Shield

Category: Baldur’s Gate Spells

Level 1 Abjuration spell available to Sorcerers and Wizards. A Reaction that adds +5 Armour Class the instant before you are hit and makes you immune to Magic Missile. One of the best defensive spells in the game.

Spell description: When you are about to be hit by an enemy, use your Reaction to increase your Armour Class by 5. You also take no damage from Magic Missile. These effects last until the start of your next turn.

Spell properties

Range: Self
Duration: 1 turn
Conditions applied: +5 Armour Class. Immune to Magic Missile.
Cost: Reaction + Spell Slot
Recharge: Per turn

Spell upcasting

Casting Shield at higher levels provides no additional benefits.

How to obtain Shield

Sorcerer, Wizard, and The Hexblade (Warlock) at Class level 1
Arcane Trickster (Rogue) and Eldritch Knight (Fighter) at Class level 3
Granted by features: Magic Initiate: Sorcerer, Magic Initiate: Wizard
Source items: Amulet of the Harpers, Shield of Shielding, Elegant Studded Leather

When you are about to be hit by an enemy, use your Reaction to increase your Armour Class by 5. You also take no damage from Magic Missile. These effects last until the start of your next turn.

Range: Self

When to cast Shield

A Reaction that adds +5 Armour Class the instant before you get hit is one of the best defensive spells in the game. That +5 often turns a hit into a miss retroactively, and it lasts until your next turn, so it can dodge several attacks from one Reaction.

It also makes you completely immune to Magic Missile, which is the one spell your Armour Class normally cannot dodge. Keep a slot in reserve on any Wizard or Sorcerer and you will save yourself from a killing blow more than once.

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Spell properties

Level

Level 1

School

Abjuration

Casting resource

Reaction + Spell Slot

Damage type

Range

Self

Duration

1 turn

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Notes & sources

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Spell mechanics, descriptions and values are based on Baldur’s Gate 3 version 4.1.1.7209685 and may change with future patches. Where applicable, sources are cited within each article.

Copyright disclaimer & licensing

Some or all of this work is © Larian Studios. Some spell icons and game data are property of Larian Studios and used here under their fan content policy. Any fan-created works using content from Larian fall under: Larian Fan Content Policy and / or Baldur’s Gate 3 Fan Content Terms. Some of the icons used in these spell cards were downloaded from Sammy8932 on NexusMods.

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