What are the Best (and worst) DEFEND THIS moments in gaming?

I haaaaaaaaaaaate Defend this moments or sections in games. Having yourself tied down in a particular spot, trying to defend a single point or character whilst enemies offscreen run around the back of you and destroy whatever you were supposed to be defending.

They are boring, repetitive and usually are just there for padding and lack of ideas. I did one such mission in Warframe recently. With 4 online gamers together we had to fight off waves of alien solidiers. They came in wave after wave and apart from being a bit more difficult near the end it was the same thing, wave after wave and boring AF.

It got me thinking about all the other defend this moments in gaming. I can only think of one good one, RE4 when you had to defend the cabin. So good was it that RE5 and even Revelations 2 tried to do something similar, but were utterly average in comparison.

So what are your best and worst? Anyone remember defending Natalya?

These sections are usually so bad that they have been burnt from my memory. I litterally can't recall a single example in over 30 years of gaming.

Still, not as bad as escort missions. Absolute worst. I think State of Emergency by Rockstar was the worst.

The cabin part in RE4 comes to mind.

I loved the cabin part in RE4.

Yeah me too. I think about it from time to time

oops...I think I lost my way ... lol.. uh, it's the toughest man!!!

Seems like defence missions trigger some kind of mass amnesia, if the only one anyone can come up with is the cabin in RE4. Which I also played. And forgot about.

The Library in Halo: CE basically is just walking from one "defend this" mission to the next and it is awful. It's the only bad part of an otherwise excellent game.

Defending Hiigara in Homeworld 2 was pretty cool, I thought. Spoilers ahead, but the game is from 2003...

You return to your besieged planet with a newfound super-weapon, a massive, ancient ship (which happens to be your ancient peoples' god) with a powerful energy beam weapon. Upon seeing this, your enemy deploys planet killer missile platforms. Suddenly, the population of your planet (Hiigara) appears on your UI, missiles start pouring out of the three planet killers and you receive orders to defend Hiigara, intercept the missiles, and destroy the platforms at all costs.

The coolest part, I thought, was it isn't game over if one or two or even three missiles hit. The population count goes down instead, giving it a real high-stakes feeling. The mission, while certainly testing your multi-tasking skills, also isn't frustrating to beat, either.

In previous Monster Hunter games we've had quests which involves defending other NPC Hunters from being picked off as well as base/ wall HP. Devil May Cry has locked zones as well as the recent D00M.

Cannot really say I find many of these enjoyable, they all feel like restrictive padding going against rules the games already put in place.

Prefer the choice of dealing with the consequences if we just jump over and leave. Makes saving a structure or group more meaningful when it's not forced for progression. Divinity: Original Sin II is an excellent example of this method. An older example would be Resident Evil: Outbreak which had defend moments but only one person needed to survive, and one player could just run from the encounter. Sure they'll get the bad ending but that's what makes the players strive for a 'optional' perfect run.

I love that if you shot Luis too much in that scene, he straight up kills Leon

@SupremeAC said: Seems like defence missions trigger some kind of mass amnesia, if the only one anyone can come up with is the cabin in RE4. Which I also played. And forgot about.

Maybe that's more on you than the game, the cabin scene is pretty memorable to me in Resident Evil 4. Personally think the post-infection scene when it goes into a rainy night to be the highlight of the game, the cultists start to spawn parasite growths with pre-glowing eyes, and infected wolves roam the areas. Very unsettling. It all captures that eerie vibe that makes the Resident Evil series so well-known, and beloved.

I don't mind sections where you are trapped or pinned down and have to fend off enemies, mostly because you have to defend yourself. RE4 cabin was ok. TLOU had a similar section with David and that was really intense. However, I absolutely hate it when you have to defend something or someone. Kenly College in The Division 2 comes to mind as I played that recently. There's a section where you have to defend some terminals against waves of enemies. Just awful.