Power Word: Barrier

Power Word: Barrier is a Discipline priest talent. It is a Power Word ability that summons a barrier area on the ground, and all friendly players standing inside that area get a damage reduction effect.

It is an exclusive choice node with Luminous Barrier.

• Power Word: Barrier affects a target location; which players it affects depends upon whether they are within the barrier. This may make PW:B far more effective in situations where the players are fairly static, and/or grouped closely together.
• Power Word: Barrier absorbs only 25% of damage; the majority of damage taken (75%) will not be absorbed.
• Power Word: Barrier only lasts for 10 seconds; conversely, it can 'absorb' any amount of damage in that time without consuming itself.

Power Word: Barrier was originally planned for patch 3.1.0 of, but was scrapped because other revamps in the patch ended up more extensive than was planned. It was later listed as one of the new Discipline talents in the priest preview in April 2010. Initially it acted as an absorb shield shared by player units inside the area and benefitted from Discipline's original mastery effect, Mastery: Shield Discipline. However this effect was quickly changed a month later in patch 4.0.3a. As a result, Power Word: Barrier became an effect providing damage reduction instead, which was no longer affected by mastery at all.