STEN MkII

Overview

STEN is an SMG with a high amount of Evasion and a fair amount of HP. Although her tanking stats are comparable to some of the best tanks in the game, her lackluster skill and tile buffs often weigh her down in the late game. STEN’s purely offensive skill, Hand Grenade, is what makes her sub-optimal as a tank in the mid-to-late game. The skill may deal a good amount of AOE damage in the early game, but its value drops off significantly as the game progresses due to negative synergy with her stats and role as a tank. While STEN may not be the optimal choice for an late-game tank, she is often utilized by newer players due to her well distributed stats and easiness to obtain. Because of her flexibility and availability, STEN can act as the budget tank to any early-game AR/SMG Echelon.

Strengths

High Base Evasion

A high Evasion stat is a critical aspect to the performance of any SMG dodge tank. By having more Evasion than most SMGs, STEN is able to avoid more damage and survive in the frontlines longer.

Great Buff Tile Coverage

STEN’s array of buff tiles are set in excellent spots. STEN can be fit in many positions as a tank, due to her ability to buff all ARs in the 3 squares behind her. It is this versatility which allows her to be a flexible choice in many teams.

Weaknesses

Poor Skill Synergy with Main Tank Role

A good skill for a main tank provides utility or a way to improve tanking. STEN’s offensive grenade provides little benefit in terms of her performance as a main tank.

Poor Tile Buffs

Unfortunately, the tile buffs STEN grants are very weak. For ARs, a bonus 30% evasion and 10% accuracy isn’t going to help their performance much at all.

Low Base Damage

STEN’s low base Damage results in unimpressive damage from her skill, Hand Grenade.

Full Analysis

At max level, STEN boasts an excellent Evasion stat that is six points above her class average, and a decent HP pool that is slightly above her class average. These stats are excellent for a SMG Evasion tank. However, STEN’s tradeoffs become apparent when considering her low DMG stat, which is 2 points below her class average, and her low ROF stat which is 7 points below her class average. These low stats have a wholly negative impact on her DPS and serve to reinforce her role as an SMG Evasion tank.

STEN’s tile buffs are located in excellent positions. By being able to buff three AR’s standing behind her, she is an easy choice for the center of a formation as a main tank. While the placement of these tile buffs may be superb, the buffs themselves are quite lackluster. Because STEN will often be acting as the tank, the ARs she will be buffing shouldn’t be under fire, so the 30% Evasion buff she offers these ARs is effectively worthless. Similarly, the 10% accuracy buff is limited in utility and does little to improve the DPS of the ARs that STEN is buffing.

STEN’s arguably biggest weakness that prevents her from becoming a great main tank is her skill. Although her stats are very defensive, her skill, Hand Grenade, is primarily offensive. This causes conflict within her kit -- her low base Damage synergizes poorly with her skill and this makes her nonoptimal compared to other tank candidates.

Despite these limitations, STEN performs well as a main tank due to her high Evasion stat and good HP, both of which grant her an excellent baseline for tanking. Her merits as a main tank, however, do not go much further than that. If built as a tank, the Damage penalty from equipping an Evasion-boosting T-style Exoskeleton causes her Hand Grenade skill to do pitiful damage. STEN being in the position of a main tank also means that her buffs will reach most ARs, but her tile buffs don’t provide a significant boost to DPS, making her a less effective option than a tank who can provide useful buffs.

Additionally, STEN performs decently as an offtank, however she is easily outclassed in this role. An example of a more effective unit would be PPS-43, a 3 star SMG with the exact same skill as STEN. PPS-43 might not have as high of an Evasion stat, but she wields a much higher base Damage stat and more useful tile buffs. This difference is what makes STEN relatively mediocre as an offtank as well.

Overall, although STEN is quite a mediocre T-Doll in both of her roles, she is often a excellent choice for a new players due to her availability and flexibility. Many copies of STEN can be obtained from clearing early stages, lightening the load of the need for cores, and her statline and skill are serviceable enough for the early game. Therefore, STEN is a great temporary option for new players looking to progress.

Team Options

Vector

Skorpion

G41

HK416

FNC

FAL

ARs with Evasion Tile Buffs 

ARs that provide Evasion tile buffs synergize well with STEN’s high Evasion stat. T-Dolls such as G41, FAL, and FFC provide excellent buffs to her Evasion which allow for STEN to tank longer by avoiding more damage.

Hand Grenade/Incendiary Grenade SMGs

Coupled with other SMGs that can throw Grenades, STEN can provide a fair bit of supplementary AOE damage while tanking. By combining her Hand Grenade with an Incendiary Grenade such as Vector’s or Skorpion’s, they can deal lots of area damage quickly.

ARs with Damage Tile Buffs

Small buffs to Damage can make a big difference in the grenade damage STEN deals due to the damage multiplier on the skill. ARs such as 416 can provide a big increase to the damage of STEN’s grenade. It should be noted that these Damage buffs should always go to the highest DPS grenadier as they will benefit the most from these buffs.

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