At least level 5 armor isn't hard to get, just a couple essences or an ability shard should get you there if not more. It has the added benefit that at level 5 and 10 you get a bonus 10 armor points each tier.
For me when i press ~ button i have command console on bottom and when i press ~ second time it shows black half transparent console at upper half of the screen and there is command bar at bottom of this console. I'll upload photos of it later.
