Defend

From Dragon Quest Wiki

Defend is a very basic stance appearing in every installment of the Dragon Quest series. Upon use, the character reduces all damage by 50% for that turn. Since it is one of the most basic commands, it's located in a character's main action menu.

A popular misconception is that the skill will not take effect until the defending character's turn takes place--this is false, as damage reduction begins immediately at the start of the battle phase.

See also