Personally i’ve only taken it at face value, but I certainly “feel” more tanky when using it. Damage taken has a tendency to wildly fluctuate though, because of the silly aggro mechanics and having barkskin on at random times, so that might be what you are experiencing.
You’re probably right. I just find it weird I seem to take more damage on client side vs hosting but it could also be ping spikes too. Thank you for your comment! I thought maybe something wasn’t working.