Quote Originally Posted by reiewaun View Post
I don't know rav but I believe u partially right, axe only debuffs armor 3 secs and nekro has chance on debuff, if u run round and around nekro won't hit, also armor buffs exist before war or rogue hits u for the first time axe or aimed shot, if u don't have it u probably lose more hp, also I believe armor is important on the first hit u will get from other rogue,cause damage is high combined with crit, but let's not also forget that there are mages in this game and I don't think mages can debuff armor (I don't have mage)
Mages do not have any skills that debuff armor. They have to rely on weapons such as the elondrian gun, a few staves or pets. Almost all the competitive pets debuff armor. Even 5% armor debuff will remove the entire durability passive and then 5% armor reduction applied.

When I tested long ago, I believe the debuff applies and then damage is calculated with the debuff on the initial axe throw. You can test this easily if you have a warrior. Respec the warrior without armor debuff on axe. Keep 1 skill point available to respec. Throw axe against an opponent a few times to jot down numbers. Then spec in the armor debuff of axe and compare the values.

Either way, I don't think its worth it to spec durability since the passive armor will be negated eventually, if not initially. Even speed is more useful, slightly increasing your chances of making it to your health packs in small dire circumstances.