In Path of Exile 2, players only have three defensive stats standing between their Life and enemy attacks: Evasion, Armor, and Energy Shield. Every build chooses either a combination of the three to protect themselves from attacks and as a means to avoid death’s cold embrace.
Acrobatics is a Keystone passive in the passive skill tree that makes a seemingly impossible promise: Can Evade all hits, giving players the impression that they will become immune to damage if they take it. But the reality is different. Here is what Acrobatics does and how to take advantage of it.
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How Does Acrobatics Work in PoE 2
To understand how the Acrobatics Keystone Passive functions in PoE 2, it’s crucial to first understand how Evasion works in the game. By default, Evasion protects players from two types of attacks from enemies: Strikes and Projectiles.
Strikes are direct hits on the player’s body, like a zombie using a stick to hit the player. Projectiles are attacks or spells that impact the target when they hit them, like poison spits with a yellow trail. Evasion gives players a chance to evade these hits by a certain percentage, which can be seen in the character sheet.
Acrobatics changes this formula completely. With Acrobatics, a character will not only get a percentage chance to evade Strikes and Projectiles but any damage that counts as a ‘hit’ as well. Hits account for 90% of all damage in the game, with the only exception being ‘Damage over time’ or DOT.
The main reason to take Acrobatics is to avoid getting one-shot killed by random slams or AoE attacks from bosses and monsters, like on-death effects. In the endgame, these attacks are the scariest because neither Evasion nor Armor protects you from them. But with Acrobatics, Evasion does.
Can You Get Max Evasion With Acrobatics
The Evasion cap in PoE 2 is 95%, and you can hit this cap with Acrobatics active if you have the right passive skills and high Evasion gear. However, 95% Evasion doesn’t mean you’ll evade 95% of hits. It means you will have a 95% chance to evade the first hit you take, then a slightly reduced chance to take the second hit you take, and then an even more reduced chance to evade the third hit you take. Like this, the more hits you take, the more likely it is that you’re going to get hit.
TIP: Like players, different monsters have different accuracy, which further reduces the chance to evade a hit with Evasion.
When Should You Take Acrobatics in PoE 2
Acrobatics should only be taken by characters who can make up for the 70% Evasion loss and get to a score of at least 80% Evasion with Acrobatics active. This can be done using high Evasion gear and passive skill points that increase Evasion.
Because of this limitation, it is a super late-game passive skill, only suitable for MF endgame-ready characters who have BiS gear, all four ascendancies, 120+ passive skill tree points, and the ability to respec their entire skill tree to accommodate the deficit.
