Elite Buff: Shielded 1 (Boss)

Internal engine status effect. Boss-specific variant of the Shielded elite buff at tier 1 (weakest). Grants the boss 4 Shield stacks that refresh at the start of each round, at the cost of -20% max health.

At only 4 Shield stacks, this is the easiest Shielded boss tier to deal with. A single strong hit or a couple of moderate attacks can break through the Shield each round. Burn, Bleed, Poison, and Marked all bypass Shield, making them efficient even at this low tier.

The -20% max health trade-off means the boss has noticeably less health once past the small Shield. Standard elite versions at tier 1 have 3 Shield stacks. Higher tiers scale up significantly, with tier 4 bosses having 16 Shield stacks.