Shiels or Armor: Which is best against mines?

[DirectorTsaarx]

quote:

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Originally posted by Bowden Russell:
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2. What is the difference between normal armor and "stealth" armor?

Thanks,

Bowden Russell

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Stealth armor provides defense bonuses in combat (5, 10 or 15%; only one component per ship will provide bonus, though). The Stealth armor also allows a low-grade cloak, while Scattering armor prevents Long-Range Scanners from working (not very useful against AI, limited usefulness against human). There's some debate on relative protection of the various armors; "standard" Armor III provides 40kT protection per 10kT of space; Stealth provides 100kT protection per 30kT space; and Scattering provides 150kT protection per 50kT space. Which means standard armor has a 4:1 protection ratio, Stealth just over 3:1, and Scattering exactly 3:1. HOWEVER, just because you get more protection per kT for standard armor, remember three things:

1) Stealth & Scattering armor provide combat defense bonuses.
2) Stealth & Scattering armor concentrate the protection in fewer components - which means faster repair times when they get damaged
3)Stealth & Scattering armor have less chance of being completely destroyed in the first place, which means no repair required at all...