Defenses (Armor, Evasion, and Energy Shield)

Torchlight Infinite has a lot of ways to increase Hero survivability, and 3 of the most fundamental are Defenses. Armor, Evasion, and Energy Shield have their own unique mechanics and improve your ability to survive the challenges of Leptis in different ways.

Energy Shield has a built-in recovery mechanic called Charge. This begins when you haven't taken damage for 2 seconds and is interrupted by damage. Charge can be started faster by lowering your Charge Interval through effects such as Medium Talent from the Magister Tree, or Blessing Pendant.

By default Charge restores 20% of your Maximum Energy Shield per second, but this is increased by scaling Charge Speed. Normally Charge is interrupted when you take damage however effects like Light Hunter Belt and Barrier of Radiance change this.

Some effects also increase your Charge meaning you restore more Energy Shield per second. For example with Barrier of Radiance you go from recovering 20% to 30% per second. The higher your Energy Shield Charge rate the faster you are able to hit full Energy Shield.

Normally Armor only mitigates Physical damage, but Ember Armor applies your Armor to 50% of your Elemental damage taken. This won't entirely replace your Resistances, but depending on the hit size mitigates around 11% of your Elemental damage taken. Using damage transfer such as Dragon Breath Armor or an item crafted with Ruling Embers for -Additional Physical damage Taken makes your Armor much more effective!

If you want to go all in, Forlorn Crystal lets your Armor scale your damage. This has given rise to an entire archetype of builds known as "Armor Stackers." You won't have to worry about Physical damage with a build like this, but pay close attention to your Elemental and Erosion damage taken.

Here are some examples of Armor's Physical damage mitigation assuming a player with 10,000 Armor and a hit of 1,000 then adjusting the variables to 25,000 armor vs a hit of 1,000 and 10,000 armor vs a hit of 2,500.

Normally Evasion only applies to attacks however the Major Talent Master Escapist lets you Evade Spells too. This is important because many bosses use both Attacks and Spells. It's difficult to reach the Spell Evasion cap when using this Talent however.

Evasion can be used to scale your damage in several interesting ways. For example, Dumb Voice gives you extra Lightning Damage per 1,000 Evasion and Critical Strike Rating per 750, and this is often combined with Thunder Jawbone for more damage and powerful Shock effects. This has given rise to an archetype of builds known as "Evasion Stackers".

The highest Accuracy of all monsters is 1,247 and Evasion rate is capped at 95% so here are some examples of your chance to Evade attacks assuming you have 10,000, 30,000 or 100,000 Evasion rating.

Energy Shield, Armor, and Evasion aren't the only ways to prevent damage in Torchlight Infinite. While not classified as Defenses, these stats contribute to your survival in different ways by reducing the damage you take or giving you a chance to avoid taking damage in the first place. Most of these stats multiply together when combined, so that you cannot become immune to damage.

Making a well rounded tanky build involves dealing with Physical, Elemental, and Erosion damage while also balancing damage mitigation, avoidance to prevent consecutive hits, and recovery to help you heal back up after you take damage.