Incremental sheet-bulk metal forming (iSBMF) enables the manufacture of functional lightweight components featuring a load-adapted shape with a high material efficiency. The flexibility of the incremental forming process allows for the modification of the strain path through the adjustment of the tool motion while maintaining the final product geometry. These modifications generate both a different strain hardening and damage evolution. In this paper, a numerical and experimental investigation of the different strain paths is carried out to identify their impact on the resulting load capacity of gears. In experiments on the quasistatic load capacity of the gears it is validated that forming of gears with a strain path showing a reduced damage potential leads to a 50% higher load capacity compared to the most unfavorable strain path. Moreover, all investigated load paths present load changes that have to be taken into account in numerical modeling of iSBMF processes. Therefore, a new approach for a material characterization under multiple load changes and high effective plastic strain is tested. Compared to numerical modeling with a characterized monotonically flow curve, this approach decreases the deviation force prediction by around 80% without increasing the calculation time.