History Main / DefendCommand

* ''VideoGame/WarcraftIII'''s footmen have the Defend ability, in which they raise their shields to greatly reduce incoming piercing damage (e.g. arrows), sometimes sending the attack back (interestingly, the bandit axeman and spearthrower units have the animation for it, but don't have the ability by default). However, it makes them move veeeeeeery slowly. Spell Breakers [[DummiedOut had]] a magical version of this spell, though they now have complete immunity to magic.

** Both ''VideoGame/XCOMEnemyUnknown'' and ''VideoGame/XCOM2'' have "Hunker Down", an ability that all combatants able to use cover have by default. In the first game it doubles the cover's defense value (so hunkering behind full cover decreases the enemy's hit chance by a ''massive'' 80%) and gives immunity to {{critical hit}}s, but denies line of sight and is negated if the user gets flanked. In the latter, it increases defense by 30 and gives 50 dodge[[note]]a dodged shot only grazes for reduced damge[[/note]], along with the same crit immunity. [[EscortMission VIPs you're escorting]] can hunker down in ''2'', but in the first they can only use "Head Down" to add 10 to their defense.
** ''VideoGame/XCOM2'' also features Parry, a Momentum move that a Templar can use after attacking with "Rend". It negates any and all base damage from the first attack against the Templar, but doesn't block against status effects like poison, fire, non-damaging psionic effects, or a Viper's [[YouWillNotEvadeMe tongue pull]].

* The ''TabletopGame/LegendOfTheFiveRings'' RPG has the Full Defense stance, in which the character cannot attack and has their movement reduced, but is harder to hit. How much of a benefit the stance gives varies depending on the character's Defense skill and which edition you are playing.
* ''TabletopGame/{{GURPS}}'' has the All-Out Defense maneuver, which allows the character to attempt two different defenses against each attack--or alternately, to focus on a single defense type (parry, dodge or block) for a +2 to that defense. In GURPS, characters suffer a shock penalty to attacks on the turn after they've been injured, so an All-Out Defense [[NotCompletelyUseless can actually be useful]] for a character to get their bearings after a painful wound.

* ''VideoGame/AVeryLongRopeToTheTopOfTheSky'': It has a defend command that halves damage, from all sources, even OneHitKill attacks that hit the damage {{cap}} of 9999, turning them into 4999.

* ''VideoGame/PrayerOfTheFaithless'': {{Averted}}. It doesn't have a Defend Command. Instead, it has Focus, which restores some of the {{Mana}} which also reduces damage taken by how much Mana is left when enemies attack.

* Players in ''VideoGame/{{Minecraft}}'' can hold shields up to reduce incoming damage, but cannot attack during that phase and are reduced to a crawling speed.
* ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'': Wild XXX used Protect! Wild XXX Protected itself!
** The main use of actually using that is to stall while something else kills your foe. In early generations "something else" would be the status conditions like Toxic, while in later generations it's usually your allies in double and triple battles using moves such as Surf to hit everything on screen. Wide Guard and Quick Guard have an added bonus of protecting your allies, but only do anything against multi-target and increased-priority moves.
** If you can guess which move your opponent will use, then Protect can also be helpful to counter moves like Hyper Beam and Solar Beam, which have an idle turn while the user recharges (allowing you to Protect yourself when they're actually attacking, and strike back when they aren't).
** There's also Detect, which is pretty much the same thing.
** Also, some moves raise defense stats, like Harden, Defense Curl, Withdraw and Vespiquen's Defend Order. Defense Curl also powers up the Rollout move.
** ''VideoGame/PokemonXAndY'' brings us Aegislash[[note]]essentially a possessed BFS with a shield[[/note]] and its signature move King's Shield. It is similar to protect, except any attacker who used a contact move also gets their attack lowered by 2 levels. [[AchillesHeel It can't block status moves, however]].
*** Also from ''X and Y'', Chesnaught's signature move is Spiky Shield. Like King's Shield, it's a Protect variant that also has a negative effect on any attacker that uses a contact move, in this case taking out 1/8 of its max HP.
** ''VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon'' brings us Toxapex and its signature move Baneful Bunker. It is similar to King's Shield and Spiky Shield, except any attacker who used a contact move also gets poisoned.
** It should be noted that [[LimitBreak damaging Z-Moves]] are so strong that they will still do damage even with those defense moves, but it's only 25% of the damage they would have dealt. Max Moves and G-Max Moves in ''VideoGame/PokemonSwordAndShield'' have the same Protect-breaching effect.
** ''VideoGame/PokemonGO'' allows you to reduce an incoming attack's damage by a whopping '''''75 percent''''', by waiting for the yellow "flash" (the timing of this appearing varies depending on the attack, but each has one) then quickly swiping left or right to "Dodge" out of the way [[note]]you must also be idle for this to work; you cannot dodge in the middle of your own attack animations. Timing is key[[/note]]. This greatly reduces the effectiveness of a Gym-defending Pokemon's otherwise devastating attacks such as Hyper Beam, and allows for more thoughtful battles than simply AttackAttackAttack as well as imperfect [[ElementalRockPaperScissors type matchups]] still being viable.
* The ''VideoGame/PaperMario'' series has a real-time equivalent: pressing A just before an attack hits Mario or his partner will reduce the damage taken by 1 and protect from any side effects the attack would have had (such as poisoning).
** ''VideoGame/PaperMarioTheThousandYearDoor'' adds a more conventional "Defend" command, which increases defense by 1 for the turn in addition to the reaction guard, as well as a Superguard that blocks all damage and counters physical attacks but has stricter timing requirements.

