[Phoenix-D]

"Given the amounts of damage that even the most basic weapons do (i.e. a DUC I does 30 pts in one shot) it seems like you'd have to pack on an insane amount of armour for it to really make a difference. Better to spend that tonnage on other systems, no?"

One Armor III protects about as much as one Capital Ship Missile, and takes 1/5 as much space. It's useful. Certainly better than early shields, *especially* if phased weapons are in play!

Let's say you and your opponent have two idential ships. Bridge, LS, CQ, 3 engines. He has three DUC Is, you have 2 DUCIs and three armor Is (30 hp each).

-You both fire. His shots do 90 points of damage, destroying all of your armor. Your shots hit, do 60 points of damage, and take out two of his DUC's (larger components tend to get hit first- not a hard and fast rule, but tend).

-Next salvo. He fires, doing 30 damage and taking out one of your DUCs. You fire, taking out his Last DUC.

I think you can see where this goes from here. The alternatives are bride/LS/CQ/engine hits; but in a close-range slugging match, these don't really matter until afterwards.

Phoenix-D