Guardian Sentinel
The Guardian Sentinel is a drone-like construct found at certain Guardian Structures. They are fully-functioning examples of Guardian defense technology, and operate in much the same role as conventional Skimmers - albeit armed with advanced Guardian technology.
Description
Guardian Sentinels have been confirmed at Guardian Structures found in the Col 173 Sector QU-O d6-25, HD 63154, and Synuefe EU-Q c21-10 systems, which were identified as possible Guardian sites by Ram Tah following an extensive molecular analysis of artefacts recovered from other Guardian ruins.[1] The ruins found in these systems exhibited a previously-undocumented configuration, and were patrolled by Guardian Sentinels which attacked intruders on sight.
Sentinels are roughly comparable to the S9 Goliath in terms of durability (albeit they lack any form of shielding) and mobility, and are armed with two weapons:[2]
- A moderately powerful direct-fire twin energy cannon, fired in short bursts, dealing 3% shield damage per hit (typically seven to nine double shots in rapid succession). The shots travel relatively slowly and the Sentinels apply lead, so you can make most shots miss you by changing direction and speed rapidly.
- A vertically-launched homing energy projectile, fired in volleys of four or six missiles total. Can be shot down by a Point Defence Turret or the Scarab's Plasma Repeater. A Point Defence Turret is fast enough to shoot down 4-6 missiles before they can hit their target. The missiles deal ~33% shield damage per hit and have an AOE effect. The missiles distribute themselves among all targets (so if you have a ship landed and you're driving an SRV, two will target your ship, two will target your SRV). They will course correct until ~1-2 seconds before impact. This means you can avoid most if not all of the damage by changing course and location 1-2 seconds before impact.
Both weapons strike with enough force that repeated impacts from the Sentinel's main cannons can flip or even launch an SRV a decent distance, given that the ruin sites are located at low-gravity worlds. It is advised that only one Sentinel be engaged at a time, to minimize the risk of being flipped over and/or launched around.
Their attacks can activate - and impart significant charge to - the Energy Pylons required to access the Ancient Data Terminals at these sites. Savvy commanders may be able to trick the Sentinels into partially or even completely charging pylons for them, though this will likely take longer than simply destroying the Sentinels and activating the Pylons manually.
Their armor gives them significant resilience against thermal weaponry. As such ship lasers are ineffective against them. The plasma based weapons of the SRVs are very effective though, dealing 2-3% of damage to them per hit (Scarab SRV).
Lore
These Sentinels date from some time prior to the second Guardian civil war. They are designed to respond aggressively to any unauthorised activity around the ruins. If you are forced to defend yourself, kinetic weaponry would be your best form of attack, since the Sentinels have no shields. Sentinel weapon parts and wreckage are of considerable value, so the loss is not significant.[3]
Videos
Gallery
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A Guardian Sentinel -
Guardian Sentinel front -
Guardian Sentinel front 2 -
Ram Tah and a Guardian Sentinel -
Sentinel close-up -
Guardian Sentinel missiles and trails
