The plates deforing is what is called a "bad thing". The armor works by preventing the concentrated impact of the weapon from reaching the soft body underneath. This is accomplished by several means, none of which include denting the armor. The short (and incomplete) description is that it takes the impact from the weapon, and spreads the force across the surface area of the plate. If the plate deforms, the force is no longer spread. I can go into the physics of it, or you can just believe me.</quote

a) I'm enjoying this argument, but try not to be so condescending.

b) While a larger area to spread the pressure over means less force, a denting armor is similar to the "crumple zone" on cars, which is what I think Lorraine is getting at. The denting armor means that the contact lasts longer, so by deltap = Ft, there is less force imparted by the same swing.