Power Word: Shield

Power Word: Shield
Power Word: Shield (14 ranks) Priest ability 40 yd range 23%-26% Base mana 4 sec cooldown Instant Draws on the soul of the party member to shield them, absorbing X damage. Lasts 30 sec. While the shield holds, spellcasting will not be interrupted by damage. Once shielded, the target cannot be shielded again for 15 sec.
Properties
Class	Priest
School	Holy
Cooldown	4 seconds
Other information
Requirements	Target must not have Weakened Soul debuff and must be in your party/raid.
Improvements	[Improved Power Word: Shield], [Silent Resolve], [Mental Agility], [Reflective Shield], [Pain Suppression], [Borrowed Time], [Renewed Hope]
Related buff
Magic Power Word: Shield Absorbs damage. Duration: 30 seconds
Related debuff
Weakened Soul Cannot be affected by Power Word: Shield. Duration: 15 seconds

[[Category:priest abilities]][[Category:priest abilities]]

Power Word: Shield (abbr. PW:S) is a defensive priest ability available at level 6. It creates a protective shield around a friendly target which absorbs a set amount of damage. Power Word: Shield also gives the target the Weakened Soul debuff for 15 seconds, which prevents the target from being shielded.

Rank table

Rank	Base mana	Absorbed damage	Level	Cost
1	26%	44	6	1
2	26%	88	12	8
3	26%	158	18	29
4	26%	234	24	71
5	26%	301	30	85
6	26%	381	36	1 50
7	26%	484	42	1 98
8	26%	605	48	4 20
9	26%	763	54	5 80
10	26%	942	60	4 70
11	26%	1125	65	7 20
12	23%	1265	70	12 60
13	23%	1920	75	18
14	23%	2230	80	18

Notes

• The amount of damage absorbed by the shield is calculated after armor is taken into account. This means the shield will last longer on targets with more armor, and benefits from [Inner Fire].
• Counterspell effects will pierce the shield. Physical abilities like [Shield Bash] and [Kick] still cause interruption.
• Environmental damage (e.g. fall damage, lava, and fatigue) is not absorbed.
• Receives a 80.68% bonus from spell power (30% of +healing in Patch 2.3; 20% as of Patch 2.0.10, previously 10%)
• Generates about half the threat of normal healing spells.
• Cast time will not be affected by damage while Power Word: Shield is active. [Dazed] effects are mitigated.
• The shield appears to block suicide damage (from Warlock [Hellfire] and from Goblin Sapper Charges) , but does not affect damage from non-damaging spells that directly decrease health like [Life Tap].
• The shield will absorb damage from any harmful attack but does not defend against any debuff an attack may apply. For example, the shield will absorb the damage done by a Mage's Frostbolt, but the snare debuff will still be applied.

In the World of Warcraft: Trading Card Game.

Talent improvements

• [Twin Disciplines] increases the amount absorbed by the shield.
• [Improved Power Word: Shield] increases the amount of damage absorbed by the shield.
• [Silent Resolve] reduces threat gain from the shield and decreases its chance of being dispelled.
• [Mental Agility] reduces the mana cost of Power Word: Shield.
• [Focused Power] increases the amount absorbed by the shield.
• [Reflective Shield] causes partial damage absorbed by the shield to be reflected to the attacker, without increasing threat. Only works if the casting priest is the target of the shield.
• [Pain Suppression] is an activated talent which also decreases the chance of Power Word: Shield being dispelled.
• [Rapture] returns mana to the caster when the shield is fully absorbed.
• [Borrowed Time] increases spell haste by up to 25% on the next spell cast (with a cast time) after casting Power Word: Shield and increases spell power contribution to the amount absorbed.
• [Renewed Hope] increases critical strike chance on targets with Weakened Soul.

Glyph improvement

•  [Glyph of Power Word: Shield] (major) heals the target for 20% of the amount that the shield can absorb. This heal is able to crit, but does not proc [Divine Aegis].

Bugs

• [Twin Disciplines] and [Focused Power] do not apply correctly to the amount absorbed by the shield. The bonus they give adds instead of multiplies. Thus, when fully talented, the size of the shield is multiplied by 1.09 rather than being multiplied by 1.04 and 1.05.
•  [Glyph of Power Word: Shield] does not take into account the bonus from [Improved Power Word: Shield] when calculating the healing amount, but gains the bonus from [Focused Power] twice.

Tips and tactics

• Casting it before combat does not cause any threat and reduces the time until the target can be shielded again.
• A major disadvantage of the shield is that it is not a true healing spell, so it may wear off without having any impact. If the shield is cast on a player who will not be taking damage in the next 30 seconds, it is a waste of mana.
• Paladins want to be healed rather than shielded. They receive mana from heals, but not from Power Word: Shield. Paladin tanks have tiny mana pools and rely on healing or will go oom.
• Due to changes in rage/mana generation (especially with [Blessing of Sanctuary]), Power Word: Shield is more acceptable to place on tanks since 3.0.2.
• Many players state that Power Word: Shield should only be used in case of emergency because of its large mana cost.
• Power Word: Shield can also be seen as a way of pushing a tank's health beyond its normal limit. It is effective to Power Word: Shield before major attacks that will destroy the shield in one blow. Using it before Patchwerk's Hateful Strike or similar devastating attacks reduces the chance that a tank will die to a possible critical hit after such an attack.
• The effectiveness of Power Word: Shield is not altered by [Mortal Strike] and similar healing-reducing debuffs; in these situations it can sometimes be more effective to shield a tank first, rather than spam heals right away.
• This is useful for casters who are receiving damage, as it prevents spell interruption from damage, especially while they are channeling, and even the priest himself can benefit from this (especially in solo combat).
• The Weakened Soul debuff can be shortened to 13 seconds with the 4 piece bonus from Gladiator's Investiture.

Patch changes

• Template:Patched

External links

• Wowhead
• WoWDB