Iron Skin

Iron Skin is the defensive prayer for the Chevalier: while it is toggled on, your armor is raised. Prayers cost no mana and have no duration, so the only question is which of them you want running.

Effect

Armor reduces incoming damage, so it is worth most against the enemies that hit often rather than hard. Against the steady melee of a Goblin Underling it saves you a great deal; against a single heavy blow it matters less.

Toggling

Prayers switch on instantly. Switching one off puts it on a brief cooldown before it can come back, a flat commitment window that nothing shortens, so a prayer cannot be flickered on and off around individual hits. Taking an active prayer off your bar counts as switching it off, and takes the same lockout.

Strategy

• Run it while you are learning an area, and swap to Phantom Strike once you know the fights.
• It is the right prayer for the Cottage, where the Broodwitch stabs at anyone who closes with her and the tight space limits your dodging.
• Fortitude raises your health pool instead; armor is better against many small hits, health against a few big ones.
• Armor does nothing about a hit you never take, so it is the weaker choice on an open map where you can kite.