Barrier Warrior: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

{{quote|'''Dark Cure Mint:''' The difference between me and you is that your powers only protect you!<br />

''(later, when Dark Mint is killed)''<br />

The [[Barrier Warrior]] is a character with the [[Magic and Powers]] necessary to create [[Deflector Shields]] or [[Beehive Barrier|Beehive Barriers]] to protect themselves and sometimes others. The Barrier Warrior fights enemies with an emphasis not on [[The Dark Side|destruction,]] but on protecting, and [[Personality Powers|their personalities reflects this]] by being kind and caring, with [[Actual Pacifist]] tendencies and sometimes [[Healing Hands]] to go with their defensive abilities. It should come as no surprise that characters with this ability as their main or only power are, you guessed it, heroes. Usually, they're [[The Chick]], a [[Squishy Wizard]] or [[The Smart Guy]]. In video games they specialize in protecting and aiding team mates, or [[Status Buff|"buffing"]], rather than damaging enemies.

Frequently their barriers manifest depending on their morality (and may even change appearance if they [[Face Heel Turn|change]] [[Heel Face Turn|sides]]). It's either as beautiful (and deadly) [[Petal Power]] or [[Power Glows|gently glowing]] spheres, or black barriers that crackle ominously.

Compare [[Stone Wall]] or [[Magic Knight]].

== [[Anime]] ==

** Cures Sunshine (and her mascot Potpourri) and Moonlight in ''[[Heartcatch Pretty Cure]]'' can also cast rather big shields. Sunshine in particular used her Sunflower Aegis to attack back when she made her first appearance.

** Though considering Mai's power mainly consists of pyrokinesis and summoning a giant dragon with its very own [[Wave Motion Gun]], her shield does not really make her a [[Barrier Warrior]].

** Sister Yukariko would be a better fit to the trope. She is also an example of [[The Archer]].

** Also, Hachigen "Hachi" Ushoda from the Vizards. As a shinigami, he was a [[Functional Magic|kidou specialist]]. As a Vizard, he remains the group's [[Magic Knight]] and [[Barrier Warrior]]. He's so good and specialised at this that he can even use his barriers and shields to decapitate his enemies. {{spoiler|With the aid of a captain (Soifon), he was the only Vizard to beat an Espada}}.

* In ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion]]'', each Eva and major villain fight through the use of "absolute terror" fields, powerful forcefields that can deflect bullets and even antimatter bombs, and can only be reliably disabled through a stronger "absolute terror" field or through [[Wave Motion Gun|ridiculously big guns]]. Rather than being pacifistic team players, though, the Eva are frighteningly violent, and the strength of the absolute terror field comes from the desire for isolation.

* In the ''[[Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha]]'' series, barrier powers are a dime-a-dozen, but some mages are demonstrably better at them than others.

** [[Badass Bookworm|Yuuno Scrya]] is the only mage in the entire extended series who doesn't have a [[Magic Wand|magic-boosting Device]], [[Crippling Overspecialization|and his talent at conventional offensive magic is weak]], so he's a second-tier fighter at best. However, he excells in a support-and-protection role in combat; his barriers and defenses are at least as effective as those of the Device-using mages. He also has the ability to capture enemies with strong binds, [[Razor Floss|rip them to pieces with magical razor-chains]], or simply [[Tele Frag|teleport them enemies against their will]]. (It's not so much that Yuuno lacks spells to defeat others, but rather that his best options for doing so are all extremely lethal.)

** Halfway through the original series, the SDF Macross engineers found a way to produce an omnidirectional barrier that could spread outwards, like a sphere, to cover the entire ship. Unfortunately, the feedback from enemy attacks caused it to overload and [[Sphere of Destruction|explode violently]], destroying a sizable chunk of Ontario and resulting in the Macross being forbidden from entering Earth's atmosphere again. By the [[Final Battle]], however, it had been perfected into a fully-functional shield.