* The "Default" command in ''VideoGame/BravelyDefault'' halves all damage and also stores up actions to use for a burst of "Brave" attacks.
* ''VideoGame/DragonQuest'':
** In VideoGame/DragonQuestVIII, the hero and Angelo can get the Defending Champion ability, which is similar to the defend command except it reduces damage to 1/10th instead of 1/2.
** In ''VideoGame/DragonQuestIX'', the first shield ability you learn is [[PunnyName Blockenspiel]], which has the same effect as defending, but you still get to attack. Extremely useful when a monster gets pissed and only attacks one person. The only downside is that it costs 4 mana, but that's not exactly a huge drawback.

* In the first ''VideoGame/DarkCloud'', the Defend command reduced damage from attacks, but it required a target lock to function, and did not protect the player from powerful attacks that would knock them to the ground.
* ''VideoGame/DarkChronicle'' improved the Defend command over its predecessor, greatly reducing (or entirely blocking) incoming damage, protecting the player from being knocked to the ground. If an attack was blocked entirely, any status effect from it would be blocked as well. It was also part of the button combination required to pick up and throw enemies.
* In ''VideoGame/Persona4'', the Defense command not only reduces the amount of damage you take, but also nullifies {{Critical Hit}}s and [[ElementalRockPaperScissors elemental weaknesses]] while preventing the character from receiving [[StandardStatusEffects status conditions]] during the turn. This makes it surprisingly useful to the point that not using it is sometimes outright suicidal. In fact, it's so useful that the game's first major boss fight is basically just a glorified tutorial on guarding.
** ''VideoGame/Persona3 Portable'' adopted the same mechanic, which has contributed to some people complaining that they reduced the difficulty. However, the new [[HarderThanHard Maniac]] difficulty more than makes up for it.
** ''VideoGame/Persona5'' has the same effect for the Defend command and makes you learn to use it by pitting you against an Archangel with Charge and [[HerdHittingAttack Vajra Blast]]. Failure to heed the tutorial will lead to a TotalPartyKill.
* ''VideoGame/RogueGalaxy'''s Defend command was very much similar to ''Dark Cloud 2'' (block or reduce incoming damage, prevent knockdown, pick up and throw enemies). But all party members had action meters that periodically needed recharging; successfully blocking an attack during this time would recharge the meter immediately.

* ''VideoGame/GoldenSun'' has a defend command. Characters automatically go into defend if you tell them to wait (or take too long in a linked battle). Various defense Djinn also exist to provide protection to the whole party, and then there's [[VideoGame/GoldenSunDarkDawn Sveta's]] [[GameBreaker Pack Defense in Beastform...]]
* ''VideoGame/WarcraftIII'''s footmen have the Defend ability, in which they raise their shields to greatly reduce incoming piercing damage (e.g. arrows), sometimes sending the attack back (interestingly, the bandit axeman and spearthrower units have the animation for it, but don't have the ability by default). However, it makes them move veeeeeeery slowly. Spell Breakers [[DummiedOut had]] a magical version of this spell, though they now have complete immunity to magic.
* In ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'', Warriors have Defensive Stance, which used to reduce damage dealt and damage taken by 10%. In Cataclysm, it was changed to eliminate the damage penalty. Its inverse, Berserker Stance, formerly increased crit chance and damage taken. Now it provides a +10% to damage dealt without an increase in damage taken.
* Sort of used in the ''VideoGame/{{Civilization}}'' series, with the Fortify command, which provides a defensive bonus to any unit using it. But it does mean they can't move until you unfortify them.
* The tactical RPG ''VideoGame/{{Odium}}/Gorky 17'' allows this for your characters.
* ''VideoGame/HeroesOfMightAndMagic'' series has, from ''III'' onward, a defend command to use instead of attacking.

