Best way to level Defense skills?

[Xaanka]

Hey I recently rolled a druid on Red. Stayed up for a whole weekend with a dedicated group and hit the mid 40's without soloing a single mob or doing much outside of healing/buffing.

Right now I've been training my evoke/conjure up to usable levels, but the one thing holding me back right now is my defensive melee skills. I get absolutely DESTROYED in melee by green cons 10 levels below me, and I can barely stand more than a few hits from a blue con.

Is there a remotely doable way to level these stats quickly? Have necro pet skillups been nerfed on here like I heard? Can I find an even con friend and level defense through PVP? (I'm on red) my stats are so far behind, that letting myself get hit by blue cons isn't an option unless I want to lose a ton of EXP!

THANKS!