* Nozomi Daichi from ''The Daichis: Earth Defense Family'' uses an [[Parasol of Pain|umbrella]] that generates force fields.

* Mage-type characters in CLAMP works are typically capable of this. Most notable:

** Master Clef in ''[[Magic Knight Rayearth]]'', who once threw up a shield around an entire castle to defend it from an interstellar warship's [[Energy Weapons|gigantic plasma beam]].

** Fuu Hououji, also from ''[[Magic Knight Rayearth]]'', whose Winds of Protection are capable of stopping any attack (as well as [[The Medic|healing diverse injuries]]), if she's prepared for it. Otherwise, her shields eventually buckle and suffer [[The Worf Effect]].

** There is also a single instance of Lelouch finding a non-defensive use for the shield, near the end of the series: {{spoiler|Holding open a hole in [[Kill Sat|Damocles']] own shield so that Suzaku and some [[Mook|Mooks]] can get inside and lead a direct attack.}}

* Megumi Kurogane of ''[[Gate Keepers]]'' is of the versatile variety, creating giant walls to block enemy attacks, as well as using said walls to crush them. {{spoiler|This power is inverted into a piercing ability after her [[Face Heel Turn]]}}.

** Her [[Evil Counterpart]] [[Expy]], Romio, uses this in ''[[Pretty Sammy|Magical Project S]]''.

** Katsuhito - Tenchi's grandfather, has similar shields, but he only uses them for defense, preferring the [[Cool Sword|Tenchi-ken]] for offense.

* [[Scrapped Princess|Raquel Casull's]] barrier spells demonstrate that sometimes the best offense is a good defense. Though she does employ standard offensive magic as well, both for attacking and [[Mundane Utility|cooking.]]

* Acao from ''[[Jinki Extend]]'' can crush metal with her fields.

* ''[[Heroman]]'': Joey's gauntlet allows him to throw up small but apparently very strong force fields.

* Kyle from ''[[Psyren]]'' can create dense pockets of air with his psy. Not only does he defend with them, but he uses the blocks to crush foes as well as a platforms for maneuvers. {{spoiler|His future version}} vastly improves on the defensive capabilities of them and can block all but the strongest attacks from all directions.

* While all of the Witches from ''[[Strike Witches]]'' can use magical barriers (though [[Smug Super|Eila]] prefers to rely on her [[High-Speed Missile Dodge|dodging abilities]]), [[Chivalrous Pervert|Yoshika]] has so far the biggest and most powerful barrier amongst them. She's also [[The Medic]] and, strangely, the main character.

* Subverted with [[Captain America]], whose sole weapon - his iconic indestructible shield - is, when thrown, a great offensive weapon against most people.

** During a period when his shield was lost or destroyed (around the fifth or sixth time... it happens to him a lot), Cap was given an energy shield which acted in this way. Being a traditionalist, he quickly went back to the old shield once it was found/rebuilt.

* [[Booster Gold]], late of the ''[[Justice League of America]],'' is a huge subversion. He's a [[Idiot Hero|pompous dimwit]] with super strength and a one-track mind, and he rarely even thinks of using his force field in critical situations.

** He's been using it more recently and in more creative ways, such as wiring up his forcefield with his blasters to blast the area in a burst so he wouldn't get mindcontroled. One of the reasons he didn't use it so often was because it might weaken his immune system.

* Samaritan of ''[[Astro City]]'' manipulates an "Empyrean field", which is strong enough to repulse a tidal wave.

* In his very first appearance, Magneto created a forcefield around an entire military base to keep the [[X-Men]] away. Occasionally, writers still remember that he can do that.

* Subverted in Buffy Season 8. Giles fights a sorcerer with much greater proficiency in magic than him and is mocked for casting a basic barrier spell that any competent mage could tear through. Giles however, casts the barrier inside his opponents head and as it expands, his skull explodes from the pressure. Brutal killing with a simple defensive spell.

* Rampart in ''[[Sovereign Seven]]'' had this as his power.

