Does cheaper armor weight less?

[hakkarin]

Does cheaper armor weight less than more powerful armor? Because if it doesn't is there any actual reason other than cost to not always use the most powerful armor type?

 

[Edymnion]

Yes, standard armor is heavier than basic hulls, and advanced armor is heavier than standard.

 

[hakkarin]

Makes sense. In my current design I am giving my ship 2 layers of armor but don't want it to weight too much.

 

[Keptick]

Makes sense. In my current design I am giving my ship 2 layers of armor but don't want it to weight too much.

There's three armor tiers, the lower you go the better armor to mass ratio gets, meaning that it protects better for its given mass. However, higher tier armor is more compact (you don't need as many blocks for the same level of protection). Also don't forget that the higher quality armor is also more dxpensive to produce. So basically:

Basic hull is cheap to produce and is relatively light, but has the lowest armor.

Standard armor is a middle ground between hull and advanced, it offers better protection than hull but is also heavier.

Advanced armor has high armor rafings per block. However, it's heavier than the other two blocks and offers less protection/mass (but is a lot more compact since you won't require as much). It's also more expensive than the other armor/hull blocks.

In your case I recommend standard armor, since you want decent protection but also don't want to sacrifice mobility.

 

[kiraen]

Also keep in mind, you don't have to make every single block the same. Use Advanced around critical systems and weak points, use basic hull for internal/cosmetic structures. If your ship is designed to avoid fights, armor should be heavier in the back. If it's designed to fight, armor should be heavier in the front.

 

[PriZm]

keptick already gave some very good intoduction to different armor types. they all have their advantages and disadvantages. One thing i wanna add: Since the armor/hp update, i highly recommend not building your entire ship out of one armor type. It makes much more sense to protect certain areas of your ship better than others, while saving mass in spots where you dont expect many hits. For a pvp ship it makes sense to make your front armor pretty strong. Also, you should protect your center of mass, cause this is where the AI will aim and where lock-on missiles will try to hit you. So if your ship has some very bulky areas with lots of systems in it -> protect it. If you for example have a thin wing on your ship, where not many systems are inside, you dont need to give it special armor protection.
So, depending on how armor focused or shield focused you want your ship's defense to be, i'd go for one of those combinations:
Basic Hull / Standard armor
Basic Hull / Adv Armor
Standard Armor /Adv Armor

Ofc you can make a ship completely out of adv armor, it just doesnt make much sense in my opinion. Your ship will be very heavy, making all the passive effects and thrust consume MUCH more power, if you want the same thrust/mass ratio and effect %. And you will have armor in spots where you most likely are never gonna take any hits, even if your ship is nuked to under 50% structure and overheats.
Try to place your thick armor plates in smart spots to profit most from them. An advanced armor block, that is never gonna be hit doestn help you at all. In terms of armor hp/ mass you just could have added more basic hull to boost overall armor rating, while having less mass. Or you could have made your shields stronger.
Also (as keptick already mentioned) its gonna be much harder/expensive to repair a ship, the better its armor gets.