Effect
Focus your energies, increasing your Armor by 35% but decreasing your maximum Arcane Power by 20. Lasts 10 minutes.
Only one Armor may be active at a time.
Runes
5 Runes
-
Absorption
You have a chance to gain 4 Arcane Power when you are hit by a ranged or melee attack. -
Pinpoint Barrier
Energy Armor also increases your Critical Hit Chance by 5%. -
Energy Tap
Rather than decreasing your maximum Arcane Power, Energy Armor increases it by 20. -
Force Armor
Incoming attacks that would deal more than 35% of your maximum Life are reduced to deal 35% of your maximum Life instead.
The amount absorbed cannot exceed 100% of your maximum Life. -
Prismatic Armor
Energy Armor also increases your resistance to all damage types 25%.
Energy Armor
Energy Armor is one of the wizard's several armor auras and leans firmly toward defense: it raises your armor value substantially but in return costs you part of your maximum Arcane Power. Like all armors it lasts a very long time and runs effectively permanently, though only one can be active at once.
The runes soften the drawback or extend the upside. Energy Tap reverses the penalty entirely and even grants extra Arcane Power instead of removing it, erasing the spell's biggest downside. Prismatic Armor additionally makes you more resistant to all damage types and is the default choice when elemental damage in particular puts you under pressure. More offensive players can squeeze out some critical hit chance with Pinpoint Barrier. For builds on a tight defensive budget, Energy Armor is a dependable always-on buffer.
The numbers behind the trade
The armor costs 25 Arcane Power, lasts 10 minutes and raises your Armor by 35%, but lowers your maximum Arcane Power by 20. How much that hurts depends on your main attack: with Magic Missile, a free Signature spell, a smaller pool hardly matters, while for expensive spells like Meteor every point counts more, which is where Energy Tap (level 48) and its extra 20 Arcane Power pay off.
Force Armor against spike hits
In practice Force Armor (level 54) shows up: attacks that would take more than 35% of your maximum Life are capped at 35%, and the amount absorbed can't exceed 100% of your maximum Life. The rune protects specifically against single heavy hits, not against many small ones.
The other runes: Absorption (level 32) has a chance to grant 4 Arcane Power when you are hit, Pinpoint Barrier (level 41) adds 5% Critical Hit Chance, and Prismatic Armor (level 60) adds 25% resistance to all damage types.
Which armor you give up
Since only one Armor can be active, choosing Energy Armor means giving up Storm Armor or Ice Armor and their effects. Familiar and Audacity then make up for the missing offense, while Frost Nova and Teleport provide control and distance.
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