Vader ' s armor Vader ' s armor was a suit of cybernetic armor worn by the Sith Lord Darth Vader . He was encased in the armor as a result of grave injuries he sustained in a lightsaber duel with Jedi Master Obi - Wan Kenobi on Mustafar . Description . The armor ' s belt and chest plate held the controls for the life support system , ensuring that Vader ' s body received enough oxygen , nutrients , and medicine ; through this system , Vader could endure nearly any environment , including the vacuum of space . The suit could also withstand technopathy from Eternal Rur . In addition to its life - support functions , the Sith Lord ' s helmet contributed to giving him a frightening appearance , and could be removed to use a feeding tube in his private chamber due to his inability to eat normally . The helmet created Vader ' s menacing growl due to his natural voice being very weak from vocal - cord damage , and contained neural needles that painfully connected with the top of Vader ' s skull and spine , to form one interconnected unit . Without these , Vader could not use his artificial limb s . The armor had ten protective layers , while Vader had four artificial limbs as a result of his injuries on Mustafar and at the hand of Dooku on Geonosis . The armor ' s boot s featured magnetic clamp s , which could magnet ically adhere the suit to a metallic surface . He weighed 120 kilogram s in his armor , and was 2 . 03 meter s tall in it . The armor also featured a remote to prep Vader ' s interceptor for combat . History . Vision to Skywalker . During the Clone Wars , Anakin Skywalker , Obi - Wan Kenobi , and Ahsoka Tano discovered the Mortis monolith , a gateway to another planet , while answering an ancient Jedi distress code . The trio then entered the world of Mortis , where they met a family of Force wielder s : the Father , the Daughter , and the Son . The Father had called Skywalker to the planet , believing him to the prophesied Chosen One . The family then put Skywalker through a series of trials , to test whether or not he was the Chosen One . During a confrontation between Skywalker and the Son , the Son offered to show Skywalker a vision of the future . During the vision , Anakin saw his wife in distress , the deaths of many Jedi , the evasive Darth Sidious unleashing his full power , his duel with Kenobi , and the destruction of Alderaan . The vision concluded with a ghostly image of Anakin ' s future cybernetic helmet . Each of these apparitions would prove to come true . Rebuilding Darth Vader . After his fall to the dark side of the Force and rebirth as Darth Vader , Anakin was sent to the planet Mustafar , where he murdered the entire Separatist Council , ending the Clone Wars . In the aftermath of the slaughter , Vader dueled his former Jedi Master , Obi - Wan Kenobi . Vader lost the fight after having both legs and his left arm severed by Kenobi . Vader then tumbled down the volcanic planet ' s surface , near a river of lava , where his body burst into flames . Kenobi left his former apprentice presumably dead . Unbeknownst to Kenobi , Vader ' s new Sith Master Darth Sidious would soon arrive to his apprentice ' s aide . Vader was shuttle d to the Grand Medical Facility on the planet Coruscant , capital of the newly formed Galactic Empire . A DD - 13 Medical Assistant Droid fitted him with cybernetic implants while a 2 - 1B surgical droid picked away any remaining chars of clothing and flesh from the Dark Lord ' s body . An FX - 9 Medical droid supplied Vader with blood transfusions during the surgery . Vader required a permanent breathing apparatus , a result of his encounter with the flames , altering his voice into a deep growl . Living with the suit . Darth Vader wore the armor for over two decades , until his redemption and death . He initially hated the armor , but after living with it for several years , he embraced how it isolated him from the rest of the galaxy , allowing him to concentrate on becoming a pure instrument of the dark side . Three years prior to the Battle of Yavin , Vader engaged in a duel against his former apprentice , Ahsoka Tano , inside the Malachor Sith temple . During the duel , Vader ' s helmet suffered considerable damage , disabling Vader ' s vocal modulator and exposing his right eye . Vader eventually stumbled out of the temple alive , albeit exhausted and short of breath . Vader would continually have to meditate on the dark side for extended periods just to operate the suit at peak efficiency , prior to the Battle of Scarif , he