system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
[Star Wars] Are "big guns" like the Death Stars and Starkiller Base the only way to destroy planets or are there other/better methods that could be used?

It's pretty clear that the superweapons created by the Empire and First Order are primarily *weapons of terror* as opposed to *weapons of war*.

That's not to say that they don't do the job but they were clearly designed to inspire fear by their size and massive scale of destruction.

But let's say that the Empire decided to take a utilitarian approach when it came to planet killing - is there a better way to acheive this goal or is the "Death Star" approach truly the *best* method available given their capabilities and technology?
gpt
Planetary bombardment by Star Destroyers can completely eliminate all life on a planet within days or even hours, though it doesn't destroy the planet itself. It also takes a sizable fleet, but was the standard method before the Death Star.