Destiny 2: A Complete Guide To Stasis

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  • What Is Stasis?
  • Unlocking Stasis
  • Stasis Keywords Explained
  • All Sources Of Slow
  • Hunter Stasis Aspects
  • Titan Stasis Aspects
  • Warlock Stasis Aspects
  • All Stasis Fragments

Destiny 2: Beyond Light introduced a fourth damage type for Guardians to wield. Stasis is the first time we've seen a new subclass element in Destiny 2, and it also serves as our introduction to wielding the Darkness itself.

Destiny's version of ice serves as the game's main crowd control spec, allowing you to freeze targets in place or generate cover. It fills a unique roll in the sandbox that none of your Light subclasses can. This guide will go over what Stasis is, how to unlock it, and we'll give a deep dive into how this element works for all subclasses.

What Is Stasis?

Stasis is a Darkness subclass that specializes in crowd control. Your Guardian wields a series of ice-themed powers that can slow targets, freeze them in place for a short time, and even shatter enemies for massive damage. Stasis is also the only subclass that allows you to create physical objects, blocking pathways or creating platforms through the use of Stasis crystals.

Similar to the Light subclasses, Stasis has a series of keywords that form its core gameplay loop. Hunters are adept at slowing targets. Warlocks can freeze enemies in solid Stasis with ease, and Titans are the best at creating Stasis crystals and shattering them. In gameplay terms, Stasis is Destiny 2's dedicated crowd control class that rewards intelligent ability usage with devastating explosions and excellent survivability.

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Unlocking Stasis

You must own the Beyond Light expansion to unlock Stasis.

All Stasis subclasses are unlocked by completing the Beyond Light campaign and various quests from the Exo Stranger. Completing the campaign for Beyond Light will unlock the base subclass, but you'll need to complete various quests to unlock the rest of your Stasis kit, as shown below:

  • Unlocking Additional Stasis Abilities: Complete the "Born in Darkness" quests from the Exo Stranger.
  • Unlocking Aspects: Complete the various Aspect quests from the Exo Stranger.
  • Unlocking Fragments: Complete the weekly bounties sold by the Exo Stranger.

We have an in-depth Aspects guide that covers how to obtain all four Stasis Aspects for your character. For Fragments, speak to the Exo Stranger upon completing the Beyond Light campaign. She will have a collection of bounties in her inventory. You may purchase and complete two of them each week. Each bounty you complete allows you to unlock a Fragment of your choice. Bounty completions and Stasis unlocks are tied to your account, not individual characters.

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Stasis Keywords Explained

Stasis is an inverted version of Solar, ranging from its functionality to keywords. All Stasis users have access to three core debuffs and two buffs. This subclass also has access to overshields through a Fragment, although Stasis overshields behave differently from Void overshields. We'll explain further at the very end of the guide.

Stasis Buff Keywords

  • Stasis Crystal: A crystal of solidified Stasis matter. Upon creation, freezes nearby combatants and slows nearby players. Crystals can be destroyed, dealing damage in an area.
  • Stasis Shard: A small shard of Stasis matter that can be collected to restore melee energy.

Stasis Debuff Keywords

  • Slow: The target has slowed movement, slowed ability regeneration, and reduced weapon performance. Slowed combatants have difficulty firing accurately. After accumulating enough Slow stacks, the target is frozen.
  • Freeze: The target is trapped in Stasis matter and is unable to move. After taking additional damage while frozen, the target shatters.
  • Shatter: When a frozen target is shattered, they take damage and deal damage in an area around them.

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Stasis Crystals Explained

Stasis crystals are frozen pillars that can be shattered. All classes can spawn Stasis crystals through the Glacier Grenade, although Behemoths have additional ways of creating crystals. Unlike Titan Barricades, Stasis crystals are physical objects that can't be walked through. You can use crystals to create horizontal platforms or block doorways. Allied crystals have a dark blue hue, while enemy crystals have a dark red hue.

All Stasis crystals will shatter if they take enough damage, dealing damage to any nearby enemies. Larger crystals are tougher and create a more potent shatter when destroyed. In PvE, large crystals are nigh-unbreakable. In PvP, crystals can be destroyed with sustained fire and certain Stasis abilities.

