Board Thread:Off Topic/@comment-27144409-20170705210718/@comment-25936766-20170802021216

WC-83 wrote: Again, as I said, perhaps aura goes underneath armor, which causes it to be depleted at a lesser rate whenever something strikes them. But raising the health bar stat is still a good option compared to just getting better armor, which is typically changes in infrequent intervals. But Aura has it's limits. Get beaten up enough and you'll get injured even before it reaches 0. And Aura is not the "HP", is the "HP and MP" at the same time;  Aura is also spent to use Semblances and Aura Techniques or Dust. Not just to protect from damage.

Which means that, unless you avoid using it at all, you'll be using up the same thing that protects you during the average fight. Throwing around too many spells and using Semblance too much, will be only slightly better than getting beaten up.

Not to mention, using Aura too much can tire you, and if it's too low to protect you, it won't protect you entirely, if at all. Hence how Jaune got bruised, and Yang got dismembered. Hence how Weiss got scarred, and Pyrrha ended up asphyxiated.

...Hell, Pyrrha's death could've at least been delayed if she covered that boob window with armor instead of exposing it to the world. Good enough armor is perfectly capable of stopping arrows.

So, IMO, while improving one's Aura is always a good idea, getting better armor that protects more could prove more useful if we are talking about defense. Regardless of how much Aura you use, or even if it's at 0%, armor will still protect you without fail.