Top Defensive Items in the Game - Part 1: Skinny Organs (Patreon)

There will be a different format to the list this time, this is because there are less standout defensive items when compared with support or offensive items.  Instead of a sort of rough; "worst" to best list, they are going to be grouped by settlement locations/crafting methods.  

With that written, here are the first two locations:

Skinnery:

Rawhide Vest:

The entire Rawhide set as a whole is in my opinion the best armor set in the game for efficiency vs. cost.  However the main powerhouse parts of it are the set bonus, the Rawhide Headband (which I mentioned in my support article) and the Rawhide Vest.  

The Rawhide Vest is present not just in the Rawhide Set, but it is also the body piece for the Dancer Hybrid Set and also it is very powerful in 'evasion stacking' style "patchwork builds".

Bandages:

I have already mentioned the Bandages in the top support items because of their power when used in self bleed builds and when also used to protect fellow survivors.  However, they are also a superb defensive item, because bleeding is one of the top ways that a seasoned survivor can get killed.  Additionally the down Green Affinity combines with the Round Leather Shield and provides a green affinity to contribute towards Monster Grease activation.  For one hide this is something you should build pre-Butcher and take out on most hunts.

Rawhide Whip:

So, whips are still not great in the world of KD:Monster, the lack of stats on the weapons mean that they are awkward to use (Rawhide Whip has bone dagger stats). Often hitting the monster with a whip means that you will end up suffering negative reactions while failing to wound.  However, the Rawhide Whip has two powerful uses that can help keep a hunting party alive and well.  Provoke is a really powerful ability for a tank, and while you need a very high strength survivor in order to be able to make use of it - if you get that, you will be able to control the monster to a level not usually seen.  

Secondly, whips provide additional bonuses during certain hunt events and allow you to avoid some very nasty results.  The Rawhide Whip is the cheapest whip to build; therefore if you are just looking to avoid the worst of those events it is a great choice.

Organ Grinder:

Dried Acanthus

Fresh Acanthus can be gathered in huge amounts by hunting the Screaming Antelope and wearing Screaming Armor.  One of the main uses of Fresh Acanthus is to turn it into dried Acanthus.  This item has two effects; the first is to protect survivors from severe injuries, when you receive a severe injury you can choose to ignore that result and lose the Dried Acanthus instead.  This is a massive boost to survivability and because of the relatively low cost of the gear in the first place this is something many people invest in so they can protect weapon specialists.

The second effect of +2 survival is very powerful for survivors who are in settlements with low departing survivor bonuses, you cannot always rely on your armor to give you all your survival gains!

Fecal Salve

Who knew that dressing up in poop was so effective? Just like the Dried Acanthus, the fecal salve has the ability to give a survivor a bit of extra survival.  However; it also has a left blue affinity which means that it can activate the luck charm when combined with Rawhide armor and the activated ability; which mimics the effect of tall grass, is incredible for squishy survivors who are either running support or have found themselves out of position.  You'll see me making use of the Fecal Salve in some upcoming videos!

Monster Grease

The Classic.  I don't think I really need to write a lot about why this item is so good.  It plus Rawhide + Tall Grass is how you handle the White Lion/Gorm in the early game and it's also part of the key tools that help  beat the L1 Butcher in LY4.  

It's activated ability of +1 evasion for 3 green affinities is very easy to achieve also; most mid to late game armor sets provide a lot of green affinities.  So generally by the time you reach Leather armor monster grease can provide +2 evasion, meaning it scales well into the late game.

Quite a package for just 1 Monster Organ!