Why do people join Dark Side?

[Beniboybling]

Fixed.

Nonsense, Qui-Gon Jinn was branded a 'gray Jedi' and refused a place on the Council for this very reason. Yet he was one of the few who might have actually seen the Chancellor and the Clone Wars for what they were.

 

I'm afraid the Jedi problem is very much pervading. Fools.

[Aurbere]

Nonsense, Qui-Gon Jinn was branded a 'gray Jedi' and refused a place on the Council for this very reason. Yet he was one of the few who might have actually seen the Chancellor and the Clone Wars for what they were.

 

I'm afraid the Jedi problem is very much pervading. Fools.

 

Arrogance is far more prevalent in the Old Republic Jedi Council, which was my point. That and the fact that the specified quote was about the Old Republic Jedi.

[captaincr]

From the novel Revenge of the Sith

 

NAKIN What if I really wanted the Corellian system? The whole Five Brothers – all of it?

 

PALPATINE Then it would be yours. You can have the whole sector, if you like. Do you understand, now? I will give you anything you want.

 

ANAKIN What if I wanted – what if I went along with Padme and her friends? What if I want the war to end?

 

PALPATINE Would tomorrow be too soon?

 

ANAKIN How – how can you do that?

 

PALPATINE Right now, we are only discussing what. How is a different issue; we’ll come to that presently.

 

ANAKIN And in exchange? What do I have to do?

 

PALPATINE You have to do what you want.

 

ANAKIN What I want?

 

PALPATINE Yes, Anakin. Yes. Exactly that. Only that. Do the one thing that the Jedi fear most: make up you own mind. Follow your own conscience. Do what you think is right. I know that you have been lomging for a life greater than that of an ordinary Jedi. Commit to that life. I know you you burn for greater power that any Jedi can wield; give yourself permission to gain that power, and allow yourself license to use it. You have dreamed of leaving the Jedi Order, having a family of your own – one that is based on love, not on inforced rules of self-denial.

 

ANAKIN I – can’t...I can’t just...leave...

 

PALPATINE But you can.

 

Novel page 281

 

You can have every one of your dreams. Turn aside from the lies of the Jedi, and follow the truth of yourself. Leave them. Jion me on the path of true power. Be my friend, Anakin. Be my student. My apprentice.

[light_senshi]

Since Light and Dark is equal in terms of power, and if the main reason people join Dark Side is to be more powerful, then there's no point to joining Dark Side.

 

Lore error?

 

Because the Dark Side has COOKIES!!! (And cake!)

[Beniboybling]

From the novel Revenge of the Sith

 

NAKIN What if I really wanted the Corellian system? The whole Five Brothers – all of it?

 

PALPATINE Then it would be yours. You can have the whole sector, if you like. Do you understand, now? I will give you anything you want.

 

ANAKIN What if I wanted – what if I went along with Padme and her friends? What if I want the war to end?

 

PALPATINE Would tomorrow be too soon?

 

ANAKIN How – how can you do that?

 

PALPATINE Right now, we are only discussing what. How is a different issue; we’ll come to that presently.

 

ANAKIN And in exchange? What do I have to do?

 

PALPATINE You have to do what you want.

 

ANAKIN What I want?

 

PALPATINE Yes, Anakin. Yes. Exactly that. Only that. Do the one thing that the Jedi fear most: make up you own mind. Follow your own conscience. Do what you think is right. I know that you have been lomging for a life greater than that of an ordinary Jedi. Commit to that life. I know you you burn for greater power that any Jedi can wield; give yourself permission to gain that power, and allow yourself license to use it. You have dreamed of leaving the Jedi Order, having a family of your own – one that is based on love, not on inforced rules of self-denial.

 

ANAKIN I – can’t...I can’t just...leave...

 

PALPATINE But you can.

 

Novel page 281

 

You can have every one of your dreams. Turn aside from the lies of the Jedi, and follow the truth of yourself. Leave them. Jion me on the path of true power. Be my friend, Anakin. Be my student. My apprentice.

Curious is that before Anakin turned to the dark side or after? And before or after he stormed the Jedi Temple?

 

Nonetheless, an excellent response, I totally concur with this. People have to remember that choosing between light and dark isn't just about power - which the Jedi have little interest in - its about philosophy and ideology.

[Beslley]

It's because I'm chaotic evil IRL.

 

Edited December 21, 2013 by Beslley

[Path-x]

But the dark side is not more powerful so it is kinda pointless...

 

Well looking at the films, I can easily conclude that the dark side is more powerful. Pretty much the only demonstration of light side power is when Anakin overcomes Vader and throws Sisidous into the reactor core. All other time, either the Sith won or Jedi (Luke, Anakin) defeated Sith (Vader, Dooku) by actually using the dark side.

