Defence

Defence is one of the primary combat skills that grants players protection in all forms of combat. The higher a target's Defence level, the less likely one is to land successful attacks (Melee or Ranged-based damage greater than zero, or Magic-based offensive spells that don't Splash) against said target. As such, it is a vital skill in high-level PvM and PvP situations. Defence does not decrease the amount of damage that an opponent can deal against you.

Magical defence is different - it is based on 70% of the player's Magic level, while the remaining 30% is the player's Defence level, which is then followed by the player's magical defence bonus from their armour.

A player's Defence level also determines which equipment they are able to wear, as most pieces of armour or other equipment have a Defence level requirement.

Defence is one of the skills that will raise the combat level of a player regardless of other skill levels. For this reason, Combat pure level Defence to a certain level then stop training it to minimise their combat level, giving them an upper hand in Player-versus-Player combat against players around their level. These accounts range from One-defence pures, black pures at 10, 13 Defence pures, initiate pures at 20, rune pures at 40, void pures at 42, berserker pure at 45, barrows pures at 70, and obsidian tanks at 75. Some players may choose to only train Defence, known as Defence pures.

Equipment

Almost every single piece of combat equipment (except for the ones that go on the weapon, cape, ring, and amulet slots) requires a certain Defence level to wear. Here are links to tables of armour and equipment that require a Defence level to wear:

• Armour - For an overview on the different types of armour.
• Melee armour - An overview of the different types of Melee armour.
• Magic armour - An overview of the different types of Magic armour.
• Ranged armour - An overview of the different types of Ranged armour.
• Prayer armour - An overview of the different types of Prayer armour.
• Defenders - A weapon that goes on the shield slot and provides offensive bonuses while also having an Attack and Defence levels requirement. The rune defender provides the same strength bonus as an obsidian shield, while only requiring 40 Defence as opposed to 60.