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Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (TotK)

How to Raise Defense

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▲ Get Pristine Weapons from the depths!
△ All 1000 Koroks | All 4 Great Fairies
▲ 81 Addison Signs | 147 Caves | 58 Wells
△ Tips: Farm Rupees | Starting Armor
▲ Best Weapons | Best Armor | Best Food

Zelda TOTK - How to Raise Defense
Cook food and elixirs that give a Defense Up buff to raise your defense in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (TotK). Read on to learn how to increase your defense, its effects, and more!

List of Contents

How to Raise Defense

Wear Armor with High Base Defense

Zelda TotK - Wear Armor with High Base Defense

One way to permanently raise your defense is to wear armor with high base defense stat. The Champion's Leathers (Champion's Tunic) is a recommended body armor to use due to its high defense and can be obtained early on inside Hyrule Castle.

How to Get the Champion's Leathers Early

Upgrade Armor at the Great Fairy Fountain

Zelda TotK - Upgrade Armor at the Great Fairy Fountain

Another way to permanently increase your defense is to upgrade your armor at the Great Fairy Fountain. Doing so permanently increases the base Defense stat of the armor piece that you have upgraded.

How to Upgrade Armor

Cook Food and Elixirs that Give Defense Up

Zelda TotK - Cook Food and Elixirs that Give Defense Up
You can also cook food and create elixirs that grant the Defense Up to temporarily raise your Defense.

Note that only cooked food and elixirs with the "Tough" prefix on their names give the Defense Up buff, so be sure to check your recipe carefully before creating them in the cooking pot!

Examples of Defense Up Foods and Elixirs

Recipe Ingredients
Tough Meat Skewer ・Ironshroom x5
Tough Elixir ・Rugged Rhino Beetle x1
・Any monster part x1

Defense Up Effects

Reduces Number of Hearts When Taking Damage

Zelda TOTK - Reduces Number of Hearts When Taking Damage
Defense Up reduces the number of hearts when you take damage from enemies or environmental factors such as falling from great height. This buff comes in handy in the early game as you start with three hearts and low stat armor.

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Related Guides

Zelda TOTK - Tips and Tricks

Tips and Tricks
A Beginner's Guide to Tears of the Kingdom

All Tips and Tricks Guides

New Features
How to Confuse Enemies How to Cure Gloom
How to Blind Enemies -
Combat Guides
Flurry Rush, Sneakstrike, and Deal Critical Damage Weapon Modifiers Explained
How to Raise Defense Passive Abilities for Weapons Explained
How to Upgrade Armor How to Defeat Shielded Enemies
How to Throw Items and Materials How to Repair Weapons
How to Get Earthwake Technique How to Increase Weapon Durability
How to Parry How to Sneakstrike
How to Perfect Dodge and Flurry Rush Stealth Mechanics Explained
Exploration Guides
How to Dive How to Shield Surf
How to Break Cracked Rocks How to Use Minecarts
How to Cross the Freezing Water Fast Travel Guide
How to Change the Weather How to Get Heat Resistance
How to Make an Axe How to Tame Wild Horses
How to Chop Down and Use Fallen Trees How to Pass Time
How to Light Up Dark Areas How to Get Epona
What to Do During a Thunderstorm How to Get Cold Resistance
How to Check Coordinates How to Climb Efficiently
How to Break Wooden Boxes How to Make a Fire
How to Make a Raft How to Make a Hover Bike
How to Use Rocket Shields -
General Tips and Tricks
Zonai Dispenser Guide How to Expand Inventory
Best Settings to Use Pony Points Guide
How to Increase Health and Stamina How to Swap Hearts for Stamina
How to Get the Paraglider and All Paraglider Designs amiibo Unlocks and List of Compatible amiibo
Blood Moon Explained Missables and One-Time Events Guide
Whistle Effects and How to Use How to Farm Crops
How to Heal Post Game Content Guide: Is There a New Game Plus?
Kochi Dye Shop Guide: How to Recolor Armor Ending Explained: How to Watch the True Ending
List of Unlockables How to Get Ganon's Horse
Farming Guides
How to Farm Arrows Bubbul Gem Guide
How to Get More Energy Cells and Increase Energy Early Game Rupee Farming
How to Farm Weapons Dragon Part Farming Guide
How to Get Pristine Weapons -
Notable Item Location Guides
How to Get the Travel Medallion How to Get the Champion's Leathers Early
How to Get the Hylian Shield Early How to Get the Master Sword
How to Get the Classic Green Tunic Where to Find Wild Greens
How to Get Ring Garland Misko's Treasure Locations
How to Get Monster Medals How to Get All Champion Weapons
Puzzle Solution Guides
How to Solve the Water Temple Spinning Tower Where to Find King Dorephan
How to Solve the Gerudo Light Puzzle Voe and You Class Solutions
Map Location Guides
All Stable Locations All Sage's Will Locations
How to Get to Hyrule Castle How to Get to Lost Woods and Enter Korok Forest
Great Fairy Locations and How to Unlock How to Find the Light Dragon: Location and Drops
How to Find Farosh: Location and Drops How to Find Naydra: Location and Drops
How to Find Dinraal: Location and Drops How to Reach Abandoned Hebra Mine
Satori Cherry Blossom Tree Locations and Guide How to Unlock Royal Hidden Passage
All Addison Sign Locations All Forge Construct Locations
How to Get into Gerudo Secret Club All Coliseum Locations and Rewards
Koltin Locations and List of Rewards Satori (King of the Mountain) Locations
Where to Find Dondons How to Get to Toto Lake
All Goddess Statue Locations -
Tier List Guides
Best Early Game Armor Best Armor Sets (Equipment)
Best Weapons and Shields Best Horses
Best Equipment for Exploration Best Fuse Materials and Weapon Combinations
Best Modes of Travel -
Glitches and Exploits
List of Glitches and Exploits How to Duplicate Weapons, Bows, and Shields
How to Duplicate Materials -
FAQs
Can You Pet the Dogs? Does Saved Data Carry Over?
Should You Play BotW First? What Happens When You Die?
How Does Autosave Work? What Happened to Link's House?
Do Materials Respawn? How to Lower and Raise Hylian Hood
How to Change the Difficulty When Do Shops Restock?
Is There a Master Mode? -

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