IraqiWalker, on 06 August 2014 - 06:49 AM, said:
Actually the rules are the same for mechs and vehicles.
Ferro gives you more armor for the same tonnage. HOWEVER! the max amount of armor a vehicle carries cannot be changed.
Aye, Iraqi. But just to be sure that the other side of the argument follows:
Battletech Compendium, 1995 Printing, Pg 102: Allocate Armor Points.
"The player chooses the exact number of Armor Points used to protect a given area,
but the number of Armor Points in a single location may not exceed twice the number of Internal Structure boxes in that location, regardless of whether the armor is standard or ferro-fibrous. For example, if a BattleMech has 10 Internal Structure boxes in its left arm, then the left arm can carry no more than 20 Armor Points. The only exception to this rule is that all BattleMechs may place up to 9 Armor Points on their heads."
Battletech Introductory Rulebook, 2007-2013 printing, page 69, quote:
"The maximum amount of armor a BattleMech may mount is based on the
number of points of internal structure it has. For all locations but the head, the BattleMech may mount twice as many armor points as it has internal structure in that location- for example, if an arm has 9 points of internal structure, it may carry up to 18 points of armor. The head of all BattleMechs (regardless of size) may support up to 9 armor points."
Battletech TechManual, 2007 and later printings, page 54, quote:
"The maximum amount of armor a BattleMech may mount is based on the number of points of internal structure it has. For all locations but the head, the BattleMech may mount twice as many armor points as it has internal structure in that location- for example, if an arm has 9 points of internal structure, it may carry up to 18 points of armor. The head of all BattleMechs (regardless of size) may support up to 18 points of armor."
Sarna.net Wiki,
Ferro-Fibrous Armor page, quote:
"
Ferro-Fibrous armor (
FF) is a special type of
armor used by
vehicles and
BattleMechs. Utilizing a weave of ferro-steel, ferro-titanium, and diamond weave fibers which boosts the tensile strength of the plating
[1][2], it provides more protection per ton than standard armor (12% for
Inner Sphere FF, 20% for
Clan FF), but takes up more space on the 'Mech or vehicle (14 critical slots for Inner Sphere, 7 for Clan 'Mechs; two slots for Inner Sphere vehicles, one for Clan). The maximum amount of protection is not changed; merely the weight of armor required to achieve that level of protection. For a unit which already has maximum armor protection, it is therefore considered a weight-saving measure, at the cost of critical space. The weight savings for
Endo Steel are greater than those saved by ferro-fibrous armor, but it is more costly and obviously more difficult to repair or add as an upgrade to a 'Mech."
Is that enough for you, yet? Ferro-Fibrous armor
does not affect the number of armor points a 'Mech may mount.
Ever.
By contrast, Battletech Compendium 1995 printing, page 109, quote:
"Divide the total number of Armor Points carried by the vehicle among the 5 locations shown on the Vehicle Record Sheet (4 for vehicles without a turret or rotor). The player chooses the exact number of Armor Points used to protect each location- the number of Armor boxes and Internal Structure boxes on the record sheet are not limitations on how much armor may be assigned to a location."
Furthermore, in Battletech Tech Manual 2007+ printing, page 105, quote:
"Unlike BattleMechs, which limit their armor maximums by body locations, the maximum amount of armor a Combat Vehicle may mount is not based on the number of points of internal structure it has, but on its total tonnage. Regardless of the technology base chosen, a Combat Vehicle may mount a number of armor points equal to 3.5 times the vehicle's weight, plus 40 (rounded down to the nearest number). This limit applies regardless of the type of armor chosen, but with the exception of VTOL rotors, no Combat Vehicle's hit location has an actual maximum limit (unlike BattleMechs). VTOL rotors have a maximum armor limit of 2 points, regardless of the unit's size."
So, while Ferro-Fibrous armor
used to affect a vehicle's maximum armor points, it no longer does, and the vehicle
also has a set armor maximum.
Ferro-Fibrous armor
no longer increases the maximum armor points of vehicles either. This is because it is intended as a tonnage-saving measure,
not to allow machines to be extra-durable beyond the ordinary means of others of their tonnage.
Edited by Quickdraw Crobat, 06 August 2014 - 11:25 AM.