The Empire"s Stormtroopers Were Its Greatest Weakness

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Stormtroopers have always been the Empire’s biggest weakness in Star Wars. They have been part of the franchise's iconography and storytelling since blasting their way into the Tantive IV in A New Hope, and remain so in the most recent Star Wars projects. They’re the nuisance that needs to be dealt with, easy to impersonate, and even easier to kill. And yet the Empire has always relied on its stormtroopers to do the grunt work, hoping time and again that they would be able to protect their strongholds and prevent rebel activity from undermining its operations; but the stormtroopers nearly always prove them wrong.
Star Wars: The Bad Batch has been explaining why stormtroopers replaced clones within the Empire’s ranks. But watching Star Wars: The Clone Wars makes it hard to fathom the Empire’s decision to favor stormtroopers over clones – clone troopers seem to have much more practical combat experience, tactical skills, and proper weapons training. Compare that to the stormtroopers in any of the original Star Wars movies and the difference is striking. But while the clones were a costly production, “volunteer” stormtroopers could be found in every corner of the galaxy, cheap and readily indoctrinated. Having an overwhelming number of stormtroopers at its disposal may give the Empire a certain advantage, but it also creates plenty of problems.
The Empire Never Succeeded In Training Stormtroopers

The Imperial Academy was a galaxy-wide operation, with plenty of schools and training facilities. It wasn’t only future Imperial officers that went through education there – those who volunteered or were otherwise forced to join the academy would also go on to become the Empire’s stormtroopers. Star Wars Rebels season 1, episode 6 “Breaking Ranks” gives an example of the kind of training that cadets are forced to go through, making the preparation seem quite extensive. Books like Lost Stars by Claudia Gray also portray just how rigorous the Imperial Academy’s training regimens could be. And yet, the stormtroopers are still easy to defeat. If it weren’t for their overwhelming numbers, they’d be deemed useless.