Muscle Armor effectiveness

[Dan Howard]

Dan, was it you or was it someone else who said that the muscled cuirass is less protective than the bell cuirass and other simple designs because (all other things being equal) the crevices in the musculature mean it doesn't deflect thrusts as well?

It wasn't me. As Bryan said, the shaping and fluting that was done on musculata should improve its resistance to weapons even more than a smooth surface. There might be a slightly reduced chance of a weapon being deflected off rather than digging in but the difference probably has a negligible effect on its protectiveness.