I prefer the others to granite. I don't like powers that completely obscur the character. Why have such an amazing character customization process only to make all characters of a given type look alike in the end?
I like the new stuff, but the characters they're on in those pictures are ugly. Given a character who looks more appropriate, I think they look much better.
That the saints may enjoy their beatitude and the grace of God more abundantly they are permitted to see the punishment of the damned in hell. -Saint Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica
What I like most about the new effects is that they are more obviously designed to be stacked and run perma.
Old defence effects (all lines) clearly did not have this in mind, which is why they were all too overbearing, bright, garish.
Crystal and Mineral might not look like armour alone - but they would never be used alone in a situation where real tanking is required, they are really upgrades rather than alternative armours.
Also I second what Lava said about the characters used as examples above.
"People will not assume that what they read on the internet is trustworthy or that it carries any particular assurance or accuracy" - Lord Leveson "Hyperbole is a cancer" - Lakov Sanite
What I like most about the new effects is that they are more obviously designed to be stacked and run perma.
Old defence effects (all lines) clearly did not have this in mind, which is why they were all too overbearing, bright, garish.
Crystal and Mineral might not look like armour alone - but they would never be used alone in a situation where real tanking is required, they are really upgrades rather than alternative armours.
Also I second what Lava said about the characters used as examples above.
Actually, it would be possible to tank the psychic clockwork with just minerals, or AntiMatter's Particle Mechs (what they're like is not important) with just crystal armor, but these are the very rare exceptions to the rule.