Questions about progression -> the Maestro Armor

[CaptainPOCK]

Hi everyone,

After hours of fishing for Chordfish in our multiplayer game, I finally crafted the Maestro Armor yesterday. Stat-wise, it seems decent, and it looks great too. By the time I got it, we had already progressed into the animal pens area and are unlocking more of the region. Now, I’m wondering: was it worth all that time fishing? It feels like I could’ve gotten it earlier in the first portal world, so I’m unsure how long it will stay viable at this stage.

I’m also curious about the best class to pair with the Maestro Armor. Right now, I’m using melee, but it feels suboptimal - while I can kite melee enemies with my speed, I still feel no upsides or benefits against ranged enemies, where speed doesn’t seem help much. Would ranged or another playstyle make better use of the armor’s benefits? Any weapon recommendations? Currently, I'm using the Electro Thrower for robots, and Thermal Mallet for everything else.

Lastly, if the Maestro Armor is already falling behind, what’s the best upgrade from here? I enjoy the speed and jumping boost, so I’d love an armor that offers similar perks. The Wiki suggests Carapace Armor in terms of weight, but I only skimmed it—are there better options I should consider?

Thanks in advance for your advice!

[CombatWombat]

There is amor value progression and then there are armors with quirks. Maestro has some really useful perks. So my advice is, wear what suits you best. Amor value is not everything.

[CaptainPOCK]

I have noticed that certain armor sets have some interesting perks. Is armor value really not that important? Or is it conditional? So far I hold my ground well. Does the same count for weapons? You know, aside from the true starter weapons. Thermal Mallet seems to holds out pretty well.

[ModdyMop]

Originally posted by CaptainPOCK:

I have noticed that certain armor sets have some interesting perks. Is armor value really not that important? Or is it conditional? So far I hold my ground well. Does the same count for weapons? You know, aside from the true starter weapons. Thermal Mallet seems to holds out pretty well.

From my experience so far, yes it is the same for weapons. You'll notice the next one handed blunt melee weapon you can craft will do less damage per swing (and loses out on the fire DoT), but knocks enemies back.

Armor value, while useful and important, isn't as important if you're using a shield. The more important part are the passives they provide. Shields block the damage whereas the armor simply reduces it and it's much more helpful to avoid damage altogether.

Still, it does depend on your playstyle. Friend of mine just runs into combat and would die a lot more if he didn't have the higher armor value.

[Crochwhisle purple]

it was probably not worth it, but use whatever suits your play style. I use the mountaineer armor for the no knockback armor bonus and over 80 armor rating. Other times if i use firearms i just throw on something like carapace or hex armor for their armor bonuses

[Jartym]

Armor value is pretty impactful imo, so you don't want to be too behind, but at the point where you are in the game, Maestro armor isn't behind at all. Anyway you should usually be fine wearing something a bit less than your current area's best stuff, so don't sweat it.

Set bonuses are really useful I find. I'm a big fan of the Hex set personally. It automatically fixes regular and heavy bleeding and repairs itself over time, perfect for long field excursions. Even though its armor value is a bit behind the current last area's, it's lighter (using a plastic shield instead of higher level ones keeps you in only the 2nd speed tier, unlike Cascade armor which is just slightly too heavy) and deals with a common status condition in the last area right now.

[Mauman]

Before the throwing nerf, I would have said thrower is best paired with the armor + trinket.

Now throwing is kind of crap (besides grenades) as the new throwing weapons are incredibly resource inefficient and improvised throwing weapons went from viable to complete dog crap.

Sigh.

[Kairi ♡]

More you level up your Fortitude skill, less reliant on armor you are.

As for recommended armor - depends from what you want. Crystalline armor turns you invisible, if you move slowly; Cascade armor detects nearby enemies; Hex armor repairs itself and removes any bleeding from wearer(including heavy bleeding); If you want jumping boost - there is certain trinket, that reduces gravity for you, and Bionic legs, that give you increased movement speed.

My personal choice is Hex armor for combat and Crystalline for scavenging, though dealing damage to enemy deactivates invisibility, until that enemy is dealt with. Cascade is also my favourite, as my strength is already maxed out and knowing, where enemies are, before entering room, is useful.