Defense

Defense is a melee combat skill in Runic Ages. The Defense skill determines what armor the player can wear as well as providing an optional damage reduction if config-enabled.

Gaining experience

Players may receive Defense experience during combat by pressing the R key and clicking which of the three melee skills they wish to receive XP in. All mobs give at least 25 Defense experience but specific mobs may give more or less.

Depending on how the player configures the XP split menu, XP received for Defense may also be divided to give XP for the Attack and/or Strength skills.

Equipment

A player's Defense skill determines what type of armor they can wield. Higher-level armor provides greater defensive stats than similar weapon types of a lower level, creating an incentive to keep the skill trained. For magic and ranged armor, there may be an additional requirement for the player to have a high enough Magic or Ranged skill for their respective armor types.

Armor Type	Defense Level	Notes
Bronze	1	Weakest melee armor type available, along with ranged Leather
Iron	10	Stronger than Bronze armor
Steel	20	Stronger than Iron armor
Mithril	30	Stronger than Steel armor

Temporary boosts

Defense Potions may be used to boost the Defense skill, providing a level increase of 1 + 8% of the skill.