Damage Resistance vs. Damage Avoidance - crafting

I had previously looked around online and on the forums for information on which to implement when crafting armor: damage resistance or damage avoidance. However, there is not always a lot of SotA information that is readily findable (and the wiki doesn't have wonderful player input like you'll find on, say, Wowhead). So I still am a bit puzzled on this matter. I imagine there are plenty of others who are too.

While shopping I noticed that a respected player-crafter had crafted only damage avoidance into his armor and not damage resistance. All this time I'd been loading up armor with damage resistance.

Does anyone have insight on the topic of which to use and which is inferior (or if both are good)? Thanks

 

Damage avoidance gives a chance to only take 1/3 damage from an attack that may make it popular vs high damage enemies
While damage resistance reduce the damage by a number.

 

The bonus from crafting is different for both as well. For damage resistance it increases it as a percentage, which means the higher your damage resist is the more effective adding it will be. Where as damage avoidance always adds a flat bonus. Personally as a leather user adding a flat rate to my avoidance seems better than a percentage boost to an already small number (also my max damage resistance is lower).

 

Okay, thanks for the insight on what each does, even if Damage Resistance is still pretty murky.

Note, I never chose Damage Avoidance as a bonus because, even considering stacking 3-4 items with miniscule numbers like +2%, it seemed like a highly random low-percentage thing to trigger. So on most any hit I'd end up getting no benefit.

Whereas at least a +29% Damage Resistance on one item, a +15% on another is a number that feels like it has some merit. Perhaps not the best reasoning, but without any explanation of what the numbers mean, that was the route I went.

Unless I'm missing something glaringly obvious (I don't think I am), there isn't an explanation of those numbers and how they might benefit you that you can hover/toggle in the game.

 

If you look at those pieces with 29% damage res, depending on what it is, its really only 29% of the base of the peice so really its usually just a .1 or .2 more damage res.

 

Damage avoidance is good, but you really start to see it shine when you have it at 60% or better. Depending on your build you can have various buffs that increase it as well and if you're putting a gear set together, then those bonuses to Damage Avoidance become a sought after enhancement. Try and build a set with buffs that take you to 60+ and see for yourself if you'd like. May take a bit to get it to that level though.

 

Damage resistance always reduces a physical damage hit by an ammount either equal to your resistance---> 30(60% max) <-----or your absorbtion. You can never resist more than your absorbtion (max) ammount, or your resistance ammount.

so 30(60%) means if your hit by a hit that would do 50 dmg to you, itll do 20 (mitigates 30)
If you're hit by a hit that does 100 damage, youll take 70 (cant mitigate mroe than 30)
If your hit by a hit that does 30, you'll take 18 (cant mitigate mroe than 60%)

 

Damage resistance is pretty much useless on cloth and leather. It does help a bit with plate and chain.

But in my experience, DA will mitigate more total damage in most scenarios on any armor type. Those glancing blows can be amplified when you use your defensive skills at the right time.

The DR buffs are always active, but like Mac mentioned, if you check out how much damage they're actually blocking, in a lot of cases its pretty miniscule.

 

I personally put everything into dodge. When you dodge, you take no damage. You can also dodge targeted spells.

 

Can't argue with that. But the OP was specifically asking about DR and DA.

Dodge can't be applied with masterworks on heavy armor. Tiny amounts can be added with leather straps on any armor type, but I would recommend hardened or supple straps over leather in most setups. The extra damage or crit is more beneficial than the small amount of dodge a leather strap adds. You don't need to dodge an attack from something if its dead.

 

I don't understand why item damage resistance is even still a thing, much less something that should take up multiple masterwork slots as is for all types of armor.

It'd be a lot less confusing and more practical to just have one +x resistance bonus, with x being different for each armor type.