Warframe Shield Gating rework explained

In its recent Devstream, Digital Extremes revealed their upcoming Abyss of Dagath update for Warcraft will be released on October 18. Alongside the new Dagath Warframe, Grendel Prime, and a few other additions, a big change is coming as well. The Shield Gating mechanic in Warframe is getting a complete rework, which has left some players worried. Thankfully, the changes seem to be positive overall. Below we have explained the Warframe Shield Gating rework in detail so you know what to expect on October 18.

What is Shield Gating in Warframe?

In Warframe, Shield Gating is a mechanic you can utilize to become briefly invulnerable during the frames immediately after your shields are depleted. The act of intentionally doing so has become a gameplay mechanic called Shield Gating.

As it exists in its current form, depleting your shields gives you 1.3 seconds of damage invulnerability. However, there is a four-second delay before your shield will regenerate. If you manage to deplete your shields again before fully regenerating, you get another 0.3 seconds of invulnerability. But, once you fully regenerate your shields, you will gain the full 1.3 seconds on your next depletion.

How will Shield Gating work in the Abyss of Dagath update?

As mentioned in the Devstream 173 Overview, Shield Gating is getting a bit of a rework. The changes are meant to incentivize higher shields, whereas now it’s mostly universal. Tenno Shields will now offer 50% resistance to all damage types, up from 25%.

Also, Shield Gating now scales with the amount of Shield you had when depleted. The duration of invulnerability can now last between 0.33 seconds to 2.25 seconds, based on the Shield amount. As such, partially depleted shields will no longer trigger Shield Gating like before. Instead, the duration will always be based on the Shield amount when depleted.

With these changes, some Shield-oriented Mods, primarily their Recharge rates, have been buffed. Here are those changes:

• Fast Deflection: added -45% Shield Recharge Delay
• Fortitude: increased the Shield Recharge value from +80% to +100%.
• Also increased Chance to Resist Knockdown from +20% to +40%.
• Vigilante Vigor: added -30% Shield Recharge Delay

All of these values are based on the Mod being at max rank. Also, a new Mod, Catalyzing Shields, is available. This Mod reduces Shields by 80% but changes the scaling. You will get a 1.33-second duration on Shield Gating regardless of Shield Stats when getting a Max Shield Break. This Corrupted Mod will be available via Orokin Vaults on Deimos.

Overall, these changes are mostly a buff to most players. Some players who had the ability to regenerate their shields fully in one ability cast may see it as a nerf, but that’s very specific niche builds. Players not using a Decaying Dragon Key along with Brief Respite will more than likely have longer invulnerability with these changes.

For most players, this is a good rework.