Cortosis

Cortosis ore saw widespread use in the construction of shadowtrooper armor, as well as the C-B3 cortosis battle droids deployed during the Clone Wars, and by the Force-sensitive group known as the Jensaarai. The cortosis employed in these armors was illicitly obtained from Bespin's Cloud City. Cortosis ore was also used to line the walls of the Imperial Palace. Additionally, it served to reinforce the hulls of starfighters and capital ships, and was integrated into body armor.

The rarity of cortosis and the necessity for its thorough refinement made it an expensive material to mine. In its pure, unrefined state, cortosis ore exhibited an unexplained energized property that proved lethal to anyone who touched it with bare skin, even the Hutts, who possessed energy-resistant enzymes within their sweat. Miners were required to use filtering equipment to prevent the accumulation of cortosis particles in their systems, which could lead to hair loss, illness, and ultimately, death. Due to the substance's energy resistance, energy-based tools like plasma torches proved largely ineffective for mining. Instead, hydraulic jacks were used to extract it, but the brute force quickly rendered the jack heads useless and the resulting dust would clog the pistons. Furthermore, deposits of highly combustible lethane gas frequently formed in proximity to cortosis deposits.

The most prized form of cortosis was its purified variant, known as Cortosis-Shield, which was utilized by Roan Fel's Imperial Knights in their gauntlets. This material proved highly effective, even surpassing beskar in durability. As an example, Roan Fel bisected a pauldron and demonstrated the ability to temporarily short out a lightsaber. Only lightsabers powered by a unique type of lightsaber crystal mined on Mestare were immune to cortosis's effects.

During the era of the New Sith Wars, the Outer Rim Oreworks Company conducted cortosis mining operations on Apatros. It was on this planet that the future Dark Lord of the Sith, Darth Bane, was born and spent several years drilling cortosis before defecting to the Sith Army.

The Jin'ha also engaged in cortosis mining on Obredaan. During the Invasion of Naboo, Trade Federation assassin droids were equipped with cortosis weaponry.

During the Clone Wars, the Jedi Council discovered that the Confederacy of Independent Systems was actively mining cortosis on Bal'demnic, prompting them to dispatch a task force under the command of Halagad Ventor and Sha Koon to sabotage the operation.

Jedi Master Micah Giiett possessed a cortosis vambrace, which he utilized to instruct padawans about materials resistant to lightsabers.

Sajé Tasha, an Anzati assassin, wielded a pair of clawed cortosis gauntlets during the Clone Wars.

Significant cortosis deposits were also known to exist on Duro and Katanos VII.

Quinlan Vos wore a cortosis gauntlet on his left arm throughout the Clone Wars.

Darth Desolous, a Pau'an Sith Lord, employed a cortosis shield to defend against lightsaber attacks.

Cad Bane utilized a slugthrower that fired cortosis shots, which he employed against Bolla Ropal to disable his lightsaber and subsequently capture him.

Galak Fyyar commissioned the creation of a full powered suit of shielded battle armor constructed from cortosis alloy.

Riot stormtroopers were equipped with electrostaffs incorporating cortosis in their design.

Luke Skywalker and Mara Jade encountered a vein of cortosis on Nirauan while infiltrating the Hand of Thrawn during the Caamas Document Crisis.

Nyss Nenn, an Umbaran, wielded twin vibroblades coated with cortosis in combat. However, these blades proved ineffective against the Force-sensitive clone known as Soldier, who minimized contact between their weapons through rapid strikes, resulting only in sparks from his lightsaber.

Roan Fel and all of his Imperial Knights possessed pure cortosis gauntlets. These gauntlets were standard issue for all Imperial Knights serving Galactic Emperor Roan Fel, and Fel himself, as a fully trained Knight, also wore a pair. The gauntlets provided protective shielding and were employed by warriors engaged in lightsaber combat. Darth Kruhl, a Sith Lord, was taken by surprise when his weapon deactivated during a duel with Emperor Fel on Bastion.

• Cortosis blade -
• Cortosis gauntlet - Weighing 1 kg and costing 1,500 credits. [7]
• Cortosis shield -
• Cortosis shot - A projectile fired from a slugthrower crafted from cortosis, utilized by Cad Bane in 21 BBY. Upon impact with a lightsaber blade, this projectile would cause the blade to short out, granting the shooter an advantage over the lightsaber wielder. However, Bane noted that these bullets were costly and placed significant strain on the slugthrower's barrel.
• Cortosis staff -
• Cortosis-weave - Cortosis-weave armor -

Conflicting information exists regarding the nature of cortosis and its effects on lightsabers. Sources from the Old Republic era, such as the video games Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords, depict cortosis weapons as merely energy-resistant, capable only of blocking lightsaber attacks (possibly due to gameplay mechanics to prevent cortosis blades from being overpowered). This portrayal aligns with that of phrik and Mandalorian iron. A similar effect is present in Star Wars: Obi-Wan, where assassin droids wielding cortosis blades can block lightsabers but not disable them. In the games Star Wars: Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast and Star Wars: Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy, a lightsaber strike against a shadowtrooper will not deactivate the saber, but damage is reduced and slight "exploding" effects appear around the area where the armor was struck. In Darth Bane: Path of Destruction, a cortosis mine is described, and cortosis is characterized as incredibly dense and difficult to mine, yet highly valued for its energy-resistant properties, making it suitable for weapons, armor, and starship construction. In these sources, cortosis items and weapons are prevalent in the conflicts of the Dark Wars and the Sith civil war. This contrasts sharply with later-era depictions, such as in I, Jedi, where cortosis is described as a brittle, highly malleable metal capable of both blocking energy attacks and disabling lightsaber weapons upon contact.

Various sources have identified different types of cortosis, including cortosis alloy, purified cortosis, and cortosis weave, but a consistent explanation for these varying portrayals has not been provided.

The duration of the "shut-down" effect in the later-era portrayal of cortosis also varies across different sources. In Vision of the Future, Luke Skywalker's initial encounter with cortosis deactivates his lightsaber, but he can immediately reignite it. However, other depictions, such as in Purge and the Legacy comic series, render lightsabers unusable for several minutes.

According to Jan Duursema, Darth Talon was able to sever Elke Vetter's hand despite her cortosis gauntlets by striking at the junction between the bracer and hand guard, specifically between the cortosis armor plates.