RPG Maker MZ Plugin - Barrier System

[About]

Barriers are one of the most iconic mechanics in RPGs,  they give players that satisfying sense of protection, letting them withstand powerful blows or spell barrages before their HP takes a hit.

However, many barrier systems in my games like Perang Cemen and Perang Cemen II tend to be overly complex, featuring layered mechanics like BP, NDP, or Fractional barriers that make them difficult to use for general purposes.

That’s why this plugin was made to provide a simple, flexible, and game-ready barrier system suitable for any project, which I also planned to added on Perang Cemen III.

Final Fantasy 3 (or commonly known as FF6) was the game that introducing barrier system to me, I didn't realize it when I was playing it as a kid and thought Golem Magicite are useless, turn out to be pretty awesome, to honor it a certain Boss in my game which also kind of Golem are forced to use "Earthen Wall" on the very first turn to introduce barrier (BP) and how hassle is that if you didn't pierced it.

[Usage]

Simply follow the instruction on the Plugin [Usage] section, SS included.

[Regarding Barriers]

This plugin introduces two straightforward types of barriers:

Physical Barrier – Reduces incoming physical damage.

Magical Barrier – Reduces incoming magical damage.

Each barrier has its own point value (e.g., 1000).

When a character (actor/battler) with an active barrier takes a hit, the barrier absorbs the damage first.

Example:

If an actor has a Physical Barrier 1000 and takes 300 physical damage,

the barrier value will drop to 700, and the actor’s HP remains untouched.

However, if a hit exceeds the remaining barrier... say, 1200 damage while the barrier is at 1000, the barrier is destroyed, and the excess 200 damage will pass through to HP.

If the attack type doesn’t match the barrier type (for instance, a magical attack against a physical barrier), the attack bypasses the barrier entirely and deals full damage to the user.

[Special Features]

To make barriers more dynamic, a few classic mechanics from older projects are also included in this plugin:

[Pierce]

A skill with Pierce ignores barriers completely, dealing damage directly regardless of type.

[Siphon] 

A skill with Siphon steals the target’s barrier instead of simply damaging it, transferring the absorbed points to the attacker.

This allows for creative strategies, imagine draining an enemy’s strong barrier to reinforce your own defenses.

[Dispel]

Some effects or skills can now remove barriers entirely, regardless of their remaining strength.

[Visuals and Customization]

When a barrier activates, an animation plays, you can easily set or change this animation in the plugin parameters. This visual cue helps players recognize when barriers are deployed or not to avoid misunderstanding like:

"Oh no! Boss DEF is too high that I do 0 damage!"

Because unlike the game I made, I absolutely don't know what kind of Battle HUD you're all using so I assume or just followed FF approach which not showing the barrier numbers and just show animation as indicator whether there's barrier or not.

Yes, I do had barrier numbers on Perang Cemen but I warn you they're messy because there's too much numbers (HP, MP, SP, BP, NDP, etc.), as for Perang Cemen II, there's not so much space so the number were appear as quick PopUp instead.

[Compatibility Risk] (3%)

The plugin only affect the damage after the calculation so there's should not be any compatibility issues with any battle system, or damage related plugins.

However, because RPG Maker MZ’s core scripts don’t natively support barrier-only effects, the game may sometimes display “No Effect” in the battle log when using skills that only apply barriers.

To avoid this, it’s highly recommended to use SimpleMsgSideViewMZ.js, an official plugin that safely skips unnecessary “No Effect” messages for cleaner combat text.

[Disclaimer]

This plugin delivers:

A lightweight and easy-to-use barrier system

Support for physical and magical barrier types

Optional Pierce, Siphon, and Dispel features

Full animation customization

Smooth compatibility with official battle plugins

Whether you’re creating a traditional fantasy RPG or a sci-fi battle system, this plugin gives you a flexible way to add defense mechanics that feel powerful, without overwhelming your game’s logic or your players.

[Term of Use]