Defence Calculation Order (Taking a Hit)
When you’re hit by an enemy, the game runs the following order of Path of Exile 2 Currency operations to determine if you survive — and how much you suffer:

1. Check for Dodge/Block/Evade
Path of Exile 2 uses deterministic avoidance:

Evade: If attack accuracy < your evasion, you dodge.

Spell Suppression/Block: Calculated now.

If the hit is dodged/evaded/suppressed, damage is reduced or canceled.

2. Apply Resistances
Elemental and Chaos resistances apply to respective damage types.

This is where your penetration debuffs from earlier are subtracted.

Example: If the hit has 20% fire penetration and you have 75% fire resist, you effectively have 55%.

3. Flat Damage Reduction
Armor, Endurance Charges, and special effects reduce flat damage.

Armor now functions per hit and is more effective against small hits.

Example: Armor reduces physical hit by up to a flat amount.

4. Damage Taken Modifiers
Effects like “X% of Fire Damage Taken as Cold” redirect damage.

“Reduced Damage Taken” or “Damage Taken as X” from gear or passives applies.

Example: “20% of Lightning Damage taken as Cold” moves some of the hit to a different resistance track.

5. Mitigation (Conversions & Reduction)
Converted damage goes back through resistance and reduction checks.

Unique effects (e.g., Divine Flesh, Tempered by War) interact here.

6. Ailments & Debuffs
Any hit-based ailments (Ignite, Shock, Chill, Bleed, Poison) apply now.

If you’re inflicted, secondary effects start ticking.

7. Trigger Reactive Defenses
Skills like Molten Shell, Immortal Call, or gear with reactive mods activate now, after the hit.

These don’t prevent the hit — they respond to it.

8. Final Damage Applied to Life, Energy Shield, or Mana
Damage is removed from your Energy Shield first (unless you’re low-life or POE 2 Currency for sale using Mind over Matter).