From Dungeons of Dredmor Wiki

Damage Resistance is a stat which reduces the amount of damage you receive from that specific type. It is gained with the aid of Skills and Equipment. It, just like Damage, comes in multiple forms.

[edit] Resistance Types

Icon	Name	Description	Monsters that deal it	Damage	Monsters that deal it	Damage
	Crushing	"Crushing resistance allows you to successfully resist the impact of large, blunt objects like bricks."	Blobby	1	Electroblobby	1
			Kleptoblobby	1	Toxiblobby	1
			Sanguiblobby	2	Thermoblobby	2
			Blob of Corruption	10	Octo	2
			Zomby	1	Djinn	2
			Djinn	4	Thrusty	4
			Icy Golem	6	Flaming Golem	6
			Unhealthful Golem	4	Magicky Golem	4
			Steamy Golem	1	Golden Golem	8
			Footy	12	Grandpa Mustache	3
			Mustache Spirit	1	Big Red	30
			Snow Baal	20	Lucky	2
			Far Darrig	6	Lord Dredmor	10
			Brax	10
	Slashing	"Slashing resistance protects you from attacks by attacks and weapons with bladed edges. It also helps reduce razor burn."	Diggle	1	Sickly Diggle	1
			Enraged Diggle	3	Arch Diggle	12
			Diggle Commando	1	Deth	2
			Djinn Fizz	1	Batty	1
			Lil Batty	2	Blink Batty	2
			Pumpkinn	8	Eely	8
			Lava Eely	10	Witchy	1
			Monstrous Mask	1	Swarmy	6
			Mushy	4	Carrotty	4
			Young Carrot	2	Cold Carrot	1
			Magma Carrot	1	Fell Carrot	3
			Robo	10	Unfriendly AI	1
	Blasting	"Blasting resistance lets you go out with a bang."	Djinn Fizz	10	Steamy Golem	1
	Piercing	"Piercing resistance allows you to be stung by twenty thousand bees and not feel a thing! (Well, very little.)"	Diggle	2	Sickly Diggle	1
			Enraged Diggle	2	Arch Diggle	20
			Diggle Commando	6	Djinn Fizz	6
			Batty	3	Lil Batty	1
			Blink Batty	2	Witchy	7
			Monstrous Mask	4	Swarmy	2
			Robo	5	Unfriendly AI	3
	Conflagratory	"Conflagratory resistance is very useful if you're a witch, or are likely to be working near witches or other flammable objects. Caution: asbestos armour has been determined by the Dwarven Mountainhomes to cause an increase in lung cancer, beard rot, and Strange Moods."	Thermoblobby	4	Lava Eely	10
			Magma Carrot	5	Flaming Golem	8
			Steamy Golem	1	Flamer	5
	Hyperborean	"Hyperborean resistance, common amongst the savage Viking hordes, helps you survive even the chilliest of winters or wintery attacks."	Monstrous Mask	6	Cold Carrot	10
			Icy Golem	6	Ice Wyrm	5
	Voltaic	"Voltaic resistance is best achieved by strapping frogs to your body. Their tough, thick conductive hides will help protect you from any electrical encounters. Failing that, we recommend magic rings or something."	Electroblobby	2	Kleptoblobby	2
			Robo	5	Unfriendly AI	3
	Toxic	"Toxic resistance is highly praised by those gourmands wishing to dine on the finest in Goblin cuisine."	Toxiblobby	3	Sickly Diggle	2
			Mushy	8	Unhealthful Golem	4
			Magicky Golem	4	Squiddy	7
	Righteous	"Righteous resistance helps protect you from being smote by Divine Powers. It will not, however, protect you from being eaten by bears, as befell the children who mocked the prophet Elisha."
	Necromantic	"Necromantic resistance is very useful when dealing with any members of the undead, and the occasional politican."	Deth	2	Fell Carrot	4
			Lord Dredmor	10
	Acidic	"Acidic resistance is best achieved by covering yourself, head to toe, in baking soda. Failing that, we suggest the adventurer's fallback: magic rings, again."	Blobby	2
	Putrefying	"Putrefying resistance lets you survive attacks which may try to rot your skin off."	Blob of Corruption	10	Zomby	2
			Fell Carrot	4
	Transmutative	"Transmutative resistance helps you resist transmutation. Whatever that is."	Octo	3	Djinn	1
			Djinn	1	Magic Dragon	3
			Lord Dredmor	10
	Aethereal	"Aethereal resistance protects you from attacks fuelled by the power of the stars, the universe, and the influences of the Celestial Bodies upon your more earthly body. Caution: do not stare directly into the Celestial Aegis."	Lucky	5	Far Darrig	6
	Asphyxiative	"Asphyxiative resistance: the Heimlich Maneuver of the tenth century."	Steamy Golem	1	Grandpa Mustache	4
			Mustache Spirit	2
	Existential	"Existential resistance: you think, therefore you resist."

[edit] Guide

Resistances subtract from incoming damage. For example, if your character is hit by an attack that deals 2 and 2, and the character has 1, it will only suffer 3 damage since the resistance reduced the 2 down to 1.

The most important resistances are:

• Piercing Damage (The only mundane type Armour Absorption won't protect against. Arch Diggles do 20!)
• Crushing Damage (Half as good as Armour Absorption)
• Slashing Damage (Half as good as Armour Absorption)
• Hyperborean Damage (Almost everything on floor 7 deals this. Have a Toque of Kanada to swap in)
• Conflagratory Damage (Almost everything on floor 9 deals this)
• Toxic Damage (Dealt steadily throughout the game)
• Transmutative Damage (for Blingmine trap DoTs)
• Acidic Damage (for Gargoyle Acid Bolt/Acid Rhizome trap DoTs)
• Putrefying Damage (for Thaumite DoTs. Enemies on floor 10 deal this)
• Necromantic Damage (for Tentacular Infestor trap DoTs)
• Voltaic Damage

Other resistances are less useful:

• Blasting Damage (dealt in small amounts from various traps and tiny amounts from dragons, but dealt with by Armour Absorption)
• Asphyxiative Damage (dealt in lesser amounts by steam from traps, Steam Golems and Mustaches)
• Aethereal Damage (dealt in tiny amounts from Mage Circle traps and Luckys/Far Darrigs)
• Existential Damage (never needed, except for random named enemies)
• Righteous Damage (dealt in moderate amounts by the fish paladins in the Realm of the Diggle Gods DLC)

Note: DoTs from traps can be removed by a Zodiacal Wand or Potion of Purity instead of resisting them.