Star Wars: The Empire Had Better Options Than The Death Star

Star Wars fans have some ideas on what weapons the Empire could have used that would have been more effective than the Death Star. It turns out the oppressive fascist regime had plenty of other options, and the rest of the galaxy may have been lucky they didn't use them to their full potential.

The planet-destroying Death Star remains among the most iconic pieces of imagery in Star Wars. It's not difficult to see why, as it and its subsequent variations regularly played integral parts in the story due to their virtually unfathomable levels of destructive power. But according to fans, there are a ton of other weapons the Empire could have used more effectively to push their agenda on the galaxy. The Empire may not be the greatest threat to the galaxy, but it could be with a few tweaks.

User Serdna87 posed a simple question on the Star Wars subreddit, asking what weapon would have been better than the Death Star. This immediately prompted a deluge of responses from other users, drawing on their experiences with Star Wars stories both in and out of the canon. One of the more obvious answers offered was the Starkiller Base from The Force Awakens, which was essentially the same idea as the Death Star with plenty of massive improvements, like a longer range and a less obvious weakness. But what about more subtle options?

«Well Starkiller base was. It had a MUCH longer range and it didn't have the built in self-destruct. They actually had to blow it up by conventional means.»

That's where the ideas shone. Many of these improvements dealt with practical enhancements to the Empire's existing resources, such as upgrades to the TIE Fighters (such as Grand Admiral Thrawn's TIE Defender concept) and better armor for the stormtroopers. The idea here is that, since the Empire tends to focus more on maneuverability than protection for its fighters and infantry, designing them both so they can take a shot and keep going would immediately turn the tides in their favor during any given