all the other plasma weapons in halo before a battle the user would just charge the the weapon for a minute or two and they could use for the entire day

He completely forgot about a lot of things about each weapon He gave design to the energy sword while forgetting other hilts and even forgetting you can turn a light sabour off to reset your placement

DON'T EVER COMPARE HISTORICAL COMBAT TO MODERN FENCING!German Longsword Techniques, relied heavily on two hands being on the longsword at all times. The reason for mostly stabbing techniques being used: ARMOR! Stabbing with a blade was much more effective at getting around armor, instead of trying to cut through it. They would aim for the joints, which is the weakest part of most armors. The Lightsaber is suited for German Long Sword techniques. But yes, most one-v-one battles end within the first couple of sword strokes. HOWEVER, in a battle, you'll be fighting more than one opponent at a time, and you too will also have allies fighting. The side with the better skill, wins. If a sword in a full combat scenario, were to break after 10 strikes, then that person is dead. All the opponent has to do, is recognize this flaw, and block the first 10 strikes, and boom, opponent is open for the kill. Victory: Lightsaber

Alot of the lightsaber fighting techniques teach lightsaber users to counter other lightsaber users and I feel the moment someone lunges at a Jedi with the energy sword a Jedi would just chop your arms off

I would still much rather have a lightsaber. Coming from a martial arts stand point, the Lightsaber gives me more flexibility in my wrists and motions.

Him talking about gases producing the colors in a lightsaber Kybercrystals:Am I a joke to you?

Btw energy swords in the halo lore have much more battery than 10 hits, it was just a balancing choice in game because having too many hits would make op since it's a 1 hit kill

Dear MatPat, Since you did a video about comparing light sabers to energy swords, think you can do a theory about comparing Dead Rising weapons to Kids Next Door weapons? Their both made out of random junk .

I can confirm that siblings do fight to the death. Regularly. Somehow

matpat : want to know more about darth plagueis : also matpat : shows pic of snoke

Matpat 2016:no one wants to talk about milichordian Matpat 2019:talking about how milichordian is same as mitochondria

One thing he didn’t take into account is the lightsabers ability to turn on and of quickly

"Right here, right now" *decides 15 minutes later*

“Nobody wants to talk about meticlorians” tell that to 2019 matpat

1:50 Yes MatPat, it is indeed a thing that siblings do.

But the energy sword doesn't lose power upon hit. On every kill it does.

Coming in a bit late on this, but a sabre isn't always curved. The fencing sabre is straight, as was the Pattern 1908 and 1912 Cavalry Sword. The single-edge is far more important in determining the sabre-ness of a blade than the curve. As for whether or not a lightsaber has more than one edge, well, I contend that it DOES have but a single, omnidirectional edge. The fact that there's no safe place to touch the blade means that there's no way to meaningfully declare where one "edge" ends and the next begins. If we cannot divide its edges from one another in any meaningful way, then we can only conclude that there's only a single edge, and that edge covers every possible blade facing.

Midichlorians? That's weird, I've seen all four Star Wars movies and have never heard that word before.

Obi:I have the high ground your done master chief Master chief : pulls out a plasma launcher

Matpat: "Photons have no mass" Austin: "is THE SCIENCE a joke to you?"

9:48 Almost like the plasma sword was designed to combat lightsabers, you say? Fanfic writers! TO YOUR KEYBOARDS!

When someone said the purple color represented the perfect balance between Jedi and Sith, then another said perfectly balanced as all things should be, I immediately thought one thing: Thanosaber.

Good Ol' "Ross O' Dunnel" and his ideas.

To sum up: 1.) The Energy Sword has only 10 swings, in the game, only for the player, but those swings are only spent when they connect to something. 2.) Energy Sword is easy to wield, while Light Sabers require years of training so you don't cut off a limb. 3.) An Energy Sword's color is not just for show but an indication of strength. (blue-normal/100%, red-ish yellow-old/reforged/125%, red-150%) 4.) Design alone is the Light Saber's most noticeable flaw. It looks like a brake handle to a steam train at a glance.

Finally, a crossover of film and game theory

in a lightsaber you can have 2 focusing cyber crystals and extend the blade's length. If your lightsaber gets stuck (Pause) in an energy sword pointed towards the user you can extend it

