It's more than a slight difference by the numbers:



Caldari/Gallente Ehp comes out to 330, and Amarr Ehp is 360 base.

So the Amarr get 30 more hp, THIRTY.

For this 30 hp, their speed is 4% slower than Caldari/Gallente, AND they have 1 less module slot.

So, a new basic armor plate would give you more hp at less of a speed hit. Actually, there is no existing armor plate that gives you so little hp for a speed hit of 4% (and that's before the armor rebalance). Even if you argue that they have better fitting than the other assault suits, that advantage is largely negated by missing a slot.

Basically, I think the pros & cons need a little more looking at. Why exactly is the Amarr 4% slower with one less module slot? Because 30 HP seems pretty silly as a reason.

Keep in mind the amarr assault sprints for 5 seconds longer than any other assault.
Also the skill bonus to amarr weaponry from the assault bonus cannot be overlooked, it basically make the standard laser rifle=proto but with easier fitting and less feedback damage. It also enables 4 consecutive charge shots out of the scrambler rifle before overheat.
Also it has respectable cpu/pg output compared to othe races, and when you look at it in relation to the lower number of module slots, it means amarr can easily fit the highest level of everything on their suit.
Of course, because this is my suit of choice, I won't stop you from asking for a buff -.o

I would hope that they would've taken this into account with the armor rebalance in 1.4, since it's an infantry-focused update.

To take into account the whole picture the Amarr gets:
- More CPU/PG than other suits
- More hp than other suits
- Longer sprint duration

At the expense of:
- Movement speed
- Module count

One aspect I'd like to point out though is that the Amarr speed penalty doesn't affect stacking penalties for movement penalties. That means an Amarr Assault gets -9% movement speed for being Amarr and having a (1.4) complex plate. A comparable Gallente suit would get about 100 more hp and less movement penalty from two complex plates because the stacking penalties affect the penalty of the second plate while the inherent movement penalty of the Amarr suit doesn't.

The Amarr Assault in particular needs a considerable buff to it's inherent hp bonus. The speed penalty should be kept as it supports the Amarr playstyle.

The sprint bonus is nice I guess, but movement is ultimately more important for assaults.

Interesting perspective. Amarr suits are puzzling in that they seem to have no real focus. I love Amarrian starships but when DUST came out of beta I made my dust bunny specialize in Gallente suits to start with so that I could feel like an Amarr should with big armor and damage upgrades to burn the unbelievers.

From reading between the lines, I suspect the racial trend will be:

Caldari: skirmishers + long-range weapons
Minmatar: skirmishers + short-range weapons
Amarr: bricks + long-range weapons
Gallente: bricks + short-range weapons

Obviously there's nuances I'm not expanding on here, and it's a bit hand-wavey, but the gist is there.

The amarr should really have more hp to begin with.

Something like:
250/250 for standard suits (625 ehp at level 5 shield and armor)
300/300 for commando (750 ehp)
400/400 for heavy (1000 ehp)

right now it's about
210/210 (450 ehp)
250/250 (625 ehp)
400/400 (1000 ehp)

Regular Amarr Assault is 180/180 (without passives)
or
120/180 for Logistics right now.

It's more than a slight difference by the numbers:



Caldari/Gallente Ehp comes out to 330, and Amarr Ehp is 360 base.

So the Amarr get 30 more hp, THIRTY.

For this 30 hp, their speed is 4% slower than Caldari/Gallente, AND they have 1 less module slot.

So, a new basic armor plate would give you more hp at less of a speed hit. Actually, there is no existing armor plate that gives you so little hp for a speed hit of 4% (and that's before the armor rebalance). Even if you argue that they have better fitting than the other assault suits, that advantage is largely negated by missing a slot.

Basically, I think the pros & cons need a little more looking at. Why exactly is the Amarr 4% slower with one less module slot? Because 30 HP seems pretty silly as a reason.

that hitpoint advantige means they can tank one more ar round than every one else

I'd be curious to see what the Dev rationale for the difference is.

I'm fairly certain this is a "small fish"-problem to the devs. There definitely are bigger problems in Dust right now and the devs are right to spend most of their work on those issues.

However I still feel that this is a problem that can be fixed comparatively easy. Just bump the Amarr suit's hp advantage up from 30 hp to like 60 hp and you can be sure that the suit will still be underpowered, but less dramatically so. Small change, only winners.