E2 Exoclad

"I'll grant you access to the hangar. Go and get yourself a weapon and some armor plating. I'm gonna prepare my ship, too. Let's see if you know how to fight."


 * -- Gunant Breh to Keith after the latter suggested fighting back against pirates.

E2 Exoclad armor improves the defense of a ship.

Info Page Description
''Armor plating protects the ship against all types of weapons fire and asteroids. But this technology is rapidly becoming obsolete, and compared to shields the E2 Exoclad offers little protection.''

Behavior
Armor plating works by adding an extra layer of protection to a ship it is installed on. A ship may only be fitted with one kind of armor plating. The E2 Exoclad adds 40 points of protection to the armor points a ship already has.

When leaving a space station with armor on, the hull damage bar on the top left of the HUD will turn from red to yellow, indicating that armor had been installed. Any damage inflicted to the ship will strike the armor first until depleted, with the yellow bar growing smaller to reveal the red bar it covered. This damage cannot be recovered unless a pilot has installed a repair bot on his or her ship or until he or she has docked at a space station.

Near the very beginning of the game, right before Keith's first firefight at Var Hastra, this armor is available for free in the hangar, along with a Nirai Impulse EX 1, Micro Gun MK I, and a Telta Quickscan.

Usage
The E2 Exoclad can be bought from a hangar's shop or can be looted from defeated ships. To apply its effects to the player's ship, it must be installed through the "ship" tab of the hangar page, first by highlighting the armor, then by pressing the larger equip button next to the smaller info button.

Though the description states that armor technology is falling in favor to shields, players will find out that equipping armor along with a shield will be more beneficial than just equipping just one or the other. However, as the cheapest armor plating available, it is not the best, providing a negligible amount of protection in more serious battles later in the game.