Most Skilled Lightsaber Duelist of the Old Republic Era

In pure KNOWN saber ability........... KNOWN, people...

Probably those two.

Originally posted by Darth_Glentract
As you stated, Yoda does have insane Force powers, which could be what makes his the "greatest foe the darkness had ever known." Greatness also does not automatically translate to combat ability. I'm saying that Windu is necessarily better, but that to say Yoda is better just from what you gave I think is premature.

And yet Windu make Sidious his *****...

Greater force ability almost always does translate into a combat ability though. Yoda defeated Dooku, twice, who was Mace's equal.

Originally posted by Darth_Glentract
And yet Windu make Sidious his *****...

it was actually shatterpoint that gave Windu the win, just saying. They were absolutely equal when he was just using Vapaad.

Originally posted by truejedi
it was actually shatterpoint that gave Windu the win, just saying. They were absolutely equal when he was just using Vapaad.

his other shatterpoint was the window-sill actually. Windu sensed where to take the fight to.

Originally posted by ares834
Only because of the bonus provided by Vaapad. Otherwise he would have been on his ass. Not to mention Sidious could have taken him with his lightning.

Oh, you mean the lightning that Mace was deflecting back into Sidious' face?

Originally posted by Darth_Glentract
Oh, you mean the lightning that Mace was deflecting back into Sidious' face?

yeah... that whole lightning in the face thing seemed to suck more for sidious more than it did mace.

Originally posted by ares834
Novel says Mace couldn't hold it any longer and GL says that Sidious faked losing his powers...

Source for these claims?

Shadow Hunter depicts Mace musing that Yoda's skills with a lightsaber were "second to none" on the Jedi Council. Dark Rendezvous suggests that Windu and Dooku are equals in terms of skill, with Yoda above both of them.

He faked being old man, unable to continue weak. That is all.

He could have continued to fry himself. He certainly wasn't going to win, not with Mace armed, and Sidious lying on his back being fried. He just faked being unable to continue. (continue a fight that would have resulted in his death)

Gideon, that's true. I'll buy into that.

Originally posted by Darth_Glentract
Source for these claims?

Originally posted by Darth_Glentract
Source for these claims?

RotS novel, and I think the Ep. 3 commentary. But, Mace still whupped his ass and had him at his mercy. If he had chosen to, he would have killed Sids had not Anakin interfered.

Damnit that was fast.

Originally posted by ares834
The GL quote is in the ROTS Commentary.
From the Novel.
"Mace's blade bent so close to his face that he was choking on ozone. 'Anakin, he's too strong for me-'"
and
" Mace said, his voice going thin with strain. This was beyond Vaapad; he had no strength left to fight against his own blade."

When I watched the ROTS commentary I never heard that. Granted, it has been a long time, but I'm fairly certain I would have remembered something as significant as that.

Yoda, Dooku, and Windu were all seasoned swordsmen who had the opportunity to maintain their skills over the decades. Comparing them to Palpatine isn't favorable; Sidious's lightsabers were locked in a statue in his office -- the RotS novelization outright says that the lightsaber had been "waiting in darkness for decades."

In strict skill with a lightsaber, Sidious probably wasn't as good as any of them, though he still retained enough ability to overwhelm most.