A guide to all Imperial enemies in Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order
The Empire's army is diverse and elite. Here's our guide to each trooper and vehicle you'll face.
In Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, the military of the Galactic Empire is filled with tons of different soldiers, and each of them are dangerous in their own unique ways. These troops make up the majority of the enemies that you'll be fighting over the course of the game, so it's a good idea to get a strong understanding of how each foe behaves, as well as what their strengths and weaknesses are. Here's our guide to every Imperial enemy you'll fight in the game (excluding boss encounters).
Welcome to the galaxy far, far away
Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order is the first single-player Star Wars game in a long time, and thanks to its tense combat and expansive worlds, it doesn't disappoint.
Standard troopers
The vast majority of the time, you'll be fighting the standard troopers of the Empire. Though they're far from the toughest enemies in the game, enemies that fall within this category can be very dangerous in groups, and later on in the game you'll often have to take on multiple different classes of trooper at the same time.
- Stormtroopers: Ah, Stormtroopers. As the bread-and-butter of the Imperial military, Stormtroopers are some of the most common enemies in the entire game, and are arguably the easiest ones to defeat. Usually deployed in small squadrons, these troopers will accurately (yes, that's right; they can hit things in this game!) fire at you from afar with their blaster rifles. The easiest way to take them down is to deflect their blaster bolts back at them, but closing the distance and cutting them down while they recharge their weapon is also an effective strategy.
- Heavy Stormtroopers: Heavy Stormtroopers are an upgrade from their normal variant, and wield minigun-like rotary blasters. These weapons shoot fast, and also have frontal energy shields that block any blaster bolts you deflect. However, they have a weakness: after a volley, the trooper has to let the weapon cool before shooting again. Wait for this to happen, and then quickly run up to them and cut them down before the trooper begins firing again.
- Scout Troopers: Scout Troopers make up the bulk of the foes that will engage you in melee combat. They wield stun batons in battle that do moderate damage and are capable of being used to block your lightsaber strikes. However, their defenses quickly go down to a volley of attacks, and they are also susceptible to counter-attacks after you parry their strikes. Like Stormtroopers, Scout Troopers usually engage you in groups, so it's a good idea to use movement and Force abilities to control the crowd. This will allow you to tackle them one at a time, which is much easier than trying to deal with multiple melee combatants simultaneously. Once you get it, the double-bladed lightsaber's inherent crowd control strengths make it an amazing weapon choice against squads of Scout Troopers.
- Flame Troopers: Flame Troopers are arguably the trickiest enemy of all of the normal Imperial soldiers, as their flamethrowers make approaching them head-on difficult. The last thing you want to do is get cornered by a trooper blasting you with volleys of fire, so make sure that you use lots of movement to prevent that from happening. In terms of getting around their strong frontal defense, using the Force Slow ability is a fantastic way to do so. This is because you can slow the trooper's movement down and prevent him from keeping a wall of flame in your face, allowing you to move to his side and go in for an easy kill.
- Rocket Troopers: Rocket Troopers are Stormtroopers equipped with heavy-hitting rocket launchers. In addition, they tend to prefer high ground that gives them a better firing angle, so always keep your eyes peeled for them on ledges. Their rockets do a lot of damage, but you can counter these troops in several ways. My favorite is to use Lightsaber Throw from range, but slowing the missile down with Force Slow and then flinging it back at the soldier that shot it with Force Push is also effective.
Purge Troopers
Purge Troopers are a significant cut above the normal Imperial riffraff in terms of health, damage, and speed, and are capable of killing you in seconds if you aren't prepared for their capabilities. They typically don't spawn in groups, although they are often accompanied by a couple of regular troops. All of them fight up close in melee combat, with the exception of the Purge Trooper Commander that will be discussed later in the guide.
- Electrostaff Purge Trooper: The most common Purge Trooper you'll run into are the ones that wield electrostaffs. These soldiers can resist Force abilities and excel at countering attacks, so your best bet to do damage to them is to wait for them to strike, then parry their blow and hit them with counter-attacks of your own. In addition, there's also a brief window of time after their attack combo ends that you can hit them freely.
