PATH OF EXILE 2
Read your defensive totals
Understand pools, resistance caps and permanent campaign choices behind the numbers.
Introduction
Understand pools, resistance caps and permanent campaign choices behind the numbers.
Read the totals in context
Life and Energy Shield
Read pools together with recovery and mitigation. Items, attributes and supported allocated modifiers contribute. A large Energy Shield value alone does not describe recharge timing or every damage interaction.
Mana and Spirit
Available resources are what remain after supported reservations. A skill can work on one weapon set and fail on another when equipment changes the pool or requirements.
Resistances
Read uncapped total, selected penalty and effective maximum separately. More uncapped resistance does not automatically raise the maximum. Check Fire, Cold, Lightning and Chaos individually.
Record campaign rewards accurately
- 01
Choose the stage
Include rewards earned by this progression stage. A campaign character should not receive later bonuses simply because the guide includes endgame.
- 02
Record the actual choice
Select the option your character took where alternatives exist. Keep the choice and its effect together so readers understand the total.
- 03
Avoid double counting
Do not add a reward as a manual bonus when the reward selection already includes it. Check the same issue with imported item stats and passive modifiers.
Review after an upgrade
Before a boss
WDguide advice: inspect the relevant resistance, reliable recovery and enough available resource for the intended skills.
After replacing gear
Look for lost attributes and resistances. A valuable damage can still make the full setup less usable.
After changing the tree
Check allocated attribute choices and defensive effects. The described route and actual allocated nodes must agree before judging requirements.
Check every stage
A resistance example you can check
Read all four resistances
Example: 100% Fire resistance before a 20% penalty leaves 80% uncapped. With a 75% maximum, the effective value is 75%. The extra 5% is spare resistance, not an 80% maximum. Check Cold separately; is a Cold-resistance reference, not a solution for every element.
Small gaps can matter
For an illustrative 100 Fire damage before resistance, 75% resistance leaves 25 damage; 50% leaves 50. That is twice as much remaining damage in this simple comparison. Other damage-taken effects are excluded from this example.
Do not subtract a penalty twice
If your in-game number already includes the progression penalty, do not subtract it again. In the resistance check, enter the before-penalty total and the penalty separately. Check each resistance and maximum against your actual character.