First of all, huge fan of game theory and film theory! Tl;dr: 1) the style of the energy sword is optimized for attack and is practically useless at defense. 2) the mass distribution of the energy sword would make a cut's recovery time between strikes much longer than that of the lightsaber. 3)These two combined mean the lighsaberer can block once then strike before the energy sword can hope to block. 4) the sword catching on the energy sword is practically useless. Thus, the lightsaber is vastly superior. And now the long form: One other thing to consider when comparing these weapons is the grips. The energy sword's grip is similar to the grip inside a gauntlet sword which is great at getting powerful swings but horrible for blocking attacks. Since Halo doesn't really have you fighting sword to sword, this doesn't matter in Halo, but if you are fighting against another sword this is huge. The standard grip on the lightsaber allows blocks and attacks (although slightly weaker) so all you have to do is block the first swing and then repost (perhaps a villain's blow for you long sword fans) and BAM, you've beaten the energy sword. Especially since the lightsaber is far, far more maneuverable due to the position of its center of mass so the energy sword would take longer to bring into a blocking position than the lightsaber would to strike. This is why gauntlet swords were usually used with a buckler or other small shield. You strike hard with the sword while using the shield to block any incoming blows. Also, the blade catching ability of the energy sword is very limited. The alignment would have to be near perfect to catch the lightsaber. This is why parrying daggers and the trident spring opened dagger have such a wide span allowing you to catch the blade and funnel it into where you want it to disarm the enemy. The energy sword's catcher is almost completely negligible. Lastly, sorry fo this being such a long post and posting all this 4 years after the video came out but as someone who's been sword fighting with all manners of swords and bladed things, I wanted to bring this up. (If you want to know more about gauntlet swords, I would recommend the channel Shadiversity)

Episode courtesy of Ross O'Donovan.

5:50 you spoke about medi-chlorians

5:00 I shined a light sabar into my brother's eyes and accidently destroyed his brain.

Wow MatPat, this was really weak. The real world blades designed to catch opponents blades have catching designs that expand the guard - not split the blade. Due to both weight and design in general, the Halo sword would function more like a broadsword, not as a fencing weapon. If one used the halo sword to catch a blade, it would backfire; the other swordsman would just advance the sword down the length and cut the halo sword user's hand off. The fact that the gap in the blades doesn't touch means it would offer no protection. Let's remember the first thing we're told about the Halo sword - the blade is on the edge - JUST THE EDGE. Where the blade of the lightsaber is omnidirectional. Blow on blow, the lightsaber can cut the halo sword - because the blade is only on the edges of the Halo sword. Also, the real world comparison to fencing is moot. We're not talking about fencing swords or the fencing style of swordfighting. What we're looking at is closer to a gladius (lightsaber) vs a broadsword (halo sword). I'm sorry man, I know you're doing a lot of Halo videos, but really this was BS.

5:25 challenge accepted matpat

So, you'll mention how the lightsaber has so many more options for fighting styles than the energy sword, but then completely ignore your own rules and focus on the fact that the Jedi seem to favour hand amputation. If the lightsaber has more options, why focus on the one that isn't going to work in that situation?

I fail to see how something that requires a physically tangible barrier to hold the plasma trumps a device that produces one without said need. That alone would make the halo blade inferior. let alone because it has a physical property the plasma's heat can't exceed that of what the material can endure. or its thin factor making it susceptible to destruction from proper thrust attacks.

WHY DON'T WE JUST TAKE THE LIGHTSABER POWER SOURCE, AND PUT IT- IN THE ENERGY SWORD?!

Wouldn't the lightsabres still go through each other? Assuming they have the same density and the same size, whoever made the lightsabres we see likely optimized them to use the least energy while still operating meaning that they probably have just strong enough of a magnetic field to hold in the plasma and because they have the same density, any force exerted on them would act as it would in a normal atmosphere. Not to mention that after a few battles, the gases in the fields would start mixing and create a different colour (brown maybe?) so a more mixed lightsabre would be a sign of experience.

With siblings it's more like "who wins in a fight" rather than "who would win in a fight"

Amagion dark Vader walks in, and some halo man strikes him down, REALISTIC.

Elite: locks lightsaber in energy sword Sith Lord: *“let me introduce you to a little thing called the dark side of the force”*

I thought that the 10 hit strike was just for the player to not have an op Insta-kill and use other weapons?

Anyone just... Plow through the first halo 5 Campaign level with only a broken energy sword which spawns behind you like a brass knuckle?

Watching this after the retirement video hits hard in a way

I think the halo sword is cooler

Game Thoery: Energy Sword is more superior than the lightsaber in combat. Hmmm, Death Star powered by kyber crystal, and the kyber crystal is the energy source for the lightsaber, so technically Death Star is a massive lightsaber.

13:52 "A lot of hate?" Yes. I kinda hate this mostly because the "lightsaber" is more of a generic template... There are so many different lightsaber designs out there, like the Mandalorian House Vizsla Darksaber, Erza Bridger's Lightsaber Pistol, a Lightsaber Club, lightsaber pike, the double-bladed spinning lightsaber, and many more, etc. If you were to have the energy sword from halo fight something like Erza Bridger's unique lightsaber pistol with no restrictions, ... The duel will end very shortly... Links: jk, Meesa too lazy... I'm sure you can find these with Google...

"If you like Star Wars, you'll love Audible.Com!"... wat?

Well actually the lightsaber is powered by a crystal, as shown in the force unleashed

What if you're fighting multiple ppl, a 10 hit battery won't be enough?

