Larian Studios Forums Baldur's Gate III Baldur's Gate III - Suggestions & Feedback Arcane Ward

On the net it says the following about Arcane Ward in BG 3:

"The ward has a maximum of 3 hit points and absorbs all damage done to you. When it is reduced to 0 hit points, you take the remaining damage, but the magic remains."

This is significantly different from in regular 5th Ed.

According the 5th Ed Arcane Ward last to your next long rest and us equal to twice your Wizard level plus your intelligence modifier.

So if the ability was gained by a 2nd level Wizard with 18 intelligence it would be worth 12 temporary hit points. This is really useful when combined with Mage Armour.

So the BG 3 version is significantly underpowered compared with regular 5th Ed in pen and paper.

I usually play an Abjuration school Wizard and hope the Devs make Arcane Ward more powerful.

This has been fixed as of Patch 4. I use to complain loudly about it. Though it is still temporary hit points instead of a hit point shield. But it does give you 2x level + Intelligence modifier. If you can find a Shield of Faith scroll, you can add it to your spellbook. Then use that spell to replenish your Ward. Unfortunately the Shield spell is not in the game yet, so SoF is a good substitute.

No Shield spell too? That's a must to include. Hope they fix it.

They should fix the visuals for Arcane Ward. Mage Armor and Arcane Ward make your Wizard look like a ridiculous flashing sparkling bubble 24/7.

The game doesn’t currently support reactions, and missing Shield spell is one consequence. They really, really need to get reactions working.