The project to develop the Conqueror's superlaser was spearheaded by the Empire's elite storm commandos, led by Admiral Victor Strang, who intended to use the weapon to destroy worlds affiliated with the Alliance. With the Rebels quickly gaining momentum in the Galactic Civil War, Emperor Palpatine was intent on swiftly halting the uprising through a crippling counterattack intended to demoralize the Alliance.

During this time, the project ran into issues with miniaturization and power output, as well as plans to create more Star Destroyers equipped with superlasers.

However, the concept itself and to a lesser extent the retrofitting of the Conqueror itself was experimented on as early as 0 BBY, and was included in the official field guide for officers of the Imperial Military, the Imperial Handbook: A Commander's Guide. Star Wars: Rise Of The Empire - The Conqueror The Conqueror was conceived as a replacement for the Galactic Empire's first Death Star, a superweapon capable of annihilating planets that was destroyed by the Rebel Alliance at the Battle of Yavin in 0 BBY.

Star wars conqueror star destroyer