He is canonically declared to be the most powerful Sith of all time! Originally Answered: Was Darth Vader more powerful before his duel on Mustafar or after receiving his suit? He was more powerful after. It had nothing to do with the suit, and everything to do with the experience he gained.
While Vader and his suit will always be iconic, it's clear that Anakin's Darth Vader would have been much stronger without it. His fights with Ahsoka in Ahsoka episode 5 prove that, as even she is clearly terrified of her own master.
Could be any number of reasons ranging from faulty surge protection anodes, to Starkiller and Palpatine having vastly different current frequencies and voltages in their force lightening.
Inside his suit and mask, Vader has a series of needles in his skin. Unfortunately, these needles, which transmit neurological data throughout his body and allow him to control his limbs, also cause him constant pain.
According to Lucas, Vader operated at twenty percent less strength than the Emperor. While this was still impressive, it also shows how much more powerful he could have been as Anakin. Had he emerged unscathed from his duel with Obi-Wan, conquering the galaxy would have happened much faster.
Obi-Wan faced off against Darth Vader four times and physically beat him twice while beating him through his Force development in a third fight. Obi-Wan Kenobi had the high ground that led to Vader's disfigurement and becoming the ultimate Star Wars cyborg.
In Star Wars Legends and Canon, Galen Marek (Starkiller) is the only Jedi (other than Obi-Wan Kenobi) to put a beat down on Darth Vader/Anakin Skywalker. Galen was secretly trained as a Sith Lord apprentice to Vader, but returned to the light side and the Jedi.
However, once Luke fully embraced his power in Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, he proved that he was indeed stronger than Darth Vader and struck his father down.
Vader Outranked only by Sidious - CON: The only thing I can find that says Tarkin outranked Vader is a quote by David Filoni in 2015 during an interview about Rebels. He actually says that Tarkin outranks Vader.
As Darth Vader, he was one of the strongest beings in the entire galaxy. But even then, he was never able to surpass his master, Darth Sidious. A Sith Apprentice can only become the master when they murder the one who trained them.
Darth Vader's loss of limbs prevents him from using force lightning, a common ability among Sith, making him weaker in comparison. Vader's reliance on his mechanical suit weakens him in battle, reducing his agility and mobility from his days as Anakin Skywalker.
As further highlighted by Vader and Kylo's redemption stories, it was a lesson that Kylo Ren never fully learned himself, which makes Darth Vader the more powerful user of the Force between the two of them in Star Wars.
Despite being the Chosen One, Anakin Skywalker was not the most powerful Jedi in Star Wars, as that honor goes to Ahsoka Tano. The Star Wars prequel trilogy focused on Anakin's desire to become the most powerful Jedi, and while he became very strong in the Force, his lust for power drove him to the dark side.
At its inception, the title and position was granted to Darth Vader. It seems that in this capacity, Vader's powers were those of Commander-in-Chief of all Imperial forces, answering only to Emperor Palpatine.
Why did Palpatine make Vader's suit uncomfortable?
This served to do 2 things. One, it kept Vader in a constant state of pain, which fueled his anger and made him stronger, and 2 it served as a persistent reminder of his failure.
well there are many answers, but the 2 most important ones. Vader probably wouldn't have survived the process. and also in upgrading his armor, Darth Sidious would have saw this as a threat rat. and he would have acted accordingly.
Force lightning ability was not restricted to dark-siders. Jedi and other light-siders who were strong of will and character could learn this power without falling to the dark side—but its use was viewed as inherently corrupting, and most Jedi Councils forbade its use.
