>>537024115
>This is why melee weapons used to reach the main health pool on things with high armor
melee didn't ignore armour, it only phased through the hitboxes of breakable armour sections like the charger or impaler leg, and they certainly didn't do that because they do explosive damage that hit the main HP. It only took 6 swings with the stun lance (with PP armour) to kill a behemoth, which is exactly how much it would take if the leg was exposed.
Here's another example: a webm of killing a factory strider using the one true flag by attacking the inner circuit hitbox underneath the breakable side armour. It took 34 stabs to kill the factory strider. the circuits have 100% durability, 3 armour, effectively 2400 health with its 1200 regular HP and 1200 constitution HP (with a decay of 0), and 40% explosive damage resistance. with peak physique the flag does 110 durable damage, reduced to 65% because of the 3 penetration of the flag matching the 3 armour of the circuits, for 71 damage per swing. 2400/71=33.8, rounded up to 34. If melee was treated as explosive surely the 40% explosive DR should have reduced that damage and make it require far more stabs to kill.