N18 Is flak armour worth it?

[smelly butt face]

Obviously Mesh armour is better than Flak armour as it grants you a 5+ armour save regardless, whereas Flak armour only grants you a 6+ armour save which increases to 5+ against blast/template weapons. So generally Flak armour is a 6+ armour save most of the time.

With a 6+ armour save, you are mathematically only negating damage one-sixth of the time, or 16% of the time. Whereas with a 5+ armour save this increases to one-third or 33% of the time. And for 5 credits more, who wouldn't take Mesh armour over Flak amour if it is available to you?

So is Flak armour even worth taking at all?

Obviously you'll pick Mesh armour over Flak if it is available to you and you have the credits to do so. It seems to me that you'd only take Flak armour if you don't have access to better armour and/or you don't have the credits to take better amour. The only other scenario I can think of where you'd consider taking Flak armour is if you've already equipped all your fighters with the weapons and wargear that you want and you've got 10 credits spare, so you just chuck it on a guy that didn't have armour. That being said, wouldn't the credits be off better spent on upgrading weapons and wargear with the potential to do more damage opposed to getting a 6+ amour save? I'd rather take a slightly better weapon or an additional weapon (e.g. autopistol) with no armour over a 6+ amour save. Damage verses Survivability?

What do you guys think? Is Flak armour worth taking? Or am I too focused on damage output verses survivability? Or have I missed something completely?

 

[Lunarcruiser]

As you start of many fighters can only get flack armour anyway. Weapons and other stuff usually take priority. However once you have the credits mesh armour or better is almost always better with the flat save.
Your opponents and your play style could also influence your armour choices. If your opponents field a phalanx of Cawdor Blunderpoles throwing out template after template and you keep your distance or they favour grenade spam then flack armour is all you need until armoured under suits and carapace enter the mix.
Usually only my Leader and Champions start with any armour at all and when the minions eventually earn enough creds to earn armour and gubbins I go with the Flat save of mesh or better just to remove the headache of remembering the extra situational save. The same applies to the admittedly thematically cool Furnace plate.
However in the Book of Judgement, i think, the Layered and Hardened Flack armours, which are available on the Trade Post from that book are worth it.

 

[Galtarr]

If Flak always gave you a 1/6th chance it would be ok. The issue is that -1 ap is so prevalent that actually you are only occasionally getting a 1/6 save and usually getting no save.

I usually take Dodge on my Escher ranged champ (spring up on CC, and I avoid repeats) but Dodge always gets 1/6 chance and layers with armour usually Mesh or better, so I feel it does pay off, even at the expense of the arguably better spring up.

 

[daveh]

faith in the emprahh is the best armour , exept for flack or any other armour come to think of it

 

[Heart of Storm]

No, flak is never worth it. 10 creds for a 6+ save vs 15 creds for the 5+ save mesh gives is a no-brainer

 

[locleos]

No, normal flak armour is not worth it, but I swear by hardened layered flak + armoured undersuit. It's pretty rare that you don't end up with a 5+ save after AP, for 60c total. Compared to Light Carapace with armoured undersuit, you're getting the same value against stuff with ap -2 or better, template weapons up to AP -1, and better value against template weapons with AP -2 or better.

 

[JerekKruger]

If Flak always gave you a 1/6th chance it would be ok. The issue is that -1 ap is so prevalent that actually you are only occasionally getting a 1/6 save and usually getting no save.

Spare a thought for Imperial Guard players in 2nd edition 40k. There were basically no guns that didn't have at least -1 to save (autoguns didn't, but the only unit that used those were Gretchin who you rarely saw) and only common blast template that didn't have at least -2 were frag grenades (admittedly more common than autoguns), so your guard pretty much only got a save when hit by frag grenades.

If it had been an option, I'd have gone without the flak for a -1 points cost on them.

 

[TopsyKretts]

Based on your critics, wouldn't it be more interesting to have flak at 5 credits? And the whole flak family as follows:

1. Flak: 5
2. Hardened: 10 (can reach Mesh level conditionally)
3. Layered: 20 (always better than Mesh)
4. Hardened Layered: 25