It actually comes down to who's holding each weapon. Any character with the energy sword would lose against Obi Wan Kenobi as he always has the high ground.

9:38 Actually matt patt, a hilt that extends to the wrist is actually a handicap because it hinders the movement of the weapon you are using.

still waiting on that Undertale theory... PLS :(

Fun fact, in the Super mega cast ep. 42, Ross O'Donovan (Rubberninja) talks about how he met Mattpat at a youtube rewind, and sarcastically gave him the idea of a lightsaber vs energy sword for this as a joke

5:38 Glowstick . Thats better

Is the energy sword 10 hits cannon? cause in the Halo legends which is canon, the arbiter clearly uses more than 10 hits...

TL;DR: According to Swedish national fencing champion, the lightsaber is better since 10 swings in a real fight is not actually enough. I'm a fencer myslef, Swedish national champion, actually. In my opinion I know quite a bit of practical stuff about fencing, and let me give some input on the "10 swings are enough" thing. The clips you showed are from epee fencing (there are three main types of fencing, using different swords and rules, in modern sport). When fencing epee, there are no rule insentives to parry your opponent, or avoid getting hit, since as long as you hit, you score. Because of that, modern epee fencing is not very practical in real life, since in epee, you dont avoid getting killed, but focus on killing. As such, there are fewer blows dealt. The weapon i use is called a foil, and uses other rules that rewards the one who tried not to die instead of focusing on killing your opponent. That's how one would fence in real match to death; avoiding getting killed, instead of focusing on killing (if you dont die, you win). Since the rules tell you it's agood idea to be defensive, more blows and specially parries are made. So in conclusion, 10 swings is enough if you dont care about surviving. If you want to live to fight your next opponent, 19 swings (counting thrusts and parries as swings) will often not be enough, unless you're a way better fencer than your opponent. Since the fencers themselves we're not a accounted for, and since the fight between the lightsaber wielder and the energy swords wielder seems to be to the death, I, as a fencer, would give the edge to the lightsaber, as it lasts for more than 10 moves. Also, it's great to see someone on RU-vid actually mentioning "my" sport for once :D

the crystal changes the colour, f*cking casual!

I'm surprised this finally got recommended

If you make an energy sword powered by a Kyber crystal.... you'd have the Ultimate lazer sword.

But Hey! That's just a THEORY, A BAAAAADDDD THEORY! (no hate plz xD)

I propose “plasmatana” as a name for a space sword

Nobody expects the Trident Dagger! Our key weapon being ruthlessness and efficiency-no wait, that's two, our two weapons being ruthlessness, efficiency, and surprise... no wait, that's three. You know what? Let's all just use our fists. It's more manly.

Well, with the Halo Extended Universe we know that the Sanghelli, also known as the Elites are HEAVILY based on Japanese culture, so we can reasonably expect their swordsmanship to be based on Samurai Bushido techniques. So... Even with proper techniques, the Energy Sword wins. Here's why: The Lightsaber is basically designed for Fencing style combat and all of the Forms from I to VII are based on WESTERN sword styles. Bashing, slashing and stabbing with large energetic swings. Even descriptions of fights between Lightsaber users in the Star Wars novels describe them as pretty much Western style swordfights with styles you might find in a Fencing match or an SCA fight. The Energy Sword on the other hand is very much used in Samurai style, though its design FORCES it to be used one handed. There are a rare few instances where a Sanghelli Warrior has used two Energy Swords at once (Half Jaw is one such Elite) and when they used the form like that, it was very much Katana and Wasikashi. Slashing techniques with very few stabs and little to no bashing. The 10 hit limit makes sense in this context as the sword was supposed to kill in one strike and was designed with such a feat in mind. The Lightsaber clearly was not designed with killing focus in mind. So yes, MatPat is correct. The Energy Sword will beat the Lightsaber when all other factors are equal.

4:33 the German just died inside of me xD

the energy swords battery problem is simple actually, a well protected gas canister is concealed within the weapon, given time (and tools) an elite could crack open the sword, slip in another canister and keep fighting. the reason they drop them is because that would take too much time in a hot spot combat situation, that's why you hear that sharp CRACK! when you activate the blade you hear gas being released and being ignited. the problem is you would have to disassemble and re-assemble the blade mid combat. now, if they could make a new sword based off of the prometheans anti-grav system they use for their pistol than you could levitate the pieces, pluck out the battery and replace it. BUNGIE USE THIS

The colors for the lightsaber is actually because of the force and the kyber crystal.and red crystals are when a dark side user bleeds their hatred into the crystal turning it red

Anyone else know that the clip at 4:54 was from the movie "Spaceballs"

The energy sword doesn’t get any energy loss doing anything apart from cutting through someone’s flesh so it’s actually got 10 finishing hits.

and once you kill your opponent you tea bag him

This is a certified classic to see again and again.