Should you build for Armour or Evasion in Path of Exile 2?

There are numerous defensive options available to you in Path of Exile 2, with two of the best to focus on being Armour and Evasion. Both stats are competitive, but which one actually edges out between the two?

Is Armour or Evasion better in Path of Exile 2?

While it would be very easy to give you a direct answer to this question, the truth is: Path of Exile 2 is a complex game, and there is no clear-cut answer thanks to the sheer volume of options available to you. There are countless scenarios where Armour is better than Evasion, and Evasion is better than Armour, so rather than directly comparing these two defensive stats, I’ll explain their use cases along with their strengths and weaknesses, for your information.

Armour

The value of building for Armour on a character in Path of Eixle 2 is pretty straightforward, though the weaknesses of doing so may not be. Armour is a damage mitigation stat, meaning it directly interfaces and interacts with all other forms of damage mitigation. These refer to additional stats like resistances and physical damage reduction. With higher amounts of Armour, physical damage reduction increases, though it is a separate modifier to your actual damage reduction. Confusing I know, but hear me out without all the mathematical jargon.

When stacking Armour, you value significantly reducing damage taken (specifically burst damage), allowing you to stay in the thick of battle without concern for your own safety. A character with high Armour shrugs off even the most powerful physical blows and can take quite a beating before being put down. Armour is at its highest value when built with high resistance and health, making you extremely tanky and consistent with health loss in a fight.

The downside to building Armour is that it is purely a damage reduction stat, and not an avoidance one. Ideally, you’d flat out never want to take any damage, as no damage taken means no health loss. Characters that focus on Armour, however, sacrifice this aspect to make sure the damage they do take is manageable. They do not care about avoiding it, and this can be a big downside when the damage being dished out is so high that Armour is not enough.

Evasion

In contrast to Armour, Evasion is a very powerful Avoidance stat meant to prevent you from taking damage outright. A character with Evasion built as the focus avoids almost all damage taken by simply dodging it. The more Evasion is stacked, the more powerful the stat becomes, as every point reduces the odds of suffering a blow. If you’re not taking damage, you’re not using your limited flasks, which is highly beneficial in the endgame of Path of Exile 2. In terms of power, Evasion is stronger than Armour, but with a much larger drawback when compared to it.

Evasion’s greatest weakness is the accuracy of your enemies. Even with capped-out Evasion, you can never build a character with so much of the stat that you become untouchable entirely. This is because enemies have an Accuracy stat that is rolled against your Evasion stat in the background; if the enemy’s Accuracy wins, you’ll suffer a blow, and because you aren’t built with Armour, the blow will hurt a lot.

While stacking Evasion, you won’t get hit often, but when you do, you’ll need to immediately hit your potion button, especially during the endgame. Speaking of which, suffering a blow from an Atlas map enemy could kill you outright without allowing you to recover, so keep this in mind when stacking Evasion.

So, while Evasion is technically better as it prevents damage, this is only the case in a situation where you cannot be hit, which is impossible to achieve. Meanwhile, Armour is the consistent, constant option that you cannot go wrong with.