- Electrobaton Purge Trooper: Electrobaton Purge Troopers are the fastest of the bunch, and their specialties lie within their ability to dodge. As with the Electrostaff Purge Trooper, going on the attack isn't a great idea because they will most likely dodge out of the way, then hit you. Instead, counter-attacking them is generally the best way to take Electrobaton Purge Troopers down. They are also less resistant to the Force than Electrostaff Purge Troopers, so you can use abilities like Force Slow to make them vulnerable or Force Push to knock them into environmental hazards.
- Electrohammer Purge Trooper: Electrohammer Purge Troopers are the beefiest of the Purge Troopers, and unlike the other two, are geared towards an offensive mindset. Their electrohammers do huge damage and are generally unblockable, so trying to go for counter-attacks is not advised. Instead, it's better to dodge away from their strikes and then launch your own attack combos as they try to lift their weapon into ready position again. Due to their stocky nature, they resist Force powers too, so sticking to your lightsaber is your best bet.
Commanding officers
A special enemy class in Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order are the Commanders. These are units that share similar traits with their subordinates, and have the ability to inspire nearby soldiers to fight harder and faster. In addition, they sport increased health and combat prowess.
- Stormtrooper Commander: These special Stormtroopers can be identified by their orange pauldron. Like normal Stormtroopers, they fire their blaster rifles from range, but also throw grenades that can damage and stun you. On top of this, they also can organize groups of normal Stormtroopers to fire in volleys, which are much more difficult to deflect. As with standard Stormtroopers, deflecting blaster bolts at them, closing the distance and cutting them down, and stunning them with Force powers are all effective.
- Scout Trooper Commander: These Scout Troopers can also be identified by their orange pauldron. They attack with stun batons as Scout Troopers do, but are better at blocking your attacks and are quicker to launch their own, though they can still be overpowered with enough repeated strikes and taken down with counter-attacks. They inspire other Scout Troopers to attack you more aggressively.
- Purge Trooper Commander: These special Purge Troopers have red pauldrons and rapidly fire away at you with blaster rifles from range. They have heavy resistance to the Force and will constantly throw stun grenades at you to try and keep you from getting close with your lightsaber, but if you manage to avoid the grenades and successfully manage their blasterfire, you'll be rewarded with lots of attack opportunities when you get in lightsaber range. Be aware, though, that they can still dodge you, and if they do, they will attempt to get behind you and shoot you in the back. They, like other commanding units, inspire nearby troops to fight at a quickened pace.
Vehicles
Though you'll be fighting infantry for the vast majority of the game, there are a few instances where you'll need to take down Imperial vehicles in Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order.
- AT-ST: Also known as a "chicken walker," the AT-ST is the only vehicle you'll have to take down on foot. Its heavy blaster cannons will need to be dodged away from or else you'll take massive damage, but you can use Force Push to blow its grenades back at it, and also use a combination of Force Slow and Force Push to send its rocket attack back at it, too, similar to how you take down Rocket Troopers. Once the walker goes down, the driver climbs out of the hatch and is an easy kill.
- AT-AT: In a later section of the game, you'll be piloting an AT-AT, and you'll be tasked with going toe-to-toe with another walker. The key to winning the duel is to always be firing either the AT-AT's chin cannons or the fast-firing blasters on the sides of its "head." You never want both weapons to overheat at the same time, as the other walker will then gain an edge in the damage race.
- Imperial Shuttle: The other vehicle you'll go up against in your AT-AT is an airborne Imperial Shuttle that will sway side-to-side as it attempts to take your walker down with its heavy, slow-firing blaster cannons. Taking the ship down isn't too difficult, but you'll need to lead your shots a bit to compensate for the evasive movement of the shuttle.
Your thoughts
What do you think of all of the different Imperial foes in Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order? Which one do you think is the most difficult? Let me know.
Related: Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order beginner's guide and tips to know
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Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order is available now for $60 on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC.
Brendan Lowry is a Windows Central writer and Oakland University graduate with a burning passion for video games, of which he's been an avid fan since childhood. He's been writing for Team WC since the summer of 2017, and you'll find him doing news, editorials, reviews, and general coverage on everything gaming, Xbox, and Windows PC. His favorite game of all time is probably NieR: Automata, though Elden Ring, Fallout: New Vegas, and Team Fortress 2 are in the running, too. When he's not writing or gaming, there's a good chance he's either watching an interesting new movie or TV show or actually going outside for once. Follow him on X (Twitter).