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Ward Mods & Items | How to restore Ward? | Ward Uniques |
Ward: An alternate Defence introduced in the Expedition League. Ward intercepts an amount of Damage taken from a single Hit, up to the total amount of Ward you have, before that Damage would be taken from your Energy Shield or Life. When this happens, Ward Breaks, and will be Restored after a short delay. Ward has no effect on further Hits while it remains Broken, but such Hits will also not reset the delay before it is Restored.
Path of Exile: Expedition introduced a new defence type, Ward. For Expedition base type items, instead of Armour, Evasion and Energy Shield, these items have Ward. Ward is a new defensive property. It protects you from all damage types, taking damage from a hit before your energy shield or life up to the amount of Ward you have. Ward is broken when any damage is taken from it, even if the damage taken was lower than the amount of Ward you have. Ward is instantly restored after 5 seconds. As the right example shown, the outmost is Ward, Shield is in the middle, and Life is in the innermost. A rare Runic Helm grants 73 Ward and get +39 to ward mods that improve it. Ward is a defence and Ward Restoration Time is 5 seconds. For the undead enemies you unearth in Expedition encounters, they also have Ward rather than traditional defenses. |
Ward, Exile, a beacon of hope against the relentless onslaught of enemy blows! It stands as a shield before your life, absorbing a portion of incoming damage and giving you precious moments to react. Let's delve into its intricacies and empower you to harness its defensive potential!
What is Ward?
Ward is a unique defense mechanic introduced in Path of Exile: Expedition League. Unlike traditional defenses like armor or evasion, Ward absorbs a set amount of damage from the first hit it takes each second. Think of it as a temporary barrier that shatters upon impact, buying you valuable breathing room in the heat of battle.
How does it work?
Ward has unique characteristics compared to other defenses:
Where do I find Ward?
Ward is primarily found on specific item bases from Expedition and Blight content:
Benefits of Ward:
Ward offers several advantages for a savvy Exile:
Considerations for Ward:
Remember, Ward has limitations:
Integrating Ward into your Build:
Embrace Ward, Exile, and watch your survivability soar! Use its unique strengths wisely, synergize it with your build, and let it stand as a testament to your resilience in the face of peril.
Base Type | Category | Ward Value(1) | Uniques | Requirement |
---|---|---|---|---|
Runic Helm | Helmet | 41 - 200 |
|
Level 25, 30 Str, 30 Dex, 30 Int |
Runic Crest | Helmet | 97 - 404 | Level 49, 55 Str, 55 Dex, 55 Int | |
Runic Crown | Helmet | 164 - 629 |
|
Level 68, 66 Str, 66 Dex, 66 Int |
Runic Greaves | Boots | 20 - 132 | Level 24, 20 Str, 20 Dex, 20 Int | |
Runic Sollerets | Boots | 52 - 359 |
|
Level 48, 37 Str, 37 Dex, 37 Int |
Runic Sabatons | Boots | 85 - 388 |
|
Level 69, 46 Str, 46 Dex, 46 Int |
Runic Gloves | Gloves | 24 - 141 | Level 24, 16 Str, 16 Dex, 16 Int | |
Runic Gages | Gloves | 62 - 272 |
|
Level 48, 31 Str, 31 Dex, 31 Int |
Runic Gauntlets | Gloves | 102 - 416 |
|
Level 69, 38 Str, 38 Dex, 38 Int |
Iron Flask | Flask |
|
|
Level 40 |
(1) Note that the ward value is only a reference and is not precise.
Increase base Ward on Expedition base types and adjust unique Expedition items that scale from ward.
Ward does not modify damage taken, it changes how/where you take damage. For example, a skill supported by CWDT will still count damage that breaks ward.
Damage breaks Ward before being taken from your life or energy shield, and breaking Ward is treated the same as taking an amount of that damage up to the value of your ward (thus that much damage from the hit doesn't get taken from life/mana/es). Aegises, Guard Skills, etc get at the damage first, so if all damage is taken from "external" things like those, there will be none left to break ward, and thus ward will not break.
However unlike all the other things that damage is taken from, Ward is not a pool that can be depleted. The value of ward is always the same, that value just doesn't do anything while it's broken. There is no "Maximum Ward" with a current value that changes to zero, there's just "Ward", and whether or not it's broken, which is a boolean state.
Ward is restored (stops being broken) after a set delay from when it was broken (default 5 seconds). As you correctly surmised, taking more hits while ward is broken has no effect on this.
Currently, there is no passive skill tree or gem related to ward.
When you’re hit, your Ward is completely depleted and reduces the damage dealt to you by that amount.
As the following example shown, when you are dealt with damage, Ward removes firstly, then decreases Shield, last decreases Life. Meanwhile, Ward will restore automatically after 5 seconds.
Image | Name | Stats | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Cadigan's Crown |
|
Base Type: Runic Crown Requires Level 68, 66 Str, 66 Dex, 66 Int Ward: 137 |
|
Elixir of the Unbroken Circle |
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Base Type: Iron Flask Requires Level 40 Lasts 3 Second Consumes 40 of 60 Charge on use Currently has 60 Charge +200 to Ward |
|
Faithguard |
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Base Type: Runic Helm Requires Level 25, 30 Str, 30 Dex, 30 Int Ward: 43 |
|
Medved's Challenge |
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Base Type: Runic Gauntlets Requires Level 69, 342 Str, 342 Dex, 342 Int Ward: 114 |
|
Nightgrip |
|
Base Type: Runic Gages Requires Level 48, 31 Str, 31 Dex, 31 Int Ward: 73 |
|
Olroth's Charge |
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Base Type: Runic Sollerets Requires Level 48, 37 Str, 37 Dex, 37 Int Ward: 86 |
|
Olroth's Resolve |
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Base Type: Iron Flask Requires Level 40 Lasts 3 Second Consumes 40 of 60 Charge on use Currently has 60 Charge +200 to Ward |
|
Starlight Chalice |
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Base Type: Iron Flask Requires Level 40 Lasts 3 Second Consumes 40 of 60 Charge on use Currently has 60 Charge +200 to Ward |
|
Vorana's March |
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Base Type: Runic Sabatons Requires Level 69, 46 Str, 46 Dex, 46 Int Ward: 85 |
|
Vorana's Preparation |
|
Base Type: Iron Flask Requires Level 40 Lasts 3 Second Consumes 40 of 60 Charge on use Currently has 60 Charge +200 to Ward |
Faithguard is a unique Runic Helm. This unique helmet allows you to go all-in with Ward as a defensive option for your character. It causes all increases to Energy Shield to affect your Ward instead, grants you a bunch of Ward, and helps it recover faster.
Requires Level 25, 30 Str, 30 Dex, 30 Int. Ward: 43.
Flavour text: The priests of the Kalguur worshipped knowledge, not gods. |
The way that Ward works is that you have a certain amount of it, and that amount is fully deducted from the first incoming hit that you receive. Your Ward is then disabled, and takes five seconds to re-enable. At that point, the next hit you receive is substantially mitigated in the same way. It’s quite a different style of defensive property, and works very well in conjunction with systems like Evasion, Block or Dodge.