Notable sources of Stasis crystals include Glacier Grenades (large crystals), Revenant Grenades with the Touch of Winter Aspect (small crystals), and the Howl of the Storm Aspect for Behemoths (small crystals).

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Stasis Shards Explained

Stasis shards are floating icicles that grant melee energy when grabbed. All subclasses can spawn Stasis shards through their respective Harvest Aspect. By default, a Stasis shard grants 10% melee energy, although this value can be higher based on which class you're playing. For example, the Shadebinder's Glacial Harvest Aspect spawns stronger shards upon freezing majors and bosses, granting more melee energy per shard.

There is no limit to how many shards you can grab, although some Aspects have internal cooldowns (explained in the Aspects section for each class). Shards are instanced, so all players can grab Stasis shards when they're created. This mechanic behaves the same in PvE and PvP.

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Slow Explained

Slow is a debuff that reduces the target's movement speed, ability regeneration, and the accuracy of PvE foes. Guardians also deal with increased flinch while slowed. A target can have up to 100 Slow stacks applied to them before they are frozen. Targets are slowed for 2.5 seconds by default, reduced to 1.5 seconds in PvP. Unlike Solar's Scorch effect, a target's Slow stacks do not affect the severity of the debuff inflicted on them. A target with 99 Slow stacks is just as slowed as a target with 1 Slow stack. Slow stacks are removed in full when their duration expires. It is the Revenant's specialty.

Notable sources of Slow include Duskfield Grenades, the Revenant's Withering Blade melee, and the Shadebinder's Bleak Watcher turret.

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Freeze Explained

Frozen targets are unable to move, shoot, or use non-Super abilities. Enemies can be frozen either directly through certain abilities or by inflicting 100 Slow stacks onto the target. While frozen, targets take less damage from Primaries and more from Specials, Heavies, and Light subclass abilities. By default, freeze lasts for 5 seconds in PvE and 1.35 seconds in PvP. It is the Shadebinder's specialty.

Should you become frozen by Stasis, you can wait to thaw out, break out of it through a lengthy animation, or use your Super to immediately remove the debuff. The second option is only possible if you were frozen by an enemy's Super. Breaking out of Stasis this way will damage you, something you can reduce by speccing into Resilience.

All frozen targets can be shattered, both in PvE and PvP. Frozen Guardians must take 200 points worth of damage to shatter. Be aware that damage dealt to frozen targets is different for most sources. The table below showcases damage multipliers on frozen targets in PvE and PvP.

Damage SourcePvEPvP
Primary-5%-50%
Special+5%+50%
Heavy+5%+50%
Light Abilities+5%+50%

Notable sources of Freeze include Coldsnap Grenades, the Shadebinder's Penumbral Blast melee, and the Shadebinder's Frostpulse Aspect.

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Shatter Explained

Shatter is an explosion that occurs when you heavily damage a frozen enemy or break a Stasis crystal. Shattering a frozen target will remove the freeze debuff, and shattered Stasis crystals are immediately destroyed. By default, a Stasis shatter has a radius of around six meters. The damage of a shatter depends on the source of the shatter and what you're shattering, although most shatters are strong enough to kill rank and file targets in PvE. Shatters can't one-shot someone in PvP. Behemoth Titans are best equipped for shattering Stasis.

Notable methods of shattering Stasis include the Revenant's Shatterdive Aspect, the Behemoths' Cryoclasm Aspect, and the Whisper of Rending Fragment.

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All Sources Of Slow

Currently, just about every source of Slow originates from a Stasis subclass ability. While Ager's Scepter can Slow targets in Will Given Form, it freezes targets so quickly that it hardly matters. The Bombardiers can technically slow targets, yet the debuff inflicted is something else entirely and doesn't synergize with the Slow keyword at all. For now, we'll only be listing Slows provided by abilities.

