Defense Up recipes in Tears of the Kingdom

Defense Up (the Tough prefix) soaks part of every hit you take, and like Attack Up it stops at Lv 3. The same 0.45-per-potency rate applies, so the interesting question is not how to reach Lv 3 but how long you can hold it: duration is 30 seconds per ingredient plus 20 seconds per Tough ingredient, plus the dish bonus.

Best recipes

Cooked with the same engine as the simulator. Critical hits are a chance, not a guarantee: these values are without one.

Maximum effect

5 × Armored Porgy

Tough Fish Skewer

Hearts
10 Hearts
Effect
Lv 3
Duration
04:10
Critical rate
5%
Sell price
89 rupees

Five of the strongest ingredient: the effect is capped and the duration is as long as this effect allows.

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Best critical rate

Armored Porgy + Fortified Pumpkin + Ironshroom + Ironshell Crab + Armored Carp

Tough Seafood Skewer

Hearts
8 Hearts
Effect
Lv 3
Duration
04:10
Critical rate
25%
Sell price
68 rupees

Five different ingredients push the critical rate to its 25% ceiling, which can add hearts, a level or five extra minutes.

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Cheapest cap

3 × Armored Porgy

Tough Fish Skewer

Hearts
6 Hearts
Effect
Lv 3
Duration
02:30
Critical rate
5%
Sell price
41 rupees

The fewest ingredients that still reach the effect cap: what you cook when the ingredient is rare.

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Every ingredient: Defense Up recipes in Tears of the Kingdom

7 ingredients carry this effect. Potency stacks until the effect reaches Lv 3. Hearts are what the raw ingredient restores before cooking doubles it.

IngredientTypePotencyHeartsSell price
Armored Porgy Fish 3 1 10
Fortified Pumpkin Plants 2 0.5 5
Ironshroom Mushrooms 2 0.5 5
Ironshell Crab Fish 2 1 8
Armored Carp Fish 2 1 10
Rugged Rhino Beetle Critters 1 - 4
Armoranth Plants 1 - 5

Cook your own

The simulator takes any combination of five ingredients and returns the exact dish: open the TOTK cooking simulator.

Other effects