The first Dark Troopers were BEYOND terrifying 

Dark Troopers are just a phenomenal concept. I am especially fond of Phase 0 troopers from Legends. The thought of Clones being forcibly converted into cyborgs and slowly losing their minds because of it is horrifying and tragic.

If Palpatine spent the time and money on making an army of dark troopers instead of 2 death stars, the empire might of lasted longer then 20years...

That's why Kyle Katarn is the Chuck Norris of Star Wars

Phase 0s are clones forcefully augmented with cybernetics and slowing losing their minds. Phase 1 have a vibrosword and shield on their arms and are incredibly fast. Phase 2s have a jetpack and massive blaster cannon. And Phase 3s are a battlesuit/droid hybrid with wrist mounted blasters and shoulder mounted missile launchers, and have a jetpack. Yeah, all four Dark Troopers are absolutely terrifying in their own right. And I love every single one of them, Phase 0 above all thanks to the OG Battlefront games.

The only character who could take on Starkiller and win. Kyle Katarn used to take on whole Imperial bases and giant creatures... and *then* he gained access to the Force. Would you like Boba Fett's abilities, or Yodas? Kyle Katarn is the dude who stepped up and said "why not both?".

Imagine being a clone Stormtrooper, a veteran of the Clone Wars, having destroyed thousands of clankers, only to be turned into one yourself in the end.

Palpatine's love-hate relationship with Dark Troopers illustrated an interesting dichotomy between Palpatine's inner businessman/politician, seeing droids as expensive and too similar to the Confederacy's methods, and his Sith Lord nature, seeing them as a tool to instill fear in the masses. An expensive nightmare that cannot be toppled.

Another variant of Dark Trooper was the Purge Troopers we see in The Force Unleashed which we're massive & specifically designed to kill force users and had a number of interesting tech that the others didn't such as a short gauntlet mounted energy blade and energy shield of some form. They were reinforced with heavy durasteel plating and cortosis to resist lightsabers and blaster fire. They also utilized magnetically anchors in their feet to help resist force telekinetic abilities.

I love how, in Star Wars Legion, the Dark Troopers are classified as Heavy Support, same as most tanks! (And those are the Dark Troopers from the Mandalorian)

Had the Empire invested the wasted credits and resources they dumped into the Dark Trooper project and the TIE Defender program the Rebellion would have died in short order.

"Fights a dragon" Kell dragon, thank you very much. Put some respect on its name!

Yeah, the Phase 1 Dark Troopers were a masterclass in design. Any time you see one, your first instinct is to back away from it as quickly as possible no matter what firepower you're carrying. It's basically a Star Wars version of The Terminator. Plus seeing your shots reflect off the shield also reinforces the notion that it's impervious to everything you throw at it. And what does killing it net you? Nothing but a sense of relief (which is priceless). Phase 2 Dark Troopers were much more dangerous and effective than their predecessors, but they don't inspire that kind of immediate terror. You also had incentive to kill every Phase 2 trooper because they dropped the best gun in the game. They're basically Warhammer 40k Space Marines in SW. You do encounter a few Dark Troopers in Jedi Academy, which was quite a nice throwback. Though in this case they're packing Imperial Repeater Rifles and not their Assault Cannon (which actually made sense, since the original Dark Forces lore had you finding a Repeater too big for humans to wield).

The Empire really doesn’t backup its blueprints for its best smaller stuff: tie defenders, dark troopers, etc.

What I would like to see are some live action Zero Gravity troopers. Their suits basically allowed them to perform as a weapon platform effective against vessels like shuttles and fighters. But their smaller sensor profile made them hard to detect in space. They were impressive units, but I've only come across them in one Legends novel. It even took Han by surprise when he spotted one.

I feel like Palpatines downfall was the whole quantity quality mindset he had for his empire, he could’ve kept technology like the hyperspace rings for Tie Fighters or the six legged walkers that could climb mountains, even kept the production of clones which were far superior to the Storm Troopers that replaced them. Maybe then the Empire would’ve survived.

My first exposure to Dark Troopers was Empire At War Forces of Corruption. Loved playing the empire faction cause part of advancing meant making a whole army of phase 3’s to easily take over planets

What a trip down memory lane! My big brother was in graduate school when he got this game and i remember going up to visist him with mom and dad! I remember playing it loving it! Not wanting to leave!

Omg that is a terrifying thumbnail for sure

The first time I ever saw a Darktrooper was in Pandemics Battlefront II

Dark Troopers and Bad Batch combined could have given Empire their own Astartes(throw in beskar, zero-G suits and commando training for good measure). However Palpi decided that since he had consolidated his power, he needs a riot control army on the cheap and that's it.