== [[Literature]] ==

* Kharl in [[Saga of Recluce]] uses Order Barriers as his main ability often using them to not just protect himself but to suffocate enemies while deflecting firebolts at armies of soldiers.

* In ''[[Harry Potter (Franchise)/Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows|Harry Potter]]'', Harry, in the final stage of the [[Final Battle|Battle of Hogwarts]] casts only [[Protective Charm|shield charms,]] due to [[Faking the Dead|him playing dead]] until his dramatic reveal.

* Harry Dresden qualifies. Over the course of ''[[The Dresden Files]]'' series, he's used various bracelets to create both convex and flat shields. Up until {{spoiler|his hand got burned to a waxy crisp (the shield blocked the physical effects of fire but not the heat it produced)}} it primarily shielded against objects and other kinetic energy. He made sure the next version of the focus corrected that little flaw.

* [[Dune]] The Atreides family specializes in shield-based combat, which is a detriment on Arrakis.

* While his personality is a [[The Everyman|total blank]], Ness from ''[[Earthbound]]'' has the power set and is arguably an example who is also [[The Hero]]. Due to his party's ability setup, Ness is a case where this actually helps him shake off enemy attacks instead of receiving [[The Worf Effect]].

** Actually, Poo can also use a similar shield setup to Ness as well, and in fact a BETTER version which allows him to shield all his allies at once, whereas Ness's shields can only be added to one ally per turn.

** Still more, Lucas possesses half-damage reduction forms of both the Physical and PSI shields [both blocking and deflective] in ''Mother 3'' and a lot of his use in combat relies on him using these shields in the later half of the game.

* In ''[[City of Heroes]]'' the Defender archetype uses this type of powers, and shares weaker versions of them with the Controller; additionally villains get their own versions in Corruptors and Masterminds. Four of the power sets available work primarily by putting shields of some kind on other characters (or in the case of the Mastermind, a bunch of henchmen!), including Force Fields, Ice Shields, Sonic Barriers and Thermal Radiation Shields. The other Buff/Debuff sets vary widely but several include auxiliary barrier powers. All of these various powers are so potent that a team composed heavily of support characters can truly be [[Nigh Invulnerable]].

** Mages are probably the ones with the most buffs that act as shields, most of which also can be used outright offensively just by being there and getting hit by enemies. They have molten armor, which on top of lowering the attacker's crit chance on the mage actually does fire damage to the attacker. They have frost armor, which raises their armor value and, depending on how far down you go into the frost specialization of their magic, will slow any melee attacker to varying degrees and outright chance-on-hit freeze them in their tracks. THEN they have the literal stop-all-incoming-damage shields, Mana Shield (which eats through lots of mana and kinda sucks) and Ice Barrier which on top of being a very effective defense will also explode and freeze all enemies in range of the mage when it takes its max damage. Oh, and they have two "wards" that absorb any incoming fire or frost damage and, if glyphed, can actually convert part of said absorbed spell into their own mana.

* [[Warhammer Online]] has several healer classes with barrier or damage reduction abilities, most notably the Chaos Zealot (and its [[Our Dwarves Are All the Same|stunty]] equivalent the Runepriest) - they have barriers to shield their entire party, single targets, or prevent damage to themselves; they can buff to reduce incoming magic damage; they have tactics to increase the armor of allied players or put up a barrier on themselves; finally, they have two separate morale abilities to absorb damage across the party.

** In nearly all of his incarnations, the Carbuncle summon is the magical counterpart to Golem, projecting a reflect shield over your party to deflect most magic spells.

*** And against the Shield Dragon itself, if you want to hit it with magic, you'll have to duplicate its own strategy and bounce spells off your own Reflect-shielded party members.

