Blade Ward is a feature in the fifth edition of the Dungeons & Dragons game. It is a magic ability that allows a character to create a shield of blades that blocks all damage from any source. Blade Ward is an excellent ability to have in your party because it can help protect your allies from harm, and it can also be used as an offensive tool against enemies. When using Blade Ward, be sure to use caution as it can be very dangerous to use too much power at once.
While it’s not a great cantrip due to the reliability it can cause damage to it can be, the lightning bolt or the power which comes from prestidigitation could be thought as a bad decision.
Guidelines to follow for blade-ward which are can be found on page 218 of the Player’s Handbook, areas they include:
Blade Ward 5e
Abjuration cantrip
Time to Cast 1. action
Range Self
Components: V, S
Duration 1 round
Your hands are stretched out while you make a shield in the skies.
From the moment you finish your next session, you’ll be able to stand up to the bludgeoning, piercing and slashing damage that are caused by weapons.
According to these rules, the procedure is quite simple: you lose your ability to be immune to three kinds of physical harm.
There are some nuances that can be positive and negative. They need further study.
What is the reason? Blade Ward is not good?
The most significant and primary restriction on the spell comes because of the precision of its formula – be aware that resistance is a weapon-based ability that deals with damage kind.
If you experience bludgeoning and damaging and slashing from any method differentthan weapons, it does absolutely nothing against it.
Most likely , the most famous image of the issue is the fall damage that is 1d6 bludgeoning injury for every 10 feet you fall, which of 20d6 damages.
Spellcasters who wish to protect against this need to make use of to use the feather fallspell which will ignore any falling damage.
Hot Tip
When you have the quantity of hit points chances of surviving the fall from any height (even in space!) because the mean of 20d6 is approximately 70 points of damage!
Other physical causes of harm are more rare and usually stem from nature-based causes such as falling boulders or incidents like catapults.
Another limitation to the power of spells is it is the spell must be completed procedures to cast it..
It means that you cannot apply actions like Dash or Disengage, or use a spell to make an attack, etc.
If we look at the fields that is ” the action economy” and ” action economy,” we can see the reasons why this isn’t a great idea.
The typical D&D group consisting of four players (let’s take a look at that the classic group consisting of Fighter, Rogue, Wizard, and Cleric) will be faced with equal number of foes, including bandits.
In a full-on fight, every creature takes an opportunity to turn. This includes actions such as movements, actions, and bonuses actions and responses.
Since they are the same numbers, the action economy is described as balanced.
However, the Wizard in this particular instance, uses their abilities for casting swords but they do nothing to assist their side in winning the fight.
Yes it is true that the Wizard will be less likely suffer injury whenever bandits strike them, but they’ll be taking only half of the damage.
If the bandits strike at fellow members, and the other members of the group (excluding the wizard due to them throwing swords) could attack the bandits, that’s three attacks resulting due to what the entire party against the bandits’ actions.
If the party isn’t much more powerful or armed than the bandits, the basic math suggests that they’ll probably be unable to win the contest.
In this manner it will become evident that using your action to safeguard yourself typically not the right approach to adopt.
However, there are certain circumstances that require caution, which I’ll discuss further down.
Also Read: 5e Point Buy D&D Guide : Everything You Need To Know
What makes Blade Ward Great?
At first at first glance, blade wards can only be useful in specific circumstances, for example, when you are trapped in danger by the presence of an animal or enemy.
It is possible to use this magical spell to protect yourself throughout this spell in the hope to escape or trust other members of the party to assist you.
As I explained in my previous article on action economy, this spells aren’t perfect, however they can help you combat a horrific situation, and isn’t too bad for only one round of fighting.
But, assigning one of your options of cantrips on something made to stop any mishap that might occur isn’t something you can justify as being an excellent idea.
The value of the blade is a significant benefit Blade Ward is apparent when it is utilized in conjunction with certain subclasses that can help to offset this decrease in effectiveness of the actions.
The first can be described as that of the Eldritch Knight Fighter subclass. Eldritch Knights are able to learn as well as cast handful of magical spells from Wizard spell list, but they can only cast spells from the abjuration and Evocation class of magic.
Luckily, the blade-ward spell is an abjuration spell. Therefore, it’s a great option.
The synergy is apparent when we study the 7th level of the Eldritch Knight’s game feature: War Magic.
This allows the Eldritch Knight launch an attack which is a bonus when they are able to make use of this ability. the cantrip.
If you are facing a particularly challenging combat, it could be beneficial for an Eldritch Knight to focus on strengthening their defenses, rather than doing the greatest damage.
In this instance cutting a blade can be extremely effective as it allows the Eldritch Knight deal fewer harm, but strike at least one time each round.
The second comes from the Bladesinger Wizard subclass. At the level of 6 you can make use of a Bladesinger to attack twice due to the ability Extra Attack and can substitute one attack, allowing you to use an attack.
Similar to The Eldritch Knight above, allowing the Bladesinger to defend and attack at the same time However, it’s slightly better as this is built on one move per turn instead of an action or bonus.
Final Words
When used often, blade wardis an unsuitable option for cantrip.
If utilized in the right context and synergistically in a way which doesn’t negatively impact the financial aspects of the act, blade wardhas its advantages, and should not be regarded as an undesirable option.
