What does defense up or defense mods do?

"vector6000;716279" wrote:

"Manowar;716274" wrote:
Yes, defense affects armor and resistance, but to different degrees. The formula has eluded me, but I'm sure the answer can be induced by a simple experiment.
I do know that flat defense boosts are almost always better than their percentage counterparts.

When using mods, is it then useless to use defence mods and preferable to use others?

Useless is a strong word. There is a case that can be made for defense mod sets above health mod sets for tank characters, but I think it is a rare one.

It's simple math to determine which is better. Every time I've run the numbers, health mods have come out on top in terms of raw survivability. I have one defense set on Nebit though.

Another factor to consider is penetration, where the attacker actually ignores a portion of the defender's armor/resistance. So the case for defense sets is further weakened there.