Edited December 21, 2013 by Path-x

[JediRickwood]

*sigh*

[Callaron]

From the novel Revenge of the Sith

 

NAKIN What if I really wanted the Corellian system? The whole Five Brothers – all of it?

 

PALPATINE Then it would be yours. You can have the whole sector, if you like. Do you understand, now? I will give you anything you want.

 

ANAKIN What if I wanted – what if I went along with Padme and her friends? What if I want the war to end?

 

PALPATINE Would tomorrow be too soon?

 

ANAKIN How – how can you do that?

 

PALPATINE Right now, we are only discussing what. How is a different issue; we’ll come to that presently.

 

ANAKIN And in exchange? What do I have to do?

 

PALPATINE You have to do what you want.

 

ANAKIN What I want?

 

PALPATINE Yes, Anakin. Yes. Exactly that. Only that. Do the one thing that the Jedi fear most: make up you own mind. Follow your own conscience. Do what you think is right. I know that you have been lomging for a life greater than that of an ordinary Jedi. Commit to that life. I know you you burn for greater power that any Jedi can wield; give yourself permission to gain that power, and allow yourself license to use it. You have dreamed of leaving the Jedi Order, having a family of your own – one that is based on love, not on inforced rules of self-denial.

 

ANAKIN I – can’t...I can’t just...leave...

 

PALPATINE But you can.

 

Novel page 281

 

You can have every one of your dreams. Turn aside from the lies of the Jedi, and follow the truth of yourself. Leave them. Jion me on the path of true power. Be my friend, Anakin. Be my student. My apprentice.

 

And that is why the darkside is so dangerous, and manages to corrupt so many Jedi.

 

Well looking at the films, I can easily conclude that the dark side is more powerful. Pretty much the only demonstration of light side power is when Anakin overcomes Vader and throws Sisidous into the reactor core. All other time, either the Sith won or Jedi (Luke, Anakin) defeated Sith (Vader, Dooku) by actually using the dark side.

 

That's hardly an example of Light Side power.

He blindsides Sidious while he's busy gloating and torturing Luke.

The Darkside generally is more powerful in pretty much every Lucas Arts produced canon out there, it doesn't matter what some other authors do in their novels, the official sources are what matter.

 

Even Ventress generally held her own in 2v1's against Obi-friggin'-Wan Kenobi, who had at least a decade of experience over her in using the Force, and against Anakin, the Chosen One who was ridiculously powerful in the Force.

In game it's also been hinted at that if the Sith weren't so prone to in-fighting and constant power struggles among their own ranks, the Republic would probably have been in serious trouble.

Edited December 21, 2013 by Callaron

[Helig]

But the dark side is not more powerful so it is kinda pointless...

You underestimate human weakness. Between working/studying hard and taking shortcuts towards the same results, I guarantee that more than half of the population will choose the latter.

 

Also, there's always the mentally sick, the "misunderstood", the misanthropic, which have little interest in having the ideals of "good" shoved down their throats.

Edited December 21, 2013 by Helig

[captaincr]

Curious is that before Anakin turned to the dark side or after? And before or after he stormed the Jedi Temple?

 

Nonetheless, an excellent response, I totally concur with this. People have to remember that choosing between light and dark isn't just about power - which the Jedi have little interest in - its about philosophy and ideology.

 

This was from before Anakin turned to the dark side when he first confronted Palpatine and discovered he was a Sith Lord

 

Its a shame that they didn't do this scene in the movie, it really was an absolutely great part of the novel and showed why Anakin's desperate pursuit of power, low self esteem and fear lead him to convert.

 

There was a scene in the novel after Anakin had turned on the Jedi but still wasn't sure he wanted to go to the dark side that Palpatine made him envision a mountain and to stand on top of it, and even though it was cold on top of the mountain being able to look down on everything gave you a perspective that following the Jedi couldn't give you. That and Vader's dialogue as he slaughtered the seperatists was exceptional. If you haven't read the novel I encourage it especially for the last word from the now Darth Vader

 

The first dawn of light in your universe brings pain.

 

The light burns you. It will always burn you. Part of you will always lie upon black glass sand beside a like of fire while flames chew upon your flesh.

 

You can hear yourself breathing. It comes hard, and harsh, and it scrapes nerves

already raw, but you cannot stop it. You can never stop it. You cannot even slow it down.

 

You don’t even have lungs anymore.

 

Mechanisms hardwired into your chest breathe for you. They pump oxygen into your bloodstream forever.

 

Lord Vader, can you hear me? Lord Vader, can you hear me?

