[Rift_0f_Bladz]

....but combat sense does not actually give you armour, it only adds to your base defence which is still a random chance you don't get hit. whereas armour itself is a constant value.

Not getting hit is more valuable than taking less damage.

Very true statement

[Hobbes]

Yeah, one more hit on a defense test means one less damage and potentially no damage at all.  One more hit on a Soak test is one less damage.  I'm not saying neglect Soak tests, but when the choice is +1 Defense or +1 Soak, the +1 Defense is usually the better choice. 

[Whiskeyjack]

Armor is in no way a constant value, because soak is rolled.

[Halinn]

Armor is in no way a constant value, because soak is rolled.

Armor is a fixed value when comparing to DV for whether or not you take physical damage. Defense is still better, of course.

[kyoto kid]

...exactly.  Stun damage is also easier to recover from than physical.  .Armour value is also compared against the total DV (base and net hits) of the attack, not just base DV of the weapon used.  If the total DV exceeds the modified armour value (after AP is applied) it's taken as physical.  Even a good defence roll may not take enough hits away form a high powered weapon like a sniper rifle (a Ranger Arms or a Barrett has a starting DV of 14 which exceeds an armoured jacket by 2 without even calculating in AP. Just one net hit will still take a character down who is wearing only a jacket).

[Jack_Spade]

Well, there are grenades to be considered.
But in general yes, dodging is better than soaking

[Rift_0f_Bladz]

Generally defense pools (dodge is something similar but different for 5th ed ) should be prioritized over soak.

[Jack_Spade]

Well, if you want to be specific you'll also have to say defense tests vs. damage resistance tests since soak isn't a SR5 term either 

[ZeldaBravo]

....but combat sense does not actually give you armour, it only adds to your base defence which is still a random chance you don't get hit. whereas armour itself is a constant value.

Not getting hit is more valuable than taking less damage.

Very true statement

The thing is, you ARE going to get hit.
But I 100% agree that Combat Sense > Mystic Armor just because armor is easy to get, while PPs are a very valuable and very limited resource. Got to spend them for something equally rare.

[Glyph]

Dodging may trump soaking, but it is a good idea to try to do both, unless you are going for concept (skinny dodgy guy or burly tank guy) over optimization.  This is because both actions can be rendered less useful.  Dodging can be affected by autofire, area attacks, defending against more than one attack, or surprise, while armor can be reduced by AP or by certain special kinds of attacks (toxins, etc.).  So normally I would pile on all combat sense and let comparatively cheaper external armor do the heavy lifting, soak-wise, but if 2 points of mystic armor push the character's soaking ability into some desired "sweet spot", then I can see taking it.

[Whiskeyjack]

Well, if you want to be specific you'll also have to say defense tests vs. damage resistance tests since soak isn't a SR5 term either 

"Defense test" is more correct since "dodge" is itself a separate term of art in the system.

Everyone knows what soak means though, and it isn't otherwise used in the system, so it's an easy and unambiguous shorthand.

[kyoto kid]

...well put KK through a marathon Missions session, and I think she passed the test.  Didn't even get tagged once while dealing out a lot of hurt to the oppos.

Based on what went down, I agree with Glyph, being optimised for both defence and damage resistance is a good balance and I feel KK is there. 

Another factor to take into consideration is speed and offence. With 4d6 (3d6 +11 from Improved reflexes and an additional 1d6 + 1 from Cram) along with Attribute Boost - Agility (3) she was pretty much in top of her game when it came time to roll initiative.  I was getting an average of around 3 hits on the attribute boost which upped her Agility to 9 (6 combat turns duration which we never exceeded), thus increasing all pools associated with that attribute. That made a noticeable difference on its own particularly when on two occasions she went up against spirits with her weapon focus, or when she hung in the shadows picking off the oppos with her Remington 950. 

