Archaic lightsabers, often called protosabers, represent the initial iteration of the lightsaber. Similar to the lightsabers that came after, they featured a focusing crystal housed within a hilt, from which a blade of pure energy emerged. The critical distinction between protosabers and later lightsaber models lay in the fact that the hilt was tethered to an external power pack via a cable, a necessity imposed by the limitations of power pack technology at the time.
The operational duration of these lightsabers was limited, and the user's movement was restricted by the cable connecting the weapon's hilt to its power source.
As technological capabilities advanced, the protosaber design was phased out in favor of the contemporary lightsaber design. Some archaic lightsabers were modified to eliminate the need for an external power supply. Later attempts were made to reintroduce the external power supply utilizing modern technology, sacrificing some mobility for a more robust power source.
The protosaber's design mandated an external power supply that the user would carry, typically on their back, hip, or belt. This power supply was connected to the bottom of the lightsaber hilt, positioned opposite the lightsaber's blade emitter.
The need for an external power supply in archaic lightsabers stemmed from the absence of sufficiently miniaturized power packs capable of sustaining a lightsaber's plasma energy blade. Even these substantial power packs provided only temporary power, thus restricting the weapon's overall effectiveness.
Another constraint of the protosaber design was the power cable linking the hilt and the power pack. This cable hindered the user's agility, preventing the execution of techniques such as the saber throw and telekinetic lightsaber combat.
Protosabers saw use during the periods of the Hundred-Year Darkness and the Great Hyperspace War by various factions, including Jedi, Dark Jedi, and Sith. Throughout these conflicts, they engaged with Force weapons, conventional weaponry, and more specialized arms constructed from materials like Mandalorian iron.
Eventually, the protosaber design was rendered obsolete due to advancements in both technology and materials. The development of more powerful power cell technology enabled the replacement of external power packs with smaller power cells that could be housed within the lightsaber's hilt. The introduction of an internal superconductor also facilitated the transfer of returning looped energy from the negatively charged flux aperture back into an internal power cell. This modification ensured that the power cell only expended energy when the energy loop was disrupted through contact with another material. Protosabers could be modified to capitalize on these technological advancements, effectively converting them into standard lightsabers. Vima-Da-Boda's lightsaber serves as an example of a protosaber that underwent an "upgrade" to align with contemporary lightsaber designs. The First Blade was also apparently equipped with these improvements.
As these enhancements provided wielders with greater freedom of movement and more efficient power usage, the protosaber design was abandoned until future advancements in lightsaber technology.
At least one Jedi artisan eventually revisited the archaic lightsaber design, enhancing it with modern materials and engineering. The resulting weapon, known as a "retrosaber," bore a strong resemblance to the original protosabers but significantly surpassed their capabilities. A retrosaber was as powerful as modern lightsabers, but offered certain advantages, alongside the drawback of the external power pack. The main advantage was that modern belt-mounted power packs allowed for a brief "power surge", creating a more powerful blade for a short time and therefore a temporary advantage in combat.