Delving into Destiny 2's endgame can be daunting if you're new. Running your first Grandmaster Nightfall or Master raid can be frustrating with one-tapping snipers and high-damage enemies. That's why most of your builds should have some form of damage resistance.

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Reducing the damage you take in endgame content is vital to success, and damage resistance can even be used in PvP to lengthen the TTK of most meta weapons. In this guide, we'll go over what damage resistance is, how stacking resist works, and we'll cover every source of damage resistance currently available in Destiny 2.

Updated March 31, 2025, by Charles Burgar: We've updated this guide to include some useful sources of damage resistance that were added or reworked in The Final Shape and subsequent episodes. This includes Prismatic mechanics like Transcendence, new Fragments, and the Frost Armor keyword added to Stasis.

What Is Damage Resistance?

Damage resistance (otherwise known as "DR") is a mechanic that reduces incoming damage from certain sources. The more damage resistance you have, the less damage you'll take and the more likely you'll survive a gunfight. This mechanic is more prevalent in PvE activities than in the Crucible, but it's possible to get damage resistance against opposing Guardians.

Endgame Destiny 2 content is tuned around players having at least some form of damage resistance. Snipers one-shot players in Grandmaster Nightfalls, and most enemies deal absurd damage in Master-tier content. All it takes is a few armor mods to prevent yourself from getting one-shot by certain endgame foes. If you want to tackle Destiny's hardest PvE activities, you'll want some damage resistance in your build.

The Resist Buff Explained

This is an outdated buff effect that only a few Exotics use. You'll need to calculate your DR to get an accurate idea of how tanky you are (explained later in the guide).

While using certain damage resistance sources, you might come across the "Resist" buff on your HUD. This is meant to give an approximation of your character's current damage resistance, although it's not as reliable as you'd expect. Certain damage resistance sources (notably chest DR mods and the Resilience stat) do not display on your HUD. The buff is meant to notify you of more circumstantial DR sources that are active—notable examples including Whisper of Chains, Emergency Reinforcement, and The Stag Exotic for Warlocks.

Each Resist stack roughly equates to the following damage resistance values:

Resist

PvE

PvP

Resist x1

10%

2.5%

Resist x2

25%

5%

Resist x3

40%

7.5%

Resist x4

50%

10%

Resist x1 is currently only achievable by using the Emergency Reinforcement mod, granting 10% DR. Whisper of Chains also states it gives "Resist," yet that buff is far stronger in PvE.

Resist x2 appears on Renewal Grasps and The Stag, granting 25% DR.

Resist x3 is shown while Whisper of Chains is paired with either Renewal Grasps or The Stag in PvE content. This is supposed to represent a 40% DR buff, but some sources of "Resist x3" actually give 50% DR, hence why this buff name is unreliable.

Resist x4 notably appears while using Omnioculus, a Hunter Exotic that grants 50% damage resistance in PvE while invisible.

Stacking Damage Resistance

In general, most sources of damage resistance grant anywhere from 10-50% damage resistance, some outliers notwithstanding. However, unlike most damage buffs, you can stack damage resistance. Multiple sources of damage resistance stack together multiplicatively, not additively. In simpler terms, you get diminishing returns from stacking multiple damage resistance sources.

A great example is the damage resistance category of mods on your chest armor. Each mod gives 15% damage resistance against a given damage type. Should you use two of the same mod (such as Concussive Dampener), you don't get 30%; you actually get 25% damage resistance. This is for two reasons:

  1. Both mods are stacking multiplicatively.
  2. Stacking the same mod twice will give diminishing returns.

So you're getting hit with diminishing returns twice in this case. However, if you stacked two different 15% DR sources, you'd get 27.5% damage resistance—slightly higher than stacking two of the same mod.

Calculating Damage Resistance

Calculating your Guardian's damage resistance is quite easy. Subtract one from your damage resistance's percent value, and do this for every DR source. Once complete, multiply them together to get your true damage taken.

1 - ((1-X) * (1-Y) * (1-Z))...

Each variable represents your DR percentage from a certain source. For example, if we're using Emergency Reinforcement (10%) and two Concussive Dampener mods (25%), we'd calculate it as:

(1-10%) * (1-25%) = 0.675

For our DR value itself, subtract that value from one like so:

1 - 0.675 = 0.325

We take 67.5% of our initial damage, meaning we have 32.5% damage resistance.

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Damage Resistance Versus Reducing Enemy Damage

There are a few mods and weapon traits that reduce the damage output of certain enemies. Most players assume this is another form of damage resistance, but that's not quite accurate. Reducing an enemy's damage output is a separate modifier that is far stronger than stacking more damage resistance.

The best example of this behavior is The Stag Exotic for Warlocks. While equipped, Rifts grant 25% DR to allies. Paired with five stacks of Frost Armor, you'd have 48% damage reduction and take 50% less damage from that enemy.

Now let's say that you also have a 50% debuff on a target. If that were standard damage resistance, you'd have close to 74% DR. In-game, your effective damage resistance is higher at 76% because the enemy is dealing half as much damage, regardless of your DR.