* In ''VideoGame/GrandiaII'', Defend is actually useful -- you can see when something is about to hit you, the damage reduction is extreme, and if you ''don't'' use it there's a chance you'll be hit out of whatever you would have tried instead. It's also useful if you equip one character with an item that reduces incoming damage below a certain threshold to 0 and a skill that greatly increases the probability of being targeted; now you have a tank who can soak most attacks while the rest of the party dispatches enemies with impunity.
* ''VideoGame/The7thSaga'' increases your attack strength for the turn after you defend as well as the usual defence increase.
* ''VideoGame/AlterAila Genesis'' has a defend command that only reduces damage from the single next attack, but is actually used quite frequently when the player's trying to build up their AP to unleash a more powerful attack the following round.

* In the {{roguelike}} ''Omega'', you can configure your combat style among attacks and defences. For example, you may choose to attack three times, or replace one of the attacks with a defend command. However, you need at least three defence commands to guarantee coverage on the High, Center and Low attacks.
* ''VideoGame/LegendOfLegaia'' offers the Spirit command that, in addition to reducing damage taken (''especially'' against Zeto and Xain), also recharges 32 AP and increases the number of attacks you can make. Noa has a long command gauge by default and can use Miracle Arts after using spirit by the time her level is in the mid 20's.
** The sequel also has a Guard command. It does not allow more attacks, but there is an [[GameBreaker accessory]] that lets you double (and later triple) your strength after you Guard. The increased damage is sufficient for a moderately leveled party to one-shot the final boss.
* The ''VideoGame/{{MOTHER}}'' games: In ''VideoGame/MOTHER3'', using Defend also reduces the rate at which the character's rolling HP meter ticks down. This comes in handy during the final battle with the Masked Man, where, due to plot reasons, there's not much you can do besides defend yourself and do your best to survive.
* It's often actually useful in the ''VideoGame/EpicBattleFantasy'' series, especially in the higher difficulties, where you can't always end your turns at full health and enemies can do most of your health bar in damage. Also, one of the characters can sometimes absorb MP from defended damage taken and in the later games you almost always possess the ability to counterattack and/or spells that are randomly cast for you at the start of the turn.
** The fifth game has quite a few equips that grants defensive ''or even offensive'' stat buffs when defending, as well as some other effects. Defending sadly blocks the ability to counterattack for the given turn, though.

