A noticeable blue ring effect was present with certain stun weapons.
Stun represented a mode present on particular blaster firearms. Its purpose was to subdue an individual without causing lasting harm or death. This was achieved by overwhelming the target's nervous system, resulting in unconsciousness. Its main application was in the capture of wanted prisoners. Upon impact, the recipient would exhibit a brief, intense blue coloration as charged particles disrupted their nervous system, causing erratic biosignals. The nervous system would then normalize in under a second, with the electrical surge forcing a mental and physical reset. Medical anesthetics employed a comparable mechanism.
Following the induced unconsciousness, the subject would become immobile and unable to perceive their environment. This state generally persisted for several minutes before the organism regained awareness. However, a potent stun blast directed at an inexperienced individual could prolong unconsciousness for up to a full hour. Repeated stunning of an individual led to progressively faster recovery times. Furthermore, one could attempt to rouse a stunned person through physical agitation. Restraints like stuncuffs could be applied during the comatose state, enabling effective capture. Despite its widespread adoption across the galaxy, stunning was not without its drawbacks. Most targets experienced temporary nausea, vertigo, and muscular discomfort afterward. Infrequently, cardiac arrhythmia and convulsions could occur, and in rare instances, death.
Ahsoka Tano defends herself from successive stun blasts.
The effectiveness of stuns seemed to correlate inversely with the target's size. For instance, the youngling Cippa Tarko remained unconscious for a significantly longer duration compared to her peers after being stunned by members of the Path of the Open Hand. When deployed against lightly or unarmored droids, the effect was electrocution, rendering them non-functional for an indeterminate period. Unlike conventional blaster projectiles, which could be redirected back at the attacker, stun projectiles dissipated upon encountering a lightsaber.
The standard setting for blaster weapons utilized by the Canto Bight Police Department was stun. This was due to the potentially high legal and public relations costs associated with even minor injuries to bystanders or suspects on Canto Bight.