Guard

Guard is a warrior ability in Dragon Age: Inquisition.

Description
''Guard: A type of combat training that protects the target from damage. Incoming attacks must deplete the guard before the target loses health. Some abilities, spells, and weapons do bonus damage against a target's guard. A target with an active guard resists being staggered or knocked down.''

--Codex entry: Status Effects

Guard generation and loss
There are two aspects of guard generation, the maximum guard and things that add to guard. The latter increases guard (seen as a metal colored mesh over the health bar) until the maximum is reached. Increasing the maximum increases the amount of guard that can be added. Guard that would be added after the maximum is reached is discarded.

Unlike Barrier, guard does not decay over time. Instead, guard is removed when one of the following occurs:


 * Taking damage
 * One point of damage reduces guard by one point.
 * Fast travel of any kind
 * Creating a new camp

If a character has both barrier and guard active, damage is applied first to the barrier, then to guard and finally to health. This is independent of whether the barrier or guard was applied first.

Maximum guard
The maximum guard is computed by taking the guard factor, multiplying it by the character's maximum health and rounding down, where the initial, unmodified guard factor is 25% and bonuses are additive to that percentage. If, for example, health is 100 and the guard bonus from an item is 8%, then the new maximum guard is  rounded down to 33.

Maximum guard increasing abilities

 * Bulwark
 * Untouchable Defense

Maximum guard increasing items

 * Enhanced Guard Belt
 * Evanura
 * Guard Belt
 * Master Guard Belt
 * Superior Guard Belt
 * Wintersbreath

Gaining guard
Guard is gained from the use of activated abilities or as a benefit from items, usually as a consequence of being hit.

Guard gaining abilities

 * Challenge
 * Charging Bull
 * En Guarde
 * Flawless Defense
 * Fortifying Blast
 * Rally
 * Shield Wall
 * Siege-Breaker
 * Still Standing
 * War Cry

Crafting materials that add guard

 * Fade-Touched Onyx
 * Fade-Touched Obsidian
 * Fade-Touched Silverite
 * Sigil of the Bronto

Items that add guard

 * Aurora's Freedom
 * Bownammer Plate
 * Estwatch Guard
 * Magehunter
 * Masterwork Battlemaster Mail
 * Masterwork Vanguard Mail
 * Savage Thorn
 * The Divine
 * The Last Stand
 * Valos Atredum

Damaging guard
Guard is normally damaged at a rate of one point of damage per one point of guard. This damage can be increased by the various abilities and items below, each of which give a bonus as a percentage. The final guard damage is computed by adding 100% to the sum of the bonuses and multiplying that by the damage done. For example, if the damage is 50, and Ring The Bell is activated in the attack (bonus 400%), then the final guard damage is.

If the damage is greater than the guard, the guard damage bonus is ignored, the guard deducted from the damage and the remainder applied to health.

Guard Damaging Abilities

 * Break Their Spirit
 * Guard-Smasher
 * Ring the Bell
 * Spirit Blade
 * Unblockable Force

Crafting materials that add damage to guard

 * Pyrophite
 * Summer Stone
 * Volcanic Aurum

Items that add damage to guard

 * Accuser's Staff
 * Avvar War-Maul
 * Bane of Red Crossing
 * Compound Crossbow Arms
 * Enhanced Ring of Guard Penetration
 * Knightslayer
 * Mark's Mangled Mace
 * Mhemet's War Hammer
 * Punched by the Maker
 * Pyre of the Forgotten
 * Ring of Guard Penetration
 * Ring of Smashing
 * Saboteur's Knife
 * Superb Ring of Guard Penetration
 * The Sunless Staff