SS13 Evasion And Deflection

High evasion value is not enough

SS13 adds evasion cap as an attribute. Attack and spell evasion cap can be affected by +X% evasion cap, but the hard cap is 75%. Deflection is also clarified: when hit, all current Deflection stacks are consumed, and each stack additionally reduces that hit's damage by 6%. The default maximum is 4 stacks, and the hard maximum is 10 stacks.

When making gear decisions, do not assume a good evasion panel means survival is solved. A common dexterity build death pattern is that most small hits miss, but a boss, elite, or DoT still kills you when it gets through. In SS13, split the defense into four checks: evasion value, evasion cap, Deflection stack count, and whether Deflection covers the important hits.

Evasion and Deflection are different layers

Layer	What it solves	Check
Evasion value	Makes attacks or spells miss more often	Sources, panel evasion rate, spell behavior
Evasion cap	Decides whether evasion rate can go higher	+X% evasion cap, hard cap 75%
Deflection stacks	Reduces the hit that gets through	Current stacks, maximum stacks, recovery
Other defenses	Covers damage that bypasses or outlasts these layers	Resistance, armor, block, recovery, DoT mitigation

If you are already near evasion cap, more ordinary evasion value may be worse than cap or Deflection. If your evasion rate is still low, Deflection also cannot solve the whole hit-frequency problem.

For league start, the simple rule is: if you die often, fix resistance, life/shield, and recovery first. If you only get killed by occasional large hits, then look at Deflection and evasion cap. Do not treat Deflection as a replacement for every survival layer.

New entry points

The official notes give several obvious entries:

• Dexterity helmets, chest armor, gloves, and boots add +1 / +2 maximum Deflection stacks.
• Spell damage evasion behavior changes through dexterity base adjustments.
• Marksman gains a new legendary medium talent with +1 maximum Deflection stacks.
• Pact changes include a move from "evasion is lucky at least 3 Deflection stacks" to "damage is lucky at least 3 Deflection stacks."
• Hunger limbs and alien limbs add maximum Deflection stack bases.

This means Deflection is no longer just a scattered affix. It can be planned through dexterity gear and Hunger gear.

When to prioritize Deflection

Deflection is more attractive when:

• You mainly die to large hit damage, not DoT or true damage.
• Your evasion is already good, but occasional hits still kill you.
• Gear slots can naturally pick up maximum Deflection stacks.
• Your build does not want heavy armor or block investment but needs a hit buffer.
• You can already clear maps reliably, but high-difficulty bosses or elites hit too hard when they connect.

Do not treat Deflection as the only answer when:

• The death source is DoT, ground effects, ailments, or true damage.
• Stack recovery cannot keep up with hit frequency.
• Resistance, life/shield, and recovery are still unsolved.
• You sacrificed key damage for Deflection, making maps slower and increasing the number of hits you take.

Pair these boundaries with Survival Damage Reduction.

Gear judgement order

1. Check whether the item fixes your shortest survival layer, usually resistance, life/shield, or recovery.
2. Check whether evasion value actually raises panel evasion.
3. If near cap, check evasion cap and Deflection maximum.
4. If Deflection maximum increases, confirm stack sources and recovery.
5. Then check whether the item sacrifices key damage or resistance.

SS13 dexterity defense is a combination of "not getting hit" and "taking less when hit." It is not just making the evasion number look good.