Jedi use rapid precognition to deflect blaster bolts. Trust in the Force allows Jedi to react faster to block and even redirect incoming shots. This ability demonstrates a Jedi's strong connection to the Force itself.
Edit: ^they can't block bullets(slugs) with a lightsaber! Since the slugs are physical projectiles, they'd be easier for Jedi to stop using the Force. Actually, issue #18 of Dark Lord of the Sith confirmed that lightsabers couldn't block slugs…not that it wasn't common sense to assume before then.
During the time of the Old Republic, as Obi Wan stated, using a blaster as a Jedi is rather uncivilized. The old Sith didn't see much use for blasters either. However, during the Age of the Empire, we see more Jedi that use blasters.
Mandalorian armor forged from beskar can withstand blaster bolts, nearly impenetrable protection that made the warrior class difficult to defeat at the height of their power.
Obi-Wan and other Jedi view blasters as uncivilized, preferring lightsabers, making this concept humorous and surprising. The reason Jedi neglected this technology is that blasters go against the Jedi Code's emphasis on defense and knowledge, as blasters are primarily used for offense.
Summary. Lightsabers are effective in close combat but vulnerable to blaster bolts from a distance, making blasters a useful long-range counter. Blasters in Star Wars are plasma-based weapons that seemingly never run out of ammo, making them convenient and cheaper to produce.
That made sense because all of the Jedi that used a Force choke did so when they were afraid, angry or desperate. It was simply too easy of a path to reaching the dark side, so the Jedi consciously chose to avoid using the Force to choke their adversaries.
However, despite their strict adherence to the light side of the Force, several Jedi were known to use this power, as although it was considered a dark side ability, it was also a technique of telekinesis. Its use, however, was forbidden by the Jedi.
The subject of this article appeared in the New Jedi Order era. Pyrokinesis was a Force power that allowed a Force-user to manipulate and generate fire by rubbing and heating up air molecules together. The power seemed to have two major applications, the manipulation, and the generation of fire.
The question remains: why wouldn't the Empire protect its own troops? Stormtrooper armor can disperse some heat from a blaster shot, but only from low-powered, civilian weapons. Rebel weapons are much stronger.
In some cases, such as those of Fionah Ti, Vaner Shan and Theron Shan, children of Jedi and other Force-sensitives were incapable of using the Force, a rare and unexplained phenomenon that occurred in random generations.
The breastplate was the strongest part of the armor, offering the greatest protection from shrapnel, projectiles, flames, and various corrosives, and was sturdy enough to disperse across the surface area of the armor's plasteel all hits from blaster and other handheld energy weapons barring close-range direct impacts.
Darth Vader can not use force lighting, because of his severed arms. Robotic hands can't summon the force lighting. However Darth Vader can still use other forms of the force, such as force choke.
Kylo demonstrably couldn't defeat Snoke directly, instead killing his master via deception. Kylo most likely never learned how to conjure Force lightning, which is considered an advanced skill for dark side users.
The built-in blaster function gave him the ability to engage in combat without revealing his identity, and it provided an advantage in confrontations that other Jedi would not have. The inconspicuous design and utilitarian appearance also made it much less likely to be recognized as a lightsaber.
Some beings used blasters from their youth: Anakin Skywalker owned a small ion blaster in his childhood, Leia Organa was given a sporting blaster when she was a teenager, and Mandalorian children were given blasters, along with extensive training, prior to becoming thirteen standard years old.
A superweapon created by the Mandalorian Sabine Wren and used by the Galactic Empire, called the Arc Pulse Generator, was capable of superheating the metal to the point that it would burn everything it was protecting to a crisp, such as Mandalorian warriors encased within their beskar armor.
Pure Beskar is what keeps Din Djarin and so many other Mandalorians out of harm's way, but it wasn't always that way for the people of Mandalore. During much of the Clone Wars, many Mandalorians did not possess pure Beskar suits of armor, leaving them more vulnerable to blasters and lightsabers.
