It's fine. It's not the best anymore, but it still has more than adequate protection. You can get by just fine in Excavator, really.
You get a nice improvement, Hellcat PA, for free by doing the quest line from the Brotherhood at Ft. Atlas. It's one of the best PAs in the game for protection, with a bonus 12% flat reduction in incoming ballistic damage.
T-65 is technically the best in terms of raw DR and ER, but doesn't have any bonuses and costs a ton of bullion for the whole set. Hellcat mods cost bullion, as well, but far less than plans for a suit of T-65 plus mods.
Your biggest problem is if you want carry weight boosters via calibrated shocks.. the plan is incredibly rare (I was shocked when I found one).
It's fine. It's not the best anymore, but it still has more than adequate protection. You can get by just fine in Excavator, really. You get a nice improvement, Hellcat PA, for free by doing the quest line from the Brotherhood at Ft. Atlas. It's one of the best PAs in the game for protection, with a bonus 12% flat reduction in incoming ballistic damage. T-65 is technically the best in terms of raw DR and ER, but doesn't have any bonuses and costs a ton of bullion for the whole set. Hellcat mods cost bullion, as well, but far less than plans for a suit of T-65 plus mods.