7 replies to this topic

[Achilles16]

Okay so i been looking at all things avaliable in my mechs and saw the armor and steel. So the question becomes, which one do i go with? Is their some benefit to using one over the other or no benefit at all? Is one lighter or take less space? Any advice on this matter would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!

[Lord Baldric]

Both Endo steel and Ferro-fibrous armor reduce weight at the cost of available critical slots (they occupy 14 slots each if i recall).

It is widely accepted that endo is the primary choice for any weight class. While ferro should be taken as a second choice and even then only with certain weights. Generally lights and i would think a few mediums.

Endo is a bigger weight savings. I know ferro helps in the armor department while reducing weight a little but i can't recall exactly how. I do know however that its benefits do not outweigh the weight savings of endo steel.

[Keira RAVEN McKenna]

The short answer is Endosteel is a lighter weight option for the chassis material. Tradeoff... it takes up slots you'd use for weapons and equipment.

Ferro fibrous armour is a lighter weight option for armour plating. Tradeoff... it takes up slots you'd use for weapons and equipment.

Endo gives more weight saving per slots taken up than Ferro.

[-Natural Selection-]

My builds have always kind of followed:

Lights: endo and fero

Meds: endo and then fero if I have the space to fit both and additional needed items.

Heavy: endo

Assault: depending on load out endo, but some large quantity weapon builds you can fit neither.

both occupy 14 crit slots. But endo gives 1.5(?)ton more weight saving over fero.


Someone feel free to correct me if I misspoke on any info.

[Arnold J Rimmer]

There are some builds that can make use of both - but if you're unsure (and aren't using Smurfy for some reason) always mount Endo first. If you still need weight (but still have lots of slots), then mount Ferro.

I think my HBK-4SP was the first mech I owned to use both.

Edited by Arnold J Rimmer, 08 October 2014 - 02:56 AM.

[Stoneblade]

Endo's Weight savings is calculated as: ((Mech tonnage/10)/2) Rounded up.
So: 55 ton mech: 55/10= 5.5 tons <-- Standard Stucture 5.5/2= 2.75 = 3 Tons <-- Endo Steel
So on a 55 ton mech you gain 2.5 tons but lose 14 crits
On a 70 ton mech you gain 3.5 tons, but lose 14 crits.

FF is less so:
Standard armor is 32 points per ton
FF for Inner Sphere is 36 points per ton
FF for Clan is 38 points per ton

So your mech can only take 255 Points of armor:
Standard weight: 255/32 = 7.96 tons
FF (IS) Weight: 255/36 = 7.08 tons
FF(Clan) Weight: 255/38 = 6.71 tons

Conclusion: go for Endo on anything bigger than a light.

[The Great Unwashed]

Endo saves 5% of the chassis weight
FF saves ~12% of the armor weight but you do not get more armor.
Both have no gameplay changes.

FF will be better than endo when 40% of your mech weight is armor: this is not possible on any mech as the maximum percentage of armor is 22.25% (for a 25ton mech) .

So endo first, FF second, but only if you have space. This makes configuring IS mechs quite interesting, especially when fiddling around with large engines that can fit additional heatsinks internally... choices, choices

Edited by The Great Unwashed, 08 October 2014 - 06:33 AM.

[Spike Brave]

I wanted expand Stoneblade's post. The development team has decided to go with Battletech top table rules for these upgrades. The calculation provided for endo is correct and the armor values are also correct. I just wanted to provide the armor calculations for those who may find it interesting or are wondering where those numbers come from. IS: (armor tonnage x 16) x 1.12 dropping any fractions. Clan: (armor tonnage x 16) x 1.2 dropping any fractions. This number is then doubled for Mechwarrior Online to provide mechs with longer time to live.