Armor Composition

[pug]

I'm beginning to build a large battlecruiser, and I was was wondering what armor makeup you guys would recommend. I've been playing around with 1 layer of spaced armor, heavy armor, with two layers of metal behind it. I'd like the armor to be 5 blocks thick at most. Thanks.

[sintri]

Layered armour stacks, so you technically get the most effective hp layering heavy on the inside with 2 metals on the out than the other way around. Just do note even a single layer of heavy armour on your belt + deck is enough to tank your bouyancy to the point where you'll need a really wide ship or spinners to stay afloat.

[colonelmustardgas3]

Originally posted by sintri:

Layered armour stacks, so you technically get the most effective hp layering heavy on the inside with 2 metals on the out than the other way around. Just do note even a single layer of heavy armour on your belt + deck is enough to tank your bouyancy to the point where you'll need a really wide ship or spinners to stay afloat.

Actually, your armor is better if the heaviest armor is on the outside. How stacked armor works is like this:
The 1st Layer has its stated Armor Value, but gets an added value from blocks behind it. The boosts are as such:
2nd Layer: Gives a boost to the first layer equal to 80% of the second layer's armor value
3rd Layer: Gives a 60% boost to the first
4th Layer: Gives a 40% boost
5th Layer: Gives a 20% boost
6th Layer: Gives a 10% boost

So, if you had two Heavy Armor and two Metals, you would get the most Armor (92) from having the two HAs on the outside

[MopOnTop]

i make a grid armor system using heavy armor and metal armor so 2 layers thick the grid is heavy armor one row filled in with 4 rows of metal armor so that you get lots of armor bonus without lots of weight and have as many layers a 500mm AC cannot penetrate my armor in under 4 shots reguardless of make period if you have questions want proof? add me as a friend and i will show you the exact makeup and all of the ships i have that use this armor... and let you shoot at it

[sintri]

Originally posted by colonelmustardgas3:

Originally posted by sintri:

Layered armour stacks, so you technically get the most effective hp layering heavy on the inside with 2 metals on the out than the other way around. Just do note even a single layer of heavy armour on your belt + deck is enough to tank your bouyancy to the point where you'll need a really wide ship or spinners to stay afloat.

Actually, your armor is better if the heaviest armor is on the outside. How stacked armor works is like this:
The 1st Layer has its stated Armor Value, but gets an added value from blocks behind it. The boosts are as such:
2nd Layer: Gives a boost to the first layer equal to 80% of the second layer's armor value
3rd Layer: Gives a 60% boost to the first
4th Layer: Gives a 40% boost
5th Layer: Gives a 20% boost
6th Layer: Gives a 10% boost

So, if you had two Heavy Armor and two Metals, you would get the most Armor (92) from having the two HAs on the outside

That's not the same as effective hp, you'll pull more armour that way, but you'll have more hit points going the other way around.

[colonelmustardgas3]

Originally posted by sintri:

Originally posted by colonelmustardgas3:

Actually, your armor is better if the heaviest armor is on the outside. How stacked armor works is like this:
The 1st Layer has its stated Armor Value, but gets an added value from blocks behind it. The boosts are as such:
2nd Layer: Gives a boost to the first layer equal to 80% of the second layer's armor value
3rd Layer: Gives a 60% boost to the first
4th Layer: Gives a 40% boost
5th Layer: Gives a 20% boost
6th Layer: Gives a 10% boost

So, if you had two Heavy Armor and two Metals, you would get the most Armor (92) from having the two HAs on the outside

That's not the same as effective hp, you'll pull more armour that way, but you'll have more hit points going the other way around.

True. I always go for better armor value, because if you can get it high, weapons deal hardly any damage to ships. My super Dreadnought has armor set up that the initial value is 84. However, the first layer is meant to be chewed up, because beneath it the armor value becomes 100. That, combined with a 7.5 shield and a continuous LAMS system with 5 AP and 300 damage, projectiles are basically useless against the ship.

[pug]

So whats the point of composite armor, like metal alloy metal instead of just metal metal metal or metal space metal.

