What do Ward spells actually *do*?

[TooMuchAbstraction]

I know the Ward of Thoughts, Ward of Steel, etc. spells are supposed to improve your defenses against various types of assaults, but does anyone know how they function or how effective they are? Ward of Thoughts certainly isn't remotely foolproof -- my fighters still get charmed routinely despite a level-3 ward being up. It's hard to tell how effective Ward of Elements is, too. The game doesn't tell you any hard numbers, of course (it seems reluctant to reveal its formulae in general in fact). A quick dig in the resource files didn't reveal anything obvious either. Any ideas?

[Lilith]

Nobody knows for sure how effective Ward of Thoughts is or even exactly how it works, but Ward of Steel and Ward of Elements actually show their effects on your characters' armour or resistances if you look at their character sheets before and after casting it. From memory, I think they reduce damage by something like 20/25/30% at levels 1, 2 and 3 respectively, but I could be a little bit off.

 

edit: I checked Strategy Central and yep, Ward of Steel is 20/25/30% protection from physical and acid, and Ward of Elements is the same for fire, cold and energy. They stack multiplicatively with any other sources of resistance you have, and they're still subject to the overall 90% cap on resistances.

[TooMuchAbstraction]

Okay, thanks for the info! That's helpful...and confirms my suspicion that Ward of Elements is the only one really worth using in the late-game, when your tank(s) are nearly immortal against melee and, hopefully, keeping the pressure off of your squishier characters.

[Slawbug]

Keep in mind that Ward of Steel is the one that covers poison and acid, as well.

[TooMuchAbstraction]

Yes; that's mostly relevant for Mung Demons, who tend to show up with other elemental demons in tow. So it's easier to just leave Elemental Ward up and save my priest's SP.