New helmet get!

Finally got myself a new helmet for my old hardsuit.



Whatcha think? I mean, sure, my field of vision will be a little restricted if I ever need to break it out, but, FAR more protective than what I had before, and better than going without. Even got a bunch of updated firmware and HUD whatchacallits, with full chemical-warfare/bio-warfare protection against anything that was in use back during the Krogan Rebellions. Can't top that!

Professional mercs and military personnel - I demand input on the new helmet, and suggestions for updating the rest of my shit. All of my gear is stuff that was going out of date during the Reaper War, and two years hasn't really improved that. With Sur'Kesh all over the news, it'll be helpful if I'm ready for Crazy Shit. Just in case. Helped in the Reaper attack on the Citadel, for damn sure. I fail to see how it'd backfire here and now. I mean, sure, I live on Omega and not Sur'kesh, but we're looking at a possible wave of terrorism because of what happened at Entish. I'd like to be ready.

Besides, it is Omega, and I'm kinda getting evicted from my apartment soon, so, might need to settle into one of the shittier districts and just hope for the best.

Things haven't been going well.

Think that thing will protect you from a krogan headbutt shitlegs?

hehehe

I had a helmet like that once, but it really cuts back on the peripheral vision so I discarded it. A major problem with that helmet design is that your eyes- Two very significant things you want to protect (well, two for me- Four for you?) are lit up like flashlights. A target walks into the room wearing that and you're hidden, you can plug him in the eye no problem.
That helmet sings 'SHOOT ME HERE' when you wear it, practically.

You might be able to get a Archon knockoff on Omega, and I think that will suit you better. It allows better interfacing with your omnitool than that, at the cost of less protection to the head and face. Heads up display, voice command software, and it fits snugly.

Your armor should have modulation capacity for powered joints as well- Your cybernetic legs might not be able to carry the extra weight your body has in a full suit of armor, so mobility assistance at the knees, hips, shoulders and arms may be in order.
On the plus side, above-average strength! On the negative, it's expensive and hard to install if it's not already pre-fab.

I don't like powered bodyarmour myself. Has a nasty tendency to malfunction under tough conditions especially combat where you need it the most. All of a sudden you're stuck with this useless hardware bolted to your joints that hampers movement and weights the same as the rest of the armor put together. We got issued these things for long range footpatrols (I was in recon). Genious move when the stuff isn't as resistant to extreme conditions as the rest of the suit because the servos aren't properly isolated.

Prefer to hump it myself. You're not recon if you can't march 70-80 klicks in full gear by your own power

Dude, just shell out the money for a helmet with four eye holes. You're going to get your ass murdered.

Come on, seriously? You had to go and make a macro out of it?

I am very, very bored right now.

Does armor and action really suit you, Mekan?

Couldn't you become an electronic security consultant for a company on Omega?
Get a legitimate job and buy back your apartment lease?

i can see that.


Well, I've fought before, but this is more of a precaution than me going 'lol im so badass guize'

I'm not going out looking for trouble, here.


Yeah, but I've always worked freelance, and I'm good enough at my job to live comfortably that way. Money's not the issue.


I'm getting evicted because I blew something up, shot out a neighbor's windows, and then stole his car.

And now virtually any landlord on the station seems to think I'm somehow dangerous.

Pros: Your face is well protected, you don't need to worry about environmental dangers, spacing shouldn't worry you-at least for as long as your oxygen lasts and you won't have an issue of your visor breaking (seen that happen to people, not pretty).

Cons: your field of vision will be cut quite dramatically, you eyes glow and you seem to be only able to see with two eyes there.

As for further updating, I'll second the powered joints recommendation. Modern armour is quite heavy and you don't want your legs giving out in the middle of a fight, particularly if you've been at it for a while. What works for our Recon won't work for you. Secondly, I'd say to get some up to date shield capacitors-though check the socket of your hardsuit first, if it's that old. Honestly, I'd just buy a new hardsuit if it's out of date, but if you can't afford that, that stuff is a start.

