Stormtrooper Armour Is Not Ineffective

I know people like to say Stormtrooper armour is ineffective, but is it really?

First, let's consider what armour is. It's an outer shell designed to protect the interior from as much damage as possible. So let's address the various 'faults' people point out and see whether the suit is as "useless" as people claim.

I'll start with the most popular 'fault' people point out: the fact that Imperial soldiers collapse after taking a hit anywhere on their suit. Now this one I'll admit is only addressed outside of the films, so you can dismiss it out of principle. A significant portion of Stormtroopers hit by plasma that collapse are not actually dead, but unconscious. Plastoid, the material used in both phase 1/ 2 and Stormtrooper armor, is one that disperses energy instead of deflecting it. This ensures Stormtroopers have a higher chance of survival than most of the forces they face, who possess inferior armour.

It also contains air filtration systems and temperature control functionality, something not even clone armour possessed. They had to be provided via external equipment.

The Ewoks clubbed them into submission. That's totally unrelated to the quality of the armour, and all to do with blunt force. Most of the attacks on the Stormtroopers in Return Of The Jedi were to the head and chest, two of the most vulnerable parts of the body. The blunt trauma from the Ewok's attacks would've caused concussions, brain damage, and difficulty breathing (at least).

The armour chips away when Din is attacked in The Mandalorian. How does that make it weak/ ineffective? It lessened the blow on his arm, and can be easily replaced later. It did its job, it protected its wearer. That's one advantage plastoid has over beskar; any damage your suit of armour takes doesn't have to be permanent. The only way to fix damage to beskar would be to reforge the part entirely.

Lastly, regarding the previous two points, people seem to forget that laser guns are the predominant weapons used in combat within Star Wars, not maces and warhammers. So it makes little sense to address that issue with the standardised combat wear. You'd save that for the specialist units.

 

I'd say that's less of an issue with the how Stormtroopers are portrayed, and more of an issue with how the heroes' stories are written. Most of Star Wars' stories always end with main characters taking on a whole army. So naturally the whole enemy force becomes incompetent, in order to ensure the heroes' survival. What we need is stories where the main characters face fewer enemies, because then you have to increase their effectiveness in order to raise the stakes.