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Official Description: "The Defender tends to help his allies, and attack his foes, from a distance. The Defender excels at powers that assist friends, but can also hinder his enemies. The Defender is able to attack at quite a range, however, the Defender is not built for hand to hand. He might be able to dodge a few attacks, but the Defender won't last for long."
Primary: Buff/Debuff
Secondary: Ranged
Hit Points: Low
Damage: Medium
Icon: Shield - The Defender serves as the "shield" for the group, protecting his allies and sometimes even himself.
Inherent:
Vigilance - The Defender's primary focus is to protect the team. When his allies are in danger, the Defender is able to look within himself and rise to the occasion. As a Defender's teammates are in danger of being defeated, the Defender gains an Endurance Discount and can activate their powers at a reduced cost. The more teammates in trouble, the greater the discount. Endurance Discount
The Defender has the following Power Sets to choose from:
Anyone who underestimates the Defender is missing out on a great Power combination. It's possible that many people who believe they want to play Blasters are actually more interested in the Defender. As with the Controller, there is a great deal of variation in the capabilities of the Defender. Some are more defensive in nature, offering shields to his allies, while others are more about weakening and debuffing foes. The Empathy Defender is the only one that could be compared to a "healer" in other MMORPGs, and even then, he has other capabilities that are just as powerful. The various "subarchetypes" which can be chosen for the Defender are detailed on this page, which may give you some interesting ideas about the possibilities inherent in the Defender.
Tips for playing the Defender:
While solo:
The Defender basically follows the same battle strategies as the Blaster, except that with his lower damage, it is even MORE important that he kite, and even MORE risky to get into hand to hand range. Since he takes longer to kill his foes, he has more opportunity to take damage. Look at the tips for Blasters for some other things to watch for.
The Defender must rely on his defenses, such as they are, to survive. Essentially this consists of using control powers, such as Force Bolt or Gale, or weakening his foes in order to reduce their attack speed or damage. Fortunately, these powers are usually more effective than their Blaster counterparts, and many Defenders can even heal themselves, as well, allowing them to recover after fights more quickly. Those Defenders without healing abilities are at a bit of a disadvantage in this area.
It may help to think of the Defender as similar to the Tanker. Solo, the Tanker does less damage, but uses its defenses to survive longer in the fight. A Defender does not do as much base damage as a Tanker, but most have buffs that allow them to increase their damage. (as well as the damage of allies) Thus, depending on the Power Set, a Defender can do damage comparable to a Tanker, or even close to that of a Blaster. Again, some Defenders that don't have the ability to boost their damage are at a bit of a disadvantage, when soloing.
While lack of Endurance can be painful to any archetype, it is most fatal to the Defender. A Defender without Endurance cannot heal or protect himself. The Defender should be very careful to ration his Endurance, using it to attack only when it cannot be better used to defend. When the Defender gets low on health and End, he should consider holding off on the attack and defending himself instead, until his strength can recover. This is easiest with the Force Field powers, but other Defenders can use this strategy as well.
While on a team:
A Defender is NOT a healer. Most Defenders have only minor healing abilities, and some have none at all. If a Defender joins your group, don't automatically assume he'll play the role of a healer. You might be pleasantly surprised at what he can do.
The Defender's ranged abilities make him unique, and very unlike a cleric or druid in fantasy MMORPGs. Even with his lower damage, he can still "fill in" for a Blaster if one cannot be found. While he may take longer to kill an opponent, and thus put a tank to greater risk, he can also buff the Tanker to counter the greater damage. Again, it may help to think of the Defender as similar to the Tanker. In a group, the Tanker's role is one of protection, he protects the weaker archetypes from attack by drawing fire himself. The Defender takes a more active role, defending his allies directly.
While most Defenders have a mix between boosting teammates' defense and boosting their offense, some excel more in one area or the other. Again, this is a difference between Defenders and their counterparts in other MMORPGs. An "offensive Defender" can boost the firepower of his teammates so that they ALL do more damage. A Blaster should not feel like he's being replaced by such an Defender, as with the Defender's offensive boosts behind him he can do even MORE damage.
Some Blasters also have some control abilities, like holds and fear. As with the Blaster, however, the Defender's control abilities should not be overestimated. The Defender is sort of a compromise between the Blaster's damage and the Controller's control. Thus, the Defender's control powers are much weaker, and more about slow and knockdown than actual roots. While a Defender CAN effect an entire crowd, unlike a Blaster, the group will have to develop their strategy around debuffing foes, not holding or sleeping them.
As with Defiance, my advice is to ignore the Defender's Inherent, Vigilance. While it may be helpful for some Defenders to have a reduced Endurance cost, many have plenty of Endurance because of their Endurance Regeration powers. And since it requires your allies to have taken damage, there is an inherent risk in trying to raise Vigilance by letting them be hurt. The best way to deal with Vigilance is not to think about it, and if you find yourself with additional Endurance when your allies start to get in trouble, just use it to try and protect those who are in the most danger of defeat. Either use Primary powers if you have status effects or heals that you can use in such situations, or just go ahead and use attacks to try and defeat the foe before he can do any more damage.
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