Does Nihilus need 'orbital bombardment' before draining Planets? - Answered

Hello everyone,

One of the most popular misconceptions regarding Nihilus is that he requires orbital bombardment before being able to drain a planet. I will be discussing this topic in this thread and showing why it cannot be true.

The idea that Nihilus requires orbital bombardment has been contradicted on multiple occasions. Firstly, consider the following quotes:

"To kill on such a scale... it's impossible. I don't understand - it would have taken several Republic cruisers to destroy the surface of Katarr."

Meetra Surik (Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 2: The Sith Lords)

"I have heard tales of Malachor. It is said that many of my people felt the end of the Mandalorian Wars from across the galaxy. But do not mistake me, I did not mean to draw comparisons between Katarr and Malachor... my homeworld still exists. It is intact. The planet was not destroyed, it remains... it orbits, dead in space, but nothing lives on its surface. It echoes, but there is no one left to hear it. I was there when the planet died."

Visas Marr (Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 2: The Sith Lords)

It is made very clear that it would take multiple Republic cruisers to destroy the surface of Katarr. The Ravager is only one cruiser. All of Nihilus's fleet was taken from Malachor V. Now unless someone is claiming that Nihilus was able to carry multiple 1200 m cruisers from Malachor V, then it is clear that Nihilus only has one cruiser. This is further backed by Meetra's shock and confusion when she hears about Katarr (above quote). If Nihilus had access to multiple cruisers then Meetra would not be confused, as evident in the above quote, as to how this large scale of killing was possible. This makes it very clear that Nihilus does not even have the capability of an orbital bombardment.

I would also like everyone to take a look at the following images:

Image 1: https://comicvine.gamespot.com/images/1300-7197023

Image 2: https://comicvine.gamespot.com/images/1300-7197025

In the first image, we get an orbital view of Katarr. We can clearly see that Nihilus's attack has begun as evident by the black clouds engulfing the planet. Yet, we do not even see a single blaster fire anywhere despite Nihilus beginning his attack. If Nihilus needs orbital bombardment before being able to drain the planet, then shouldn't we be seeing thousands of blaster fires first before the black clouds begin? In fact, what are the black clouds even doing there first if bombardment is needed beforehand? This is further supported by the second image. Consider the blue circles I have drawn. We can see two people getting choked, as apparent from having their hands on their throats, indicating that they are being drained despite still being alive. The orbital bombardment case argues that Nihilus needs to kill people and then drain them when they are dead. Otherwise, what is even the use of orbital bombardment? Now consider the third circled person on the floor. He is clearly dead and yet there are no structures (from buildings) on him or anything to suggest what he died from. This makes it clear that he died from Nihilus's planetary drain. As for buildings collapsing, Nihilus may not drain planets the same way he drains a single person. This is evident by the black clouds. Draining a single person is not the same as draining on a planetary level. Draining on such a large scale may need a different method as evident by the black clouds surrounding the planet. Its the black clouds that destroy the buildings not some orbital bombardment. This is further supported by the fact that Kreia had to teach Nihilus how to drain entire planets and not train.

Before someone decides to argue, as I have seen before, that the black clouds are smoke from the buildings, take a good look at the first image. It is very clearly visible that the black clouds are not emerging from the bottom to the top. The black clouds are being spread out and expanding across the whole planet; they are engulfing the whole planet. Smoke does not divide itself and spread out as shown above. Plus, if the black clouds are smoke from buildings, then what is destroying those buildings considering not a single blaster fire is shown on the first image. This makes it very clear that the black clouds are from Nihilus's drain attack.

The above points I made make it very clear that no such 'orbital bombardment' takes place when Nihilus drains planets. Nihilus simply summons black clouds in order to drain on such a planetary level and it is these black clouds that cause the destruction of the planet not some orbital bombardment.

Good job debunking this missconception

I saw somewhere a quote indicating that the black cloud over the planet is the power of Nihilus. Does anyone have that?

@Shioz

Do you remember any parts of that quote?

Below are some quotes that show Nihilus can consume anything that lives at the highest pinnacle of power using his Force drain technique that is a power of the dark side and not some orbital bombardment, a clear evidence against the orbital bombardment case which states that populations must be killed first before Nihilus can consume them.


"You give others strength to act, but it is also possible to draw upon the strength of others to increase your own. It is similar to drawing upon the Force as Jedi do, but when it is touched by the power of the dark side... it is something else, something deadly. These Sith we face... they have learned how to do this. It is a technique that has been lost for some time, not seen in the days since the ancient Sith. They can use it to consume other Force Sensitives - and at the highest pinnacle of power, use it to consume anything that lives. They draw upon the connections in the Force, and devour it."

-Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords


"Do not think of his power as one would a weapon, or one of your warships of the Republic. It is terrible, but it is still a subtle thing. The sect of assassins that chase you feed on the Force... what he does is simply the pinnacle of what they could achieve, in time. And that is why they - and their techniques - must be wiped out. No one again must experience and learn what her master did."

- Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords

Shioz wrote:I saw somewhere a quote indicating that the black cloud over the planet is the power of Nihilus. Does anyone have that?

@Shioz: https://twitter.com/dustinweaver12/status/1060941405017657344?s=21

Jaggarath wrote:

Shioz wrote:I saw somewhere a quote indicating that the black cloud over the planet is the power of Nihilus. Does anyone have that?

@Shioz: https://twitter.com/dustinweaver12/status/1060941405017657344?s=21

@Jaggarath

I was never actually aware of that quote. Thanks for this . So pretty much this whole thread was for nothing when all I needed was that quote. 

Jaggarath wrote:

Shioz wrote:I saw somewhere a quote indicating that the black cloud over the planet is the power of Nihilus. Does anyone have that?

@Shioz: https://twitter.com/dustinweaver12/status/1060941405017657344?s=21

Thanks. This is exactly what I was looking for.

Well done.