I'll second everyone else here and say that it would be better to get a helmet that allows for you to actually, y'know, see. I don't know if it's still around, but there was a small armour fab company called Girden or something that made helmets that would fit you with a wide visor. That would really open up your FOV, and still keep your face and eyes protected.

I seem to remember that they had some weird issue where they wouldn't seal properly, however, and it might be a crimp in your day if you were to be gassed to death. Also, as Nat said, visors can break and shatter, and that is really not cool.
I've never seen so much blood come out of someone's face

Before I give any recommendations on the rest of the armour, could you say how well it performed during the war?

As for the eyehole helmet, I've actually only ever seen mercs using them. Nicknamed them nerds in our unit.

You could not endanger people's lives and property and ..I don't know, be a model citizen?

Have you tried that? If you can't live on Omega, where are you going to go?
The Citadel? Kar'Shan? There's always other stations in the deep Terminus you could probably stay at if you're not moving to the Citadel but they get raided every day. This is not an exaggeration. It happens so often they don't report it in the news.
Pirates and black-ops groups pick those places apart like a Krogan trying a rack of pork ribs for the first time.
I know you're not going out and looking for trouble, but with what your legs being what they are, I think you should at least actively avoid it until you've got your shit sorted out. Wasn't it just a week or so ago that your legs bugged out on you?

It's more than a restricted field of vision - you're giving up the biggest advantage of being batarian. Four eyes lets you track double the targets and gives you better depth perception, and what's worse is you're used to those things and have probably been taking them for granted and it'll take you a long time to adjust.

The best and cheapest thing you could do would be to find something with a visor or at least a faceplate. You're a techie so a faceplate with a HUD might not be a bad idea. Better yet, get yourself some kinetic barriers. I know they're not so easy to find (or cheap) in the Terminus as they are in Citadel space, but they're easily the most important thing if you're looking to stay alive. You can even tweak them down, set them to be extra sensitive and they'll stop most knives that are moving with enough force to go through whatever armor you're wearing. That comes with its own issues - they'll burn out faster and might fire when you don't want them to, but you'll figure it out.

Is that kind of setup common with non-quarian armors? Seems really restrictive. Certainly that helmet can't rely on true visual data?

To the original poster, are you certain you have accessed all the visual software suites?

If that thing really is restricting your view, I would suggest a trip to Little Rannoch if you can make it to the Citadel. Granted, the suit-crafters you're going to meet there are mostly civilian and deal in civilian tech, but they should be able to set you up with some external visual sensors. Video, thermal, ect. I doubt they are use to handling four input/output tech, but it seems like an easy enough switch.

Also, some internal sealing while you are there. Yeah, yeah, you're not worried about infection. But when your suit busts open on some frozen crap-feat of a world, you'll be gald you did it.

Wait, wait. Those are actually, like, eyeholes? Shit bro, I thought they were optics for a 3D cam system. That's the model you see a lot of human Eclipse using, right? And they're just little peep holes?

Haha, fuck! You humans can be real fuckin' stupid some times...

As for you, my batarian brosky, if that is blocking out two of your eyes, you're totally doing it wrong. Back on Tuchanka, I saw this one dumbshit who lost an eye in the war go out into battle wearing an eyepatch, thought it made him look badass, you dig? Anyway, he got burned down like ten mikes into the operation. Moral of the story: don't get into a fight half blind.

This coming from an ex-Cerbie.

I'm not a gangster or a pirate or slaver, and yet you're somehow finding the balls to call me out for 'not being a model citizen' when I live on Omega and manage to do alright while staying at least semi-legit. You can fuck off, madam.


I didn't actually fight up until the Reaper attack on the Citadel. I was pretty much entirely concerned with refugee relief on the Citadel all throughout the war. Needless to say, if it wasn't for having my armor during the Reaper attack, I'd be dead now.

