simple question

PabloG · Post by **PabloG** » Mon Aug 21, 2006 3:55 pm

what is the difference of having a high defense than of having a shield that protects a big %? (SITUATION IN A BARBARIAN)

Thank you

Darzog · Post by **Darzog** » Tue Aug 22, 2006 8:34 am

The Arreat Summit has a bunch of very useful information on this, as well as other topics. Check this out:
The Arreat Summit - Basics: Character Information

Arreat Summit on Defense][b]Defense Rating[/b] - This reflects your ability to dodge attacks in combat. The higher the value wrote:Will a higher Defense Rating reduce the amount of damage I receive when I'm hit?[/b]
No, a higher Defense Rating reduces the chance that monster will hit you.

I put on armor that has a Defense Rating of 100, but my character's overall Defense Rating increases by 200. Why?
Your Dexterity bonus might account for this, as might passive skills (such as Barbarian Iron skin) or any magical bonuses that boost Defense Rating.

Arreat Summit on Block][b]Blocking[/b] Blocking determines your chance to defend against physical melee and ranged attacks. If you block an attack you will receive no damage. If you run your mouse over your Defense on the Character Screen you will see a percentage to block if you are carrying a Shield or Necromancer Shrunken Heads. If you do not have a shield or Shrunken Heads you will not see this listed. When a player blocks wrote:
So in general, they both reduce the chance for opponents to hit you, the major difference is that with block all opponents will have the same chance of being blocked regardless of their level. With defense rating, the higher the opponent's level the better their chance of hitting you anyway.

Mephisto · Post by **Mephisto** » Fri Sep 08, 2006 9:21 am

A shield just adds defencew and gives a chance of blocking although i think it's only like 5 % chance to block

Defence affects how much damage enemies can do to you
for example if ssomeone attacks you and you have 100 defence they will do more damage than if you had 200 defence
dexterity helps to increase the difficulty of enemies hitting you in the first place
it's good to have a good balance of mana health dexterity and defence

Mephisto

Kipi · Post by **Kipi** » Sun Sep 10, 2006 10:15 am

Mephisto wrote:Defence affects how much damage enemies can do to you
for example if ssomeone attacks you and you have 100 defence they will do more damage than if you had 200 defence

Ummm... did you read at all what Darzog wrote??
The quotes in his post made it quite clear that defense doesn't affect the damage, only the chance of hitting...

Noober · Post by **Noober** » Mon Sep 11, 2006 3:54 am

I hate to say this but, don't listen to Mephisto. As quoted by Darzog, the chance to block (and this only applies, like defence to physical attacks) is dependant on Dexterity investment and the chance to block stat on the shield.

Likewise, in general, it is unwise to 'pump' stats for defence/AR/damage. Most good players will recommend all spare stats going into Vitality, with strength only as required to wear equipment and Dexterity for either max block or equipment.

With respect to Darzog's post, there are certain practical considerations within the Diablo world that are not referred to on the Arreat Summit such as that Guided Arrow is not stopped by defence, however is stopped by block.

Broadly speaking, largely for the purposes of duelling, the hierarchy of importance of Defence, Damage Reduction and Block is as follows:

Block = Damage Reduction >>>>>>>>>>>>> Defence

Defence is largly useless in PvM due to the fact that monsters seem to hit you anyway, and in PvP because most enemies worth duelling are only significantly disadvantaged when Defence is over 30K.