Electric Armor, advantages and disadvantages?

So, I've started an Elec/Elec brute, mostly due to thematics, because other primaries might be better for it.

Anyway, what I wanted to know more about is the secondary, Electric Armor. I hear so much about other secondaries, in particular Fire and WP, but how does Electric Armor fit into COX? The guides to the set are ancient and I notice that there are some changes in powers from those guides, so might also be other differences.

From what I can see it seems like a pretty solid resistance-based set with a damage aura, looking a lot like Fire Armor, but others might disagree and can tell me more? What are the advantages and disadvantages to Electric Armor?

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You pretty much nailed it. It's a solid resistance set, looking a lot like fire armor.

It's advantages over fire armor is an unlimited endurance tool (power sink is just that good), a godmode tier 9, a built in recharge buff, in set knockback protection, energy drain resistance (what's a malta sapper?), and the always handy psi resistance.

It's disadvantages compared to fire armor are a slower recharging heal and less damage.

One nice thing about electric armor is that the only group they're afraid of is Arachnoids. They aren't defenseless against any other group. Back before IOs electric armor was the armor of choice for many brute players because it didn't falter in the post 40 game where the exotic groups began showing up with more frequency. Carnies? Not a problem. Malta? Pathetic. Arachnos? Chumps (besides the always dangerous Bane Spider Executioners).

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I've got an Elec / Elec brute and she's... deadly.







The advantages are that the resistance set makes most damage consistent and predictable. Elec also fairs well against exotic attacks, so as the enemies start to gain more buffs and debuffs, eletric armor doesn't suffer that much. Elec has a high resistance to slows, a fairly decent base recharge boost, and an excellent resistance to endurance debuffs. As you hit the higher levels with Energize and Power Sink, endurance and sappers turn into non-issues.

Then there's the endurance drain. With power sink slotted out you can rival Ice Armor's Energy Absorption for removing enemy endurance.

The disadvantages are... plentiful.

For starters, Elec is only a resistance set and has no native defenses or defense debuff resistance. So, even if you rack up on defense buffs with IO's, all it will take is one good shot and you can kiss that defense buff goodbye.

Then there's the resistances themselves. Even with the Rare Cardiac boost, you'll still struggle to top 62% resistance to smashing / lethal damage with tough. Resistances to everything but energy will be somewhere around 40%, maybe 45% with the Rare Cardiac.

So survivability through taking damage... isn't really what Elec excels at. Survivability through delivering damage... well. That's a completely different ball game.

For me I went after IO boosts for Maximum HP cap and recharge, then took the Spiritual Alpha for it's Recharge and Healing boosts. So I've got around 1943hp, and I haven't even gotten to the accolades yet.

• In energize without an Alpha Equipped I clock around 31.57 hp per second regeneration with around 748 on the heal.
• In Energize with the Rare Spiritual Total Radial Revamp I'm clocking about 34hp / sec regen and a heal worth 819hp.

In terms of attacks, Lightning Rod is down to about 43 seconds recharge rate with the Spiritual Total Radial Revamp, and has about a ~30 second actual recharge with the 87% base recharge rate bonus. At the higher levels the Patron Power Darkest Night also increases survivability by a good bit with significant debuffs to enemy damage and to-hit.

Now, some electrical melee players rely on Lightning Clap for survivability. Me, not so much. In the incarnate end-game some effects, such as stun, don't mean a whole lot unless you can reliably stack that effect. If I was doing this build on a tank, I would go for Lightning Clap just for the few seconds that a high-mag knockback and low mag stun would buy, just for that extra survivability in a crunch situation. I also know how I would do it. I'd drop the vengeance power for lightning clap, then drop the slots on Maneuvers and Tactics, and slot out lightning clap for the 6.25% recharge. Ultimately I'd only lose about 1.13% of max hp and 1.25% of base recharge. Not really huge numbers.

I'm not really sure that extra survivability is worth it for a Brute in Solo Conditions... and on team conditions, I'd rather have the vengeance. Just personal play style for me.

The only practical disadvantage to my particular build is Single Target damage. Hardened targets can be a bit problematic to put damage down onto. I've been playing around with a build on Test that swaps out Soul Tentacles with a Decimation Slotted Gloom.

Hope that answers your questions about elec / elec.

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I have an SS/Elec/Mu brute, and he's awesome. I loved the combination so much I have like 15 bil invested in him, by far the most I ever put into a character. Link to the build

I have lots of HP and Regen bonuses, and Energize just about at perma(Hasten as well). With the heal and regen that's about 70 HP/sec. I also have S/L defense softcapped and just about everything else over 20%. While defense is prone to failcascades against certain enemies due to the lack of DDR, by the time the failcascade really gets going the mobs are either dead or drained of endurance.

Compared to Fire Armor, it gives you less damage but more mitigation.

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The disadvantage is it's the single cruddiest melee armor in the game. Make sure to team with plenty of support for the first 27 levels because ElA gets eaten alive in the low-level game.

I will say on Tankers it's downright playable, but is still the cruddiest Tanker armor bar none.

Full disclosure: I'm not a fan of ElA. But I guess you figured that out by now.

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Elec armor has the same disadvantages as most other resistance based sets. But unlike other resistance sets, Elec armor has end drain resistance and reasonable resistances to EVERYTHING, instead of massive resistance to one thing (which elec also has in Energy. You'll be capped to it before SOs) making it much more flexible.

It also has a heal, meaning you can skip out on aid self

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/Ela has always been my favorite set to play for going on 5 years in game now.

As others have said it is a set that tends to shine in the end game. Many of the big pains for other sets such as end drain and -recharge /Ela just gets to laugh off.

If you survive the alpha strike of a group you should win the engagement. You hop in, hit power sink, cycle your AOE's on hand and then hit power sink a 2nd time and then Energize. You are not back at at least 1/2 health and the few baddies that are left are drained of end and you are as safe as any toon in the game.

Now surviving that alpha is the trick. Against most mobs in the end game this is not a problem period. For the few times a group may be to strong you can always eat some skittles or layer in some IO def bonus

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