Kyle Katarn is Star Wars' Chuck Norris.

Dark Troopers in DF are like B2 in RC: hard to kill terminators that take all of your skill to defeat them. Achieving victory over 2-3 of them makes you (and protagonist) feel like a supersoldier. But then Jedi comes in and effortlessly takes down dozens of them.

Dark Troopers seem like some illegitimate offspring of Frank Horrigan.

There is a great short comic with a Dark Trooper in it called "Sand Blasted" in Star Wars Tales #4 by Dark Horse.

It was the Phase 2 variants that attacked the rebels at Talay, NOT Phase 1s. It's very clear in the cutscenes that the ones being launched from the Arc Hammer were Phase 2s.

*I love how they made Dark Troopers canon. Just sucks they couldn't make some kind of reference to General Mohc (i.e. Moff Gideon taking over the project from him b/c of Mohc's shortcomings or something).* Btw, I like the remaster. Way easier with the controls (tried doing the Steam controller mapping for the original and somehow that made my gamepad unusable). Managed to get through the first five levels without cheats (exception being for 4, planet Fest, where I needed to use LAIMLAME/LAPOGO to visit the Ewok at the beginning), but had to use LASKIP for 6 due to getting motion sickness halfway through and giving up on that.

The Dark Troopers are such an interesting concept, both in design and all the world building around them that we got in Dark Forces. It sucks that they’re stopped being used after the game they’re introduced. It’s media like Dark Forces that showed the potential to grow a franchise’s world like Legends so often did. 🤩

I love the bulky and anime-esque look of all three Dark Troopers, though I found them relatively easy to kill in game, especially the Phase 3/General Mohc. I'm pretty sure he's bugged, with how easy he is to kill.

Played the og Dark Forces over on GoG a couple years back. Had a blast with it when I wasn’t getting stuck in parts I had no idea how to progress. Glad to see these old games getting the love they deserve. 🖤

NGL, memories of Legends and of stuff like this just solidifies my opinion that Legends is peak and the new stuff is just tragically bad. Mohc was an awesome character.

Thinking about the Dark Troopers makes me eager for Civvie's eventual videos on Jedi Outcast and Jedi Academy. I don't know if those games have kell dragons to punch like Dark Forces 1 and 2, but I hope they do. Also, I kinda love the quirkiness of how shields work in the Katarn quadrilogy, where they soak up ranged damage but are ignored by melee attacks. I don't know why we haven't seen other shooters that use that mechanic, and I wish I had the chops to make something that had those kinds of shields. Also also, the amount of phrik metal acquired by the Emprie had a knock-on effect for the galaxy's music industry. After all, with all the phrik hoarded, it became a lot more expensive to product jizz instruments. (and yes that is a Civvie joke)

I remember these from the comics. I loved these and I’m so glad you are doing a video on them.

Bro, I thought the thumbnail was something from war hammer 40k.

That would have been terrifying. A swarm of Phase 1 troopers sprinting through the trees shredding Ewoks.

Dark trooper are my favourite!!!!

GOATed Dark Forces MENTIONED RAHHHHH

I was around 9 or 10 years old when I first played the original, and the Mine level scared the crap out of me with the Phase 1 Dark Trooper. Rushing out of the red fog like some kind of medieval cyborg swinging it's sword and blocking blaster shots. The Phase 2 Troopers weren't as bad. Playing through the Remaster... The Phase 1 trooper in the mines still scares the crap out of me.

Amazing video!

Oh man, how did I miss the Dark Forces remaster?!? It's bringing back a ton of memory of when a family friend taught me how to switch our Windows 95 PC into DOS mode purely so I could play this, and other, game(s). Damn, I'm just realizing that this act is what led to my obsession and later career path with computers and software/programming now too

#askeck why didn’t the Jedi & Sith make their lightsaber hilts out of lightsaber resistant materials? That would make it much less likely that their hilt could be cut

The first encounter with a Phase 1 trooper made my childhood self cry out for help.

In 3 different campaigns of the FFG Star Wars RPG, I used the Dark Trooper as something like the Tyrant from Resident Evil. Over the course of those campaigns, one was destroyed. The players fled the other times. This has made Dark Troopers synonymous with “a threat you flee from rather than fight directly” in our groups.

There a lot of dark troopers in Star wars galaxies that make up the Imperial garrisons, on those you showed at the end are in it, the imquisitorum ones are actually melee fighters bearing vibro-staffs found in Mustafar supporting sith adepts guarding the area.

just got my copy of the essential guide to warfare

FRICK!

Probably one of the most OP units in legends. I fear that the clone x soldiers in bad batch might be the canon phase 0 models. A fate worse than death.

