Defense

Defense is a player statistic that determines how much damage can be taken per hit. The damage the player takes is reduced by half (three-quarters, rounded up) of their defense value, altogether. Defense can be increased by equipping armor and accessories, or temporarily boosted by various buffs. No attack can be reduced below 1 damage (with the exception of a player with an ally wearing the Paladin's Shield).

Some forms of damage are impossible to reduce through defense. Damage from health-draining debuffs like Cursed Inferno or drowning in water are not reduced by defense. Damage taken from lava, however, can be reduced through defense.

Mechanics

Defense gives a flat reduction in damage, i.e. damage is reduced by a fixed amount per hit (as opposed to a multiplicative damage reduction, which would reduce damage by a percentage).

Normal mode formula

The formula is:

net damage = attack damage - (defense * 0.5)

For example:

• With 20 defense, a 40 damage attack is reduced by 10, resulting in 30 damage taken: 40 - (20 * 0.5) = 30
• With 30 defense, a 40 damage attack is reduced by 15, resulting in 25 damage taken: 40 - (30 * 0.5) = 25

Expert mode formula   

In expert mode, the formula is:

net damage = attack damage - (defense * 0.75)

For example:

• With 20 defense, a 40 damage attack is reduced by 15, resulting in 25 damage taken: 40 - (20 * 0.75) = 25
• With 30 defense, a 40 damage attack is reduced by 23, resulting in 17 damage taken: 40 - (30 * 0.75) = 17

Note that in Expert mode only the player's defense follows the formula. Enemies will still take the same amount of damage as in normal mode.

Enemies

Enemies have a defense statistic just like players do, but they do not gain more protection from defense in Expert mode  . Enemies will always reduce incoming damage by 50% of their defense regardless of difficulty.

net damage = attack damage - (defense * 0.5)

Examples:

	Green Slime 0 defense	Chaos Elemental 30 defense	Paladin 50 defense	Sharkron 100 defense
Gold Broadsword 13 damage	13	1 (-2)	1 (-12)	1 (-37)
Meowmere 200 damage	200	185	175	150

Altering defense

Armor and Accessories

A player's defense score can be increased by equipping armor and accessories. Armor usually consists of three items, granting an additional bonus, the Set Bonus, which may increase the defense score further, if all three pieces match. Some accessories grant direct defense boosts (see the following table), but all accessories can also be reforged to a maximum of +4 defense per accessory.

See armor for detailed defense information about every piece of armor.

The following accessories increase the player's defense:

Item	Accessory Defense
Shackle	1
Cobalt Shield	1
Obsidian Skull	1
Shield of Cthulhu	2
Obsidian Shield	2
Moon Charm	3 (only during the night)
Moon Shell	3 (only during the night)
Moon Stone	4 (only during the night)
Sun Stone	4 (only during the day)
Celestial Stone	4
Ankh Shield	4
Paladin's Shield	6
Celestial Shell	4 (during the day) 7 (during the night)
Flesh Knuckles	7
Frozen Turtle Shell	0 until below 50% health when it reduces total damage by 25%   30 (when below 25% health)

Buffs and Debuffs

Buffs and debuffs can temporarily alter a player's or an enemy's defense. Currently, there is no buff increasing enemies' defense. A player's defense cannot be reduced to fall below 0.

Buff / Debuff	Temporary Defense
Well Fed	2
Dryad's Blessing	8
Ironskin	8
Tipsy	-4
Weak	-4
Ichor	-20
Betsy's Curse	-40
Broken Armor	-50%

Damage reduction boosts

All damage reduction boosts (except Paladin's Shield and Warmth Potion) affect damage taken after defense.

Buff	Source	Damage reduction bonus
Solar Blaze	Solar Flare armor	30%
Beetle Endurance	Beetle armor	15% / 30% / 45%
Paladin's Shield	Paladin's Shield	25% (only active above 25% health)
Endurance	Endurance Potion	10%
Ice Barrier	Frozen Turtle Shell	25% (when below 50% health)   0
Warmth	Warmth Potion	30% (reduces damage only from cold-themed enemies)
Item	Source	Damage reduction bonus
Worm Scarf	Treasure Bag (Eater of Worlds)	17%

Armor Penetration

   Desktop/Console/Mobile-Only Content: This section's information applies only to the Desktop, Console, and Mobile versions of Terraria.

Armor penetration is a statistic that reduces the defense of the player's targets. For instance, a Pixie normally has 20 defense. If the player has 5 Armor penetration, then the Pixie will be taken to have 15 defense instead.

Source	Armor penetration bonus
Shark Tooth Necklace	5
Sharpening Station	4 (for melee weapons only)

Notes

Defense

It has been suggested that this page/section be rewritten. Reason: "Needs version separation: all info are  Desktop only."

The highest possible defense is 172 normally, and 180 in Expert mode  , using the following setup:

• Armor – 79 defense in total
  • Chlorophyte Mask – 25 defense
  • Solar Flare Breastplate – 34 defense
  • Valhalla Knight's Greaves, Solar Flare Leggings, or Vortex Leggings – 20 defense
• Accessories (at night) – 48 / 56 defense in total
  • Flesh Knuckles – 7 defense
  • Celestial Shell – 7 defense
  • Paladin's Shield – 6 defense
  • Two out (all) of Ankh Shield, Moon Stone, Celestial Stone – 8 / 12 defense
  • Warding modifiers on all accessories – 20 / 24 defense
• Buffs – 18 defense in total
  • Ironskin – 8 defense
  • Well Fed – 2 defense
  • Dryad's Blessing – 8 defense
• Guarding with the Brand of the Inferno – 20 defense
• Additionally, if a player is traveling at top speed in a Mechanical Cart, they can reach 172 defense normally, and 180 in Expert mode.

79 + 48 + 18 + 20 + 7 = 172 (normal)
79 + 56 + 18 + 20 + 7 = 180 (expert)
79 + 68 + 18 + 20 + 7 = 192 (expert with Warding armor pieces)

Damage reduction

The highest damage reduction possible is 73% (or 91.1% against cold-themed enemies), using the following setup:

• Armor (multiplicative)
  • Beetle armor with shell – 45% reduction
• Accessories and Potions (additive)
  • Frozen Turtle Shell – 25% reduction
  • Worm Scarf – 17% reduction
  • Endurance Potion – 10% reduction
  • Warmth Potion - 30% reduction against cold-themed enemies
  • This does not include the Paladin's Shield buff, since its damage reduction occurs before defense, and all others occur after defense.

(1 - 0.45) * (1 - (0.25 + 0.17 + 0.1) ) = 0.264 = 26.4% damage taken = 73.6% damage reduction

(1 - 0.45) * (1 - (0.25 + 0.17 + 0.1 + 0.3) ) = 0.099 = 9.9% damage taken = 91.1% damage reduction against cold-themed enemies

Trivia

• Although not possible in-game, if a piece of armor were to gain a modifier, it would apply the effects just like an accessory would. For example, a set of Warding modified armor would add 12 defense total; each piece adds 4 defense to the total.
• Although damage reduction in expert mode is three quarters of the total defence, enemy damage in expert mode is doubled, making damage reduction in expert mode still less effective than normal mode.
• If the player somehow has negative defense, they will constantly take 1 damage, and die with the death message "<playername> couldn't put out the fire".