So, silly me, I actually looked at the statistics for lightsabers in the Force and Destiny Beta and noticed they were different (read Nerfed) from Age of Rebellion and Edge of the Empire.

Yay.

Stupid question time:

Are these stats meant to replace those in AoR and EotE for lightsabers? (standard and otherwise).

And yes, before someone wastes the keystrokes, I totally realize this is my game and ergo sum the numbers can be what I want them to be. I have no problem adjusting the numbers now (better it be now then if I ever had any Force Users in my campaign and then suddenly we run a F+D game and cometh ye olde rude surprise). Does it look like the Nerfing is here to stay?

The ones in AoR and EotE are essentially the Basic Lightsaber (ones with Ilum crystals) fully modded. The reason for basic ones in FaD is so players can't jump up to having a maxed out crystal when they defeat a powerful opponent, such as an Inquisitor, but also so that lightsaber battling isn't quite so deadly (both for PCs and NPCs) from the get-go.

But with an AoR/EotE game; if you're just tossing a tough opponent at the players, and it's unlikely a player will switch over to becoming more Force Sensitive-focused; it's perfectly fine to keep the higher stat Lightsaber.

Does it look like the Nerfing is here to stay?

Yes, but honestly, in practice, it's not so bad, pretty well balanced actually.

One thing to remember is that AoR and EotE don't have ways to get Reflect and Parry talents. so while the beast stats you find there are nice, the killer glow stick provides no defenses and in fact you aren't even really supposed to have access to the skill to use it. So while it's a massive weapon in melee, you gotta spend a turn or two getting into melee, and once you are there you're just sorta wildly flailing it around.

In FaD it also has those nice defensive bonuses (which per RAW are almost impossible to remove as long as the character is conscious and has the saber) and not to mention a ton of other talents related to that glow stick. So the saber does A LOT more then just act as a really fancy melee weapon, and has an integrated method of allowing the player to survive the approach to melee range. Once in range the player will not only have a skill, but also a form talent, allowing them to not just use the saber, but use it as well as possible. So even though the thing has a slight nerf, the skills and talents your character has will essentially balance it out.

And as Lathrop points out, if you really want to get the stats of the original saber, its hard, but possible, you just make the appropriate mods to the crystal it comes with standard.

also they are not nerfed. a player can get to the same point as the ones in the previous books by modding them up. it takes time and credits.

Plus one has to consider the socia implifications of wielding such a weapon. In edge especially, where you are as close to the ordenary citizen, as you can get, just swinging one around will draw unhealthy attention and have others trying to sell you off to the imperial for a rich bounty.

The Sabers only start weak so that the soak ignoring weapons don't two shot everthing. They just require more tampering then to reach that level. Personally though, there's nothing stopping you from handing out full mode do/allowing foes and players using full stat sabers, it just makes combat decidingly more lethal.

A lot of the more exotic lightsaber crystals would also be "easier" to get during the era of the rebellion because no one else are using them for anything and things like krayte dragon pearls and so on are still traded by normal people so getting your hands on one is less likely to get noticed than say trying to buy a Kyber crystal.

also they are not nerfed. a player can get to the same point as the ones in the previous books by modding them up. it takes time and credits.

I'd say that the Basic Lightsaber in FaD is a nerf in terms of how the weapon performs, not so much in that the stats are changed but rather that the default traits of a basic lightsaber have been lowered.

But it's also a fairly light nerfing, as it is possible with time, credits, and a fair bit of luck (or a very high Force Rating) to bring a Basic Lightsaber up to the performance level of the EotE/AoR version, and still have a couple hard points left over for other things (like a superior hilt customization for instance), where the EotE/AoR lightsaber has zero hard points and pretty much can't be modified or take advantage of the variant lightsaber crystals, or at least not without errata from FFG that says otherwise.

LordBritish also has a point that the Basic Lightsaber in FaD makes including lightsaber combats a far less lethal prospect for PCs and NPCs alike. I've played a few sessions using the EotE/AoR lightsaber with a character of mine, and holy crap it was brutal; minion groups pretty much went down like wheat before a scythe, and Rivals were either taken out or left with only a few wounds that the next solid hit from even a bog-standard blaster pistol was assured to take them down. GM didn't put us up against a saber-wielding foe until after we'd gotten our hands on the FaD Beta, which was probably good because the EotE/AoR lightsaber in the hands of an Inquisitor would have spelled a TPK for the group.

You do bring up good points, and I very much like how you made the existence of both sets of stats possible (thereby not like, invalidating two little pieces of the GM Screens I bought). Well done guys, thanks.

...and still have a couple hard points left over for other things (like a superior hilt customization for instance), where the EotE/AoR lightsaber has zero hard points and pretty much can't be modified or take advantage of the variant lightsaber crystals, or at least not without errata from FFG that says otherwise.

Bingo. If anything, F&D made lightsabers better by giving them hardpoints. In EoE and AoR, they are merely dangerous, but in F&D, who knows what attachment combos can be had.

...and still have a couple hard points left over for other things (like a superior hilt customization for instance), where the EotE/AoR lightsaber has zero hard points and pretty much can't be modified or take advantage of the variant lightsaber crystals, or at least not without errata from FFG that says otherwise.

Bingo. If anything, F&D made lightsabers better by giving them hardpoints. In EoE and AoR, they are merely dangerous, but in F&D, who knows what attachment combos can be had.

The ones in AoR and EotE are essentially the Basic Lightsaber (ones with Ilum crystals) fully modded. The reason for basic ones in FaD is so players can't jump up to having a maxed out crystal when they defeat a powerful opponent, such as an Inquisitor, but also so that lightsaber battling isn't quite so deadly (both for PCs and NPCs) from the get-go.

But with an AoR/EotE game; if you're just tossing a tough opponent at the players, and it's unlikely a player will switch over to becoming more Force Sensitive-focused; it's perfectly fine to keep the higher stat Lightsaber.

I was coming here with just that question about the saber stat degradation. And this answer makes a lot of sense.