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After reading the legacy comics and the new Jedi vs. Sith guide, I've come to the conclusion that not only were the exiles who came to Korriban very powerful, but their ancient jedi counterparts were also very powerful. I know that the PT era is the golden age of the Jedi, but all the sources point to the ancient Jedi knowing all of these lost and misplaced techniques, such as prolonging life. Then we have the ancient teachings of one of the original exiles Xoxaan, who apparently had some kind of knowledge to help Darth Krayt continue living. So these ancients had powers that nobody other than Palpatine rediscovered. I know it's illogical to say that the originals of something "Such as the werewolves or lycans" were the best, but it seems that these ancients were at least in the force, more powerful than the majority of the future force users.

No. A better case would be for knowledge rather than for power.

Originally posted by Gideon
No. A better case would be for knowledge rather than for power.

That's what I was referring to Escape, but doesn't more knowledge equate to more power? That's how it is generally in the star wars universe.

Not really. Refinement, strength in the force, willpower and emotion is what makes a force user powerful. Knowledge simply grants the force user means in which to apply that power. It's true that there are certain combat related techniques which might make a combatant more adept at battle, but all that you mentioned is the technique of prolonging life. Hardly related to combat.

Originally posted by NateGreySummers
Not really. Refinement, strength in the force, willpower and emotion is what makes a force user powerful. Knowledge simply grants the force user means in which to apply that power. It's true that there are certain combat related techniques which might make a combatant more adept at battle, but all that you mentioned is the technique of prolonging life. Hardly related to combat.

Yea but now you're delving into each force user's "potential", which is vague at best. What we DO know is that all those who have gained knowledge and understanding, have gained a considerable amount of power. In fact, point me to one individual who received quality knowledge and didn't become very powerful. It's happened to everybody, and it seems that the most powerful teachings come from the exiles/ancient sith.

Well, to me, simply learning a new ability and growing more powerful in response doesn't seem to make much sense. Techniques alone shouldn't make one inherently more powerful. It's true that "more knowledge = more power" has become quite the trend in Star Wars, but at the end of the day, a trend is not indicative of a certainty, and we can't conclusively prove that the rise in power in those cases is actually due to the increase in knowledge. Take Exar Kun for instance; just as he started to learn from all of Sadow's knowledge, he had also just got his hands on a pair of Sith amulets, which are known to increase force strength, control, defence etc.. To argue that it's the knowledge rather than the amulets that truly increased Exar's power drastically would require evidence beyond a simple trend. I think it would make more sense that it's the greater understanding of the force that results in the power level increase, myself. There are numerous sources that point out that to truly tap into your power in the force, you have to be perfectly in touch with your force alignment. Greater understanding of the light/dark side would logically aid in one's mastery of the force, based on that.

If one confines one's self to the strict definition of "power", then Nate does have a point. For what is potential other than untapped power? That is why so many references are made about Anakin's "power" during the PT, even when his mastery of the Force is hardly peerless. Technically, Anakin was "the most powerful" Force user ever if we limit ourselves to the strict definition. Does this mean that he could overcome the likes of Yoda or Darth Sidious? No. Because while they are inferior to him in raw potency, their mastery, knowledge, and "refinement" do exceed his in droves.

Originally posted by Gideon
If one confines one's self to the strict definition of "power", then Nate does have a point. For what is potential other than untapped power? That is why so many references are made about Anakin's "power" during the PT, even when his mastery of the Force is hardly peerless. Technically, Anakin was "the most powerful" Force user ever if we limit ourselves to the strict definition. Does this mean that he could overcome the likes of Yoda or Darth Sidious? No. Because while they are inferior to him in raw potency, their mastery, knowledge, and "refinement" do exceed his in droves.

That's just my point. We can't guage potential. The only thing we know about potential was that Anakin was supposed to be the strongest force user ever. Other than that, we have constant evidence of more knowledge equating to more power. Did Sidious have more potential than Yoda, or did he more or better teachings? We know the exiles and their counterparts, the ancient Jedi, had various techniques that were lost or misplaced, and never regained. So if we were to equate knowledge to power, we'd have to assume that the ancient Jedi and the Exiles were very powerful, as they possessed a great deal of knowledge perhaps surpassing anybody else save for Palpatine.