Ferro-Fibrous armor is the most common
"special" armor, and is the best in many respects. It provides 12%
more protection than standard armor and does not have any major
weaknesses like Blazer and Glazed armor. Ax warheads do extra
damage to it, however. Because it is so bulky, Ferro-Fibrous is
typically used only on light, fast 'Mechs or those that have few
weapons or other equipment to mount. A quick glance at the armor
table shows that it is always better to use Endo Steel II internal
structure and devote more tonnage to standard armor than to use
Ferro- Fibrous armor. Therefore, you should only use Ferro-
Fibrous if you have room left over after mounting Endo Steel II and
other desired components on your 'Mech.
Blazer armor is even bulkier than Ferro- Fibrous,
taking up 16 critical spaces. Thus, it is even more likely to fit only
on light 'Mechs. The main advantage of using Blazer armor is that it
reduces damage by missiles, mortars, and artillery by half. It also
protects the 'Mech from internal damage due to Tandem Charge
(TC) warheads. Unfortunately, if a 'Mech suffers a critical hit that
does not damage a component (i.e., an empty critical space or a
space occupied by Endo Steel II, CASE, or Blazer armor), half of
the 'Mech's armor in that location is destroyed. This is not likely to
happen, however. Mech's usually take critical hits only after their
armor in a location has been destroyed. Lucky critical hits can only
occur in the torso, and they are extremely rare. Also, the torso is
usually filled with equipment: the engine, gyro, and some weapons.
Thus, the chance that Blazer armor will malfunction is slim, and it is
a good deal if your 'Mech has enough room.
Like Blazer armor, Glazed armor takes up extra
critical spaces (17) and negates some of the damage from certain
weapons, in this case lasers. It's weakness, extra damage from
PPCs, is much more likely to come up in play, however. With the
sheer number of PPC carrying Warhammers, Marauders,
Battlemasters, and Masakaris in service throughout the Inner
Sphere, it is hard to justify a risk as large as Glazed armor. In some
cases, Glazed armor will work brilliantly, in others, it will fail
miserably. If your 'Mech is fast enough to hide from PPC carrying
'Mechs, or if you will be facing a known enemy unit, Glazed armor
might be okay. Otherwise, you're better off with something else.