I'm finally playing a character who uses wards, not just against spells, but against arrows, melee weapons - any time he might get hurt. Trying to experiment and see how useful they are.

[I know wards are generally considered weak. Cons include a constant Magicka drain, tying up a hand for other spells/weapons/whatever, and a stagger effect when anything punches through them. Pros include the ability to shut out dragon fire and the fact that you can still attack/cast with your other hand while using a ward - unlike when using a shield, even the much-vaunted Spellbreaker.]

So, in Bleak Falls Barrow, that giant frostbite spider launched a spray of poison. My ward goes up - poison blocked!

Nice! Now to see if it works against Chaurus. Fingers crossed...

Any other uses for wards? Or just comments on their usefulness in general?

the hard part is having a strong enough ward, you really have to invest into restoration a lot to get ones that don't fail hard vs foes attacks (it's one reason I'd actually stack restoration reduction items)

Yeah, I'm planning to get some cost-reduction for Restoration with this character, definitely. Especially since I'm also raising Health and a bit of Stamina.

Nice find, you know wards work against shouts right? Some people don't realize shouts are spells and dragon fire/frost breath are shouts.

yeah but how often do you have enough time to brace for a shout? I'm usually running for something to hide behind LOL

But wards against arrows? Oh that sounds cool. Never thought of that.

It's not that hard to time. Last I played a ward-using character I got it right at least half of the times, or more. You get a feeling for how long it is in between the dragons' shouts.

If you want a decent ward before while you're still getting your Resto up then I'd suggest Peryite's Shield.

I was using the shield while I was training it up. It blocked most attacks. It has a decent powered ward and since it doesn't cost Magicka it is useful for beginners.

Yeah the ward will work against a Chaurus.

If I'm playing a pure mage build then I'll use wards extensively as they're quite useful against Dragons' shouts. Eventually I'll pick up the 3-tiered Magic Resistance perk, Lord Stone, the Agent of Mara, and the right enchantments making wards unnecessary. I really like the aesthetics of the ward though so I find myself casting them just for the hell of it anyway.

ha true but if you're a strong mage with powerful wards then there's nothing to fear and run from

I've only managed to play one "strong mage" and she never cast a ward in her life other then at the college. She survived by brute overwhelming destructive magic.

I often go with pure Destruction mages with 100 Health who only use Restoration for very occasional healing (since half the time they just plain die if they get hit), so I never had the armor or health pool to feel strong enough to "experiment" with Wards. It always seemed like suicide. "OK, so I just... hold my hand up and... let them HIT me??!!!" So it's fun to actually be in a position to use Wards... y'know, 2 years after the game came out.

*Excellent* news about the Chaurus poison! Those things were the bane of my existence in the early days of playing.

I did know that Shouts were blocked by Wards - probably just the higher-tier Wards, right? - but I always forget about that, so thanks for the reminder.

Oh, just to be sure, Wards don't actually prevent arrows from hitting you... they just mitigate some of the damage.

Final tip from me, though this is just via the UESP wiki - apparently, dualcasting a Ward will make it pop up at full strength immediately, so no need to wait for it to charge and worry about the timing. I haven't tried this myself yet, and I'm not sure if you actually need the Restoration Dual Casting perk or just a ward in each hand. But it's a nice benefit. Too bad the Ward didn't get stronger if it was dualcast, too...

I found out that wards are anti-dragonborn. The thalmor LOVE using wards when I try and shout them to itty bitty elf bites.