Defender


 * For the article about the defender role in Barbarian Assault, see this article.
 * For the article about the Quest Defender of Varrock, see this article.

Defenders are off-hand weapons that are wielded in the shield slot and provide positive attack bonuses. To wield a defender, a player must have an Attack level high enough to wield a weapon of that metal and a Defence level high enough to wear armour of that metal.

Defenders are non-tradeable, members-only items. They can be obtained by killing the Cyclops on the top floor of the Warriors' Guild. Ten warrior guild tokens are used up for every minute spent in the Cyclops area. Eventually a Cyclops will drop a Bronze defender, and when a player has this, they need to go to Kamfreena (who is located on that floor) and show it to her. The next time that player enters, Kamfreena will inform the player that the Cyclopes will now drop the next level defender (Iron). The player will then have to kill Cyclops until they are lucky enough to receive this drop. This process is continued for Steel, Black, Mithril and Adamant; until the player finally gets to the rune defender.

The time needed to obtain a defender varies and the whole process can take anywhere between 700 and 2,400 tokens (about 1-4 hours) to get to a Rune defender. However, it may take over 10,000 tokens to get to Rune, if you are extremely unlucky. Many players have spent over 1,500 tokens, and never seen a single defender, even Bronze, so be warned. A Ring of wealth does not affect a player's chance to receive a defender.

If a player drops their defender, most likely from death, they will need to start over. Because of this, it is wise for a player to keep their other defenders in their bank, so that they can show Kamfeena and start on the defender they dropped. For example, if a player loses his or her Rune defender, but has an Adamant defender in the bank, the player can show Kamfreena the Adamant defender and not be forced to start over. (Alternatively, the player can obtain two or more Rune defenders and only take up one bank inventory space.) Multiple copies of the same defender can be obtained, thus many players choose to stock up on Rune Defenders so it won't be a hassle to obtain another.

Option responses
Examine option - "A defensive weapon."

Use defender on Kamfreena - "I have a (type) defender, please let me in to kill some more Cyclopes!"

Kamfreena responses -
 * "Bronze heh? The next cyclopes are ready, toddle in when you're ready."
 * "Wow, iron eh? The next cyclopes are ready, toddle in when you're ready."
 * "Strong as steel eh? The next cyclopes are ready, toddle in when you're ready."
 * "Black, hmmm, about half way to Rune then! Keep going! Cyclopes have been released, enter when you're ready."
 * "Mithril? Getting good at this aren't you? Ok, I've released those cyclopes that sometimes drop adamant defenders, enter when you're ready."
 * "An adamant defender, eh? Trying for the Rune defender I'm betting. Ok, I've released those cyclopes, enter when you're ready."
 * (When Rune is already obtained) "Well done, you truly are a brilliant warrior! I've released the cyclopes, enter when you're ready."

Trivia

 * Defenders seem to be based on a main gauche (left hand), or parrying dagger, which is a defensive weapon used in fencing and rapier duels.
 * Once you've gotten a certain level of defender, there is no way to go back and get a lower level defender without dropping or losing your current defender (entering the cyclops area, dropping the defenders you posess, then exiting back to Kamfreena to start at bronze is a way to avoid this). If you try to enter the Cyclopes room with your defender in the bank, for example, Kamfreena will not let you in until you go back and get the defender, so you cannot start over while keeping your defender. This situation affects players who discard their lower level defenders when they get higher levels. Typically, players would not want to get lower level defenders. However, the only defender the player can use against the Tormented wraith is the black defender.