[colonelmustardgas3]

Originally posted by -Lt. Pugsley-:

So whats the point of composite armor, like metal alloy metal instead of just metal metal metal or metal space metal.

Buoyancy and filler. Metal doesn't float well, so if you are like me and don't use air pumps for my ships, you need a really buoyant material to mix with the armor. Also, if you go for a surefire AoE defense, you need a cheap filler resource that gives resistance but is not too expensive to replace.

[pug]

Couldn't you just use spaced armor for AoE?

[pug]

Point being what would you recommend I do?

[colonelmustardgas3]

Originally posted by -Lt. Pugsley-:

Point being what would you recommend I do?

Spaced armor is okay for initial shots. The problem is, however, that once the first shot explodes, spaced armor no longer does anything, as they can just shoot straight through the gap. With a filler layer, however, chunks will still remain. This means that it is more likely that the shot will not breeze through the entire filler, but rather strike some part of the filler that was not directly contacted.

As to what I would recommend, it all depends on your economy. If you are limited on resources, a spaced armor will be the best, as it is cheap although ineffective. However, if resource is not a big concern, I would use a filler of light alloy, as it is buoyant, relatively sturdy, and adds extra armor to the armor belt. Plus, it helps resist HEAT and Inertial Fuses better than spaced armor. I will have to note that it is more susceptible to internal spalling, so take this into consideration.

[xchrisx88]

Originally posted by colonelmustardgas3:

Originally posted by -Lt. Pugsley-:

Point being what would you recommend I do?

Spaced armor is okay for initial shots. The problem is, however, that once the first shot explodes, spaced armor no longer does anything, as they can just shoot straight through the gap. With a filler layer, however, chunks will still remain. This means that it is more likely that the shot will not breeze through the entire filler, but rather strike some part of the filler that was not directly contacted.

As to what I would recommend, it all depends on your economy. If you are limited on resources, a spaced armor will be the best, as it is cheap although ineffective. However, if resource is not a big concern, I would use a filler of light alloy, as it is buoyant, relatively sturdy, and adds extra armor to the armor belt. Plus, it helps resist HEAT and Inertial Fuses better than spaced armor. I will have to note that it is more susceptible to internal spalling, so take this into consideration.

I would be carefull with the HEAT statement,
I think 1 block wide air gap has 20 armor against HEAT, if you fill it with Alloy yeah it sure helps with buoncy and against inertial HE but HEAT will have an easy time

[colonelmustardgas3]

Originally posted by xchrisx88:

Originally posted by colonelmustardgas3:

Spaced armor is okay for initial shots. The problem is, however, that once the first shot explodes, spaced armor no longer does anything, as they can just shoot straight through the gap. With a filler layer, however, chunks will still remain. This means that it is more likely that the shot will not breeze through the entire filler, but rather strike some part of the filler that was not directly contacted.

As to what I would recommend, it all depends on your economy. If you are limited on resources, a spaced armor will be the best, as it is cheap although ineffective. However, if resource is not a big concern, I would use a filler of light alloy, as it is buoyant, relatively sturdy, and adds extra armor to the armor belt. Plus, it helps resist HEAT and Inertial Fuses better than spaced armor. I will have to note that it is more susceptible to internal spalling, so take this into consideration.

I would be carefull with the HEAT statement,
I think 1 block wide air gap has 20 armor against HEAT, if you fill it with Alloy yeah it sure helps with buoncy and against inertial HE but HEAT will have an easy time

I say that only because of how I set up my armor. Usually, I have anywhere between 6m and 12m armor on ships I actually want to last. I have the armor skirt on the outside, followed by a lot of alloy, and then a metal wall of 1-2m. Most HEAT shells get worn down by the alloy and armor, so that by the time it hits the metal, it won't impart too much damage. However, if I were to just remove that wall, HEAT could just sail through, as alloy is not a very armored material

[RandomNOOBY]

this has good armour, I used 1/3rd weight heavy armour as its not uch heavier than metal
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=874546767
the spaced armour in this is random gaps which seems much better than the usuall air gaps