I met Dark troopers in Empire at War and I loved the concept. Forbidden fusion of the machine and man, a prison of metal and flesh, very Palp thing to go for.

I always had a headcanon that the original Darktroopers created by Mohc were absolute monsters with phrik armor, but after the Arc Hammer was destroyed the Empire ended up creating other Darktrooper variants without the phrik alloy and less armor and those are the variants we see in Star Wars Galaxies (Exogen class, etc.)

So, about the DT2 loadout. Jetpacks and similar are useful for the opening stages of a surprise assault, and tactical maneuvering (e.g. going through the balcony instead of finding the stairs, traversing corridors on ships with hostile gravity configurations or zero-gee, getting past structural damage that leaves gapping holes, Death Star clerical staff, etc.), but they actually open you up to more incoming fire (because you probably aren't hiding behind terrain while using them), so there's need for more armor than what you would normally be equiped with to compensate. As for using handheld weapons, that allows much faster & easier equipment swaps, which for a general-purpose unit is actually desirable. So, the DT2 was realistically a general-purpose design optimized for versatility at the expense of cost.

BIG MAMA IN TOWN🎉🎉

I don't think I ever finished Dark Forces. It may have been one of the first fps games I ever played. And I played the heck out of it. Badly.

I wonder what thrawn would think of the dark trooper project?

Star Wars Doomguy vs. Star Wars Terminators. Pretty metal when you think about it like that.

I remember one time you did one of my #askeck questions and I almost had a heart attack. Congrats Eck on a million you’ll always be my favorite RU-vidr

This makes me so happy

if you've ever played moviebattles II you'd know that in a gunfight being able to move in 3 dimensions makes it much harder to track and hit a target with small arms.

Phase One Dark Troopers were a core nightmare for me as a kid, to the point where I was too scared to play Dark Forces for a while. While it was cool to see other variations show up in later games and eventually TV shows, nothing beats that first encounter in Dark Forces.

I have always loved phase 2 dark troopers. When they brought dark troopers into the Mandalorian i squeed so hard and loud i scared people around me. I just wish the design had been kept.

"This piece of trash isn't even worth repairing! Send in Z-X3."

🤔 . . . Personally, I would have to agree with Palpatine, primarily in regards to mass production. Otherwise, yes, I would still keep whatever Darktroopers are left & keep them more in reserve, especially a decent stockpile on either Byss or Exegol, even mass producing spare parts, but not whole new units & such…

Phase 1 Dark Troopers terrified me as a kid. I actually felt some of that fear come back to me when I saw Mando fighting that Dark Trooper. Same vibes.

Loved that game. I seem to recall that one of the SW info books made link between the Dark Troopers and some of the battle droids that showed up in Dark Empire, but I think that was bit of a retcon.

Dark Forces was a rad video game! Thanks for the video.

Next time you play Dark Forces, try planting as many mines as you can around where the final boss comes from. I could usually get about 6 or 7 I think...that way when that door opens, unless he flies out, he takes damage immediately and that makes the job easier :)

Great stuff Eck! Are you going to record a playthrough of the dark forces remaster on the eckstoo channel? That was one of the first games I played as a child actually and it was often scary fighting the dark troopers. It’d be awesome to see some fan films of the entire dark forces series starting with no. 1, if they were made to a good standard.

Phase 1 really seems like they were meant to counter Jedi specifically, combined with being made of such a rare metal they were probably eager to switch to more general purpose dark troopers. As part of making then general purpose, they had a long list of features. It is only with a galactic level budget that they were able to produce dark troopers at all. As for Kyle Katarn being really tough, well that seems to apply to every playable character in a first person shooter. Probably the most extreme example was Gordon Freeman who saved the earth with a crowbar and a glorified HAZMAT suit.

In my opinion, one of the best portrayals of a Dark Trooper was the one that popped up in the Sand Blasted comic with the swoop bike grang that is more well known for being, temporarily, coopted by Wrenga Jixton before Jabba's death...in the aftermath of Jabba's death and Endor, there was a Dark Trooper that had been tested in boarding a rebel vessel that had crashed years before on Tattooine with the thing onboard, which Jabba put as off limits, so, naturally, with Jabba dead, they decide to loot the thing and, well, something akin to a terminator movie plays out

Try just running around placing landmines everywhere

Happy birthday!

Dark Troopers are just straight up badass & cool

I thought it would have been a great scene in Mando Season 2 if Boba Fett was involved in the assault on Moff Gideon's ship, and somewhere in the fight a chunk of a Dark Trooper helmet was damaged, revealing an aged clone trooper face, startling Boba.

