Darth Vader

**Darth Vader**, also known as **Lord Vader**, is an Imperial villain in Pandemic Studios' *Star Wars: Battlefront* and *Star Wars: Battlefront II* video games. In the first game, Darth Vader is not controllable and only appears in select campaign missions and Galactic Conquest. In *Battlefront II*, players can become Darth Vader and use his two abilities, Force Choke and Saber Throw, to the advantage of the Imperial team.

## Gameplay

### Battlefront I

In the first *Battlefront*, Darth Vader appears only in select campaign missions and in any Imperial Galactic Conquest battles in which the hero bonus is activated. Additionally, Darth Vader cannot be controlled. Instead, he spawns at the start of the match and will proceed to eliminate enemy soldiers until the end of the match or until he is thrown off the map area.

His only ability is his lightsaber. He can deflect all blaster fire, including rocket launcher shells. This makes him impervious to all forms of damage, although Darth Vader will still react with explosives near him, allowing him to be thrown off a ledge.

### Battlefront II

Darth Vader is a slow but powerful fighter who wields a red-bladed lightsaber. His attacks consist of swift, powerful slashes. Vader is one of the slowest characters in the game when not sprinting, moving at a walking pace, which limits his basic attacks' range. Vader is capable of levitating through the Force, known as Force Flight, which allows him to reach higher altitudes, and despite his lack of agility in the DICE remake, he has the fastest sprint speed in the game, and the ability to cover large distances in the air. This ability is tied to his stamina bar. When jumping, Vader is able to attack with a single swipe, which brings him down to ground level. When sprinting, Vader can attack with a powerful horizontal slash which ends his sprint but, if timed correctly, can even take out a Wookiee Warrior.

## Tactical analysis

* Vader's sprint attack has two critical flaws. The first is that it is highly inaccurate. If the player wants to fight exclusively as Vader, they need to practice hitting targets with Vader's sprint attack if they are to be proficient. The second flaw is that Vader is easily manipulated by the terrain when sprint attacking, and he can go flying into the air over his intended target if not careful.
* It is important to note that the second flaw can be used to the player's advantage, especially in Mos Eisley and Tantive IV. Sprinting at upward-curving bases of walls will propel Vader in the air much like his force flight ability, with the added bonus of not using any stamina. The player can use this behavior to quickly traverse the battlefield as Vader and evade enemies.

## Maps

* Dagobah: Swamp
* Hoth: Echo Base
* Endor: Bunker
* Tantive IV: Interior
* Tatooine: Mos Eisley (Hero Assault)

## Quotes

### Spawning

* "This is Lord Vader."
* "What is thy bidding, my master?"

### Killing spree

* "Your strength is nothing compared to the Dark Side!"
* "Feel the power of the Dark Side!"

### Defeated

* "I have done as you commanded, master."
* "It is done, my master."

## Trivia

* The in-game attack stance for Darth Vader is Form 2, Makashi, the stance also used by Count Dooku. The stance should be Form 5, Djem So.
* In Battlefront I, Darth Vader has been known to instantly kill Rebel vehicles including the Rebels hover tank.
* In Battlefront II, Darth Vader can use Force choke for an unlimited time if the player holds and uses Force Choke and hits the button that switches force power very fast.
* Darth Vader is one of the few if not the only character that can counterbalance themselves in mid-flight if they are Force Pulled. In addition, to counterbalancing in mid-flight, Vader can counter attack the Jedi that Force Pulled him with a jumping attack.
* He is voiced by Scott Lawrence in Star Wars: Battlefront II video game.
* In the PSP version of Star Wars Battlefront 2, Vader's attack set is very different from the other ports. His first lightsaber attack is similar to Count Dooku's, as he slashes his lightsaber toward his shoulder. His second attack in the combo is similar to his first attack in the other ports, except he uses only one hand. His finisher is similar to Count Dooku's second attack, as he will just bring his lightsaber down on his right side. His sprint is also different as he actually uses his feet. His sprint attack will just be an uppercut instead of slash. He has no jump attack in this port.
* In Star Wars Battlefront 1, Vader's helmet is quite large and is almost the same size of his torso.