Stormtroopers (STs)—also known as Imperial stormtroopers and colloquially referred to as "bucketheads"—were the elite shock troops of the Galactic Empire, and were part of the Stormtrooper Corps, an independent military branch operating under the Imperial Army. These elite, obedient and zealous soldiers wore armor consisting of white plastoid plates over a black body glove, and their standard weapon was the E-11 medium blaster rifle. In addition to the standard variant trooper, various specialized units such as scout troopers and snowtroopers comprised the ranks of the corps. Alongside Imperial-class Star Destroyers and TIE fighters, stormtroopers served as reminders of the absolute power of the Empire. In addition, stormtroopers would serve with the regular infantry to enforce oppressive rule over the galaxy.

Coastal defender stormtroopers—more commonly known as shoretroopers and also known as the coastal guard, with those stationed on the planet Scarif referred to as Scarif stormtroopers—were a specialized variant of the Galactic Empire's stormtroopers trained and equipped for combat in tropical environments. Organized into the Coastal Defense Division, shoretroopers operated effectively as sergeants, which allowed them to command small squads of regular stormtroopers. One of the notable aspects of coastal defender stormtroopers was that the position they served in was temporary and subject to change along with their rank. On a galactic scale, shoretroopers as a whole were scarce, as the conditions for necessitating their employment were few and far between, as few stations or garrisons were located on coastal/tropical planets.

AT-ACT drivers were Galactic Empire army or navy units who piloted All Terrain Armored Cargo Transports. They wore white Imperial tank pilot armor, with some drivers' breastplates featuring markings matching those found on Imperial combat assault tank commander armor, along with a white coastal defender stormtrooper helmet that was adorned with grey and red markings, including a red Imperial crest located on the pilot's helmet. The drivers were issued either E-11 or E-22 reciprocating double-barreled blaster rifles to carry as personal weapons. Despite their existence, specialized AT-ACT driver divisions were not used due to the fact that the AT-ACT was not considered a battlefield assault vehicle.

Purge Troopers, also known as Purge Stormtroopers, were a specialized variant of stormtroopers used by the Inquisitorius of the Galactic Empire as expendable death squads. These soldiers were assigned to hunt down any surviving Jedi, being activated after the Clone Wars and subsequent termination of the cloning operation on Kamino. The first Purge Troopers were actually the last generation of clone troopers produced from the bounty hunter Jango Fett's template. As with their precursors in the Grand Army of the Galactic Republic, those early Purge Troopers were programmed to obey Order 66, making them hostile against all Jedi. They were eventually supplemented and replaced by non-clone human recruits drawn from the Stormtrooper Corps. They were few in number and kept out of the public eye, with most citizens unaware they even existed.

Incinerator stormtroopers, also referred to as incinerator troopers, incinerator soldiers, or Burners, were a stormtrooper variant within the Galactic Empire. At least one went on to serve in an Imperial remnant after the Empire's demise and was deployed to the planet Nevarro during a skirmish there in 9 ABY.