Electrostaff / Legends The electrostaff was an electronic melee weapon constructed of lightsaber - resistant phrik alloy equipped with electromagnetic pulse - generating tips . The electrostaff was the primary weapon of General Grievous ' s and Count Dooku ' s bodyguards and the Imperial riot troopers as well as Imperial heavy trooper s of the Galactic Empire . Description . Though some staffs could penetrate and neutralize ray shields , most were simply used as blunt - force melee weapons . They were designed to be longer than most lightsaber blades , enabling the user to fight Jedi while remaining out of the Jedi ' s range . As with force pikes , the emitters on the ends had different power settings , going from a stunning jolt to a deadly charge . Thus the electrostaff could be used to only incapacitate an opponent instead of killing them outright . The electrostaff could be used as a torture device . While deadly weapons , the electrostaff , even when on the highest power setting , would still have to touch a victim for longer than a few seconds , or hit in the chest , throat or head , to do any real damage , as shown when Jedi Master Shaak Ti was able to take four hits on her arms and shoulders and , despite being in very obvious pain , she was able to continue fighting against the large hoard of Magnaguards she was fighting , eventually being able to utilize the weapon against them . History . The Separatist forces used electrostaff - wielding droids , known as IG - 100 MagnaGuards , to guard General Grievous and Count Dooku during the Clone Wars , as well as to assist them against Jedi and abduct Supreme Chancellor Palpatine in 19 BBY . The electrostaffs used by these MagnaGuards were manufactured by Baktoid Armor Workshop . They were lined with focusing rods along the shaft that fed into a power cell and electromagnetic field generator that energized a power cycling coil . This is what produced the purple or yellow sparks and beams that were visible at the ends of their electrostaffs . Not all of the electrostaffs produced by Baktoid Armor Workshop were constructed of phrik due to the cost of the alloy . Around 1 and 2 BBY , riot troopers and heavy troopers of the Empire were known to use these staffs . They were able to resist lightsabers using Cortosis , as shown when they engaged Starkiller , Darth Vader ' s apprentice , as well as his clone . They were encountered by them on several planets , including Kamino , Felucia , Kashyyyk , and Cato Neimoidia , though failed to stop the apprentice and later his clone from reaching his objectives . Behind the scenes . Electrostaffs were weapons created for " " out of George Lucas ' s desire for a non - lightsaber melee weapon that could combat a lightsaber . In the audio commentary for the second volume of the , it is revealed that the production team of the series jokingly referred to the electrostaffs as " fart staffs " because of their sound . In " Grievous Intrigue " , an episode of " " , General Grievous and Obi - Wan Kenobi engaged in a battle aboard Grievous ' s Separatist destroyer , during which Kenobi briefly made use of the electrostaff of a fallen MagnaGuard in conjunction with his lightsaber to compete with the four lightsabers of Grievous ; however , Grievous soon destroyed the staff with his sabers by cutting off both ends of it . It is unconfirmed whether he hit weak points on the staff or if this was a continuity error . It should also be noted that in the " Revenge of the Sith " , Grievous appears to be somewhat resistant to the energy discharge from the electrostaff . He even remarks to Obi - Wan Kenobi during their duel on Utapau , " You think I would arm my bodyguards with weapons that could injure me ? " . Perhaps this also implies that Grievous deliberately included the aforementioned structural weakness as a countermeasure , should someone attempt to use his bodyguards ' weapon against him .