Path of Exile 2 dodge-roll system basics, explained
Dodge-roll is a basic ability in Path of Exile 2 that you have in all available classes. You can press the "dodge" button (Space on PC, Circle on PS5) in conjunction with movement keys to dodge towards one of eight directions. This game's dodge move is much more fleshed-out than one would expect of an ARPG, but it's not the same as No Rest for The Wicked, because there are quite a lot of learning woes in what you can or cannot dodge in Path of Exile 2.
In this article, we intend to hopefully dispel some of those myths, and tell you everything you need to know about the dodge-roll in this game.
Does dodge-roll give you i-frames in Path of Exile 2?
To address the elephant in the room right away: yes, dodge-roll does give you a few i-frames (invulnerability frames) in Path of Exile 2. However, this only applies to a few brief frames when the animation begins. This is brief enough that dodge-roll is generally not a reliable tool to avoid attacks by rolling into them. Instead, you should always be rolling away from the point of origin. In other words, you should use dodge-roll as a mobility option to physically move out of the way.
The one exception to this seems to be projectile attacks, as most of them can be dodged through. This means you can dodge-roll toward the attacking enemy to physically phase through the projectile attack while not taking damage.
However, this does not apply to almost any type of area damage to our knowledge — traps, slam attacks, and boss moves that cover a large AoE. You cannot time your dodge to elude damage while remaining within the area of effect; the only way to avoid it is to move out of the area. We currently do not know the technical reason for this. The dodge-roll may be intended to not evade area damage, or the very brief i-frames may not be enough to cover the damage application phase of these attacks and traps.
Can you spam dodge-rolls in Path of Exile 2?
Dodge-rolls in Path of Exile 2 last for slightly over a second, and you can begin another dodge-roll immediately after you stand up. There's no inherent cooldown deterring you from spamming the button to roll all over the place. However, the recovery animation from the roll is long enough that spam-dodging is slower than moving regularly.
Animation-cancelling with dodge-rolls
Dodge-rolls are primarily meant to outmaneuver enemies in Path of Exile 2. However, there's another intentional use — you can dodge-roll out of any animation to cancel it. This includes attacking and casting of Skills.
The animation-cancelling also works in the middle of a Skill. For example, the Warrior's "Leap Slam" Skill makes him slam into the ground twice in succession. You can, however, dodge out of the animation right after the first slam completes, to only apply the first instance of damage and reserve mana.
It's worth noting that dodge has additional spell interactions, such as the "Cast on Dodge" Metagem, or the "Blink" Skill that can replace dodge-rolls.
Check out our other guides on the game:
- Path of Exile 2: All Classes and Ascensions available in Early Access
- All Path of Exile 2 Keystone Passives (known so far)
- Path of Exile 2: All returning League mechanics confirmed so far
- Does Path of Exile 2 have crossplay and cross-save?