I got the tesla armor several stages before the last, but after the PA still. It is still useful, just not much for combat. I used it on Vector a lot for her scouting runs (less penalty to sneak skill). When, IF, she got discovered by robots, she was usually able to retreat since most of the robots used energy weapons. I believe the tesla also provides more energy protection than the PA. But, no, it doesnt make a big difference at all. Alot of items in this piss-poorly designed game are completely useless. The Gauss minigun, for example, I never used. And I played on the hardest difficulty. Oh well.
