First, how tough are they? It's varied over the editions. Here's how the Toughness has been defined:
- 1e: Equal to PL or highest ranked effect
- 2e: 10 + Device rank
- 3e: points / 5
Second, since you now have two Toughness scores for a player, how do you choose which is damaged when hit? I'd let the player choose. The player can take the hit or let the battlesuit's system be put on the block.
Third, what effects are affected when the Device fails the Toughness check?
Of course, if the player chooses to make their Device Indestructible, they can't shift damage from themselves to their Device, and any GM worth their salt, wouldn't allow a player to both take a substantial discount and not have any way of making the player pay for it (but for taking it away altogether out of combat, which removes it from Flaw territory since those are all meant to be active during combat).Gimmick's Guide to Gadgets 1e, pg. 35 wrote:A device’s abilities degrade as they take damage in much the same way an attack reduces an object’s hardness.Any features reduced to +0 or less are rendered inoperative.
- If it fails a Damage save, reduce the ranks of all its abilities and its hardness by 1.
- If it fails this save by more than 5, reduce the ranks of all its abilities and its hardness by 3.
- If it fails the save by more than 10, reduce the ranks of all its abilities and its hardness by 5 and choose a random ability, extra, or power stunt it provides; it loses that ability.