Hey Guys, Hey Girl,

(ahahah have you seen what I did there? I said Hey Girl. Singular form. Hilarious eh?)

I am working on a relatively complex RPG game, with side quests, interacting NPCs, kick ass monsters, etc.
and currently in the process of designing the battle mechanics.
Without thinking too much, I was just blatantly copying what's already out there.
Why re-invent the wheel, right?

Many games have this battle menu, which includes:
Attack
Magic
Defend
Item
Run away

Obviously, "Defend" means that the player remains passive for his turn but gets a huge defensive bonus by doing so. But clearly, that doesn't make much sense, right? Because if you fight a weaker opponent, you should just crush it right away. If you are facing a stronger enemy that deals more damage than you do, why would you lose a turn defending anyway? You'll have to damage him at one time or another and standing still does not help. At the very least, give it your best shot and heal as soon as you need...

So am I missing something there?
Is the Defend option really useful?

Can you please provide me with some guidance, all of you wise newgrounders?

Any other advice from all RPG fans? Anything that is not "Defend" related but that you want to share or that you want in my RPG?

(pic of the game included. work in progress)