Board Thread:Dark Souls II/@comment-5264386-20131018105419/@comment-5264386-20131031080002

More Stat News (31st October, 2013)
This is just a *very* quick little update, which I'll add to more in a week or so, but:
 * Levelling up no longer increases the player's defence values, these can only be increased by levelling up Resistance.

Source
EpicNameBro's Zwei and a Chat (Part One)