Path of Exile 2's defense mechanics revolve around creating multiple layers of survivability to handle the diverse and often lethal damage types encountered in the game. Improving your character’s survivability involves a combination of avoidance, damage mitigation, life pool management, and recovery. For some players, acquiring POE2 currency can be a key factor in accessing better defensive gear, flasks, and other important tools.

<h2>Core Defense Concepts</h2>
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Avoidance:
This is your first line of defense&mdash;preventing damage from hitting you at all. It includes evasion (chance to dodge attacks), dodge rolls (active evasion), blocking attacks, and movement skills to avoid damage zones. Evasion is effective against both attacks and projectiles, and abilities like Acrobatics can help evade area damage but may reduce overall evasion chance. If you're looking to upgrade your defenses further, using POE2 currency can help you purchase high-quality evasion gear.

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Damage Mitigation:
When you do get hit, mitigation reduces the damage taken. Key mitigation layers include:

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Armor: Reduces physical damage from hits. Very effective against many small hits but less so against large hits like boss slams. Armor can be enhanced with sources like Scavenged Plating and benefits from Armor Break effects. If you need POE2 currency for crafting or gear upgrades, this can make a significant difference in your ability to absorb damage.

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Energy Shield (ES): Acts as a buffer that absorbs damage before life is affected. ES protects against all damage types except bleed and poison and begins to recharge after not taking damage for a short time. It&rsquo;s especially effective against sustained damage and small hits.

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Block: Chance to completely block incoming hits, available only when using a shield. Block can prevent damage entirely but requires investment in shield use and related passives. You may want to purchase a shield with POE2 currency that maximizes your block chance for more effective defense.

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Life Pool:
Your character&rsquo;s life is the last defense layer. Increasing maximum life through Strength, passive tree nodes, gear, and ascendancy bonuses is critical. Life is what ultimately keeps you alive after mitigation and avoidance fail. Investing in life-related gear can be achieved with the help of POE2 currency for optimal survivability.

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Recovery:
After taking damage, your ability to recover life (through flasks, regeneration, leech, or life on hit) determines how quickly you can return to full health. Efficient recovery reduces downtime and increases survivability in prolonged fights. Use POE2 currency to buy flasks that offer healing or enhanced recovery.

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<h2>Additional Defensive Mechanics</h2>
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Resistances: Reducing elemental damage taken (fire, cold, lightning) is essential. Aim for balanced resistances to avoid being vulnerable to any one element.

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Chaos Resistance: Important for mitigating chaos damage and damage over time effects like poison.

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Endurance Charges: Provide physical damage reduction and elemental resistances, enhancing mitigation.

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Spirit Resource: Managing Spirit (a new resource) can indirectly affect survivability by enabling skill reservation and minion maintenance, which can tank damage for you. Be sure to get Spirit-efficient items, which can be purchased with POE2 currency.

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<h2>Class and Passive Tree Considerations</h2>
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Different classes have access to different defensive clusters:

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Warriors often focus on armor and block but face challenges with large hits and two-handed weapons.

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Rangers and Mercenaries lean on evasion and energy shield hybrids, benefiting from life leech and dodge rolls.

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Witch and Sorceress classes often build around energy shield and mana-based defenses.

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Passive skill trees offer clusters to boost armor, evasion, energy shield, life, resistances, and recovery stats. Combining these layers is key to balanced defense. You can use POE2 currency to improve your gear and ascendancy choices for enhanced passive defense.

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<h2>Practical Tips to Improve Survivability</h2>
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Layer Your Defenses: Don&rsquo;t rely on a single defense; combine avoidance, mitigation, and a large life pool.

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Invest in Life and Resistances Early: Prioritize life nodes and cap elemental resistances to reduce damage taken.

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Use Movement and Dodge Actively: Use dodge rolls and movement skills to avoid damage zones and boss attacks.

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Balance Armor and Energy Shield: Armor excels against many small hits; energy shield is better against sustained damage. Hybrid builds can benefit from both.

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Utilize Block if Using a Shield: Block can negate big hits but requires shield investment and limits weapon choices.

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Manage Recovery: Use life flasks, regeneration nodes, and leech to recover quickly after damage.

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Adapt to Encounter Types: Adjust your defenses based on whether you face many small hits, large boss slams, or damage over time effects. Also, ensure you have the necessary POE2 currency to acquire proper gear for each scenario.

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In summary, PoE2 defense mechanics emphasize a layered approach: avoid damage where possible, mitigate what hits you, maintain a large life pool, and recover efficiently. Combining armor, evasion, energy shield, block, resistances, and recovery tailored to your class and build is the key to surviving endgame challenges. Make sure to consider the option of acquiring POE2 currency for crafting, purchasing gear, and fine-tuning your defense setup to be fully prepared.