* Episodes 3 & 4 of ''VideoGame/PennyArcadeAdventures'' have a well-balanced Defend command: damage taken is slightly reduced and the character will receive their next turn more quickly than normal, which is useful since characters gain a magic point every turn. There are also some abilities that reward further bonuses for defending.
* Active Defence from ''VideoGame/{{Arcuz}} II''. You can upgrade this skill further, such as making an enemy attacks [[ManaShield deal damage to your mana instead]], or even restore your HP and MP if you guard just as the enemy hits you.
** The LizardFolk Mook has a ''ridiculous'' version of this. It sports a spear and a rather tiny shield. It'll hold up its shield very often, which makes it unable to move but makes it ''completely damn immune to damage from all directions'', and if you hit it then, you'll get hurt instead.
* Quite useful in ''VideoGame/ChildOfLight'', where the defend ability not only allows you to take your next turn faster in the CombatantCooldownSystem, but it can also be upgraded to reduce 80% of incoming damage. This works well with [[TheBigGuy Oengus']] Taunt when maxed out, which allows him to regenerate 50 health a turn while most enemies that are forced to attack him will deal much less than that while he defends.
* ''Videogame/SuperMarioRPG'' has both the vanilla Defend command and a variant based on the "Timed Hits" system. The "Timed Hits" version allows Mario and his partymates to reduce damage by pressing B at a specific point during an enemy's attack animation [[TrialAndErrorGameplay (which sometimes takes some guesswork)]]; particularly well timed hits will actually reduce the damage to 0 and can even prevent instant death attacks. True to the trope, the "regular" Defend command is almost completely useless, even moreso than most other [=RPGs=] because a) It's more efficient to just attempt the Timed Hits version - which does not require spending a turn on the player's part - and b) It doesn't protect against magic attacks.
* ''VideoGame/SDGundamGGeneration'' plays with the trope a bit. Only units that have a shield equipped can Defend, but all units can use the Evade command, which reduces hit chance by one third. In addition, some units have special defensive abilities that can nullify or greatly reduce damage from certain types of attacks. Unlike some other strategy [=RPGs=], enemies will default to Evade or Defend when unable to counterattack.
* Three classes from ''Videogame/DarkestDungeon'' have variations on this skill. [[StoneWall The Man-at-Arms]] can take the hit for another party member while buffing his protection, and has a separate skill where he counterattacks anyone that hits him. Paired together he can cover the weaker party members while damaging the enemies that try to ShootTheMedicFirst. [[FragileSpeedster The Houndmaster]] does the same but lacks the counter and buffs his dodge chance instead. [[SupportPartyMember The Antiquarian]] forces someone else to guard her but gives them a buff to protection ''and'' dodging.
* ''VideoGame/BarkleyShutUpAndJamGaiden'' gives each party member unique defend commands. Barkley's simply reduces incoming damage, Balthios' makes him {{counter attack}} when hit, Vinceborg's restores his [[HitPoints VP]] and [[ManaPoints BP]], Cyberdwarf's has him absorb some of the damage an ally would take if they get attacked, and Hoopz' defend command gives him a 100% evasion rate.
* ''VideoGame/LuxarenAllure'': Called Guard here. It also increases Impulse.
* ''VideoGame/JadeCocoon'' gives the defend command a ''very'' valid use: when a {{Mon}} defends an attack they regain a decent chunk of MP. It's a very handy tactic when grinding experience, as it saves you needing to waste time to return to the village to rest or waste Shab Liquors to recover magic instead.
* ''VideoGame/NocturneRebirth'' has a guard command that reduces damage by more than half. Better yet, the guard stance can be maintained even while pressing a key to advance time. However, guarding too many attacks will result in a guard break, leaving the character stunned and vulnerable.
* ''VideoGame/RakenzarnFrontierStory'''s defense command, in addition to reducing damage, also builds the character's SP by 10 each time it's used. This can be very handy for building up SP for attacks or a LimitBreak.
* In ''VideoGame/FTLFasterThanLight'', when you have an InvisibilityCloak you can activate it to temporarily get extra 60 percentage points to your evasion rate along with stopping the enemy weapons from charging. Once you use it though, you have to wait for ionization to wear off before you can use it again.
* In ''VideoGame/CosmicStarHeroine'', the eighth slot in each party member's LimitedMoveArsenal is reserved for an ability that recharges their other abilities, making them usable again, along with some other effect, usually a temporary damage reduction but also available are other effects like healing your party for a minor amount, [[DrawAggro painting a target on yourself]], buffing the party's attacks, disarming an enemy or just ''hurting'' them for a minor damage.