As to "optimal" armour, the best physical armour she can really make use of is an armoured jacket (12) Ballistic Mask (+2) with Suretech PPP  leggings (+1) and forearm guards (+1) for a total of 16, (which becomes 18 with Mystic Armour).  That seems to be in the "sweet spot" so to say as it can handle most weapon AP ratings, (save for the super high powered sniper rifles), especially given she will be able to reduce her attacker's hits/DV by a decent  degree with a defence test (which with her Combat sense is a 13 pool). Heavier armours (with the exception of Sleeping Tiger) are "restrictive", which means they compromise skills like sneak, gymnastics, and running (I'm sorry, but the thought of doing acrobatic climb and flip over a fence and landing quietly on the other side, or stealthily moving about in the shadows above while on a metal catwalk in Sec or Swat armour doesn't really work).

As I have mentioned several times, it's not so much getting, hit as to what type of damage occurs (physical or stun) if you are tagged (and like Zelda Bravo mentions, "you are going to get hit").  So best to try and minimise the "pain" as much as possible (again, it is easier to recover  stun than body and it's negative effect can also be mitigated temporarily with a stim patch).  In most of the runs we were on, we had no mage or shaman with a heal spell and between two runs, we had no downtime to sit and heal up.

[Rift_0f_Bladz]

I know FB armor doesn't have the restrictive qualifier and almost positive SWAT doesn't either, with SWAT being the slight upgrade to FB, but not as armor value crazyness that either Sec armor or the Mil-Spec, but both of those are restrictive. Sleeping Tiger isn't cheep, but it is worth it. Another armor with the value around 12 (might be slightly higher) is the big game hunter, plus it come with free environmental mods too, that don't could against your armor mod slots.

[kyoto kid]

...to really get the full benefit of Sleeping Tiger's ruthenium polymer option  you can't wear anything with which might obscure the effect like a longcoat, forearm guards, or leg  protection (not even sure a helmet or ballistic mask would be compatible) . This means you only have 13 armour (+ whatever other armour the character gets through implants, adept powers, spells, or natural abilities).

As to heavier armour, the description for Full Body Armour on p.437 of the gear section reads:

Impossible to conceal, this armour is worn by military and security personnel around the world for heavy ops duty. It is styled for for intimidation and ease of movement with a full array of tactical holsters, pouches and webbing and is sure to draw attention.

(emphasis mine) This means you pretty much stick out like a sore thumb to the authorities even though it has an "R" legality. 

Regarding the Big Game Hunter armour. the same pretty much applies as it is primarily suited for use in the outdoors/wilds rather than in a city (the latter being where most runs take place). Also the extra protection is for survival in a particular environment (Desert, Arctic Jungle, etc) but will do nothing against electricity or fire.
 
I agree that in the appropriate setting, certain types of other armoured clothing like armoured business clothing a when infiltrating corp offices or the Industrious jumpsuit when sneaking into a manufacturing facility can be very helpful. However, the bottom line is the last thing you want on a run is draw extra attention to yourself.

[Rift_0f_Bladz]

Depends, sometimes the best way in is to be obvious. Even if you don't get the full bonus of EPs, It comes with some other free mods, like a holster. Then if the FB armor is obvious, it is not restrictive, like some of the other full body armors in R&G. Which is a big favor towards it, and R ratings can be gotten around.
CUSTOM PROTECTION
These items come with a built-in environmental customization
(Fire Resistance, Chemical Protection, or Insulation) that cannot
be removed or changed. The option is chosen at purchase and
is included in the price. This customization does not go away for
Lightly Worn armor; when choosing the Lightly Worn items with
Custom Protection, the gamemaster can determine the features
randomly. Alternately, a character can look for a certain variety,
but that is harder to find, raising the Availability of the item by 1 for
each Rating point of the customization.

Directly copied from R&G. Which Big Game Hunter has this at Rating 6, along with armor 14 and capacity 12 for additional mods. It only doesn't have nonconductive as an option. So for jungle you could get chem 3 and fire 3.