The single most confusing stat inThe First Descendantis Defense.

It’s also impossible to figure out what the stat actually does in-game.

Learn how to increase your Weapon Proficiency with this in-depth guide.

First Descendant Ajax Holding Guardian R4 In Ultimate Bubble.

Let’s dig into how Defense works and answer an age-old question: Is Defense worth scaling?

How Does Defense Work?

This isn’t the exactformulavalues are off by 1%but it should give you a fairly accurate value.

First Descendant Thunder Cage Featured

Via: TFDTools

That first module drastically increased your DR, while the second module was slightly less effective.

Additional Defense is generally less effective than adding flat HP to your character.

Defense Breakpoints

These values were obtained from[Hard] Dead Bride.

Ajax’s defense stats in The First Descendant.

Elemental resistances use the same values and exclusively mitigate elemental damage.

In almost every case, you’re better off equipping a second HP module.

To explain why, we first need to talk about EHP.

A Google Sheets spreadsheet with damage received values from Dead Bride based on current DEF rating.

Via: TFDTools

Executioner uses a mix of elemental and physical damage.

Damage values were consistent across both modes.

This pulls data directly from the API and displays it in a clean interface.

Screenshot of [Hard] Dead Bride’s base stats in The First Descendant.

Via: TFDTools

Her arm cannon deals twice the listed Firearm ATK damage, so her base damage is 706.

With all the data collected, I plotted my recorded values in Desmos and tested various regression models.

If you’re interested,you’ve got the option to check the graph here.

Stats for [Hard] Executioner in The First Descendant.

Via: TFDTools

Elemental resistancesdouse the same formula, however, but they apply to elemental damage only.

Some bosses, such as Executioner, will deal a mix of non-attribute and elemental damage.

For example, the Executioner’s total damage is roughly 45% electric and 55% physical.

a closeup of Ajax in The First Descendant

What Is EHP?

This applies to shields as well as health.

Exclude elemental resistances from the formula.

First Descendant Ajax Modded For HP And Defense

It mitigates a different damage bucket.

Each variable in this equation represents a source of damage reduction.

The formula would look like this.

The First Descendant Luna Pose

Descendants generally have higher base HP values, and external components have stronger max HP modifiers.

Modules that scale HP tend to have higher percentages as well.

Empower your allies with the power of Luna’s music.

First Descendant Sensor Module With Chill Resistance Affix

Is Scaling HP Better Than Defense?

Now that we have the formulas for calculating EHP, we can prove this with some basic arithmetic.

The bar graphs above showcase Freyna’s EHP (excluding shields) with every popular external component configuration.

First Descendant Ajax In Bubble Shield

Don’t sleep on them.

Resistance Modules

Don’t use dedicated elemental resistance mods on your Descendant.

The values are pitiful and take up valuable module space.

First Descendant Tier List Featured-1

Instead, aim for resistance affixes on your external components.

For reference, each component can roll with one resistance key in.

Live-Service Games

The First Descendant