* Several rings in ''[[Gaia Online|zOMG!]]'' are shield based, but the closest thing to an outright barrier warrior is the Chef (yes, chef) Ring Set. In addition to receiving a natural armor bonus, the Chef also has access to Teflon Spray (one of the most useful Armor Buffs in the game), Pot Lid (which can deflect ranged attacks with ease), and Meat (which can nearly double your maximum health). Due to the energy based nature of all ''zOMG!'' skills, it could be said that the Chef set is actually summoning G'hi Shields to protect his/herself and his/her allies. Or, you could pretend that he/she is really spraying Teflon all over themselves. It's that kind of game.

** Unfortunately, a recent update that rebalanced the rings and ring sets removes some of this: the Chef set trades Teflon Spray for Hack (an attack ring), and its bonus is now to Dodge rather than Armor. However, apparently it is now considered the new "best" set to have. Plus Dodge controls whether you're hit in the first place, so that can be even better than the best defense.

* [[Kirby]] has ''three'' different [[Barrier Warrior]] powers that he can absorb. The [[Taken for Granite|Stone]] power allows him to change into an invincible rock that can [[Rocks Fall, Everyone Dies|fall onto people]], the [[Beehive Barrier|Mirror]] power can spray harmful crystals that reflect enemies' attacks back on them, and the [[Improbable Weapon User|Parasol]] power shields against [[Death From Above]] and has a hefty swat.

* In Mass Effect, all combat armor uses "kinetic barriers" known colloquially as "shields" to intercept bullets. Most characters get the Shield Boost ability, which rapidly recharges shields in combat. Tech based characters get omni-tools and the Electronics talent, which add to shields (especially Electronics). But the biotic characters get the Barrier talent, which generates temporary shields from their own bodies. Maxed out, Barrier grants nearly twice the shielding as any other character and lasts nearly as long as it takes to cast it again. However, the three biotic classes can also get an ability Barrier Specilization, which dramatically lengthens the ability's duration and shields, while providing constant regeneration. The end result is that a [[Squishy Wizard]] style character can take as much dakka as the game cares to throw at him, with only a handful of attacks posing any kind of threat even at the highest difficulty levels.

** In [[Mass Effect]] 2, the Sentinel class has access to the 'tech armor' ability, which projects a form of holographic armor over your character's normal combat armor, providing a tremendous boost to your shields. Unless your (buffed) shields are depleted, it will never go down. When it does go down, an explosion is triggered, which is great for gaining some breathing room when surrounded by melee enemies. As you put more skill points into it, it becomes far stronger, eventually to the point where it doubles your shields. The thing that makes it really [[Game Breaker|gamebreaking]] is that when you do cast it, it restores your shields up to their buffed maximum, even from entirely depleted shields. Even better, it can usually be cast again as soon as your shields go down, providing you with virtually limitless shield power (only if you're willing to mostly forego the Sentinel's other tech and biotic abilities, which also trigger global cooldown). Essentially, if used right, it makes you invincible. Fun stuff.

* Stacking Arcane Shield, Fade Shroud, and Rock Armor onto a mage in [[Dragon Age]] makes them tougher than any warrior in the game. Yes, the [[Squishy Wizard]] just out-tanked the tank.

** To say nothing of the absolute [[Game Breaker]] that is Shimmering Shield, which, at the cost of a significant mana drain, makes the mage essentially [[Made of Iron]], with extra armor, 75% resist all magical damage, and 75 physical and mental resistance.

* In ''[[Second Sight]],'' just about every single psychic in the game has the ability to create force fields, from the bulletproof NSE shock troops to the Zener Children- who are all but invincible on top of being some of the most powerful psychics in the game. Depressingly enough, the main character doesn't get this ability.

* A force field that lasts a few minutes is a powerup in ''[[Backyard Sports|Backyard Football]]''.

* Use of the Riot Shield in the ''[[Call of Duty]] Modern Warfare'' games, though care must be taken to avoid getting shot in the legs or back.

** [[Miko|Reimu Hakurei]] is a subversion. First, her barriers are extremely offensive in nature. Second, she's the main character.

