Defensive strength

Defensive strength is a numerical value of a character's defenses. This number comprises of three main categories: parry defense, shield defense, and evade defense. A character's DS can also be enhanced by various spells, some of which merely add a flat DS bonus, while others may indirectly add to DS via Dodge ranks, such as the Mass Blur spell in the Wizard Base spell circle. Enchanted shields and armor provide a permanent bonus, as long as the item is being used.

Formulas to Determine a Character's Defensive Strength

To calculate a character's Defensive Strength, one adds the values from the three categories, listed above.

• Parry defense can be found in various topics, such as Two Weapon Combat where it lists the parry defense formulas for both primary hand and off-hand weapons.
• Shield defense calculations can be found on the Shield Use page.
• Evade defense is a function of the Dodge skill, and therefore the formula can be found there.

Environmental Conditions

Room lighting and fog conditions have been shown to affect DS. These bonuses/penalties are independent of the defender's stance. The spells Light (205) & Darkness (206) produce bright and dark rooms respectively. The environmental effects are outlined below:

Condition	Effect	LM SENSE messaging
Average	+0 DS	pretty average lighting
Bright	-10 DS	extremely bright
Dark	+20 DS	rather dark
Foggy	+30 DS	pretty foggy

References

• http://www.play.net/gs4/info/combat_guide/factors.asp#DS