How exactly does Defense work?

[Level]

I'm trying to min-max a little bit on enchants by deciding on whether or not Lively or Guardian would be better for me on certain pieces of gear or as a whole.

However, I have no idea how Defense actually works, so I don't know how to compare it to Health in that regard.

Does anyone know exactly how Defense works?
An example being like: 1 Defense = -1 Physical damage taken

[Odd Skunk]

Bump up cus I also wish to know if defense is as necessary if at all

[Cosilua]

i dont think its a 1 to 1 ratio. im pretty sure defense protection is % based and not really a fixed number like that. thats why having such a high def means you still take damage when you get hit.

[Lv2 Shark]

I would go with guardian over lively. youll start encountering more magic damage later on and its far harder to get magic defense then physical.

[Intra]

"regardless of defense, if they're the same level as you or more, you'll take at least 36% damage, if 2 levels less, 34% damage, if 3 levels less, 32%, 4 level less, 30%, 5 levels or more, 28%"

Defense is basically damage - (defense*(0.18+size mod)) (size mod is 0.1 for small, 0.06 for everything else).

So 24-28% of your Defense is used, and the floor is determined by level gap.

So lets say you're a Fighter with 100 defense, getting hit by a Poisonous Maw for 30.

Your defense, assuming it's 24%, would reduce this to 6.

But the Maw is 4 levels less, so the damage floor (30%) is reached and instead you take 9.

[Speedy Dumpster Fire]

what about things like shadow resist??

[Hurricane Jose]

Lively will be your best bet. Multiple strikes are not likely to be survivable, which is where defense shines the most. Instead, maximum health is far superior.

There will be changes to defense in the future that would make it more universal but also less effective compared to its current state.

[Lesserred]

Originally posted by Speedy Dumpster Fire:

what about things like shadow resist??

Originally posted by Hurricane Jose:

Lively will be your best bet. Multiple strikes are not likely to be survivable, which is where defense shines the most. Instead, maximum health is far superior.

There will be changes to defense in the future that would make it more universal but also less effective compared to its current state.

Please don't necro 2 year old threads.

[Twobecrowned1]

Originally posted by Lesserred:

Originally posted by Speedy Dumpster Fire:

what about things like shadow resist??

Originally posted by Hurricane Jose:

Lively will be your best bet. Multiple strikes are not likely to be survivable, which is where defense shines the most. Instead, maximum health is far superior.

There will be changes to defense in the future that would make it more universal but also less effective compared to its current state.

Please don't necro 2 year old threads.

I get it but at the same time its nice for someone newer to pass by and read.