Defences
Not dying, a beginner's guide.
Common monsters are not dodged, they are survived. What keeps you standing is your build: enough life, enough defences, and a way to get life back. Each part of a hit meets its own defence (see Damage).
Armour
Armour stops a share of every physical hit: armour ÷ (armour + 5 × the hit's damage), never more than 90%. It shines against many small hits and struggles against one huge one.
Resistances
Every type except physical is stopped by its resistance: fire by fire resistance, and so on.
Resistances stop at 75%: anything above that does nothing until something lowers it. They can go as low as -100%, which means taking double damage.
Life
More life means more mistakes you can afford. Life comes back on its own over time, from potions, and from leech: a share of the damage you deal, returned to you.