I don't understand Sentinel combat

[Morannon]

New player so I don't know if I'm just not aware of some trick or tactic. Regardless of what triggers a Sentinel planetary combat (aggressive Sentinels, mining, killing animals, etc), the result is the same - seemingly endless / infinite waves and reinforcements, escalating alert levels...

I've gotten to the point where, if I'm very lucky (again new player with a garbage laptop - so combat is not easy), I can take out the repairs and summoners and maybe take out a wave or two at alert level one. But that accomplishes nothing. Just an escalated alert and more show up.

Does it ever stop? If you defeat them at Alert level 5, do you finally earn some peace?

Right now, I'm so annoyed by them that if anything starts a conflict, I just run away til they deactivate, or if it's an aggressive planet, jump in my ship and leave forever.

I like the occasional animal attacks - it's a reminder that not everything is fluffy powder, but you can defeat the encounter and get back to what you were doing. If a conflict starts with Sentinels, the only solution is to abandon everything you were doing and leave.

I don't get it.

[Krash Megiddo]

Ground combat ends when you kill the walker. I use the battle mech, which if you haven't done so yet is a whole new mission to get him fit to take on wave after wave of angry sentinels.

[Happy Monkey]

Killing the walker stops them for a while. Unfortunately, I think the wave level can get reset sometimes, maybe if they lose sight of you while you try to recover shields, so the walker never appears, but intermediate waves keep repeating.

If you've got good jetpack stats, you can escape them, and they'll give up after a while.

[Dirak2012]

Yes, if you defeat the 5th wave they will stop, but that's not something that you can tackle without some serious upgrading.

However the easiest way to deal with them is not dealing with them, if the planet has aggressive sentinels, just find another planet.
If you are mining and one sentinel comes to scan you, just stop, move away and mine a little bit more.

If you reach certain wanted level, just keep running until the timer runs out.

[Morannon]

Originally posted by Dirak2012:

However the easiest way to deal with them is not dealing with them, if the planet has aggressive sentinels, just find another planet.

Thanks. Yeah, that's what I was suspecting. It's a little disappointing because it really doesn't leave any room for training with escalating difficulty levels. I can't go to the "low level combat zone" to learn the tactics and get better. It's just all-or-nothing.

I can putter around and kill a few of them before I leave, but all that does is burn ammo and risk injury for really no benefit. *shrug*

I came here for the exploring, crafting, and base building anyway. Would have been nice if the combat made more sense, but I can just continue to avoid it I guess.

[taniwhat]

Or tunnel deep with a few bends. My pet hate is arriving in a new galaxy and being attacked before I summon my ship. (Being under attack blocks you from summoning your ship). So being swarmed by sentinels, suit is damaged, shields are sub-standard and initially no working multi-tool.

It has been survivable but it's added a whole new level of excitement to those transits.

Lots of shields, the sentinel glass drops will eventually yield another 6x30% shield or better, that and a fully augmented weapon. Personally I've found the scatter blaster still #1 there. It's still tense but relatively survivable then.

Drop a save beacon and run away is the best tactic , just run away number two. Die frequently is the next option, so yeah, you about have it nailed. You can fight them and win short term but they will be back.

[DocBrown]

I just hide underground until the alert level drops to zero. Works even after you snitched stuff you are not allowed to snitch (instant level 3).

[taniwhat]

There are situations where you can work up, find a defended building on a world without aggressive sentinels, blow the door and run inside, pick them off from relative safety. I know the walkers used to be able to get you inside buildings but that does get you to the fifth wave in relatively good shape.

[Tatwi]

Rocket boots upgrade + 3 S class movement upgrades = running away successfully when you're tired of fighting them.

Generally, I just jump around doing my thing until I am out of range, causing them to go into search mode and eventually standing down. They have poor aim on the best of days, so if you keep moving around, if not away, they're fairly harmless. Nothing says you have to fight them just because they're there

[Comradovich]

Sentinel Combat 101:

Your weapon of choice should ideally be either the scatter blaster or the pulse spitter. Blaze Javelin upgraded to stun also works well, but you'll be swapping back to one of these others in between blasts. All else fails, boltcaster will work, it's just slower. I am usually unlucky with plasma launcher as they tend to pop shields right as I fire.

1. First wave spawns
2. SOP for first wave is always to hit one healer, (ideally with a DOT weapon like the pulse spitter with its researched C class upgrade). This brings both healers together. Mow them down.
3. Now take out that summoner.
4. Finally, you will have to deal with the two heavy drones shooting at you. You save drones for last because while their attacks can hurt/annoy you, they don't prolong the fight quite like the others do.
5. There's a short break between killing and the second wave spawn. Reload now.
6. Second wave is more of the same.
7. Third wave has a quad walker, now instead of going after the heavy drones, go after it before them. It takes much more damage from the side, so if you're not already doing this, you need to be circling them. That laser does not track as fast as it should, so doggo is only a threat when he barks and then leaps at you. If you're in motion, he misses that lunge every time.
8. Fourth wave has the minotaur walker, you want to clear off any healers, (or any summoners who could bring more in), first and then concentrate on one area of his body. You'll blow his armor off and then the unarmored piece will take extra damage. You could also try blowing off all the armor, he dies about the same speed either way.
9. Final wave will have titanfall. That big walker shows up here after you've killed off most of the initial spawns. He's got three armored sections on his head you need to kill first before he takes any damage. If you ever need to slow him down, blow off both panels on a single leg. He'll shut down when either a leg loses armor or you remove all the brain armor for a few seconds. And if you have blaze javelin upgraded, he'll stun easily at this point.

An aggressive sentinel spawn goes more or less the same as above, but you'll see more sentinels in each wave, and certain models may show up earlier.

When I see that a planet has aggressive sentinels, the first thing I always do is pick a fight with one. A few minutes later that entire planet is dead for a good long while. Plenty of time to gather whatever I needed. Plus, they always reveal the location of a sentinel tower, you never know what kind of multi-tool you'll find in one of those.

[Dirak2012]

Getting a decently upgraded Minotaur is also a big help against sentinels.

[Bored Peon]

Handy tips for fighting sentinels.

1. Do it near a player's base who does not allow terrain edits. This will negate the lame holes made in the ground.

2. Leave the combat supplies until you need them or clear the final wave.

3. Avoid the quads simply by constantly sidestepping/strafing.