Shield Wall (Inquisition)

For the talent in Dragon Age: Origins, see Shield Wall (Origins).

For the talent in Dragon Age II, see Shield Wall (Dragon Age II).

Shield Wall is a warrior ability from the Weapon and Shield tree in Dragon Age: Inquisition.

Information[]

Damage reduction:
- Front-facing melee attacks: 100%
- Front-facing ranged attacks: 100% (e.g. arrows and dragon fireballs)
- Non-directional effects: 100% (e.g. burning and traps)
Guard gained:
- Front-facing melee attacks restore a percentage of Max Guard based on the Attacker's Rank:
  - Grunt: 10%
  - Lieutenant: 20%
  - Heavy: 33.3%
  - Miniboss: 33.3%
  - Boss: 50%
- Front-facing ranged attacks restore 10% of Max Guard, irrespective of the attacker
- Non-directional effects: 0
Cost:
- Front-facing melee attacks consume stamina based on the Attacker's Rank:
  - Grunt: 9
  - Lieutenant: 19
  - Heavy: 39
  - Miniboss: 39
  - Boss: 49
- Front-facing ranged attacks: 10 stamina
- Non-directional effects: 0 stamina
Stamina regeneration: disabled while active
Movement speed: -85%

Notes[]

Upon activation, the warrior is placed in a defensive stance and moves more slowly. Performing any other action deactivates Shield Wall. This stance can be toggled off by pressing the Shield Wall ability again.
In general, blocking front-facing melee attacks generate more guard but consume more stamina the higher the attacker's rank. Take for example a warrior with a maximum guard of 50. When struck by an Outlaw (Grunt rank), the warrior generates 50 * 0.10 = 5 guard and consumes 9 stamina. When struck by a high dragon (Boss rank), the warrior generates 50 * 0.5 = 25 guard and consumes 49 stamina.
All front-facing ranged attacks generate 10% of maximum guard and cost 10 stamina, irrespective of the attacker.
Most non-directional effects, such as burning and traps, generate no guard but cost no stamina either, making Shield Wall an effective way to negate all damage from such sources.

Upgrades[]

Chevalier's Step

Activated
Range: 4 meters
Requires: Shield Wall

When you use Shield Wall, your movement is not slowed as much. You also protect nearby allies by giving them improved armor.

Range: 4 meters
Armor Bonus: 30%

Immovable Object

Upgrade
Requires: Trespasser

Blocking with Shield Wall costs less stamina and generates more guard, but you cannot move while blocking.

Bugs[]

If the caster drops below 35 stamina with Shield Wall active, Shield Wall can no longer be deactivated normally (by using the ability again) in tactical mode. It can still be deactivated by casting another ability or making an autoattack. An unofficial fix for pcis available here.