Darth Vader’sarmor was made of obsidian; although its design inspired fear and symbolized the strength of the Galactic Empire, it was also critical to Vader’s survival after hisdefeat on Mustafar. The armor’s belt and chest plate held the controls for the life support system, ensuring that Vader’s body received enough oxygen, nutrients, and medicine; through this system, Vader could endure nearly any environment, including the vacuum of space. The suit could also withstand technopathy from Eternal Rur. In addition to its life-support functions, the Sith Lord‘s helmet contributed to giving him a frightening appearance, and could be removed to use a feeding tube in his private chamber due to his inability to eat normally.
The helmet created Vader’s menacing growl due to his natural voice being very weak from vocal-cord damage, and contained neural needles that painfully connected with the top of Vader’s skull and spine, to form one interconnected unit. Without these, Vader could not use his cybernetics. The armor had ten protective layers, each one was made of very strong alloy that could protect Vader from some explosions and weapons. Vader had four artificial limbs as a result of his injuries on Mustafar and at the hand of Dooku on Geonosis.
The armor’s boots featured magnetic clamps, which could magnetically adhere the suit to a metallic surface. He weighed 120 kilograms in his armor, and was 2.03 meters tall in it. The armor also featured a remote to prep Vader’s interceptor for combat. In the event of damage to one set of armor, Vader had a backup set which he kept in his quarters on-board whatever vessel he happened to be traveling in at the time. This proved useful when he was attacked by unusual insects on Batuu, which encased much of his armor in stone.
Although Vader considered his armor acceptable, it was described as «junk» by the leader of the Droid Crush Pirates of Bestoon, who had been promised it contained advanced technology by Ochi of Bestoon. Despite Vader’s reputation as the Galactic Empire’s greatest weapon, a scan of his armor revealed to the droid captain that Vader was made of standard components, such as life support, a fusion furnace and a respirator. A further scan revealed the suit’s components were no more advanced than the droids’ own parts.