The Defense Stat in Palworld determines how much damage is taken from enemy attacks. Read on to learn how the Defense stat works, items and skills that increase defense, and other ways to reduce damage taken.

Defense Stat Explained

Determines Damage Reduction

Defense acts as a modifier for damage reduction and is inversely related to damge. All characters start with 100 Defense and is considered having 0% Damage Reduction, or taking the full force of an attack.

For example, having 200 Defense will halve the damage of an attack, while 300 will cut it to a third, and so on.

Attack Stat Explained

Items That Increase Defense Stat

Head and Body Armor

It's not possible to increase defense when you level up. You'll need to equip Headgear and Body Armor to increase your defense.

Best Armor Tier List

Defense Pendant Accessories

Accessory	Rarity	Description
Defense Pendant	Common	Defense increased by 10%
Defense Pendant +1	Uncommon	Defense increased by 20%
Defense Pendant +2	Rare	Defense increased by 30%

Equipping Defense Pendants will boost your defense by 10%, 20%, or 30% depending on the rarity of the accessory.

How to Get Defense Pendants

Defense-Boosting Food

Food	Description
Carbonara	A dish mixing pasta with Egg and Milk. Eating it makes it harder for sanity to decrease and improves Defense by +10% for a certain amount of time.
Eikthyrdeer Stew	A tender, melt-in-your-mouth venison stew crafted with love. The intertwining flavors of vegetables and meat create a harmonious blend that brings out a comforting richness. Eat to increase Defense by +20% for a period of time.
Fried Kelpsea	Crunchy fried batter perfectly accentuates the Kelpsea's plumpness. Eat to increase Defense by +10% and make SAN decrease slower for a period of time.
Herb Roasted Lamball	Indulges in an abundance of fresh berries to create a tantalizing aroma that accentuates the unique flavor of mutton. Eat to increase Defense by +10% for a period of time.
Marinated Mushrooms	A dish made by marinating Mushroom in a marinade. Eating it improves Defense by +10% for a period of time.
Pizza	A dish made by piling Red Berries, Tomato and cheese on Bread. Eating it improves Defense by +15% temporarily.
Rushoar Hot Dog	Thick sausage wedged between warm buns. The crisply seared meat and spicy flavors are to die for. Eat to increase Defense by +20% for a period of time.

Eating defense-boosting food will also increase your Defense by a certain percentage temporarily.

Best Food Tier List

Skills That Increase Defense Stat

Stronghold Strategist Passive Skill

Skill
Stronghold Strategist
Tier	Positive Effect	Negative Effect
Tier +3	10% increase to Player Defense	-

Stronghold Strategist is the defensive counterpart of Vanguard and provides a 10% boost to defense for every Pal that has it.

This works great with Vanguard and Pals that also boost attack while they're in your party like a Gobfin team.

Best Passive Skills and How to Get

Partner Skills That Increase Defense

Partner Skill (Pal)	Description
Hard Armor (Warsect)	While Warsect is your active Pal, your defense and fire resistance is increased.
Steel Scorpion (Menasting)	Increases the player's defense and the amount of items Electric Pals drop when defeated.
Steel Scorpion (Menasting Terra)	Increases the player's defense and the amount of items Electric Pals drop when defeated.

Only two Pals have Partner skills that boost defense and these activate only when they are the active pal in your party. At level 1, Warsect boosts defense by 5% and Menasting raises defense by 7%.

Both also have additional effects that may make them worth using such as Menasting's increased drop rate against Electric Pals.

All Player Defense Boosting Partner Skills

Palworld Related Guides

Game Mechanics

Game Mechanics