The Defender is the smallest and cheapest base game combat ship available and specializes in dealing damage to both creeper and bots. Its single Mark 1 Cannon means it is capable of fighting low levels of creeper and shooting down incoming bots. Being the cheapest combat ship available, the Defender can be deployed quickly and is not a huge loss if it is destroyed.
Being very cheap and fast to build, the Defender is a great early game ship to hold off enemies until stronger ships come online. In addition to the early game, the Defender works well in tight caves or tight formations due to its small size, often capable of fitting in the gaps between other ships. Though it is only equipped with a single Mark 1 Cannon, its small size means it is the best at killing bots per unit area.
The Defenders best pair is usually the Gunship, the Defender can keep it safe from low density creeper and bots for its rockets to dish out their damage. For pure bot defense, Defenders can be used with anticreeper from Makers to great effect while letting your higher damage ships target the creeper.