super basic shield question

[Infiniti2000]

If it's against the first attack against you in a round, that's against -all- the attacks against you in that round. Unless your enemies have awesome time travel to go back in time to before you used the shield, it's as close to a full round as you'll need.

Maybe I'm missing something. Shield is an immediate interrupt, right? This means you don't use it during your turn. Thus, by strict definition it will never last a full round. If, as I said earlier, you happen to act after the person that caused you to want to trigger shield then the shield will only be used once (unless you happen to provoke). For instance:

Bad guy attacks you --> you use shield
You act, shield ends
Bad guys 2-5 act --> shield is useless

You'll only ever get (near) maximum usage if you happen act before the bad guy that's causing you to trigger.

 

[cdrcjsn]

Yeah, shield is usually the default Wizard utility 2 spell for most people.

But if you're a smart wizard, it will rarely come into play if you position yourself properly. It's more useful for an up-close type of wizard (possibly one with plenty of close burst/blast powers).

I've had great fun with Jump though.

Not only is it useful to actually use to enhance Athletic checks to get over an obstacle, but I've been using it to clear allies from area effect spells.

Even an ally that's untrained with athletics will roll high enough for a minimum of two squares of free movement, with four+ squares being average.

That's usually enough to clear allies away to drop a stinking cloud or other area effect.

You'll still have to watch out for OAs if they're adjacent to an enemy, but if the adjacent foe is marked by an ally, it's usually smart to provoke OAs anyways to get an extra attack in from the defender (depending on the type of defender).

 

[DracoSuave]

Maybe I'm missing something. Shield is an immediate interrupt, right? This means you don't use it during your turn. Thus, by strict definition it will never last a full round. If, as I said earlier, you happen to act after the person that caused you to want to trigger shield then the shield will only be used once (unless you happen to provoke). For instance:

Bad guy attacks you --> you use shield
You act, shield ends
Bad guys 2-5 act --> shield is useless

You'll only ever get (near) maximum usage if you happen act before the bad guy that's causing you to trigger.

You act.
Bad guys 2-5 won't attack because they suspect you have shield.
Bad guy 1 attacks, you use shield.
You act, shield ends.

In this case, shield has affected an entire round.

Tactics-based games can be psychological.