Power Armour - Mark II Crusade Power Armour: Mark II Crusade Power Armour was developed towards the end of the Age of Strife and was used during the dawn of the Imperium by the Space Marines who carried out the Emperor's Great Crusade to reunite the lost colony worlds of Mankind in a new Imperium of Man. After the conquest of the main planets of the Sol System by the Emperor's new armies of Space Marines, the Mechanicum factories on Mars were set to work constructing a new and far more advanced type of power armour for the Emperor's newborn Space Marine Legions.This armoured suit is commonly referred to as "Crusade Armour," since it was designed with the planned Great Crusade in mind. It was the first fully enclosed suit of Imperial power armour, making it suitable for the conquest of space and operations in a vacuum, and thus is actually considered the first true suit of power armour. It was designed as a fully enclosed suit with life-sustaining systems that now allowed the Astartes to fight in deep space and on alien worlds with hostile atmospheres or environments.The armour was made up of microscopic circular armoured rings of ceramite fitted under and over each other, making this armour relatively tedious to repair. The larger armour plates composed of these microscopic rings were linked together to allow for a greater ease of movement and most of the power cabling for the suit was threaded inside the plating. These articulated sections of ring-shaped armour were present on both the torso and legs, and provided the Space Marine unparalleled mobility.The Mars Pattern backpack retained a similar shape to that of the Mark I suits but now contained advanced life support equipment such as air-scrubbing, fluid recycling and emergency medical first aid systems as well as the power supply for the armour. The helmet was set in a fixed position attached to the gorget, but did allow the occupant to turn his head inside the suit. The Mark II was noted to have a more efficient power system to prevent overheating.The helmet also contained electronic sensory devices and miniaturised cogitators (computers) that monitored the surrounding battlescape and fed visual and auditory signals directly to the Astartes' cerebral cortex through a neural feedback mechanism. This further enhanced the Astartes' already superhuman sight and hearing, while at the same time dampening any blinding flashes or deafening explosions. These so-called "Auto-senses," as well as the other internal improvements, all became standard equipment in every subsequent pattern of Imperial power armour.In the 41st Millennium, these suits of power armour are extremely precious relics of the few Chapters that still possess a suit or two and are still used during formal ceremonies and rituals by some Chapters. These suits are often given to the Chapter's champions as actual battle armour in others.Though quieter than the Mark I, Crusade Armour also is not intended for stealth, though the sight of an Astartes wearing this armour draws every Space Marine's mind to the glory of the Great Crusade before the disaster of the Horus Heresy unfolded and provides a major enhancement to unit morale.Regarded by many as the most effective suit of power armour ever created, the Mark II was notoriously difficult to maintain and dropped out of common use by the 41st Millennium save as revered Chapter relics.