PGI is apparently still using the BattleTech timeline to determine the availability of 'Mechs, weapons, and equipment; if it doesn't exist in the BattleTech universe as of approximately 3053, it's highly unlikely that it will appear in MWO anytime soon (if ever).
That being said, a lot of the advanced armors come into being later in the canon timeline:
The armor types that were developed prior to the game's start point are:
- Ferro-Fibrous Armor - reintroduced to the IS by the Draconis Combine in 3040 (the Clans never lost the FF tech from 2571)
- Hardened Armor - developed by the Federated Commonwealth in 3045-3047 (Clan Ghost Bear starts R&D in 3057, and the Clan version goes into production until 3061)
- Primitive Armor - the original BattleMech armor used on the Mackie in 2439; essentially modern (non-Chobham) tank armor
- Standard Armor - developed by the Terran Hegemony in 2470; maintained by IS and Clans since
Then there're the
Commercial- and Industrial-grade armors.
The properties for BattleMech armors, from BattleTech (with "points per ton" doubled to show MWO values):
- Standard Armor: 32 pts/ton, 0 criticals consumed, 0% damage reduction
- IS FF Armor: ~36 pts/ton, 14 criticals consumed, 0% damage reduction against all weapons
- Clan FF Armor: ~39 pts/ton, 7 criticals consumed, 0% damage reduction against all weapons
- Hardened Armor (introduced in 3047 for IS & 3061 for Clans): 16 pts/ton, 0 criticals consumed, 50% damage reduction against all weapons
- IS Laser-Reflective Armor (introduced in 3058): 32 pts/ton, 10 criticals consumed, 50% damage reduction against energy weapons only (0% damage reduction against ballistic, missile, and artillery weapons)
- Clan Laser-Reflective Armor (introduced in 3061): 32 pts/ton, 5 criticals consumed, 50% damage reduction against energy weapons only (0% damage reduction against ballistic, missile, and artillery weapons)
- Stealth Armor (introduced in 3063, IS only): 32 pts/ton, consumes 2 critical slots in each arm, leg, and side-torso, 0% damage reduction against all weapons, gains stealth properties from ECM Suite
- IS Reactive Armor (introduced in 3063): 32 pts/ton, 14 criticals consumed, 50% damage reduction against missile & artillery weapons only (0% damage reduction against energy and ballistic weapons)
- Clan Reactive Armor (introduced in 3065): 32 pts/ton, 7 criticals consumed, 50% damage reduction against missile & artillery weapons only (0% damage reduction against energy and ballistic weapons)
- Light FF Armor (introduced in 3067, IS only): ~34 pts/ton, 7 criticals consumed, 0% damage resistance against all weapons
- Heavy FF Armor (introduced in 3069, IS only): ~40 pts/ton, 21 criticals consumed, 0% damage resistance against all weapons
- Ferro-Lamellor (FL) Armor (introduced in 3070, Clans only): 28 pts/ton, 12 criticals consumed, 20% damage resistance against all weapons
- Modular Armor (introduced in 3072 for IS & 3074 for Clans): +10 pts/ton, 1 critical consumed per location (except Head), 0% damage reduction
Personally, I would like to see PGI introduce Hardened Armor for the IS (Traditionally, Hardened Armor also came with a mobility penalty (reflected in TT as "'Mechs that mount Hardened Armor have their Running MP reduced by 1"), and is substantially (~50%) more expensive than Standard Armor. I could see the MWO versions of these aspects being implemented as an overall reduction to both running speed and both torso and arm speed, while maintaining the price difference.), and grant FF armor for both the IS & the Clans a small universal damage resistance (e.g. "10% damage resistance against all weapons") to further differentiate it from Standard Armor without stepping on the toes of the future armor types.