Damage calculation?

But it does help on other skills, even if it isn't cancelled. Like with red dragon's meteors and lightning with a shield the damage is greatly reduced while the skill itself isn't triggered and cancelled. Fireball from shyllien plants goes from 1400 damage to about 400. The defense page seems to say it has no effect on magic type skills, and then goes to say it does affect the damage of magic skills, but it doesn't mention that a shield is needed to decrease the damage, and it also says using a shield with defense just increases melee and ranged defense. Well that aside... I did a very, very small test, and it seems it doesn't anyway.