As for bad things, there is weak armour and then there is bad armour placement.
The former is where relativity plays a role. On a �Mech that is not designed to be used in a stand-up fight, low armour is nowhere near as detrimental. If the weight saved on armour is invested in mobility, then that choice is perfectly justified. On the other hand, if the weight is used to mount more guns, then the choice is only understandable if an attempt to retain at least useful amounts of armour is made. There is probably an absolute minimum of armour for each given weight class (the Firemoth and Hellbringer are both way beyond it � and it is more of a problem for the latter because it should theoretically carry its weigh in a stand-up fight).
Bad armour placement, on the other hand, is always bad. Even something as awesome as, well, the Awesome, could improve in that area. 19 CTR armour vs 30 on the front? Puh-lease! Now, once again, the role of a �Mech plays a vital role � simply by supplying a weighted grade as to the importance of armour to the design in the first place. What do I mean with that rather convoluted sentence? Well, a design that is used to scout or to fight infantry or to fulfil any of a myriad of other supporting roles should use medium-sized weapons as a measuring stick. For Clan units that means the medium lasers � 7 points of damage. Units that are designed first and foremost for inter-�Mech action *need* to be able to live through bigger weapons. Unfortunately, in Clan space that means 15 points for lighter designs and 20 for heavier ones.
A further differentiation is to take into account not only the amount of damage that one could sustain without taking internal damage, but also the amount of damage until total destruction ensues.
Of course, armour strength and placement are interrelated. I would like to summarise the above by simply calling it: smart allocation of armour.
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