AbilitySlow Stacks (PvE)Slow Stacks (PvP)
Glacier GrenadeN/A60
Duskfield GrenadeImpact: 20Impact: 10
Field: 10 per secondField: 5 per second
Bleak Watcher (Warlock)4010
Silence & Squall (Hunter)40 per second40 per second
Touch Of Winter (Hunter)4040
Shiver Strike (Titan)5050
Withering Blade (Hunter)6040

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Hunter Stasis Aspects





Winter's Shroud(1 Fragment Slot) Dodging slows nearby targets.
Shatterdive(1 Fragment Slot) Activate while midair to quickly descend and shatter nearby targets on impact.
Grim Harvest(3 Fragment Slots) Defeating slowed or frozen combatants creates Stasis shards. These shards grant melee energy when picked up by you or your allies.
Touch Of Winter(2 Fragment Slots) Your Glacier, Duskfield, and Coldsnap grenades have enhanced functionality.


Glacier Grenades spawn an additional crystal and form in a ring pattern.


Duskfield Grenades are larger and create a small Stasis crystal on impact.


Coldsnap Grenades can chain one additional time and spawn small Stasis crystals on detonation.

Winter's Shroud causes all Dodge types to release an eight-meter pulse, inflicting x40 Slow to nearby targets. Unlike Gemini Jester, this pulse does not bypass cover. Should you have Radiant Dance Machines equipped, Winter's Shroud is disabled when you're surrounded. The Bombardiers Exotic does not inflict further Slow stacks; it's considered a separate Slow debuff.

Shatterdive is a separate aerial movement tool, behaving just like the Dawnblade's Phoenix Dive ability. Activating Shatterdive will immediately cause your character to descend at maximum velocity. Landing will cause all nearby frozen targets and Stasis crystals to explode. Enemies near the Shatterdive impact will also take a small amount of damage, capable of killing someone with a sliver of HP. Once used, Shatterdive has a four-second cooldown before it can be activated again.

Grim Harvest causes all slowed and frozen targets you kill to spawn a Stasis shard, a dark blue icicle that floats above the ground. They behave similarly to Elemental Wells and Orbs of Power, resting at their location for a short duration before despawning. Grabbing the shard will grant 10% melee energy, majors and bosses granting additional melee energy. Stasis shards are instanced, so your shards can be grabbed separate from your allies. You can also spawn Stasis shards by defeating enemies with Withering Blade. Grim Harvest has no cooldown.

Any Fragments that buff your Stasis shards are not shared with your allies. Similar to Elemental Wells, any additional benefits provided by Stasis shards must come from the recipient's equipped Fragments.

Touch of Winter buffs each type of Stasis grenade. Duskfield Grenades spawn in a ring formation and form an additional crystal. Duskfield Grenades have a much larger radius and spawn a crystal in the center. Coldsnap Grenades spawn a small crystal whenever a seeker stops moving, and it can chain one additional time. Stacking Touch of Winter with the Renewal Grasp Exotic will create a large Stasis crystal and slightly improve your Duskfield's effective radius.

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Titan Stasis Aspects





Cryoclasm(1 Fragment Slot) After sprinting for a short time, enables a longer and more powerful slide. Sliding into Stasis crystals or frozen targets shatters them and any nearby frozen targets.
Tectonic Harvest(2 Fragment Slots) Shattering a Stasis crystal creates a Stasis shard. This shard grants melee energy when picked up by you or your allies.
How Of The Storm(2 Fragment Slots) While sliding, activate your charged melee ability to launch a wave of Stasis energy forward that freezes targets and creates Stasis crystals.
Diamond Lance(3 Fragment Slots) Shatter or defeat targets with Stasis abilities to create a Stasis Lance.


Throw the lance to freeze targets on impact. Melee with the lance to slam the ground, freezing targets in a small area.

Cryoclasm serves as the Behemoth's main source of shattering Stasis crystals. Whenever you slide—buffed or not—you'll shatter Stasis crystals and frozen targets. After sprinting for 1.25 seconds, activating your slide will cause you to slide much further for a slightly longer duration. You can chain this slide with Shivering Strike or an Eager Edge Sword to cover great distances.

