Reason for testing:

It was thought that the inability of the Caldari Standard Sentinel suit to repair its armor, due to the lack of a low slot, would be a crippling liability. While it is a shield tanked suit, it was thought that the armor buffer would be needed to get to cover when their shields go down, particularly if Flux grenades are used. Also, since armor accounts for 42% of a Caldari SentinelGÇÖs base health, if the armor wore down in multiple encounters, the Sentinel could be left with less health than an Assault suit, with no way to get back to full effectiveness.


Field Testing Results:

In field testing the lack of armor repair capability was not a significant issue. During testing only about 10% of deaths could be contributed to armor attrition.

The majority of deaths were from single encounter engagements were armor repair would not have affected the outcome: Rail Turrets, Forge Guns, Flux Grenade + Shotgun, 3 v 1, etc.

In cases where there are close fights leaving the Caldari Sentinel with armor damage, there were often Repping NanoHives, or blueberries with Rep tools, so armor deficits could usually be dealt with.

The only time the lack of self repair became a substantial liability was in battles where the Sentinel is encountering a lot of close fights, leaving it with armor damage, and there is no logistical support on the SentinelGÇÖs team. Only about 20% of the matches during the test met these criteria, and even in these cases if the Sentinel survived long enough that armor repair would have helped, they would usually get several kills before they succumb to Armor depletion.


Personal Observations:

I died more times from my Burst HMG overheating or running out of ammo than I did to armor attrition during the tests.

I tested with both the Burst HMG and with the Standard HMG and only had a negative KDR in one match during testing.

I have a photograph of my screen in the middle of a battle with 0 armor and full shields. I survived for about a minute after that, but died before I could find a Rep Hive.

My biggest complaint about the Caldari Standard Sentinel suit is that it is slow and has very little stamina, but that is working as intended. I am just spoiled from running Amarr and Minmatar Sentinels which do not have Stamina issues. (Technically the Amarr Sentinel is slower than the Caldari, but it can run for a long time.) I like to sprint when I am not shooting.

For the ISK conscious consumer, I was able to get a positive KDR in a fit with 3 Militia Shield Extenders, and a Standard HMG.