 

You cant. Not in the way you once did. Sensors in the shell that prisons your head trickle meaning directly into your brain.

 

You open your scorched-pale eyes; optical sensors integrate light and shadow into a hideous simulacrum of the world around you.

 

Or perhaps the simulacrum is perfect, and it is the world that is hideous.

 

Pamdé? Are you here? Are you all right? You try to say, but another voice speaks for you. Out from the vocabulator servers you for burned-away lips and tongue and throat.

 

Pamdé? Are you here? Are you all right?

 

I´m very sorry, Lord Vader. I´m afraid she died. It seems in your anger, you killed her.

 

That burns hotter than the lava had.

 

No……., no, it is not possible!

 

You loved her. You will always lover her. You could never will her death.

 

NEVER.

But you remember…

 

You remember all of it.

 

You remember the dragon that you brought Vader forth from your heart to slay. You remember the cold venom in Vader´s blood. You remember the furnace of Vader´s fury, and the black hatred seizing her throat to silence her lying mouth –

 

And there is one blazing moment in which you finally understand that there was no dragon. There was no Vader. That there was only you. Only Anakin Skywalker.

 

That it was all you. Is you.

 

Only you.

 

You did it.

 

You killed her.

 

You killed her because, finally, when you could have saved her, when you could have gone away with her, when you could have been thinking of her, you were thinking of yourself…

 

It is this blazing moment that you finally understand the trap of the dark side, the final cruelty of the Sith –

 

Because now your self is al you will ever have.

 

And in your rage you scream and reach through the Force to crush the shadow [Palpatine] who has destroyed you, but you are so less now than what you were, you are more than half machine, you are like a painter gone blind, a composer gone deaf, you can remember where the power was but the power you can touch is only a memory, and so with all your world-destroying fury it is only the droids around you that you implode, and equipment, and the table on which you were strapped shatters, and in the end, you cannot touch the shadow.

 

In the end, you don’t even want to.

 

In the end, the shadow it all you have left.

 

Because the shadow understands you, the shadow forgives you, gathers your unto its self –

 

And within your furnace heart, you burn in your own flame.

 

This is how it feels to be Anakin Skywalker.

 

Foverer…

 

In the novel you really gain an understanding on why the dark side is so powerful and so seductive and so destructive

[Beniboybling]

If you haven't read the novel I encourage it especially for the last word from the now Darth Vader

I might just do that...

[Callaron]

Oh wow, I guess that's why novels always blow the movie versions out of the water.

Time to add some new volumes to my collection it seems.

[Pingonaut]

Listen to Yoda. His quotes explain why people join the Dark Side.

 

"Quicker, easier, more seductive."

 

The dark side is not more powerful, but for those without Jedi training or those who rejected the Jedi ways, it seems to be. Yes, they're told it is not more powerful, but why should they believe the old guys who make them do "low tasks" for their training?

[DarthDymond]

Listen to Yoda. His quotes explain why people join the Dark Side.

 

"Quicker, easier, more seductive."

 

The dark side is not more powerful, but for those without Jedi training or those who rejected the Jedi ways, it seems to be. Yes, they're told it is not more powerful, but why should they believe the old guys who make them do "low tasks" for their training?

"No really, the Light Side will totally make you just as powerful as that guy who can shoot lightning out of his hands. Or that other guy whose hate kept him alive even after he got all four limbs chopped off, was set on fire, and then had to hang out for a few hours ten feet from a river of lava breathing air that must have been about 500 degrees."

 

Even though Yoda's actually telling the truth when he says the Light Side is just as strong/stronger - can't really say I'd blame a guy if he wasn't buying what the muppet was selling.

Edited December 22, 2013 by DarthDymond

[Pingonaut]

"No really, the Light Side will totally make you just as powerful as that guy who can shoot lightning out of his hands. Or that other guy whose hate kept him alive even after he got all four limbs chopped off, was set on fire, and then had to hang out for a few hours ten feet from a river of lava breathing air that must have been about 500 degrees."

 

Even though Yoda's actually telling the truth when he says the Light Side is just as strong/stronger - can't really say I'd blame a guy if he wasn't buying what the muppet was selling.

 

I'm more talking about the SWTOR era, but same difference.

[Callaron]

I always view the "equally" strong part as in the things they can do.

The darkside is better at aggressive powers, while the lightside has the ability to heal - both are valuable, and equally powerful.

[Fanyen]

As evidenced by the ebb and flow of the balance in the universe the force isn't stronger towards the light or the dark. The force just is. It strives to find balance, and the strength at any given time truly depends on the individual.

[Callaron]

Oh, another reason that people join the Darkside... it's forbidden!