Tectonic Harvest spawns a Stasis shard whenever you shatter a Stasis crystal, an icicle that floats in the air for a short time. Each crystal grants 10% melee energy. Breaking ally or enemy crystals will also activate Tectonic Harvest. Allies get their own instanced Stasis shards, so everyone on your fireteam can get melee energy whenever you break a crystal. Similar to Elemental Wells, any additional benefits provided by these shards must come from the recipient's equipped Fragments, not your own. Once activated, Tectonic Harvest has a seven-second cooldown.

Howl of the Storm allows you to use a unique melee ability while sliding. Activating your melee mid-slide will create five Stasis crystals in a straight line, instantly freezing the target in front of you—even in PvP. These crystals behave similarly to Glacier Grenades but are much smaller. These crystals can activate Tectonic Harvest and crystal-related Stasis Fragments. Using Howl of the Storm consumes all melee energy and prematurely ends your slide.

Diamond Lance is an ice spear that can be created through ability kills, shatters, Stasis weapon kills in PvE, and Stasis weapon triple kills in PvP. This spear is a unique weapon that has one charge. You can throw the spear or melee with it. Throwing the spear creates a small AoE on impact, freezing any targets caught in the blast radius. Meleeing with the spear will plunge the weapon into the ground, freezing enemies in melee range. Once you've created a Diamond Lance, another spear cannot spawn for the next seven seconds. In PvP, this lockout timer is increased to 15 seconds.

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Warlock Stasis Aspects





Iceflare Bolts(2 Fragment Slots) Shattering a frozen target spawns seekers that track and freeze other nearby targets.
Frostpulse(2 Fragment Slots) Casting your Rift generates a shockwave that freezes nearby combatants.
Bleak Watcher(2 Fragment Slots) Press and hold the grenade button to convert your grenade into a Stasis turret that fires slowing projectiles at nearby targets.
Glacial Harvest(2 Fragment Slots) Freezing targets creates Stasis shards around the frozen targets. Higher tier combatants create more shards.

Iceflare Bolts spawn a Coldsnap seeker whenever you freeze a target. This seeker behaves the same as a Coldsnap Grenade, aggressively tracking the target for a few seconds before it disappears. Unlike a typical Coldsnap, this seeker can only chain once. Iceflare Bolts can trigger off of any freeze source, including Ager's Scepter. If Iceflare Bolts is triggered multiple times in quick succession, this Aspect stops working for the next six seconds.

Frostpulse releases a Stasis pulse whenever you cast your Rift, freezing all enemies in melee range. The pulse releases right as the Rift is formed. Once you've finished your Rift casting animation, you have about a second to kill the frozen enemy before they thaw out. This lets you counter aggressive playstyles in PvP with ease. You can also use the Vesper of Radius Exotic to automatically shatter any targets you've frozen with Frostpulse.

Bleak Watcher allows you to convert your grenades into ice turrets by holding your grenade key. Bleak Watchers last for around 25 seconds by default, 30 with Whisper of Durance equipped. This turret release slow-moving Stasis projectiles in five-round bursts, inflicting x40 Slow per projectile. In PvP, Bleak Watcher inflicts x10 Slow per projectile. Bleak Watchers will only target enemies that are not currently frozen. There is no limit to how many Bleak Watchers you can have active at once. However, your grenade cooldown is equal to a Glacier Grenade while Bleak Watcher is equipped, even if you aren't using Glacier Grenades.

Glacial Harvest creates three Stasis shards when you freeze a target, each shard granting 10% melee energy when grabbed. Tougher foes create stronger shards that grant more melee energy. Shards are instanced, so every player gets their own Stasis shards when they're created. Any additional bonuses provided by Stasis shards must come from the recipient's equipped Fragments. Spawning six Stasis shards with Glacial Harvest will put this Aspect on a 15-second cooldown.

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All Stasis Fragments

This section covers how Stasis Fragments work, not which ones are the best. If you're looking for which Fragments are worth using, check out our Stasis Fragments tier list.

Stasis has 14 Fragments for Guardians to experiment with. All Stasis subclasses have access to all 14 Fragments, although unlocking these Fragments is time-gated. Each week, the Exo Stranger will let you purchase two unique Stasis bounties. Complete them, and you'll be able to purchase two Stasis Fragments of your choice. Stasis bounties and Fragment unlocks are account-bound, meaning it will take at least seven weeks to unlock every Stasis Fragment.

