In Star Wars canon, Stormtroopers have long been synonymous with the Galactic Empire, acting as the boots-on-the-ground goons that enforced the will of their faction. However, while their presence has been constant in virtually every medium, some fans have noticed that they never seem to last long in combat, often falling after just one blaster hit or an Ewok-thrown rock. This has led many to question why the soldiers bother wearing any armor at all, provided it seems to be just as safe as any regular outfit.
Well, to solve that mystery, Reddit user u/do_not_engage has put forth an alternative reason for the white plate armor's ubiquity. They propose that the armor was purposefully made as a poor defensive tool and was instead meant to have a psychological effect on opponents. With a vast galaxy to administer, the Empire essentially chose quantity over quality to deploy enough recruits to man their numerous garrisons. Outfitting each of the presumable millions of Stormtroopers with high-quality armor would have been prohibitively expensive, especially with major projects like the Death Star already on the books.
The Empire Designed Stormtroopers to Convey Order
To make up for the troopers' lack of hardiness, the Empire instead turned to other methods to keep the systems in check. Armor that concealed any signs of the humanity of the individual wearing it was both cost-effective and intimidating for any would-be opponents. The average person would see the armor as a uniform that symbolized the strength and unity of the Empire's army, conveying a message of fear and order, while the Rebels would end up facing endless waves of identical foes, theoretically demoralizing them by making the Empire's forces seem like an unstoppable machine. Even if the Empire suffered mass casualties in a confrontation, they could quickly recruit and outfit a new cohort of Stormtroopers to win the battle of attrition.
Another important factor to consider is that the Empire had never shown that it cared for its troopers. As Finn revealed in The Force Awakens, Stormtroopers are not even given a proper name to strip them of their individuality and make them appear more disposable. With this in mind, it makes even more sense that the Empire would choose to save on outfitting foot soldiers they didn't value and planned to lose in great numbers.
Of course, every now and then, those same Stormtroopers may face highly skilled opponents, including Jedi like Luke Skywalker or a Mandalorian, such as Din Djarin. In such cases, the ill-equipped common Stormtroopers could use their numeric advantage to slow down the attackers until a more powerful opponent, such as Darth Vader or Moff Gideon's dark troopers, arrived. Despite the potential flaws in such a strategy, it seemingly worked for a good number of years. Even when the Empire collapsed at the end of Return of the Jedi, it had more to do with Vader betraying the Emperor than the Rebels overcoming the Stormtroopers, who would actually go on fighting for another five years.
The Stormtrooper Armor Does Work in Certain Scenarios
However, while the theory is plausible, there are actually some indications that the Stormtrooper armor does provide a small measure of protection. The reference book Ultimate Star Wars, New Edition states that the plating disperses the heat from a blaster bolt, leaving the armor's wearer incapacitated but alive. But there's no indication that the armor was effective against non-blaster weapons, as the Ewoks were able to effectively drive back the soldiers with archaic weaponry. At the least, it seems the armor did save at least some Stormtroopers to allow them to fight another day.
Regardless of the actual extent to which the armor provides protection, the idea that the uniform is meant to serve a performative, rather than a purely functional, role is intriguing. It's especially noticeable when contrasted with the Rebels, who often lacked a defined uniform and wore whatever they could due to their rag-tag nature. As a result, the Empire could use its own standardized look to continue pushing its message of power and order. This meant that if the armor failed to actually absorb a blaster bolt, as it appears to do so often in Star Wars media, the ominous white plate still held value as a propaganda tool throughout the galaxy.