Sacred 2:Holy Shield

NOTE: The contents of this page are exclusive content found only by installing the player-made mega-mod Diablo 2 Fallen.

To a Paladin, the shield is a symbol of her faith. Particularly devout Paladins can channel their faith into their shields, bolstering its defensive value with holy energy. The purer her faith, the greater her defense. This Combat Art is an Energy Shield Aspect - Blessed Defense Innate Abilities (Lvl 1) From Tooltip: Max. Shield Energy: 67 Energy Shield Absorption: 50.0% + 0.2% per level. Duration: 45.0 seconds Cooldown + Regeneration Time: 60.0s + 1.5s = 61.5 seconds From Bonus Overview / Character Sheet: Max. Shield Energy: +45.5% Shield Regeneration: +3.3/s (this is the out-of-combat value). Modifications See also: Sacred 2:Combat Art Modifications Bronze Dampen - Adds energy shield mitigation, blocking 10 + 5 per level of all incoming damage. Aegis - Increases the Paladin's base base defense rating by 25 + 25 per level. Silver Ward - Adds a chance to block spell damage (45% + 1% per level). Barricade - Adds a chance to block ranged weapon damage (45% + 1% per level). Gold Boost - Decreases the cooldown of Holy Shield by 12 seconds. Uplifted Force - Increases the energy points of Holy Shield by 25% + 0.2% per level.

Holy Shield

Skills and Attributes

The following skills will affect this combat art:

• Energy Shield Lore - increases the "Max. Shield Energy" value (total shield energy points) and increases the out-of-combat Shield Regeneration rate when mastered (the shield will never regenerate in-combat).

• Blessed Defense Lore - improves the "Energy Shield Mitigation" value from Dampen, improves casting speed, allows for modification points.

• Blessed Defense Focus - reduces regeneration time and allows for higher level combat art without penalty, allows for modification points.

• Concentration - directly improves regeneration time.

The following attributes will affect this combat art:

• Willpower increases shield energy points.

• Stamina will lower the regeneration time.

Usage Strategies

• Much general information for energy shield usage is given in the article Energy Shields. Some of the terminology is changed in D2F for clarification:
  • Absorption Warding Energy = Energy Shield Absorption (percent of damage diverted to shield)
  • Block Warding Energy = Energy Shield Mitigation (fixed amount of damage blocked by shield)

• Energy Shield Absorption is the percent of damage that is taken from the shield points as opposed to the Paladin's hitpoints. It begins at 50.0% and gains 0.2% per level. This means that when Holy Shield reaches max combat art level 200, 90% of all incoming damage will be diverted to the shield. This value can reach 100% by using item modifiers. This will spare the Paladin's hitpoints but will of course deplete the shield faster.

• Energy Shield Mitigation (granted only by the Dampen bronze mod) blocks a fixed, absolute amount of damage, not a percent, it is different from and does not give % damage mitigation. This will be more helpful against weaker enemies, giving the possibility to block most or all of their damage. This value is boosted by the Blessed Defense Lore skill.

• Out-of-Combat Shield Regeneration is displayed under the Paladin's hitpoints on the character sheet. It can be increased by mastering the Energy Shield Lore skill. Holy Shield will never regenerate in-combat.

• Holy Shield's duration slowly increases with level, reaching 47 seconds at max level. Boost gold mod will reduce the cooldown to 48s. This means that the Paladin can eventually have Holy Shield running almost constantly if regeneration times are kept low enough and the Paladin doesn't take too much damage.

• Despite the combat art description and some expectations, Holy Shield does not utilize the Paladin's actual shield in any way. She does not even need to have a shield equipped.

Pros and Cons

Pros

• Major increase to survivability, essentially serves as a second hitpoint pool.
• When Holy Shield is cast it begins with full energy.

Cons

• If its energy is depleted, it deactivates and you must wait until the cooldown is over to recast.
• Shield can't regenerate in-combat.
• Known Bug: Holy Shield when it expires will also deactivate Holy Freeze, requiring a recast of the buff. No known solution yet.

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