Hi there The element of the armor should be about what mods you are putting in as various mods require a specific element of the armor piece (eg protective light (which is a good mod for any subclass) can only be put in void armor). The mods are the only reason for using specific armor elements. Meaning that in a scenario where you have not slotted element specific mods you do not gain anything by aligning the armor to your subclass. But: Elemental wells for example will grant a bigger bonus to ability energy if the elemental well you pick up is aligned with your subclass and some spawner- and benefactor-mods are made to be in line (eg "Reaping wellmaker" (After activating your class ability, your next weapon final blow spawns a Void elemental well.) can only be slotted into void armor.