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What is Heavy shield in VALORANT?

Heavy armour costs 1,000 credits and takes you from 100 effective health to 150 — the assumption behind almost every shots-to-kill figure.

Heavy armour is the 1,000-credit shield in the buy menu. Riot describes it as absorbing 66% of incoming damage and breaking after it has absorbed 50, which works out to exactly 150 effective health. Light armour is 400 credits and 125 effective health, and the Regen Shield sits between them at 650.

The 150 figure is why weapon comparisons are framed the way they are. A gun that deals 150 or more to the head at range kills a fully shielded opponent in one shot; one that deals 140 does not, and that single threshold decides most arguments about which rifle is better.

The arithmetic is worth seeing once. Heavy armour absorbs 66% of damage until it has soaked 50, so it breaks after roughly 76 damage has been dealt — by which point your health has taken about 26. Add the 74 health remaining and you get 150 exactly, which is why the flat number is a fair shorthand rather than an approximation.

The Regen Shield is the one people forget exists. At 650 credits it absorbs 100% of damage rather than 66% and regenerates between engagements, which makes it stronger in a drawn-out round and weaker against a single decisive burst.

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What does Heavy shield mean in VALORANT?

Heavy armour costs 1,000 credits and takes you from 100 effective health to 150 — the assumption behind almost every shots-to-kill figure.

How does Heavy shield work?

The 150 figure is why weapon comparisons are framed the way they are. A gun that deals 150 or more to the head at range kills a fully shielded opponent in one shot; one that deals 140 does not, and that single threshold decides most arguments about which rifle is better.

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