If you have 50% DR, the 50% reduced damage from the enemy gives you an effective 75% DR. If you have 80% DR, halving an enemy's damage output would bump it up to 90%. That's why reducing enemy damage is so powerful and why sources of this effect are scarce. For the rest of this guide, we'll be separating the two sources to reflect their in-game effects as closely as possible.

All Damage Resistance Sources

Since there's a wide array of damage resistance sources, we'll be splitting this section into multiple subsections, listing certain DR sources in unique tables. DR sources range from 10-50% on average, although certain Exotics, weapons, and subclass nodes can push this even further.

There are also a few more sources of DR we'd like to mention:

  • Supers: Each Super in Destiny 2 (except Golden Gun in PvP) gives some amount of damage resistance—even one-and-done Supers.
  • Finishers: While hard to test, Finishers seem to give around 60-65% damage resistance while in a finisher animation.
  • Power Level: Being overleveled for an activity reduces the damage you take from enemies up to 25%, provided the activity doesn't limit your Power maximum.
    • Visit u/Bachmanetti's post for more information on this topic.

Resilience

Season of the Haunted has reworked the Resilience stat to grant damage resistance in PvE only; the damage resistance bonus does not affect the Crucible in any way. At 100 Resilience, you'll gain an additional 30% damage resistance. All DR values for each Resilience tier are listed below.

Resilience still grants bonus shields in PvE. This means that your effective health pool (EHP) is slightly higher than the DR listed below. DR gained through Resilience stacks multiplicatively with all other DR sources. Exceeding 100 Resilience grants no bonus damage resistance.

Resilience Damage Resistance

Resilience Tier

Resistance (PvE)

Tier 0

0%

Tier 1

2%

Tier 2

3%

Tier 3

5%

Tier 4

9%

Tier 5

14%

Tier 6

17%

Tier 7

20%

Tier 8

24%

Tier 9

27%

Tier 10

30%

Damage Resistance Mods

General Damage Resistance Mods

Name

Source

Resistance (PvE)

Resistance (PvP)

Emergency Reinforcement

Chest Armor

10%

N/A

Elemental DR Mods

Chest Armor

15% against that element

N/A

Concussive Dampener

Chest Armor

15% against AoE attacks

N/A

Melee Dampener

Chest Armor

15% against enemies within 4m of you

N/A

Sniper Resistance

Chest Armor

15% against enemies over 30m from you

N/A

Activity-Specific Damage Resistance Mods

Name

Source

Resistance

(PvE)

Resistance

(PvP)

Riven's Curse

Dreaming City Armor

-3% per stack

(Dreaming City only)

N/A

Taken Barrier

Last Wish Armor

20% for 10s after receiving damage from a Taken enemy

(Last Wish only, doesn't stack)

N/A

Dreambane Mod

Moon Armor

5% per stack against Nightmare bosses

N/A

Resistant Tether

Garden of Salvation Armor

5% per stack while tethered

(GoS only)

N/A

Enhanced Resistant Tether

Garden of Salvation Armor

10% per stack while tethered

(GoS only)

N/A

Enhanced Suppressor Augment

Deep Stone Crypt Armor

10% per stack against powerful foes while you have the Suppressor Augment

(DSC only)

N/A

Old God's Boon

King's Fall Armor

10% per stack while carrying a relic

(King's Fall only)

N/A

Stoic When Panicked

Crota's End Armor

10% per stack while near a totem, plate, or carrying a Sword

(Crota's End only)

N/A

read more

Weapons And Exotics

Weapons

Name

Source

Resistance

(PvE)

Resistance

(PvP)

Land Tank

Origin Trait

*5% per stack

N/A

Arc Conductor

Riskrunner

50% (Arc only)

50% (Arc only)

Flying Monster

The Manticore

(Catalyst Perk)

70% while airborne

10% while airborne

Evolution

Ruinous Effigy

80% while blocking with a Transmutation Sphere

10% while blocking with a Transmutation Sphere

Blocking (Swords)

Swords

50-80%

50-80%

Blocking (Glaives)

Glaives

97.5%

50%

30% against Primaries and melee attacks

*This DR is separate from the bonus Resilience Land Tank provides.

Exotics

Name

Class

Resistance

(PvE)

Resistance

(PvP)

Wings of Sacred Dawn

Warlock

15% while aiming midair

15% while aiming midair

Contraverse Hold

Warlock

20% while overcharging a grenade

20% while overcharging a grenade

The Stag

Warlock

25% while in a Rift

5% while in a Rift

St0mp-EE5

Hunter

30% while airborne

N/A

Aeon Gauntlets

(Sect of Vigor)

All Classes

40% for 10s after an ally is revived.

40% for 15s after an ally dies.

