The video tests the Idris P’s armor and weapon behavior in Star Citizen 4.7 PTU, focusing on the Exorus 10 laser beam. The creator wants to see how quickly the Idris can destroy both a small ship like a Gladius and a larger ship like a Perseus, while also checking whether the weapon system is actually functioning properly. Early on, they note several unusual PTU changes, especially heavy power consumption from radar, which prevents fully powering the laser as before.
The first combat tests show the Idris laser working much better than expected. A Gladius at 1,000 meters is destroyed almost instantly, and a Mirai Guardian is also taken out very quickly. This suggests the gun may have been fixed in the PTU, since in live builds it sometimes fails to deal damage even when firing. When the creator moves on to a Perseus, the ship takes noticeably longer to kill, which they see as a better sign that shields and armor are both contributing to survivability.
Next, the creator tries attacking the Idris itself using a Gladius. They find that most of the ship’s body is heavily armored and resistant to damage, but certain exposed parts, especially some guns and specific areas near the front, can still be damaged. The PDCs and some turret components are easier to destroy than before, while other exterior sections, including some engines, appear to be more protected. They appreciate that turrets are now armored, but still feel some of them are too easy to disable.
The video then switches to a Guardian and a Perseus to probe the armor system further. Using larger weapons, the creator is able to break through armor on parts of the Idris, after which smaller guns can damage those same areas more easily. This leads to the main criticism of the current system: armor seems to behave like a temporary, ship-wide force field rather than localized protection. Once it is broken in one spot, the whole ship becomes vulnerable, which feels unrealistic to the creator.
In the end, the creator is cautiously optimistic but clearly still critical of the armor implementation. They like that armor is becoming more meaningful and that turrets are now part of the system, but they believe the current version still needs major refinement. Their ideal future system would apply armor to different ship sections individually, rather than making the entire hull vulnerable after one area is weakened. Overall, they see this as a step in the right direction, but not a finished solution.
