Deflection is a type of defensive stat in Path of Exile 2 that allows Evasion-focused characters to gain an additional layer of protection on top of their ability to dodge hits, mitigating incoming damage if it hits them.
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Understanding how the Deflect mechanic works can be quite tricky, as the in-game tooltips are hard to wrap your head around, especially for newcomers unfamiliar with PoE 2’s complicated systems.
How Does Deflection Work in Path of Exile 2
What is the Chance to Deflect
Introduced in Path of Exile 2: The Third Edict (Patch 0.3), Deflection is a defensive mechanic for Dexterity-based classes, added as a complementary defensive measure on top of Evasion, mainly benefiting classes like Ranger and Monk. When in effect, Deflection reduces incoming “Hit” damage by 40%, which includes AoE and Ailment effects.
For Ailments, Deflection reduces the individual instances or “ticks” of damage, but does nothing to nullify the status effect itself. For example, if you’re hit with a cold attack that can freeze, Deflection will not protect you from being Frozen; it will only mitigate the shatter damage.
What Does Deflect Do?
Every time an Evasion character is hit by an enemy attack, the game first rolls the character’s Chance to Evade to see if they would completely dodge that hit. If they do, then nothing else happens. However, if they fail, the game then rolls the Chance to Deflect against the enemy’s accuracy, provided they have some Deflection. If that roll succeeds, the damage received is reduced by 40%, but if it fails, the character will receive full damage.
GGG has shared the formulas for how Path of Exile 2 calculates Chance to Evade and Chance to Deflect:
- Chance to Evade formula = ( 1 - ( attack_accuracy * 1.25 ) / (attack accuracy + defender evasion rating * 0.3 ) * 100
- Chance to Deflect formula = (1 - ( attack_accuracy * 0.9 ) / ( attack accuracy + defender deflect rating * 0.2 ) * 100
As of Path of Exile 2 version 0.3, Evasion works on all hits, including AoE attacks. Only special boss skills telegraphed with a red flash are unevadable.
How to Increase Chance to Deflect
How to Get More Deflection
More Deflection can be acquired from item modifiers and passive skill tree nodes that have the stat “Gain Deflection rating equal to X% of Evasion rating.” Only Dexterity-based gear can roll this modifier.
Deflection rating always exists as a percentage of total Evasion, meaning the more Evasion a character has, the more Deflection they will automatically acquire. There is no way to separate Deflection from Evasion in PoE 2.
It’s important to note that Deflection is an uncapped stat, meaning that, unlike Evasion, which cannot be increased beyond 95%, you can increase Deflection to 100%. However, doing so requires significant investment in near-perfect Evasion gear with the “Gain Deflection rating” modifier, which can be quite expensive on the PoE 2 trade market.
Path of Exile II
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 88 /100 Critics Rec: 100%
- Released
- December 6, 2024
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Nudity, Intense Violence, Sexual Themes, Language, Users Interact, In-Game Purchases (Includes Random Items)
- Developer(s)
- Grinding Gear Games
- Publisher(s)
- Grinding Gear Games
WHERE TO PLAY
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG, Hack and Slash, MMORPG
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PC