I've been hanging onto this hardsuit for a while. I got it back during the QoroQ debacle, and it's held up well in the few years since. I don't even know if I need an upgrade to be honest; I'm hardly an expert at this kind of thing. I'm just a well-armed civilian who's seen his fair share of scraps and knows how to shoot straight, so I like to be prepared. If this suit's getting old, I want an upgrade. I don't know any kind of specs or whatever, but I've been getting comparisons between my current stuff and some more modern secondhand goods from some self-proclaimed experts.


What? Shields are hard to get? Seriously? Man, my hardsuit has them already. I thought they came standard in milspec combat armor. If they're hard to get, then I've had the good stuff this whole time and never realized.

Anyways, faceplate - HUD, gotcha. I'll look into it.


Message received. I'll look into other helmets, then.


This is gonna sound like a stupid question, but I'm not a soldier or a merc, so I've got to ask it.

How, uh, how can I tell if it's outdated by taking a look at the shield capacitor? What should I be looking for? Also, powered joints. How hard is it to get a modern set of that stuff? What models should I be taking a look at?


Well...yeah, it...it kinda does.

Not sure if this was a smart move on my part, actually.


Anything I could scrounge up. Seemed like a good idea to take a look at everything I could find. Not sure if I picked a good one, though, but I can wipe it and install a new one.

Now, I ain't an expert on hardsuits, but if it's just protection you're looking for, it's shields, shields, shields. Hardsuits are all well and good - and downright essential for military personnel or people intentionally picking a fight, due to the combat suites, HUDs, and medigel support systems - but for basic protection? A good kinetic barrier's gonna stop most everything you'll run into during everyday Omegan life.

My point is, I wouldn't go buying a whole new suit if yours hasn't already sustained damage to the ceramics or anything - they're kinda a package-deal with all the basics included, from what I understand. Just upgrade the tech and get some new shield capacitors. Personally, I use Armax Arsenal out in the field; bit pricey, but I haven't sustained any serious injuries whilst using 'em. 'Course, people don't tend to intentionally shoot at me, so take that with a bit of salt, eh?

Life support systems in hardsuits are touch-and-go - after all, if they worked perfectly I wouldn't need to bail out any serious mercs, would I? Not to pimp my own species, but I've found Sirta Foundation modules typically give the best results for humans, batarians, asari, etc.. There's a range of models, but I'd recommend something with more than just basic medigel support. Stims, intravenous painkillers, all that stuff. Just make sure you follow the instructions properly (read: sterilise where it says to sterilise, and for the love of God put that needle in right) and you'll be fine.

Otherwise you'll end up like that fucking numpty who managed to get a bloodborne disease after borrowing his mate's hardsuit and not fucking sterilising. But that's neither here nor there.

Okay, so the socket and shield module should fit when you're replacing it. Hardsuit capacitors run off your hardsuit's power supply, unlike a 'clip on' which is a KB generator that runs off its own power. If your shield module doesn't fit, you're shit out of luck. the best thing to do is measure the socket and take a holo of it along when you're shopping for new modules.

As for how to know it's outdated...what are the specs on your Hardsuit and current shields?

For powered joints, I'm probably not the best person to ask on what's good and available on Omega. I work predominately with standard issue Alliance equipment. But the thing to look for is how much it's going to carry and whether it has any reports of seizing up. God help you it your motorized joints crap out.

Okay...


Uhhhhhhhhhhhh


OK, thanks.


Well, if I get into a fight, I'm going to have to kill the other guy. Or at least mess 'em up.

Not that that's a good thing, mind you. Just sayin'. I've been in my fair share of actual, serious, life-or-death situations, and that's what I'm gearing up for. Just in case. I kept all my old shit for a reason, after all. It hasn't backfired on me yet.


I think this suit mounts a Sirta Foundation module, but I dunno for sure. I'll check it out.


There's a story there but I'm not gonna ask.