Compared with before...

AC meant nothing. No blows got deflected. So, after defenses fail, magi got hit with pretty much everything and hit with pretty much everything. But hitting with everything doesn't mean much to a mage.

Now, said mage can get some deflection from his armor after something gets past his defenses (even with precise aim). Not a lot, but more than before.

Said mage will now find it considerably harder to hit the warrior (say), but that's not too relevant because said mage never did much against the warrior in melee anyway.

So post change, magi gain in defense (slightly) and lose in offense (slightly), relative to pre-change.