The complex mechanical meta of Warframe offers a plethora of options for customizing your Frame, but as you go through the game, survival becomes an increasingly important consideration. Knowing how to employ shield gating may make your Warframe survivable in any scenario, whether it high-level Elite Sanctuary Onslaught, Steel Path, or Sorties.
In Warframe, shield gating is a tactic that capitalizes on the instantaneous invulnerability that each Warframe experiences upon the failure of its shields. A Warframe's shield reaches zero, meaning that any damage taken through it is negated rather than adding to their health bar, and they momentarily lose their ability to hurt. This implies that less resilient Frames cannot be destroyed by a single, powerful assault, and it also keeps players from losing their entire shield and health pool in the event of a single hit (unless the damage is shield-bypassing, like toxin).
Shield gating depended, until recently, on having low shields that quickly regenerated to 0. With the correct build, players might almost render Warframes invulnerable by using an item known as a Decaying Dragon Key. Many of the builds and suggestions for shield gating became less effective in October 2023 due to modifications made to the shield system. The number of shields a Warframe possesses when its shields fail is now used to determine how long it is invulnerable. A Warframe's invulnerability lasts for 2.5 seconds if it has 1150 shields (not counting overshields), and it decreases according on how many shields the Warframe had when the shields shattered. In order to maximize the utility of a shield defensive build, players are encouraged to strike a balance between large maximum shields and quick shield recharging.
A typical construct for shield gating is to employ a mod called Brief Respite or a series of modifications called the Augur set, which convert a portion of the energy a Warframe uses to shields. However, shield gating needs precise timing. You maintain a low energy efficiency while making sure you have enough energy to cast abilities repeatedly. When your shields reach zero, which is indicated by a blue flash across your Warframe, you use an ability that replenishes your energy and makes your shields ready to withstand another hit while you sit pretty and are invulnerable for up to 2.5 seconds.
To some extent, the previous iteration of shield gating remains in the game: the corrupted mod Catalyzing Shields decreases your maximum shield capacity while simultaneously lengthening the base invulnerability duration to 1.33. This means that builds that capitalized on the previous meta can continue to utilize a large portion of their current gear.
If you can dodge quickly, you may concentrate on one of the Warframes that can replenish shields with their abilities, or you can apply the mod Rolling Guard to get an additional time of invulnerability when you dodge. For example, Mag's third ability, Polarize, depletes opponent shields and replenishes friends' shields, making her a formidable shield gate Warframe. Since Hildryn's Pillage second ability replenishes her shields and her passive ability grants her 3.5 seconds of invulnerability, she already has a better kind of shield gating built in. Condemn, Harrow's initial ability, swiftly replenishes his shields and enables him to shield gate efficiently. Due to their ability to be absorbed into the Helminth, Pillage and Condemn are essential skills for solo and late-game content.
Shield gating is an entertaining and engaging method of boosting endgame content survivability, no matter how you decide to do it.