* ''VideoGame/SacredEarthSeries'': The Focus command reduces damage and heals LF, EP, and EX, but has a one turn cooldown to prevent the player from spamming it.
* In ''VideoGame/EtrianOdyssey'', tank-type classes often have passives that let them restore HP when guarding and automatically guard when they take damage (even if they didn't use the command itself!). Some of them also have skills that DrawAggro from enemies, which work well in conjunction with guarding to conserve TP in a protracted fight (as opposed to using guard skills to reduce damage to allies or take damage in place of them).
* In ''VideoGame/FellSealArbitersMark'', the Knight class’s Defend ability halves the damage they take from attacks until their next turn. It also heals them slightly. Their Protect ability lets them shield other units from harm.
* ''VideoGame/TheiaTheCrimsonEclipse'': The guard command reduces damage and heals a bit of the user's HP, but it also lowers the Mastery gauge, making it harder to activate Mastery bonuses.
* ''VideoGame/TheTiamatSacrament'': The Focus command reduces damage and restores a small percentage of MP. Xandra's Observe command also reduces damage, but without MP recovery.
* ''VideoGame/{{Carrion}}'' has the Keratosis ability, which causes the VillainProtagonist monster to create a temporary hard outer shell that protects it from most damage. This even allows it to NoSell the explosive traps that latch onto it and blow it up for a OneHitKill.
* ''Franchise/{{Disgaea}}'': Its version of the Defend command increases defensive power by 50%, but in return the character will lose 2 counters from their CounterAttack stat for the turn. Some games, however, do things a little differently:
** ''VideoGame/DisgaeaD2'': Barbara's evility, Passiveness, allows her to not only get a 50% Attack and Defense buff while guarding, she is guaranteed to counter when hit. This game also introduced ''Protection Actions'', where a character with a high-enough [[RelationshipValues Likability]] with another character will take an attack intended for them. The Armor Knight class gets 3 Evilities related to defending: Advance Guard is an 80% damage reduction when defending, Defender allows for unlimited Protection distance, and Defensive Stance gives an auto-guard to frontal and side attacks.
** ''VideoGame/Disgaea5'' has the Armor Knight return, and her Hero's Shield Evility allows her to take an attack intended for an ally while defending, but up to 3 times. She gets a whole host of other defend-command Evilities, such as Hold the Line (prevent enemies from passing), Synch Guard (reduce ally damage taken by 10%), and Swift Stance (counter up to 20 times when defending).
* ''VideoGame/SomaSpirits'': As seen in an [[https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steam/apps/587310/ss_5b8edda405f517cd1dc9d8072c20b92768794b1b.1920x1080.jpg official screenshot]] for ''Rebalance'', for one.
* In the ''VideoGame/MarioAndLuigi'' games, the same buttons you use to control your character triggers a defensive move (either with a jump or a hammer) when it's the enemy's turn, with the added bonus of a counter-attack in most cases. In ''[[VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiBowsersInsideStory Bowser's Inside Story]]'' Bowser himself has a purely defensive ability (ie. he won't counter) by crouching down, except it only protects him from aerial attacks; he still has a counter move opposite that ability.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Miitopia}}'', there are multiple abilities that behave this way.
** The first is actually a personality quirk. Any Stubborn Mii has the quirk Patience, which has a chance to activate automatically upon being attacked, reducing incoming damage by half.
** There's the Warrior Skill, Proud Protector, which, on top of reducing incoming damage by half, [[TakingTheBullet also makes them cover any allies who would get hit by incoming attacks.]]
** The Tank's Defend skill is the same as Patience: It gives the Tank a chance to, upon being attacked, brace themselves for impact automatically, reducing incoming damage by half.
* In ''VideoGame/MegaManX7'', one of Zero's Ex Skills, the Gokumonken (learned from Soldier Stonekong), is a passive ability where Zero takes a defensive stance, blocking small projectiles and counter-attack against stronger and close-range attacks.
* The Spirit Command in ''VideoGame/LegendOfLegaia'', aside from increasing the characters' AP and extend their command bar, also raises their defenses for the duration of that turn.
* ''VideoGame/SkiesOfArcadia'' has a variation: Aika's Delta Shield negates all magic, and Enrique's Justice Shield halves physical damage to the party. Put 'em together and you've got a solid defense while leaving two characters free to attack or charge up the SP bar. This combo is practically required for some of the BonusBoss fights.

* In ''VideoGame/GrandiaII'', Defend is actually useful -- you can see when something is about to hit you, the damage reduction is extreme, and if you ''don't'' use it there's a chance you'll be hit out of whatever you would have tried instead.

* ''VideoGame/HeroesOfMightAndMagic'' series has a defend command to use instead of attacking.

-->--'''[[http://magiccards.info/nph/en/34.html Defensive Stance,]]''' ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering''

** ''VideoGame/Persona3 Portable'' adopted the same mechanic, which has contributed to some people complaining that they reduced the difficulty. However, the new [[HarderThanHard Maniac]] difficulty [[FanDumb more than makes up for it]].

** There's also Detect, which is pretty much the same thing. Also, some moves raise defense stats, like Harden, Defense Curl, Withdraw and Vespiquen's Defend Order.

