| For other uses, see Defender (disambiguation). |
| Defender | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | ディフェンダー | ||
| Rōmaji | Difendā
| ||
| Type | Emblem Heartless | ||
| Games | Kingdom Hearts Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories Kingdom Hearts coded Kingdom Hearts χ Kingdom Hearts Dark Road Kingdom Hearts Melody of Memory | ||
| |||
The Defender is an Emblem Heartless introduced in Kingdom Hearts.
Defenders are made up of two parts: the Defender itself wields a shield with a mind of its own. Though Defenders do not do much themselves, their shields use Fire and Blizzard magic, block attacks, and bite approaching targets.
Design
The Defenders themselves are rather simple in design, resembling a knight clad in purple and blue armor with white trim and yellow buttons; they also have the tell-tale Heartless zig-zag jawline, with a purple head and a silver jaw. The arms and torso are also proportioned much larger than the head and legs, the arm not holding the Defender's main weapon actually rests ape-like on the ground. They bear the Heartless emblem on their chests.
In battle, the portion of a Defender that tends to be seen most is its massive and fearsome shield, also called the Defender. The barrier portion of the shield is a simple blue and light blue pattern with gold trim, but far more prominent is the very large and very dangerous blue-black dog head, complete with sharp fangs and spiked collar. The dog also has three glowing yellow eyes arranged in a triangle formation, a feature they oddly share with the far more delicate-looking but equally dangerous Angel Stars.
The Defender's name is a reference to the Defender job class from the Final Fantasy series.
Strategy
If timed correctly, Sora can earn Tech Points for blocking attacks in Kingdom Hearts.[6][7][8] A Defender has a 0.2% chance, or a 1 in 500 chance, to leave behind its shield, so it is recommended to equip as many Lucky Strike abilities as possible to obtain the shield.
| Technique | Element | Tech | Power Bonus | Guard? | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shield Bite Attack (シールドかみつき攻撃 Shīrudo Kamitsuki Kōgeki) |
None | x0 | 8 | Repellable (Recoil: 100) | ||
| Bites with the shield's mouth. | ||||||
| Generally uses this technique upon appearing. | ||||||
| Shield Downswing Attack (シールド振り下ろし攻撃 Shīrudo Furioroshi Kōgeki) |
None | x0 | 6 | Repellable (Recoil: 100) | ||
| Swings its shield up. | ||||||
| Spin Attack (回転攻撃 Kaiten Kōgeki) |
None | x0 | 8 | Repellable (Recoil: 100) | ||
| Swings its shield while spinning around. | ||||||
| Fira (ファイラ Faira) |
Fire | x0.05[KH I] x0.2[KH I FM] |
6 | Returnable (Recoil: 0) | ||
| Shoots a fireball out of the shield's mouth. | ||||||
| Blizzara (ブリザラ Burizara) |
Blizzard | — | 6 | Preventable | ||
| Releases cold air from the shield's mouth. | ||||||
Guard: Repellable = Can be blocked and interrupted ; Returnable = Can be blocked and deflected back ; Preventable = Blockable by Goofy's shield only.
| ||||||
Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories
- Deck
| Card | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Defender [KH CoM] |
X | ◯ | X | X | X | ◯ | X | X | X | ◯ |
|
Defender [KH Re:CoM] |
X | ◯ | ◯ | X | ◯ | X | X | X | ◯ | X |
- Attacks
| Technique | Element | Status | Power | Cards | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shield Bite Attack (シールドかみつき攻撃 Shīrudo Kamitsuki Kōgeki) |
Physical | — | x0.6[KH CoM] x0.8[KH Re:CoM] |
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| |
| Thrusts out its shield and bites with the face on it. Can hit multiple times. | |||||
| Fira (ファイラ Faira) |
Fire | — | x1.2 |
| |
| Spins its shield and holds it in front, then shoots a fireball from the shield's mouth in a straight line. | |||||
Kingdom Hearts Re:coded
| Technique | Element | Status | Power | Block? | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shield Bite (シールドかみつき Shīrudo Kamitsuki) |
 —
|
— | 1.50 [1.63] | ◯ | ||
| Thrusts with its shield and bites. | ||||||
| Fira (ファイラ Faira) |
 Fire
|
Ignite (medium) | 1.13 [1.16] | △ | ||
| Shoots a fireball straight ahead from its shield. | ||||||
| Blizzara (ブリザラ Burizara) |
Blizzard
|
Freeze (medium) | 1.13 [1.16] | △ | ||
| Fires a slow-moving homing ice bullet from its shield. | ||||||
| Power in [] is for bugged enemies; Block: △ = Can be blocked; O = Can be blocked and interrupted (melee) or deflected back (projectile); X = Cannot be blocked. | ||||||
- Olympus Coliseum
| Technique | Target | Element | Power | Hit Rate | Critical Rate | Guard Timing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shield Bite (シールドかみつき Shīrudo Kamitsuki) |
Near (Single) | — | 1.5 | 90% | 28% | Late |
| Thrusts with its shield and bites. | ||||||
| Fira (ファイラ Faira) |
Far (Single) | Fire | 1.13 | 90% | 0% | Early |
| Shoots a fireball straight ahead from its shield. | ||||||
| Blizzara (ブリザラ Burizara) |
Far (Single) | Blizzard | 1.13 | 90% | 0% | Late |
| Fires an ice crystal from its shield that pauses in the air. | ||||||
Notes and references
- ^ a b c x0 when attacking the front.
- ^ x0.75 after rescue.
- ^ x0.6 after rescue.
- ^ 50 prior to August 12, 2020.
- ^ 528 prior to August 12, 2020.
- ^ Before Kairi's rescue, 13 Tech Points can be earned for blocking the shield thrust attack in Kingdom Hearts
- ^ Before Kairi's rescue, 48 Tech Points can be earned for blocking the fireball attack in Kingdom Hearts Final Mix. An additional 13 Tech Points can be earned if the fireball attack is deflected back at the Defender.
- ^ After Kairi's rescue, 12 and 180 Tech Points can be earned for blocking the fireball attack in both Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts Final Mix, respectively. An additional 25 and 19 Tech Points can be earned for deflecting the attack back at the Defender in Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts Final Mix, respectively.