Whisper Of Hedrons

Whisper of Hedrons: Dramatically increases weapon stability, weapon aim assist, Mobility, Resilience, and Recovery after freezing a target with Stasis. -10 Strength.

Freezing a target grants the following buffs for the next 12 seconds:

  • +60 Mobility (+30 in PvP)
  • +60 Resilience (+30 in PvP)
  • +60 Recovery (+30 in PvP)
  • Increased weapon stability
  • Increased weapon aim assist
  • +20 Airborne Effectiveness

This Fragment works in PvE and PvP. The stat bumps for your weapon's stability and aim assist are difficult to quantify, but the stat increase is certainly noticeable. As with all other stat-increasing effects, exceeding 100 in a given armor stat does not grant additional benefits. Be sure your Mobility, Resilience, and Recovery are at 40 or above to get the most use out of Hedrons.

Whisper Of Fissures

Whisper of Fissures: Increases the damage and size of the burst of Stasis when you destroy a Stasis crystal or defeat a frozen target.

Whisper of Fissures makes all Stasis shatters much more powerful. It grants the following buffs:

  • PvE: Increases shatter blast radius to ten meters. Shatter damage is dramatically increased.
  • PvP: Increases shatter blast radius to eight meters. Shatter damage is increased by eight points.

It's hard to quantify the damage increase to shatters in PvE, but it is substantial and makes shattering Stasis crystals a viable method of killing red bar enemies in Master-tier content. In PvP, each source of shatter will deal eight more points of damage. This is only useful if you're playing a Revenant Hunter, as it allows Glacier Grenades buffed with Touch of Winter to one-shot an enemy Guardian who's in the epicenter of your grenade.

Whisper Of Refraction

Whisper of Refraction: Defeating slowed or frozen targets grants you class ability energy.

Slowed targets grant around 10% class ability energy when slain. Tougher foes and enemy Guardians grant additional energy. Shatter damage does not trigger this Fragment. The Revenant's Withering Blade melee also does not refund class ability energy if it instantly kills the target. Whisper of Refraction works in PvE and PvP.

Whisper Of Durance

Whisper of Durance: Slow from your abilities lasts longer. For those abilities that linger, their duration will also increase. +10 Strength.

Whisper of Durance extends the duration of the Slow debuff and all persisting Stasis abilities. Slows last for 2 seconds longer in PvE and 0.5 seconds longer in PvP—extending your slow duration to 4.5 seconds in PvE and 2 seconds in PvP.

Persisting abilities last for two seconds longer in PvE and PvP—excluding Bleak Watcher turrets, which last for five more seconds. Duskfield Grenades, Bleak Watcher Turrets, and the Silence and Squall tornado are all affected by Whisper of Durance. Stasis crystals are not affected by Whisper of Durance.

Whisper Of Bonds

Whisper of Bonds: Defeating frozen targets grants you Super Energy. -10 Discipline and Intellect.

Frozen targets grant an additional 2.5% Super energy when slain. This bonus stacks with perks like Thresh and the standard amount of Super energy you receive from kills. Intellect does not affect the amount of energy you receive. Whisper of Bonds works in PvE and PvP.

One notable synergy with Whisper of Bonds is Ager's Scepter, an Exotic Trace Rifle that consumes your Super energy while its alt-fire is active. With Whisper of Bonds, defeating frozen targets with this gun will refund a portion of your Super energy, allowing you to maintain Will Given Form for a much longer duration.

Whisper Of Shards

Whisper of Shards: Shattering a Stasis crystal temporarily boosts your grenade recharge rate. Shattering additional Stasis crystals increases the duration of this benefit. +10 Resilience.

Destroying an ally or enemy's Stasis crystal grants a five-second grenade regeneration buff. While active, your grenade recharges 200% faster in PvE and 100% faster in PvP. Destroying multiple Stasis crystals will extend the duration of this buff by five seconds per crystal destroyed, although the timer cannot exceed ten seconds. Shattering a frozen target does not grant this buff; only crystals count. Whisper of Shards works in PvE and PvP.

