Runic Barrier

Overview

A ward with no shield. Raise the Runic Barrier from runes and every blow that lands on you is split between Health and Mana, turning your Mana into a second Health bar. Keeping it up costs you Mana Regeneration.

Rune combination

Everything is cast with Dez → Shim. What you get depends on Runic Prefix and whether the barrier is already standing:

	No barrier up	Barrier already up
Without Runic Prefix	Raise Runic Barrier	Dismiss Runic Barrier
With Runic Prefix	Raise Runic Barrier Amplified	Dismiss Runic Barrier Amplified

Dismissal needs no passive skill — any caster who can raise the barrier can take it down again.

Runic Barrier

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• Lasts 300 seconds
• Each blow sends 60% of its damage to Health and charges a further 60% to Mana
• Grants Impact Resistance +15% but lowers Mana Regeneration by 0.34 per second while it stands

Runic Barrier Amplified

• Requires Runic Prefix
• Lasts 450 seconds
• Each blow sends 50% of its damage to Health and charges a further 50% to Mana
• Grants Impact Resistance +20% but lowers Mana Regeneration by 0.34 per second while it stands

How the Runic Barrier works

• The Health share goes through your armour exactly as it normally would: Protection or Barrier applies, then Resistances reduce the damage to its final value
• The Mana share is charged the same way: Protection or Barrier applies, then Mana Cost Reduction lowers what you actually pay
• Protection and Barrier never stack on the same damage — Protection only reduces Physical damage, Barrier only elemental damage. A blow carrying both types meets both, each on its own part of the damage, as the example shows
• Against a blow carrying several elemental types, Barrier reduces only one of them — vanilla's rule, which the Mana share follows too
• If a blow costs more Mana than you have, the barrier spends what is left, the rest lands on your Health and the barrier collapses
• Running out of Mana from any source ends it
• Each absorbed blow answers with a flare and a sound, so you can hear the barrier working
• Floating blue embers and rising runes surround you while it stands

Example

A character with 50% Physical Resistance, 20% Ethereal Resistance, 2 Protection, 2 Barrier and 20% Mana Cost Reduction, struck for 50 Physical and 50 Ethereal damage.

Runic Barrier — 60% to Health, 60% to Mana:

Damage	Health	Mana
Physical	50 × 0.6 = 30, −2 (Prot) = 28, × 0.5 (Res) = 14.0	28 × 0.8 (Mana Cost) = 22.4
Ethereal	50 × 0.6 = 30, −2 (Bar) = 28, × 0.8 (Res) = 22.4	28 × 0.8 (Mana Cost) = 22.4
Total	36.4 Health	44.8 Mana

Runic Barrier Amplified — 50% to Health, 50% to Mana:

Damage	Health	Mana
Physical	50 × 0.5 = 25, −2 (Prot) = 23, × 0.5 (Res) = 11.5	23 × 0.8 (Mana Cost) = 18.4
Ethereal	50 × 0.5 = 25, −2 (Bar) = 23, × 0.8 (Res) = 18.4	23 × 0.8 (Mana Cost) = 18.4
Total	29.9 Health	36.8 Mana

Compatibility

• Requires SideLoader
• Works alongside any mod that changes rune magic, as long as the Dez → Shim combo stays free
• Not compatible with Runes Redone, which already contains the Runic Barrier
• Tested in single player and in co-op; in co-op every player needs the mod installed

Thanks and credit

• Thanks to my dear friend Rogismund, who helped me design the split this mod is built on and sits through the most tedious co-op sessions hunting online bugs with me
• Thanks to Sinai for SideLoader and for all their incredible work
• Thanks to Joh-Benji and Proboina for all the help they have given me!
• Thanks to the entire modding community that has tirelessly made (and is making!) my favourite game go from epic to legendary

Contacts

• Join our Outward modding community Discord server
• If you have any bugs to report or want to give feedback, here's my Discord workshop channel