4 Ways Baylan Skoll's Lightsaber Is Unlike Any Other We've Ever Seen (And Why He's So Hard To Beat)

Ahsoka
featured the late Ray Stevenson as Baylan Skoll, a survivor of Order 66 with a unique lightsaber – and a warrior who proved nearly impossible to beat. Ahsoka Tano was trained by Anakin Skywalker himself and fought on the front lines of the Clone Wars, surviving the Dark Times and dueling Darth Vader himself. This caused Baylan Skoll, his opponent in the Ahsoka Incredibly impressive Disney+ TV show; he was actually able to beat her, coming within a hair's breadth of killing her. When they fought a second time, Ahsoka hurriedly left.

What makes Baylan Skoll so formidable? In part, it's simply because he uses a unique lightsaber, which gives him some decisive advantages in combat. According to the Huyang lightsaber droid, this lightsaber design has only been seen once in the last 500 years, suggesting that Baylan's design choices were particularly unusual. Here is everything Star Wars revealed about this blade and everything we managed to discover.

Baylan appears to be using a “large lightsaber”

This is unlike anything we've seen before

It's immediately clear that Baylan's weapon is different, and not just because of its unusual orange lightsaber blade. The blade is longer and the handle is clearly heavier, meaning Baylan needs to hold it with both hands. It appears to be a Great Lightsaber, an unusual type of lightsaber described in the Star Wars: Force and Destiny reference book Knights of Destiny. Traditionally used by non-humans, it has a reinforced handle and a resistant energy emitter to generate a longer blade.

“Their heavier hilts and more powerful blades, combined with the intended users' natural strength, make these massive lightsabers even more potent and deadly than their smaller cousins,” notes the reference book. The point is that using a Great Lightsaber forces a Jedi to cultivate a certain physical strengthuncommon even among the Jedi. His blows carry phenomenal physical strength, crushing his opponents when they attack.

Baylan's lightsaber moves slower

He is forced to fight in a very different way

Ahsoka Visual effects supervisor Richard Bluff revealed some secrets to Baylan's lightsaber when speaking exclusively with Screen Rant.

“For us, it was interesting from the point of view that if this lightsaber is so long and two-handed, it often moves through the air slower than a one-handed lightsaber. [ask ourselves questions like]'When do we need to do these additional speed ramps to speed up the film and make sure it looks like he's falling hard but also not leaving himself exposed?'”

You'd expect slower attacks to mean Ahsoka was able to dodge and dodge more effectively. The question, however, is that Baylan simply handles her weapon differently, meaning Ahsoka is forced to adapt. She's used to the speed and fluidity of a normal duel, but Baylan's weapon is wielded more like a historical broadsword than a samurai blade, which leaves it completely wrong.

Baylan's lightsaber clearly has a sense of weight

This is no ordinary lightsaber blade

This brings us to another important observation, which is actually quite shocking. It is important to remember that a lightsaber is, fundamentally, a “laser sword” – and light has no weight. Traditionally, then, the only part of a lightsaber with weight is the hilt, which explains why most lightsaber duels are fast and brutal. They are often compared to rapiers, thin, light blades that are perfect for thrusting attacks. Baylan's, however, is noticeably different – as seen when he and Ahsoka lock blades.

If you watch the battles closely, you'll see that Baylan prefers the type of slashing attack that only works when you have a lot of weight behind the strike. What's more, Ahsoka actually reacts to weight; at times, she appears to be being knocked down, almost disarmed by the force of Baylan's attacks. Both Baylan and Ahsoka are reacting to the weight, suggesting that Baylan's lightsaber blade is actually heavy.

It's unclear why this happens, but the orange blade may provide a hint. Jedi and Sith tend to use kyber crystals to power lightsabers, but you can use other potential crystals. Curiously, many of them create blades with different properties, and it's possible that Baylan is using something that adds weight to his lightsaber blade.

Baylan adapted his lightsaber form to take advantage of the properties of his blade

Ahsoka knew her style, but struggled to work around it

There is another factor to consider; Baylan's lightsaber form. Most Jedi choose a lightsaber form that somewhat compensates for their own weaknesses; Yoda's lithe Ataru was designed to compensate for his height, while Mace Windu's Vaapad channels his inner darkness. Baylan is different, because his lightsaber form has been modified to suit his unique lightsaber. He uses a modified version of Form V, Shien, an aggressive form despised by many Jedi – but also used by Anakin Skywalker.

This would make Ahsoka's duels with Baylan particularly difficult for her because she would be able to recognize elements of his form. The problem, however, is that your defenses would not work well; Baylan has adjusted his form to compensate for the weight of the lightsaber, which means each sweeping arc would seem slightly wrong for Ahsoka. It doesn't help that Ahsoka probably hasn't encountered Form V in years – not since she clashed with Darth Vader himself on Malachor. She was out of practice.

Modern Star Wars pays close attention to the details of lightsaber combat. In case of Ahsokathe fight choreography is absolutely remarkable; reveals a lot about Baylan Skoll and his lightsaber. This even explains why he is so difficult for Ahsoka Tano to defeat, making him a real challenge for Anakin Skywalker's Padawan.