Holy Shield

Enhances your shield with divine power.

Holy Shield is a level 24 Paladin Combat skill that requires Charge and Blessed Hammer. It is a buff on the Paladin that lasts minutes and needs a shield: more defense, a higher chance to block, and extra shield damage that Smite uses. Two numbers decide it: the defense bonus, +25% at level 1 and +310% at level 20, and the block bonus, +14% at level 1 and +35% at level 20 on a curve that flattens early.

The numbers

The defense bonus is Param3 25 as the baseline and Param4 +15 a level: +310% at level 20, +460% at level 30. The block bonus is the table's dm56, a diminishing curve between Param5 10 and Param6 40: 14% at level 1, 25% at level 5, 35% at level 20, 37% at level 30. The duration is Param1 750 frames plus Param2 625 frames a level, divided by 25: 30 seconds at level 1 and 25 seconds more a level, 505 seconds (8 minutes 25 seconds) at level 20. The shield damage comes from the MinDam/MaxDam columns and their brackets: 3–6 at level 1, then +2 a level to level 8, +3 to 16 and +4 past that, 57–60 at level 20. Mana is 35 at every level, and the row's InTown flag is set: you can cast it in town. Every line reads lvl, so +skills from gear count.

How it works

Holy Shield is a self-buff with the row's holyshield state; it has no target, no hit check and no damage of its own. Its three effects, from the table's aura stats and the Basin's page:

• The defense bonus (aurastatcalc2) applies to your total defense, not just the shield's, but only while a shield is equipped. See Defense Rating for what defense buys against a monster's attack rating.
• The block bonus (aurastat1 = toblock) adds to your chance to block directly, on top of the shield's own and any Increased Chance of Blocking from items; the chance is still capped as Blocking describes.
• The shield damage is added to the shield's damage before +% damage is applied, which is what Smite uses; see Smite.
• The Basin's page says the buff also gives an effective +50% faster block rate (Faster Block Rate).

The Basin's page adds the recasting rule: the level at the time of casting is what applies. Casting a lower level over a higher one does not overwrite it (it only costs the mana); an equal level resets the duration; a higher level overwrites a lower one.

The character screen adds Holy Shield's damage to Smite at your current skill level, not at the level the buff was cast at. The buff is what counts.

Synergies and +skills

One skill feeds Holy Shield, read as hard points (blvl):

• Defiance: +15% defense a point (Param8). Twenty hard points add +300%, as much as Holy Shield's own twenty levels add above the base.

The block bonus, the duration and the shield damage have no synergy. Holy Shield feeds nothing; its shield damage is what Smite swings with.

Against players

Holy Shield is a buff on the caster and never touches a player; the defense and block bonuses apply against a player's attacks exactly as against a monster's. See Player versus Player for how a player's hit on you is cut.

Build notes

• Level 20 reads +310% defense, +35% blocking, 57–60 shield damage and 8 minutes 25 seconds for 35 mana, cast in town.
• The block curve is front-loaded: level 5 is already 25% of the 35% at level 20, while the defense and the shield damage grow linearly; the last points are for Smite's damage and defense, not for blocking.
• +skills raise every line, so a point from gear is worth a hard point here; Defiance hard points are worth +15% defense each and nothing else to this buff.