Disney made a fatal mistake with Rogue One. What it took Danny Trejo, Donnie Yen, that guy who sounds like Inigo Montoya, and budget Rey a whole movie and their collective deaths to accomplish, Kyle Katarn did in a tutorial level. I usually rag on Legends fans for their bad taste in Young Adult novels and over-investment in an early 80's toy commercial, but Dark Forces is the GOAT and never should've been retconned. @AskEck Do you have a favourite alien species in Star Wars? Preference on CGI, human in make-up, or puppetry for portraying aliens? Do you think there's an alien in Star Wars who'd have been a better template for the Clone Troopers? Congrats on a million subs, hope you're doing well!

Palpatine: “The dark trooper program is a waist of resources. Let’s build a DeathStar instead!”

The Phase I scared the crap out of me when I first encountered it.

Hopefully they remaster the sequel. And the one with Mara Jade

It's hard to take the Dark Troopers seriously when you're trashing dozens of them at a time as Kyle motherfucking Katarn.

I shat brix when that first phase one emerged and tore after me. I emptied all my E11 energy into it and barely survived. Plus getting shots deflected back oh wow.

Dark troopers are all scary

Aren't these cyborg/droids in the game Star Wars: Empire at War FoC expansion? I remember them being pretty hardy, especially the phase 3 models. A real good counter to Zann Consortium tanks with shoulder mounted missiles and shredded infantry with rapid twin wrist blasters.

I was like oh crap fighting the Phase II model again in the remaster.

Thank you for actually adding footage / pictures of the subject you are describing when you are describing it !!! Vs showing a random compilation of unrelated clips from various SW content 🙄

i forgot how strange the graphics looks in this game i was kinda thinking on the sniper assain from season 2 of bad batch is a early dark trooper

Flying gives you more maneuverability and freedom for attacks if the enemy can't fly or sucks at shooting.

The repulsorlift in the phase two gives it much more tactical manoeuvrability, which very much does matter in a firefight. Not only can it get into and out of places others can not, but suddenly taking to the air can allow it to dodge enemy fire, shoot over many types of cover, and remain active despite critical damage to it's legs. It's not a critical system, true, but it can be a significant force-multiplier if well utilised. That said, I certainly agree that scrapping the project was a waste. Simply beginning heavy assaults with a wave of phase-1 troopers to shield the storm troopers following behind could tip the balance in many battles, and see more storm troopers surviving to gain experience and become more capable servants of the Empire. Which could also improve morale, and it would see a generation of ageing storm trooper veterans who would be much more comfortable with the idea of continuing to serve their Emperor as phase-0 dark troopers. Small changes like that could have major impacts on the fate of the entire Empire.

There was also another dark trooper variant that we see in the force unleashed, pretty sure they were called purge troopers

I recently 100%'d (not hard; they're all mission objectives) the Nightdive remaster of SW:DF, so this is very appropriately timed.

#EckhartsLadder Do you have any information on the ship the Bad Batch flies to Barton-4 in Episode 5?

My favorite dark trooper is the o e from legends that was just a walking juggernaut that survived a sand crawler crash

Hey Eck what do you think about the very similar imperial droids from jedi survivor? Since i do think they're predecessors to the real deal their inclusion in the game might mean we'll eventually be able to fight one. I do really want to see what a true game adaptation of the dark troopers in 3d space with modern programming would look like.

Essential Guide to Warfare is great. My favorite section is Reconquest of the Rim.

I hope we see some of this in bad batch before it’s over

Those war droids show the Empire isn’t a joke.

I hope you do another VS Matchup someday. Preferably comparing Star Wars or Halo with Metroid. Also ODSTs vs Helldivers could be cool.

No HOME Resonance outro? :(

The Dark Troopers used to scare the heck out of me, so scared of them that I used to call them "Monsters." 😂🤣 Especially the Phase 1 Dark Troopers, I've been traumatized by them since I was little, when I tried to take one head-on; I tried blasting one but it deflected the shots and then it sliced and diced me to death. 😱

Biggest missed opportunity in Disney Star Wars (to me) was using Luke instead of Kyle Katarn at the end of Mando S2. Kyle Katarn showing up would have been awesome with huge spin off potential. Katarn's legends escapades would have been great for live action or animated shows like the Bad Batch. That said, Luke obviously has much more recognition and draws in more views to that episode but I'd personally think there would have been more storytelling ability from Katarn than almost any more recognised Jedi.

Can u elaborate on shadow droid?

I freaking love the Arc Hammer.

Phase 1 are T800 Terminators, Phase 2 are Mandalorians, and Phase 3 are Iron Man suits.

The only droid you need is a Droideka.