Armour Question

[bookworm21]

Am I right in assuming that armour soaks damage the same way as in BF and HoS ( 1/2 + D1/2)?

Cause based on the high cost - especially for maintenance, it doesn't seem worth it for a damage reduction of 6-10 when a rating 3 ship does up to 40 odd damage seems a bit meh - especially for roughly ~$30/turn on an orherwise $60/turn ship.

Am I missing something?

[Cory Trese]

It does work in a way that is very similar.

The equations we used to determine maintenance cost, of course, make some assumptions.

In our simulations, the added maintenance cost is fully offset during standard deployments, by the reduced repair costs, and the damage penalty costs leveraged against the other components on the ship as a result.

However, everyone plays the game differently.

[tenbsmith]

The fact that the amount of soak armor provides has a major random component is an important consideration when designing ships. Still, armor can increase a ships survive-ability by increasing the number of hits it can take before destruction, which can be important when facing vast waves of Xeno or during deep space operations far from repair facilities (e.g., green squares).

I've never considered the potential savings in ship maintenance costs that armor can provide. Those ship maintenance savings would only apply when your ships are taking damage. This suggests a strategy where you use armor on ships expecting continual or heavy combat and forgo armor on ships expecting intermittent combat. For example, early in the game, before Xeno contact, you might design and build a few high-evasion, no-armor fighters to prepare for unexpected Xeno. Later in the game, with waves of Xeno attacking, would be a good time to deploy armored fighters.

Since I tend to use high evasion ship designs, I often purchase armor for the evasion bonuses more than the armor itself.

[bookworm21]

Ah cheers for this guys

I'll have another look at my fleets...