Seeking Shield

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"Throws her shield which bounces between defenses, dealing damage."
==Summary==
*The Seeking Shield is a piece of Common Hero Equipment for the Royal Champion. It is one of two pieces of Hero Equipment that the Royal Champion starts with, the other being the Royal Gem.
*The Seeking Shield allows the Royal Champion to throw a ricocheting shield when she uses her ability. The shield hits four different targets, dealing fixed damage to each. There is no limit to how far the shield can travel; it only expires once it has hit four targets.
**The shield prioritizes defenses, so if at least four defenses remain, the shield will exclusively hit defenses. If there are less than four defenses remaining, the shield will hit all remaining defenses, before hitting defending troops or non-defensive buildings for its remaining targets (if any such targets exist). The shield cannot hit a given target more than once.
*In addition, the Seeking Shield increases the Royal Champion's hitpoints when equipped.
==Strategies==
===Offensive Strategies===
*It is best used to destroy or cripple key defenses, or to help with clean up (e.g. Builder's Huts in the corner). Because the shield can travel any distance required to hit its targets, it can assist with destroying isolated defenses left behind which could otherwise have caused time fails.
*When upgraded to a high level, it is capable of one-shotting defenses with low hitpoints. The following defenses at max-level can be one-shot by a Seeking Shield:
**An Air Sweeper (1,050 HP) requires a level 3 or higher Seeking Shield;
**A (1,450 HP) requires a level 6 or higher Seeking Shield;
**An , Builder's Hut (both 1,800 HP) or (1,850 HP) requires a level 12 or higher Seeking Shield;
**A (2,250 HP) requires a level 15 or higher Seeking Shield;
**A Mortar (2,300 HP) or the defending Grand Warden (2,414 HP) requires a max-level Seeking Shield.
**Lower levels of the Wizard Tower (up to level 12), (up to level 10), (up to level 3), (up to level 4) and Spell Tower (level 1 only) can also be one-shot by a Seeking Shield, but will survive a single hit from a max-level Seeking Shield.
*Level 15 Seeking Shields (the max level for TH13) are capable of one-shotting the following defenses, in addition to the above aforementioned max-level defenses: 
**Mortars, up to level 15;
**Defending Grand Wardens, up to level 60;
**Wizard Towers, up to level 11;
**Bomb Towers, up to level 8;
**X-Bows, up to level 2;
**Inferno Towers, up to level 3.
*Although generally not a reliable method, the Seeking Shield can trigger the Invisibility Spell Tower by hitting a defense near it, so long as the Royal Champion remains alive.
*It pairs well with the Hog Rider Puppet: the Seeking Shield first dealing some damage to defenses in a compartment, the Royal Champion will stop being targeted by defenses, and the Hog Riders spawned will take out the defenses in such compartments.
**However, splash defenses can counter this easily, so using something to take out such splash defenses or simply using the Seeking Shield to take them out partially can help in this strategy succeeding.
*
*When attacking a base and you are running low on time, this ability can also be useful on cleanup, due to its high damage, high speed, and the amount of targets that it can hit, being 4.
===Defensive Strategy===
*The shield targets the nearest defenses similar to an Electro Dragon's chain (albeit only seeing defensive buildings as viable targets). You can take advantage of this by placing defenses in a manner to prevent key defenses from being hit.
==Statistics==
User 	Ability Type	Rarity	Unlock Requirement
Royal Champion	Active 	Common	Available by default
Level	Projectile Damage (per Target)	Hitpoint Increase	Upgrade Cost	Upgrade Cost	Blacksmith Level Required
Level	Projectile Damage (per Target)	Hitpoint Increase	Shiny Ore 	Glowy Ore 	Blacksmith Level Required
1 	1,000 	40 	N/A 	N/A 	N/A
2 	1,000 	60 	120 	- 	1
3 	1,250 	80 	240 	20 	1
4 	1,250 	100 	400 	- 	1
5 	1,250 	120 	600 	- 	1
6 	1,500 	140 	840 	100 	1
7 	1,500 	160 	1,120 	- 	1
8 	1,500 	180 	1,440 	- 	1
9 	1,750 	200 	1,800 	200 	1
10 	1,750 	220 	1,900 	- 	3
11 	1,750 	240 	2,000 	- 	3
12 	2,000 	260 	2,100 	400 	3
13 	2,000 	280 	2,200 	- 	5
14 	2,000 	300 	2,300 	- 	5
15 	2,250 	320 	2,400 	600 	5
16 	2,250 	340 	2,500 	- 	7
17 	2,250 	360 	2,600 	- 	7
18 	2,500 	380 	2,700 	600 	7
Number of Targets	Targets
4 	Ground & Air
==Trivia==
*The Royal Champion does not visually lose her shield when using the ability, unlike before the December 2023 update that introduced Hero Equipment. This is because her throwing of the Seeking Shield post-update is no longer tied to the Royal Champion's animation; prior to this update, the shield was only released when she completes the shield throwing animation, and as a result the shield may not be thrown if she is defeated before the animation completes.
**As a result, the Royal Champion can "throw" her Seeking Shield independently of any status effects that slow or stop her animations. If the ability is used normally while the Royal Champion is not slowed, the shield will still be released when her shield-throwing animation completes, but this animation can be desynced if the Champion is slowed or stopped.
**On the other hand, if the Royal Champion uses her ability automatically by virtue of activating it on KO, the shield is released instantly, ignoring the animation. The shield will also be released instantly if she would be defeated before her shield release animation is completed, meaning it is no longer possible to prevent the release of the Seeking Shield if the ability is used at all.
*Before the Seeking Shield itself was separated to 2 pieces of her respective Hero Equipment, when her ability is activated while the buildings are turned invisible when all the others are destroyed, she will delay throwing her shield until the Invisibility Spell effect wears off, and she can then throw it. As of the Town Hall 16 update, this no longer happens, as when the same thing happens to said buildings or are trapped by the Overgrowth Spell, she instead throws the shield at the edge of the map, wasting the ability.
Category:Hero Equipment
Category:Army
Category:Home Village