While we were overhauling some major systems from Version 7 we thought it would be a good time to transition all the dice to a d10 system, the Armor Save was our last holdout from older Versions which used multiple dice types.
The first step was to convert all the previous weapon Armor Penetration from a scale of 1-6 to a scale of 1-10. For the most part we stuck fairly close to the previous percentages but rounded down to improve survivability. For example an PEN 5 Beam Saber meant a Mobile Suit would survive on a 5, or 6 and destroyed on a 1, 2, 3 or 4. So a 66% chance of being destroyed. In Version 8 that Beam Saber is now PEN 7 so a MS would be destroyed on 1-6 so a 60% chance of destruction.
One nice benefit of switching to a d10 is that it let us giving slightly more differentiation on weapons that we could not before. This allows us to take superheated or supersonic weapons and give them a slightly higher penetration than say a pneumatic claw or battle axe which previously shared the same PEN on a d6 system.
With the change to PEN we then had to adjust the Armor Save system. Late in Version 7 the Armor Save system switched to a maximum of +1 which you could get either from Indomitable special type or having a 4+ in Frame Reinforcement. We found that having a +2 in a d6 system made some units almost invulnerable to the lethality of high PEN weapons. For Version 8 since we have a bigger range now we can allow these two sources to stack once again. The Indomitable trait still gives +1 while Reinforce gives +1 at level 3 and against at level 6. Reinforce 6 is what you’d expect for ultra-heavy armored suits like The O that were able to shrug off beam rifles during the tail end of Zeta Gundam.
After we adjusted the Armor Saves we modified the HP bonus from Reinforce for Frame 1 & 2 units, this way units that go overweight by adding on Reinforce levels like the GM Cannon II are rewarded for it with additional HP.
Lastly, we are going to switch the Evangelions and Angels from the Titan class to the MS class. The reason for this is that the MS Class is instantly destroyed when it fails an Armor Save vs a Penetrating attack. We felt this was a better way to represent the core of an Angel being destroyed and lines up better with the show. So you’ll see less HP but higher Evasion for units from this series.
MechaStellar 