#Battletech is a game of Armored Combat, and that Armored part gets overlooked a fair bit. To better explain just how good BT Armor is, lets examine some comparisons. By now, we should all be familiar with the Javelin Missile Launcher and how it can ruin a tank's day. 1/11
The Javelin can typically destroy or disable its prey in a single shot. Most of the Javelin's preferred prey lie in what would, tonnage wise, be Medium Weight for Combat Vehicles and Battlemechs in the setting of BT, roughly between 40 and 55 tons. 2/11
In Battletech, Anti-Tank weapons such as the Javelin are represented by Infantry Portable SRM or LRM Launchers. The difference between them is the Missile. LRMs trade damage for fuel to increase range. SRMs do the reverse. In Classic BT, LRMS do 1 damage, SRMs do 2. 3/11
Now, for those of you who don't play classic BT, 1 Damage means it removes one pip of armor or structure from the target on a successful hit. And what do I mean by one Pip? Lets take a look at a very common 50 ton tank from Battletech, the Vedette. 4/11
As you can see here, the Vedette has good armor placement, with 20 pips worth of armor in front, rear and on the turret. 18 pips cover each side. Barring a thru-armor crit or the Motive system getting hit, a single SRM or LRM is not penetrating that armor. 5/11
Whereas a Javelin can reliably bring down or cripple a 45 ton T-72B tank in a single shot, you need platoons of SRM or LRM equipped Infantry to have the same effect on a similar sized tank in Battletech. The Armor tech is very advanced. And then you get to Battlemechs. 6/11
In Classic BT, every time you hit a Combat Vehicle, there is a chance you do damage to the motive system. Mechs don't have this issue. You need to either get a Thru Armor crit or completely destroy the Armor to have a chance at crippling one. Lets look at a VND-1R to compare.7/11
The 45t Vindicator is a fairly common Medium weight mech. It has 3 more tons of armor than the Vedette. But you will note that it has more locations to cover and so must spread it's pips out more. However, a lone LRM or SRM shot will still not knock it out of a fight. 8/11
This is not to say Infantry are completely helpless against Mechs. They have options the modern Infantryman does not. Such as Inferno Rounds, which bathe the target in a napalm like substance. This is bad for Mechs, as it raises their heat. Too much and they shut down. 9/11
Even then, however, a single Inferno Missile only increases Heat on a mech's Heat scale by 2 points. You need a lot of them to stress out a mech. Especially as the tech advances and Mechs get better at cooling themselves. Infernos also don't damage Mechs, just heat them up. 10/11
The point I'm trying to make is that fans overlook just how tough these war machines are and how good Battletech's Armor is. You can not simply ignore the Armor in a Game of Armored Combat. It's right there in the name. Protection in the 31st Century is VERY advanced. 11/11
@Ganglosaxonnne The biggest tech advance is the materials science behind the armor. Great break down too.