People make a big deal about the hole... but it's not really a big deal because of lance stances. It's not an exposed area. The most important areas to armor on a Dragoon would be the head and shoulders because they stand to the side hunkered down. They're also supposed to have a greater attack range. The lance is also hend at about the same level with the gap, so it's still protected via lance parry. The only case where this would be an issue is the Male Roegadyn, who stands more forward with the lance held higher. Thus, not much is really going to be getting into the exposed area. It's minimized and hard to get to to begin with. I play a Higherlander F. As you can see below, in a proper battle stance, the only way something will be able to hit that area is to come from a low angle moving up. You're probably more concerned with moving out of the way than being guarded for such an attack.
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http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b2...ps3e6krpvt.png
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b2...psjkuzjzka.png
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b2...psarzcauvm.png
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b2...psb1pjllr9.png
Everyone is making the assumption you get hit from all the areas all the time, or that things will just go straight for that one weak spot, but it's well guarded by 1.) the stance 2.) the arms and 3.) the weapon. It's also exposed at an angle you should NEVER be open from to begin with. If you stand at an angle where your opponent can strike at your abdomen easily, you deserve what you get to begin with. Even in the normal attention stance, if an assassin comes up to you, they're probably going to have something that can pierce you to begin with, so you could argue the expose area is sever there because then you don't have to worry about armor shards getting into your abdomen, and abdominal injuries are rarely fatal to begin with, and more easily fixed.