And of course some Jedi fall victim to their own curiousity, exploring the Darkside for academic reasons - and eventually succumbing to its allure entirely.

[Kayriel]

I believe that the Dark Side of the Force is actually much stronger in certain aspects than the Light , because of some of the feats that DS users accomplished , things that LS users are either incapable or fearful of doing because of the consequences.

 

A couple of examples of what i'm talking about are :

 

- The ritual performed by Vitiate on Nathema that made him immortal

- Force Walking ritual that Nox ( the Sith Inquisitor ) does

- The ability to create or alter creatures in ways to suit the sith's needs , through Sith Alchemy , an example would be the Korriban Zombies or the Rackgouls , these are sith creatures that were made by Karness Muur

 

The above examples are just a few off the top of my head but there are many more.

 

As a last point , I actually don't think either DS or LS is stronger , because the Force is just that , the Force... , not good or bad , it just is , and it is all up to the individual ( who actually is either good or bad ) who wields it to make the decisions. Basically my view on the force is one that is best explained by the Unifying Force Concept

 

Here is a link to where you can find out about what I'm talking about : http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Unifying_Force

Edited December 22, 2013 by Kayriel
Typos

[Beniboybling]

I believe that the Dark Side of the Force is actually much stronger in certain aspects than the Light , because of some of the feats that DS users accomplished , things that LS users are either incapable or fearful of doing because of the consequences.

 

A couple of examples of what i'm talking about are :

 

- The ritual performed by Vitiate on Nathema that made him immortal

- Force Walking ritual that Nox ( the Sith Inquisitor ) does

- The ability to create or alter creatures in ways to suit the sith's needs , through Sith Alchemy , an example would be the Korriban Zombies or the Rackgouls , these are sith creatures that were made by Karness Muur

 

The above examples are just a few off the top of my head but there are many more.

 

As a last point , I actually don't think either DS or LS is stronger , because the Force is just that , the Force... , not good or bad , it just is , and it is all up to the individual ( who actually is either good or bad ) who wields it to make the decisions. Basically my view on the force is one that is best explained by the Unifying Force Concept

 

Here is a link to where you can find out about what I'm talking about : http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Unifying_Force

While the Dark Side certainly gives a broader scope of ability in terms of raw power they are equal. For example when the Son attacked the Daughter she blocked it and he could not overwhelm her because they were equally matched.

 

But yes, I agree with the Unifying Force concept, the Force is defined by how one uses it.

[Aeneas_Falco]

It is implied that the Dark Side has an addictive quality to it as well. So once a force user falls to temptation and uses the Dark Side, often that's all it takes to send them on a downward spiral to outright villainy.

 

Its kind of like asking why do people use hard drugs.

[MustrumRidcully]

But the dark side is not more powerful so it is kinda pointless...

Quick and Easy is a value on its own. Of course, computer games that try to balance the different classes and routes can't really emulate this.

 

But you never know if your Sith Warrior or Inquisitor could have become a Jedi, or if he would have lacked the discipline, being sorted out early, never reaching his power?

 

And if the Jedi Code is so important to become light-side, it isn't easy to fulfill. Give up on your passions, calm your emotions? Could you really stay calm if someone were to murder your loved ones in front of you, or wouldn't you lash out in anger and fight, assuming you don't just give up in despair?

[Callaron]

Quick and Easy is a value on its own. Of course, computer games that try to balance the different classes and routes can't really emulate this.

 

Not so much computer games as much as "MMO's".

Some games still have this to a certain degree, the first one that comes to mind being Dragon Age: Origins.

You could get some serious advantages by being a completely ruthless bastard on that game (like making the deal with the demon in exchange for more power).

[Jduensing]

After reading this whole thread it seems like all the actual answers have been given, but the original poster keeps rejecting them. It seems to me like the poster is either;

 

A:Pro light side and trying to prove that the dark side is a worse choice.

OR

B:They are pro dark side and searching for some amazing, case closing answer as to why their alignment is better, and they haven't gotten it yet.

 

Either way the question itself is rather foolish because it assumes that everyone is by nature light sided and everyone dark falls to it. Frankly if a better question is why, if they are equal, are people choosing to abandon romance, emotion, and attachment and repressing their powers when they could be enjoying all life has to offer.

 

But riding on the original posters naive assumption that everyone starts off light, someone would most likely go to the dark side out of need for what it offers. Have you seen what the dark side does to you? someone at tier 5 in this game looks worse than someone who has been doing both meth and crack. The dark side is a powerful narcotic.

A fall to the dark side would likely begin as a rather innocent search for some emotional gratification and lead to you being addicted to the power it offers.