I'm going through the assorted books looking for add-ons to build my Bitchin' Space Armor, and as I am anticipating lightsabers coming my way, I was thinking of loading up on Melee Defense as much as I could.

There's the Jury Rigged which will add one, and the One Triumph DIY option in the back of Keep the Peace when actually building the armor, but beyond the Non-Stick Teflon Coating attachment, it doesn't look like there's any more add on options.

Did I miss anything that I can tack on for more melee defense somewhere, or is that about it?

Jury rigged will get you a point, but I think the coating is the only attachment.

Cortosis to counter Breach too?

I guess generally speaking, wearing armour is if anything more restrictive to movement than not wearing armour, so as Defence represents being more difficult to hit in the first place it doesn't make a whole heap of sense to have a lot of +Def armour/attachments. teflon, for obvious reasons. Robes and armoured clothing has base defence presumably due to freedom of movement and obscuring qualities.

Shields and other supplements might be a suitable route - obtain equipment and develop tactics to gain you defensive advantages. Your GM will probably appreciate ingenuity when approaching combat scenarios

Get a Force Buckler (Keeping the Peace) or any other decent off hand parrying weapon.

Not defense, but armor spikes open up fun options. If you don't mind looking like Golbez.

Apart from using melee weapons with the multiple Defensive quality or piling on the Defensive Training talent, there's really not a whole lot of ways to beef up your melee defense through equipment.

You do have the guarded stance maneuver to increase your melee defense by 1, but it also adds a setback to your own combat checks, which may be problematic unless you're really good with your combat skill of choice.

There is the Soresu Defender talent Defensive Circle, but that requires you to be a Force user with a Lightsaber weapon and a fair bit of luck to roll enough advantage for it to really be worth it.

Note that some attachments and mods could potentially add ranks of the Defensive Training talent, or give you the same benefits as if you had performed the Side Step maneuver a certain number of times, but that would be between you and your GM to work out.

If you want to really do defense I suggest going gadgeteer for the +1 defense in armor and wearing crafted battle armor which can get 2 defense (if you select both ranged and melee defense mods) combine this with coating for +1 melee defense and juryrig also in the gadgeteer tree for 5 melee defense.

Though jury rigging for ranged defense and going for a balanced defense 4 is one of the more potent combinations .

But as a previous poster pointed out without a cortosis mod you are going to get shredded by a lightsaber.

Crafted Battle Armor (3 soak 2 defense and 6 HP) very hard to make without a artisan is one of the best base armor types

Adding in armor master and improved armor master a superior mod, a cortosis mod, a melee defense mod plus jury rigging for ranged defense

Gives you armor with a soak of 5 A defense of 4 and very effective against lightsabers

If you want to really do defense I suggest going gadgeteer for the +1 defense in armor and wearing crafted battle armor which can get 2 defense

Great. Like I need another tree!

Crafted Battle Armor (3 soak 2 defense and 6 HP) very hard to make without a artisan is one of the best base armor types

Well, the reflective is what I'm looking at putting together (I think that was the name - I'm at work away from book, so I cant check my notes. 2 difficult to put together for 500 bucks and a defense of +1. Then with the teflon coating, the jury rigged and my Gaffi stick, I think I'm looking at five blacks for the other guy. I'm just greedy and want to figure out how to get a sixth.

Apart from using melee weapons with the multiple Defensive quality or piling on the Defensive Training talent, there's really not a whole lot of ways to beef up your melee defense through equipment.

Yeah, that's what I thought. I was just making sure that I didn't miss something in my readings last night.

Not defense, but armor spikes open up fun options. If you don't mind looking like Golbez.

Man, my aesthetic sense would be deeply offended if I run around looking like the goofballs from The Old Republic. That and my teammates would inevitably use me as a marshmallow caddy.

I don't think defensive from the staff and the armor stack you only use the best source.

I don't think defensive from the staff and the armor stack you only use the best source.

That depends on which dev you believe.

Sam initially confirmed that they did stack, then Max said they don't when someone else asked the question, and the matter is currently "under review" by the devs.

Personally, I allow the Defensive quality (which says "add +# to melee defense, indicating it increases the existing value as opposed to providing a flat value) to stack with defense from armor (which is described as a flat value, much like cover provides a flat value for ranged defense).

Well, as I'm the one benefiting, clearly I'm going to listen to Sam.

***EDIT***

Well, going back to the book, it says this of defensive: "A character wielding a weapon with defensive increases the melee defense by the weapon's rating."

That seems pretty clear to me, that there's a +1 involved with the Gaffi.

Definitely going to go with you on that, which leads to the question can the Defensive quality on your Gaffi stick be increased? Is there an attachment for defensive that's not the Lightsabers Curved Hilt? I know Jury Rigged won't help here.

Later in the life of this character you could make a 95xp investment to pick up FSExile and the entire right hand column.

Then for a further 40xp you could upgrade 2 incoming attacks twice each round with sense.

But that's s lot of XP for 2 upgrades and an extra Setback!

Well if your group decides that they stack I'd suggest carrying a riot shield with defensive 2 and deflection 2 (far horizons)

Also far far better then defense is dodge talent and upgraded sense

A PC in full crafted battle armor with a riot shield can have a defense of 6, which is pretty broken and can still fire a heavy blaster riffle with only 1 black setback die to hit. (100xp needed)

Go gadgeteer and force sensative exile for defense 7 and if you want to be even cooler grab upgraded sense to upgrde difficulty by 2

So melee against you are 2 red and 7 black (300xp needed)

If that doesn't piss off your GM enough take assassin for 2 ranks in dodge so melee attacks suffer 3 red and 7 black..... (355xp needed)

With a base Brawn of 3 implant armor and a brawn implant you can get your soak to 10 and as previously posted the cortosis mod makes it lightsaberproof.

See you don't need 1000 xp to break the game. =)

Definitely going to go with you on that, which leads to the question can the Defensive quality on your Gaffi stick be increased? Is there an attachment for defensive that's not the Lightsabers Curved Hilt? I know Jury Rigged won't help here.

The problem that you run into is that the Gaffi has no hard points - not a problem with me, because I'll just throw one of my tinkerers at it - although I'll probably go with Superior, just because I like the idea of an artisan Gaffi.

Later in the life of this character you could make a 95xp investment to pick up FSExile and the entire right hand column.

Then for a further 40xp you could upgrade 2 incoming attacks twice each round with sense.

But that's s lot of XP for 2 upgrades and an extra Setback!

Believe me, it's tempting - but I kind of like the idea of being a non-jedi in a group of saber swingers. It fits her concept better if I'm as force sensitive as a not-force sensitive stone.

If only there where rules for crafting your own Gaffi stick... Probably fit well into a Bounty Hunter source book!

If only there where rules for crafting your own Gaffi stick... Probably fit well into a Bounty Hunter source book!

*puts money down on Special Modifications*

*collects five dollars*

Ahh, it's an inside job!