When you first start Dungeon Defenders, you must pick one of the classes to play as. Each one has distinct advantages and disadvantages over the others, so it's very important to make an informed decision. On the console versions of the game, there are only 4 classes, but the PC version of the game has an additional 8 classes, 4 of which are variants of the 4 basic classes. All of the classes have their own set of defenses they can set up, as well as special abilities they can use if the action gets a little too hectic.
Every character class, when they level up, gets points that they can place into 14 different stats. Every stat affects the character in some way, either directly like with Hero Health, or indirectly by affecting their Towers. Here is a list of all the stats, excluding each class' special attacks.
| STAT | DESCRIPTION |
| Hero Health | This increases the Hero's health at a diminishing rate. It's important if you're always getting hurt, or on higher difficulties. |
| Hero Attack | This increases the Hero's non-elemental attack rating, at a diminishing rate. For DPS characters, this is one of the most important stats. |
| Hero Speed | This increases the Hero's walking speed. It is especially important on larger maps, where you might need to get from one side to the other in a short period of time. |
| Hero Cast Rate | This increases the rate at which the Hero can heal themselves, as well as create, repair and upgrade Towers. This is especially important on Insane or when you are needing to do things in the middle of the Combat Phase. |
| Tower Health | This increases the amount of health a Tower has, at a diminishing rate. This is important to any Tower build character. |
| Tower Attack | This increases the attack rating of the Hero's Towers, at a diminishing rate. This is another important stat for Tower build characters. |
| Tower Range | This increases the attack range of a character's Towers, at a diminishing rate. |
| Tower Speed | This increases the rate of speed that the character's Towers will attack, at a diminishing rate. |
| Physical Resistance | This is the player's resistance to non-elemental attacks. |
| Fire Resistance | This is the player's resistance to fire-based attacks. |
| Electric Resistance | This is the player's resistance to electric-based attacks. |
| Poison Resistance | This is the player's resistance to poison-based attacks. |