Whisper Of Chains

Whisper of Chains: While you are near frozen targets or a friendly Stasis crystal, you take reduced damage from targets. +10 Recovery.

Standing near a Stasis crystal or frozen enemy grants a 40% damage resistance (DR) buff, stacking multiplicatively with other DR sources. In PvP, this value is reduced to 15%. The range of Whisper of Chains is about ten meters. The second you walk too far from a crystal or the source shatters, you lose the DR buff.

Glacier Grenades, all Hunter grenades with Touch of Winter, Headstone crystals, Behemoth's crystals, and frozen enemies work with Whisper of Chains.

Whisper Of Torment

Whisper of Torment: You gain grenade energy each time you take damage from targets.

Once per second, taking damage from an enemy will grant ~5% grenade energy. Whisper of Torment does not grant additional energy from multiple damage sources. This Fragment works in PvE and PvP.

Whisper Of Fractures

Whisper of Fractures: Your melee energy recharges faster when you are near two or more targets. -10 Discipline.

Standing near two targets will grant ~2.5% melee energy per second, stacking with your passive Strength cooldown. Additional enemies will increase the amount of energy received, capping out at five enemies granting 10% melee energy per second. Whisper of Fractures works in PvE and PvP.

Whisper Of Impetus

Whisper of Impetus: Damaging targets with a Stasis melee reloads your stowed weapons and grants you a temporary boost to weapon ready speed.

Hitting an enemy with your charged melee will grant a buff called Nimble Arsenal for five seconds. While active, all weapons will gain 100 handling. All of your weapons will also be reloaded from reserves when you receive the Nimble Arsenal buff, even your currently equipped weapon. You cannot refresh Nimble Arsenal while it is active, and the auto-reloading property of Impetus cannot be triggered while Nimble Arsenal is active. Whisper of Impetus works in PvE and PvP.

Whisper Of Conduction

Whisper of Conduction: Nearby Stasis shards track to your position. +10 Resilience and Intellect.

Stasis shards near your character will drift towards your Guardian's location. Unlike the Seeking Wells mod for Elemental Wells, Whisper of Conduction works for all Stasis shards, not just your own. Shards also float above the ground, meaning they can't get stuck on stairs or corners. Whisper of Conduction does not work if you are invisible. This Fragment works in PvE and PvP.

Whisper Of Rending

Whisper of Rending: Kinetic weapons do increased damage to Stasis crystals and frozen targets.

Whisper of Rending's in-game description isn't quite accurate. All Primary weapons that reside in the Kinetic slot deal 43% more damage to frozen targets and 100% more damage to Stasis crystals. This distinction is important, as it means Stasis Primary weapons work with Whisper of Rending. Kinetic Special weapons do not deal additional damage with this Fragment. Whisper of Rending works in PvE and PvP.

Whisper Of Hunger

Whisper of Hunger: Increases the melee energy gained from picking up Stasis shards. -10 Mobility and Recovery.

Stasis shards grant double the melee energy when grabbed. Most shards grant 10% melee energy, so this Fragment will make your shards grant a minimum of 20% melee energy. Whisper of Hunger does not affect the overshield provided by Whisper of Rime. Whisper of Hunger works in PvE and PvP.

Whisper Of Rime

Whisper of Rime: Collecting a Stasis shards grants a small amount of overshield, which falls off after 10 seconds. Collecting additional shards adds to the overshield and refreshes the timer.

Grabbing a Stasis shard will grant a small amount of overshield, covering your health bar with a light blue color. All damage you take must break your overshields before it can damage your character. Whisper of Rime can grant up to a 100-point overshield, lasting ten seconds. Grabbing a Stasis shard strengthens the shield and refreshes the timer. Should you not have full health and shields, Whisper of Rime will heal you instead. This Fragment works in PvE and PvP.

This is not a Void overshield. Despite the in-game keyword description, Whisper of Rime is a unique overshield buff that overrides the Void Overshield buff. This type of overshield provides no additional damage resistance.

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