* In ''[[The Lost Vikings]]'' you control three viking warriors, one with the power to jump, and to smash through things with his head. One with a sword and a bow. And one with a shield to protect himself and the others from enemy attacks.

* ''[[Starcraft]] 2'' is a curious example, since it doesn't involve a character but a unit - the Protoss Sentry, whose Force Field ability can be devastating in the hands of a skilled player, especially when used to cut off enemy units passing through a chokepoint.

* Guild Wars' Monk has a substantial number of shielding powers, ranging from damage limiters (some of which reduce the max damage any one can take; others lower the damage each consecutive attack deals) to blocking powers (giving the subject an increased chance to block attacks completely) to converting all incoming damage to healing. The Ritualist has a few abilities with similar, but less effective, effects.

* Aqua in ''[[Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep]]'' has some useful Barrier powers. Her default guard is a magic barrier, her counter attack after blocking is to shatter the barrier, and she has the ability to rush enemies with a barrier up.

*** There is also a wizard nobody that falls into [[Demonic Spider]] territory due to the use of indestructable transparent blocks that it uses for both offense and defense.

* Unusually for a [[Bullet Hell]] [[Shoot'Em Up|shmup]], ''[[Hellsinker]]'' heavily uses a suppression shield as a gameplay mechanic. The shield, which looks like a blue circle surrounding the player's craft, can damage enemies and slow bullets down. Some attacks are almost impossible to avoid without it, but other times using it will land you in a world of hurt.

** Fossilmaiden also has an extra shield attached to the hilt of her [[Laser Blade]].

* Mori Motonari of ''[[Sengoku Basara]]'' combines this with [[Trap Master]]. One of his abilities includes creating light barriers that bounce people off of them. If done correctly, he can make trap enemies between two barriers, bouncing them off each other and killing bosses incredibly quick.

* Elh from ''[[Solatorobo]]'', though the barrier spell is extremely draining and only used as a last-ditch resort (and only in cutscenes; you aren't given the option of asking for a little help during a fight).

== [[Web Comics]] ==

* Laura of [[Collar 6]] was recently revealed to be this.

== [[Western Animation]] ==

* Arguably, Ratchet from ''[[Transformers Animated]]''. His main ability comes from his wrist-mounted magnetic field generators, which he often uses to create shields against enemy attacks. They're a bit more malleable than the average [[Deflector Shields]], though, and they can can just as easily toss enemies around or push objects into them.

** In the original ''[[Transformers]]'', Trailbreaker also had force field powers.

* [[Bionicle|Toa Tahu]] wears the [[Mask Power|Mask of Shielding]], which protects him against attack by creating a bubble shield (which is covered in [[Instant Runes]] in the Flash animations but not in the movies) capable of protecting him from a ''[[What Do You Mean It's Not Awesome?|waterfall of lava]]''. When he becomes a [[Plot-Relevant Age-Up|Toa Nuva]], the mask gains the ability to protect others as well. However, it does not protect against attacks that the wearer is unaware of, and sometimes you can get around it by doing something that would not be interpreted as an attack -- for example, Nuhvok-Kal managed to reach through the shield with the power of his [[Improbable Weapon User|gravity weapon]] and cause Tahu to faceplant, bringing the shield down.

** Tahu's also a subversion as far as personality is concerned, as he's as [[Hot-Blooded]] as they come and not prone to running and hiding behind cover (though he's mellowed a bit in that regard).

* Maguro of [[Sushi Pack]] can use her psychic powers to create a force field that's large enough to shield the whole group, and strong enough to keep anyone under it from being crushed, even by beings much, much larger than she is.

* In ''[[Challenge of the Go Bots]],'' Leader-1 had this ability. However, it took a lot of energy and was exhausting for him, so he could only maintain a forcefield for a couple of minutes at a time.

* In ''[[Rollbots]]'', Lance's only power is being able to create force-fields around himself, which he uses in more or less every fight he is in. It's ironic, because he has demonstrated on at least one occasion [[Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass|some fighting prowess.]]

{{reflist}}