spent some time in a bacta tank in his castle on Mustafar before donning the suit again to meet Director Orson Krennic . Shortly after the Battle of Hoth , Vader dueled his son , Luke Skywalker , aboard Cloud City , a mining city floating within the clouds of Bespin . Luke caused minor damage to his father ' s suit after slashing him on the shoulder . Vader retaliated by severing his son ' s right hand . The two did not meet again until the Battle of Endor six months later . Aboard the Second Death Star Vader duelled Luke for the last time while in the presence of Galactic Emperor Palpatine . Towards the end of the duel , Luke retreated to a hiding spot and refused to fight anymore . To bring Luke out of hiding , Vader taunted Luke by threatening to corrupt Luke ' s sister , Leia Organa . Succumbing to his rage Luke burst from his hiding place and viciously attacked Vader beating him down and , in the final blow of the duel , cutting off Vader ' s right hand . Delighted , the Emperor ' s exhorted Luke to complete his acceptance of the Dark Side by killing the defenceless Darth Vader and taking his place . Despite his fury Luke had an epiphany when he saw the damaged stump of Vader ' s right forearm , reminding him of his own mechanical right hand . When Luke realized he had already begun down the path to the Dark Side , he choose to ignore his anger and fear and relented , showing Darth Vader mercy . Angered at the loss of a potential Sith , the Emperor torture d Luke with Force lightning , before eventually deciding to kill him . Vader intervened and ended his master by throwing him down a reactor shaft . During the conflict , Vader ' s suit was critically damaged by the lightning , and Vader died before escaping the destruction of the Death Star . Following his death , Luke burned the armor in a funeral pyre on the forest moon of Endor . Post - destruction . The disfigured helmet of the infamous suit was scavenged from the funeral pyre , and eventually found its way into the possession of Vader ' s grandson , Kylo Ren . Ren kept the helmet in his private quarters aboard the " Finalizer " , where he spoke with it whenever he felt the " pull to the light . " The mask remained on the " Finalizer " , although Kylo was reluctant to visit the mask until after he was certain he matched up to Vader upon Snoke ' s reprimand of him shortly after Starkiller Base ' s destruction . Behind the scenes . Darth Vader ' s armor was designed by Ralph McQuarrie , who deemed it necessary for Vader to wear a breathing mask after reading the portion of the " " script stating he would cross through space between ships . George Lucas subsequently created the backstory that Vader needed the suit and mask after falling into a volcano during his duel with Kenobi . Costume designer John Mollo made one suit for actor David Prowse to wear , which was produced on a budget of $ 1 , 173 . Brian Muir sculpted the mask . Mollo was inspired by McQuarrie ' s artwork , but was also influenced by armor , as well as the World War I – era trench armor and helmet . For " " , the suit was redesigned to be more comfortable , with spares for looser parts of the costumes . The helmet had minor changes to fix the domed top more securely , and the triangular chin vent was made larger so Prowse could breathe and see more easily . A helmet made of tinted acrylic was made for Prowse ' s stunt double Bob Anderson to see through more than just the eyepieces . The costume was barely altered for " " , although Fred Hole and Brian Archer designed and built a new helmet for the unmasking scene . Anakin Skywalker actor Hayden Christensen wore the suit for the conclusion of : molds of him were used to create the latest version of the armor by Don Bies and his team . Ryan Church designed the interior of Vader ' s helmet , which was shown in the film for the first time . The mask was digitally printed and so became the first symmetrical version . The suit ' s voice was provided by James Earl Jones , while Ben Burtt provided its infamous breathing sound by recording himself using a scuba - diving apparatus . Burtt also worked to make sure Jones ' s voice sounded like it was reverberating out of a helmet . " Star Wars Rebels " art director Kilian Plunkett said they could not experiment too much with Darth Vader ' s appearance , and that even the helmet hearkened back to McQuarrie ' s version . Dave Filoni said Vader " has to have the cape , " a costly simulation that meant other characters had to be redesigned with form - fitting outfits .