A third common approach to expanding the use of the defend command is to cause defending characters to also regenerate resources when used. For instance defend may regenerate a percentage of health or mana each time it is used (don't expect to [[CombatExclusiveHealing be able to use it outside of battles]]). Alternatively it may regenerate stamina or technique points used for preforming more powerful attacks. While this approach will keep defend from being {{useless|UsefulSpell}} it can go to the alternate extreme of having a party spending as much or more time defending as attacking, either to generate enough mana to heal or build up stamina to preform more powerful attacks. This can, in turn, [[PaddedSumoGameplay draw out battles]], even otherwise easy RandomEncounters, with excessive defending. Whether this is preferable or more strategic then the usual [[RocketTagGameplay quick all-out attack]] strategy of most RPG is [[BrokenBase dependent on who you ask]].

The titular command is common in {{RPG}}s, where the character assumes a defensive stance that reduces damage received from enemies (usually by half), usually at the expense of not being able to take any other action in that stance. Hence, this command is [[TheLawOfDiminishingDefensiveEffort regarded as useless]] (especially in turn-based environments where all actions require a full turn), although it can vary from game to game.

Another variation causes the character to evade damage instead of guarding against it; attacks which whiff this way are just as effective as if they were dodged normally, and also useful to counter-capable characters. That said, beware the AlwaysAccurateAttack, which can bypass even this. This version is exclusive to turn-based RPGs, as more action-oriented games have a dedicated Dodge command instead to replicate this effect.

** 5e adds the "Dodge" combat action, which gives attackers disadvantage (roll two, take the worst) on attack rolls against you, provided you can see them, and gives you advantage (roll two, take the best) on dexterity saving throws. The action system has been simplified in this edition, but dodging takes up the same action you would normally use on most things worth attacking with.

* In ''VideoGame/FellSealArbitersMark'', the Knight class’s Defend ability halves the damage they take from attacks until their next turn. It also heals them slightly.

The titular command is common in {{RPG}}s, where the character assumes a defensive stance that reduces damage received from enemies (usually by half), usually at the expense of not being able to take any other action in that stance. Hence, this command is [[TheLawOfDiminishingDefensiveEffort regarded as useless]] (especially in turn-based environments where all actions require a full turn), although it can vary from game to game. Occasionally, however, a boss will have a charged-up super move which is best survived by defending on the turn it fires, leaving players used to ignoring the command clueless as to how to survive.

More recent games, recognizing what a UselessUsefulSpell defend traditionally was, have attempted to bring back its usefulness by allowing the defend command to have other tactical advantages beyond negating half of incoming damage. For instance a more useful variation may cause a defending character to becomes the target for ''all'' enemy attacks, i.e. shielding other party members from taking the hits, which comes in handy if used by a character who can CounterAttack.

A second common approach to expanding the use of the defend command is to cause defending characters to also regenerate resources when used. For instance defend may regenerate a percentage of health or mana each time it is used (don't expect to [[CombatExclusiveHealing be able to use it outside of battles]]). Alternatively it may regenerate stamina or technique points used for preforming more powerful attacks. While this approach will keep defend from being {{useless|UsefulSpell}} it can go to the alternate extreme of having a party spending as much or more time defending as attacking, either to generate enough mana to heal or build up stamina to preform more powerful attacks. This can, in turn, [[PaddedSumoGameplay draw out battles]], even otherwise easy RandomEncounters, with excessive defending. Whether this is preferable or more strategic then the usual [[RocketTagGameplay quick all-out attack]] strategy of most RPG is [[BrokenBase dependent on who you ask]].

See also StoneWall, which any character using this command becomes while it's in effect. See also UnblockableAttack, which can break through this. Contrast BlockingStopsAllDamage.

** There's also Detect, which is pretty much the same thing. Also, some moves raise defense stats, like Harden, Defense Curl, Withdraw and Vespiquen's Defend Order

** It should be noted that [[LimitBreak damaging Z-Moves]] are so strong that they will still do damage even with those defense moves, but it's only 25% of the damage they would have dealt.

** ''VideoGame/XCOM2'' also features Parry, a Momentum move that a Templar can use after attacking with "Rend". It negates any and all base damage from the first attack against the Templar, but doesn't block against status effects like poison fire, non-damaging psionic effects, or a Viper's [[YouWillNotEvadeMe tongue pull]].

** In VideoGame/DragonQuestVIII, the {{Hero}} and Angelo can get the Defending Champion ability, which is similar to the defend command except it reduces damage to 1/10th instead of 1/2.

* ''SacredEarthSeries'': The Focus command reduces damage and heals LF, EP, and EX, but has a one turn cooldown to prevent the player from spamming it.