Defensive bonus. How does it work?

[Suicide Junkie]

Any combat modifier with the exception of the Death Shrine will affect only the chance to hit

Defense reduces the enemy chance to hit you by the stated %, Offence increases your chance to hit.
This is additive and subtractive, so if you normally have a 50% chance to hit an enemy, and they add a +50% defense modifier, you get 0%, and not 25%.
However, after this is calculated over (almost) all modifiers, the game will force a minimum to-hit of 1%, and maximum of 99%. Even shooting in random directions against an enemy you cant see, you hit 1 in a hundred times, and even point blank with a planet, you sometimes miss (don't ask me how).
Another however: after the above is caluclated, the Mount-based modifiers and the built-in-weapon modifiers are added.
The chance to hit is now set to a minimum of 0%, or a maximum of 100%.
So, if you are using a WMG (+30%), your absolute minimum to hit will be 31%.
Finally, any ship with an intact Religious Talisman gets 100% to-hit, ignoring all previous calculations.

The Death Shrine adds 5,10 or 15% to the damage of each shot fired by the owner of the shrine.