N/A

Omnioculus

Hunter

50% while invisible

10% while invisible

Stronghold

Titan

50% while blocking with a Sword

(Stacks with Sword Guard DR)

10% while blocking with a Sword

(Stacks with Sword Guard DR)

Skull of Dire Ahamkara

Warlock

75% while casting Nova Bomb

75% while casting Nova Bomb

ACD/0 Feedback Fence

Titan

80% at x6 Armor Charge

(Melee attacks only)

80% at x6 Armor Charge

(Melee attacks only)

read more

Subclass Damage Resistance Sources

Subclass Aspects, Fragments, And Nodes

Name

Subclass

Resistance

(PvE)

Resistance

(PvP)

Freeze

(Primaries Only)

Stasis Debuff

5%

50%

Frost Armor

Stasis Buff

6.25% per stack

Caps at x5, x8 with Whisper of Rime

N/A

Amplified

Arc Buff

15%

Enemies are also less accurate

N/A

Facet of Protection

Prismatic Fragment

15% while surrounded

2.5% while surrounded

Transcendence

Prismatic Feature

20% while active

5% while active

Spark of Resistance

Arc Fragment

25% while surrounded

10% while surrounded

Juggernaut

Striker Titan

33% while Amplified (shield only)

60% against AoE damage

10% against AoE damage

Woven Mail

Strand Buff

45%

25% against bodyshots

Flow State

Arcstrider Aspect

66% while dodging and Amplified

32% while dodging and Amplified

Void Overshield

Void Buff

70%

N/A

Weavewalk

Broodweaver Aspect

90% while in the Weave

90% while in the Weave

read more

Super Damage Resistance

In PvP, Supers have a specific DR value assigned to them. In PvE, you gain an additional 60% DR that's multiplicative with the Super's PvP resistance. PvE values are assuming no other forms of DR are active.

Super Damage Resistance

Super

Class

Resistance

(PvE)

Resistance

(PvP)

Ward of Dawn

Titan

N/A

N/A

Golden Gun

Hunter

60%

0%

Deadshot Golden Gun

( Knock 'Em Down)

Hunter

66%

15%

Thundercrash

Titan

70%

25%

Silkstrike

Hunter

78%

45%

Storm's Edge

Hunter

78%

45%

Glacial Quake

Titan

79%

47%

Blade Barrage

Hunter

79.6%

49%

Needlestorm

Warlock

79.6%

49%

Nova Bomb

Warlock

79.6%

49%

Twilight Arsenal

Titan

79.6%

49%

Well of Radiance

Warlock

79.6%

49%

Chaos Reach

Warlock

80%

50%

Bladefury

Titan

80%

51%

Daybreak

Warlock

80%

51%

Nova Warp

Warlock

80%

51%

Silence and Squall

Hunter

80%

51%

Winter's Wrath

Warlock

80%

51%

Hammer of Sol

Titan

80%

51%

Spectral Blades

(Uncloaked)

Hunter

80%

52%

Stormtrance

Warlock

81%

53%

Burning Maul

Titan

81%

53%

Fists of Havoc

Titan

81%

53%

Sentinel Shield

Titan

81%

53%

Arc Staff

Hunter

81%

53%

Gathering Storm

Hunter

81%

53%

Shadowshot

Hunter

81%

53%

Spectral Blades

(Cloaked)

Hunter

82%

54.4%

Song of Flame

Warlock

90%

56.25%

read more

Reducing Enemy Damage Sources

Reducing Enemy Damage

Name

Source

Damage Reduction

(PvE)

Damage Reduction

(PvP)

Psychohack

Origin Trait

10%

10%

Overload and Exhaust

Artifact Mod

25%

0%

Sever

Strand Debuff

40%

15%

Renewal Grasps

Hunter Exotic

50% while in a Duskfield

20% while in a Duskfield

read more

Damage Resistance From Power Level

Via: u/Bachmanetti (Reddit) u/Bachmanetti's graph showcases the relationship between damage taken and how under/overleveled you are for a given activity.

More graphs and information on this topic can be found in u/Bachmanetti's r/raidsecrets post discussing damage resistance.

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Damage Resistance FAQ

Does Resilience Give Damage Resistance?

Yes, it does. Season of the Haunted added a DR rating to all Resilience tiers, reducing the damage you take against combatants in PvE. Resilience's DR bonus does not affect PvP in any way, although the bonus shields from this stat still impact PvP. At 100 Resilience, you'll take 30% less damage from PvE enemies, stacking multiplicatively with any other DR sources you have active.

Is There A Damage Resistance Cap?

No. Multiple damage resistance sources stack multiplicatively, meaning each added DR source gets less and less effective. This makes it nearly impossible to achieve damage immunity solely through perks and Resilience, although blocking with a Glaive in PvE can get you very close to 100% DR.

What Is The Best Damage Resistance Source?

For PvE, spec for Resilience and use chest DR mods. The former gives 30% damage resistance against all damage types, and your chest can equip three DR mods at once. The Emergency Reinforcement mod can give an additional 10% damage resistance for a short time while active, although you'll need a way to gain Armor Charge. Check out our armor mods guide to learn how Armor Charge works.

For PvP, use your Super. Almost every Super in Destiny 2 gives damage resistance while active, making it a little easier to push the enemy and land a few kills. For a more passive form of DR, the Hunter's Omnioculus Exotic, the Sentinel Titan's overshield (this technically gives EHP but is worth mentioning), and the Warlock's Stag Exotic are worth using.

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