Horizons Is a B rated module worth it for the extra armour?

[Iskariot]

B- rated is better armoured they say, but I always doubted that it made a big difference.

However since 2.1 I noticed that the AI loves to target power distributors.
Three times my PD has been shot out so far.

What is your experience with B-rated modules?
Do they make a real difference?

I get the feeling that most people do not even consider using B-modules at all. I never did.
Should Frontier perhaps improve the B-rated modules' armour to create a more viable option to protect certain core modules and to make them more popular?

 

[Deleted member 38366]

I've had a look at the numbers (you can see them in the Outfitting now, Integrity figure).

Based on that... I'd say no. Seems a 10% Integrity Bonus for a 100% weight penalty.
If it was a 50% Integrity Bonus, it would make more sense.

But if you need to roughen up a Ship to the max. and JumpRange is secondary concern, 10% is still 10%.

PS.
I don't think NPCs specifically target Power Distributors.
It's just that on some Ships it's a rather vulnerable item (Federal Combat ships come to mind, FAS just loves taking Power Dist Module Damage).

 

[Iskariot]

I've had a look at the numbers (you can see them in the Outfitting now, Integrity figure).

Based on that... I'd say no. Seems a 10% Integrity Bonus for a 100% weight penalty.
If it was a 50% Integrity Bonus, it would make more sense.

But if you need to roughen up a Ship to the max. and JumpRange is secondary concern, 10% is still 10%.

PS.
I don't think NPCs specifically target Power Distributors.
It's just that on some Ships it's a rather vulnerable item (Federal Combat ships come to mind, FAS just loves taking Power Dist Module Damage).

I agree a 50% armor bonus would make the B modules a serious option.
Perhaps FD might consider tweaking them a bit to make them more interesting to us, especially with the new Ai.

As far as AI targeting the PD is concerned, you might be right, but it never happened to me before and since 2.1 my PD was destroyed 3 times on one day.

 

[Chris Simon]

B-rated stuff has twice as much hitpoints in comparison with A,C,E modules.

 

[freedom4556]

I've had a look at the numbers (you can see them in the Outfitting now, Integrity figure).

Based on that... I'd say no. Seems a 10% Integrity Bonus for a 100% weight penalty.
If it was a 50% Integrity Bonus, it would make more sense.

But if you need to roughen up a Ship to the max. and JumpRange is secondary concern, 10% is still 10%.

PS.
I don't think NPCs specifically target Power Distributors.
It's just that on some Ships it's a rather vulnerable item (Federal Combat ships come to mind, FAS just loves taking Power Dist Module Damage).

I think the problem with the weight is they calibrated it to have an effect on your handling that you can feel, without regard to what that does to your jump range.
So, I'd argue for a weight reduction (more in line with the weight loss on the D-rating modules), but if they wanted to keep the meaningful handling hit then they need to buff the integrity instead.

Regardless, I'd never use them unless I never intended to jump the ship anywhere.

 

[Jezzah]

Agreed FalconFly. The mass difference affecting fsd range etc isn't worth it at all.

 

[Iskariot]

B-rated stuff has twice as much hitpoints in comparison with A,C,E modules.

Are you sure about that?

 

[Deleted member 38366]

I don't remember which Power Plant I checked - but I saw it going from ~96 Points (A) to ~108 Points (B).

Not docked right now, so I don't have access to Outfitting to confirm. But it looked like a ~10% difference to me (?)

 

[Chris Simon]

Are you sure about that?

I have only rough confirmation by how long it takes to kill A rated vs. B rated powerplants that we did ages ago. It seemed to be roughly twice as long for B. If I take into account all inaccuracies in my measurements and shooting, I think it's safe to say it is at least 50% more. In other words - it's significant enough to think about B rated modules when comes to hull-tanking.