Most effective defense constructions in Die2Nite

Question

What are the most effective ways (most defense points per AP/materials) to increase the town defense in Die2Nite? Which buildings are important for long-term defense development?

Answer 1

Before you go ballistic on the wiki and the tables, be aware that many constructions can and should be upgraded, so comparing their base values may be misleading.

Defensive focus, for example, doesn't net you any instrinsic defense. However, it brings more value from your defensive items. The first level gives you .5 extra defense per item (which was +23 def for us!), and the bonus increases with every following upgrade (level 5 gets you +8 def/item instead of +2).

Upgradeable wall is another good example of this. Level 1 is a mere 15 defense, but level 2 gets you 51 defense, and it only goes up with each upgrade.

Answer 2

Some specific numbers around how to spend your daily upgrades:

• 5 days of Pit upgrades grants +150 DEF
• 5 days of Wall upgrades grants +228 DEF
• 5 days of Defensive Focus upgrades grants 8 DEF per defensive object (as opposed to the 2 DEF per object you get by default)

If you have more than 25 defensive objects (200 DEF, a net gain of +150 over default), 5xDefensive Focus is a more attractive upgrade than the 5xPit Upgrade (but still not as attractive as 5xWall).

If you have more than 34 defensive objects (272 DEF, a net gain of +228 DEF), then 5xDefensive Focus is even more valuable than 5xWall. (and it can keep getting better and better, as in Robinhood/Badp's example).

Answer 3

Defensive Focus is epic. My (and Badp's) town have 52 defensive items right now. That equates to 312 extra defense after 5 days of upgrade, and we're bound to find more in 4 days. It's a very good construction project if you have a lot of defensive items.