10 Activities Darth Vader Did in His Free Time

As the second-most powerful Force wielder in the galaxy during the days of the Galactic Empire, Darth Vader spent most of his time hunting Jedi, fighting rebels, and enforcing Palaptine’s reign of terror.

But even powerful figures like Darth Vader had some free time. And while he had a couple of hobbies, most of the activities Vader did when he found free time weren’t exciting, and some were even heartbreaking. Here are then things Vader did when he had a few minutes to spare.

1 – Spent Time in His Castles and Palaces

As the second-in-command and a powerful Sith Lord, Vader had his fair share of residences. We saw one palace in Star Wars Legends called Darth Vader’s Palace.

The residence was constructed on Coruscant, and while it looked like a magnificent building to many, it was a rather depressing place.

There was nothing luxurious about it, sans the necessities Darth Vader needed to survive. While he could have used credits to purchase material items to give the place some style, Vader chose to keep his palaces rather empty.

2 – Meditation

Darth Vader also spent much of his free time meditating in the chambers his palaces contained. During these sessions he rarely wore his mask and helmet, as he could only remove them for short periods.

3 – Tried to Heal His Lungs

While meditating, Vader spent time trying to heal his charred body–especially his lungs.

It’s true that Vader looked menacing in his suit, but the truth was, he hated it. He knew if he could heal his lungs, he could at least get rid of the mask and helmet he also didn’t like wearing.

Since we saw Vader still wearing his mask almost full-time during the Original Trilogy, it’s clear that he never healed his lungs.

4 – Ate Real Food

Thanks to his injuries, Darth Vader had a tough time eating real food. However, within his meditation chamber, there were times when this was possible.

Vader could even occasionally eat solid food. But often, he couldn’t accomplish this, so he went with liquids instead. Regardless, he preferred eating liquid food rather than ingesting nutrients through his suit.

The suit was designed to give Vader a steady flow of nutrients through his life support system, but he could not enjoy the taste, so it was more than a delicacy to eat real food when he had a chance.

5 – Grieved Over Padme’s Death

Often when meditating, Darth Vader thought about and grieved over his wife Padme’s death. He realized the choices that drove him to the dark side led to her dying, and the self-hatred that Vader developed for himself caused him to live in a depressed state.

Vader was so grief-stricken that he once traveled to Naboo to visit her mausoleum.

6 – Repaired and Modified Aircraft

When we first met Anakin Skywalker in The Phantom Menace, we saw that he was a gifted mechanic.

This, along with his constant belittling himself over Padme, was one of the few passions that reminded us Anakin Skywalker was still there, even if Vader believed otherwise.

He owned a workshop within the confines of Bast Castle, where he repaired advanced aircraft.

While it’s clear Vader spent much of his free time either angry at himself or failing to heal his body, this was one of the few hobbies he enjoyed engaging in.

7 – Practiced With His Lightsaber

Even during his days as Anakin Skywalker, Darth Vader was always talented with his lightsaber. But after he was forced to live in his life support suit, he had to make several adjustments to his dueling technique.

Therefore, he was often seen battling training droids, perfecting his revamped fighting style to use when he needed to serve as Emperor Palpatine’s enforcer.

8 – Searched for Obi-Wan

It’s no secret that Darth Vader ended up hating Obi-Wan Kenobi, something that dated back to the end of the Clone Wars when the two dueled on Mustafar.

The battle ended with Vader losing his remaining limbs, which caused him to rely on his life support suit in the first place after his body caught on fire.

Vader never stopped searching for Obi-Wan, and in 9 BBY, he succeeded in the endeavor. However, his desire to destroy Obi-Wan impaired his better judgment, and Vader’s former master again got the best of him.

9 – Slaughtered Tusken Raiders

In Attack of the Clones, we saw Anakin Skywalker slaughter an entire village of Tusken Raiders. And it wasn’t the last time this happened.

Even if he was carrying out a mission on Tatooine, Vader would find time and go out of his way to slaughter them, believing that such actions continually avenged his mother Shmi’s death.

10 – Reminded Himself of His Failures on Mustafar

Earlier, we discussed that Darth Vader had a few palaces and castles. He also had one on Mustafar. If you saw Rogue One, chances are, you saw Vader in this caste.

Here, he often spent time in a Bacta tank, which alleviated much of the constant pain he felt thanks to his burns.

However, Vader didn’t spend all of his time in the tank. When on Mustafar, he was also forced to remember his failure to destroy Obi-Wan Kenobi. Such reminders only made Vader hate Obi-Wan more.

Since we also saw Vader here during the events of Rogue One, chances are he thought of Kenobi even more following his defeat at his old master’s hands in 9 BBY. Little did Vader know, he would be facing off with Obi-Wan yet again shortly after Rogue One’s events.

Sion Fawkes

Sion Fawkes has been covering Star Wars since January 2022, expanding his expertise in Star Wars Canon, Legends, and MCU. When not writing, you can find Sion in the gym or running trails. He also likes watching sports and listening to audiobooks.