Defense is a primary Stat which represents a creature or person's ability to withstand physical assaults. It is used in Damage Calculations.
Overview[]
Defense represents the resistance to physical damage. Defense lowers the total amount of health damage a person or creature takes from a physical attack.
Defense is increased when levelling up and can be significantly increased through the choice of augments, armor and clothing. Defense growth is highest, in order, by levelling as Warrior and Fighter, with Strider and Mystic Knight having fairly good growth and all other vocations below average growth.
The core defense from stat growth is thought to be twice as important as the defense given from equipment.
Defense couples with Piercing Resistance (see Slashing Damage) and Striking Resistance (see Blunt Damage) which further mitigate physical damage.
Augments[]
- See also: Damage Reducing Augments
No augments increase Defense. However a few mitigate incoming physical damage:
| Augment | Description | Unlocked by Vocation |
|---|---|---|
| Fortitude | Mitigates physical damage only | Fighter |
| Bastion | Mitigates physical damage only (more effective than Fortitude) | Warrior |
| Sanctuary | Mitigates physical damage entirely at Critical Health | Mystic Knight |
| Bloodlust | Mitigates physical (and magickal) damage at night | Assassin |
| Autonomy | Mitigates physical (and magickal) damage when without Pawns | Assassin |
| Temerity | Halfs all incoming damage when charging attacks (Inflection has a similar effect when charging spells) | Warrior |
| Resilience | Halfs physical Fall Damage only | Magick Archer |
Defense and Damage Mitigation[]
- Main article: Damage Calculation.
For foes and monsters it seems their defense is subtracted from the "Attack Power" of the Arisen's or ally's attacks, and if the value is positive they take that amount of damage.
For monster attacks on the Arisen and Pawns it seems that defense works differently - allied Defense divides damage, and so shows diminishing returns as defense increases. Additionally core Defence is more (twice as) important than equipment defence.
When fighting foes of a similar or higher strength to oneself the concept of Defense Break can become important - relatively small increases in attack power can cause much greater increases in damage under these conditions. Uses of periapts, augments, and choice of weapon and attack type become vital under such circumstances.
Notes[]
- May be abbreviated to DEF.
- The maximum core Defense by level 200 is 767. This is achievable by leveling as a Fighter from 1-200.
- The armor with highest defense is the Hellfire Armor Set (DEF 784), with Patterned Gambeson (DEF 41), and Silk Tights (DEF 29) - an equipment defense of 854 can be obtained.
- Two Master Rings could give a maximum boost of +50 each.
- The Brutish Wall shield would give another boost of 168.
- Thus the total maximum effective Defense is therefore : 767+854/2+100/2+168/2 = 1328. Combined withe the Blunt/Slash resistances of the above mentioned armor set would reduce physical damage by 96%
- Use of the Brutish Wall shield, which converts MDEF to DEF, with a high Magick Defense character (levelled as Magick Archer from 10-100) might give a higher overall defense
- The minimum core Defense by level 200 is 177. This is achievable by leveling as a Mage from 1-10, Mage or Sorcerer from 11-100, then Mage, Sorcerer, or Magick Archer from 101-200.
- Even at level 1, having chosen Mage as the starting vocation and with the minimum core defense of 60, 62% of damage is mitigated.
- The effect of Blunt and Slashing resistance can be very strong. For example the Set of Queen's Clothing or Set of Duke's Clothing (with over 50% resistance) reduce physical damage to practically the same level as a full Hellfire Armor Set with Chain Mail Set underclothes.
- Damage Reducing Augments can further reduce both physical and magickal damage
- Defenses Boosted and Lowered Defense (and Curse) do not actually modify Magick Defense, but instead alter final physical damage.
- See also Magick Defense