[Ace]

Also I don't think you really need illusion magic to change the shape of your barriers, I imagine that is just something you would be capable of with a know-how of defensive magic alone.

Illusion Magic is just to supplement the way the barrier looks, really. Like making it invisible until impact. Just some fluff but I mean would I be able to use illusion magic to change what people on the other side of a barrier could see looking towards it?

A battlefield-wide barrier would be incredibly expensive and may be spread too thin to offer sufficient protection for just one caster's abilities. I think you should consider a smaller maximum size. 

That's fair, so for max size would half a battle field work? For ex, like 1 tile larger than the usual sanctuary as far as tiles go?

I'm a tad concerned with this. I want to avoid a potential stonewall scenario in which someone can be well-shielded while also scoring "free" damage due to damage reflection. I think there should be some kind of drawback to a reflective barrier, such as being weaker than a standard one.

I'd be fine with saying something like, the barriers that reflect damage shatter on impact - or something like upon shattering they deal reflective damage so it's not a constant punch=lol damage type of thing. This would cause my character to have to remake damage reflective barriers, however.

A passive ward is fine but I don't think I agree on the wards providing innate resistance to mental statuses/illusions.

Sure, your character can be resilient to such, but I don't think that should be because of barriers but rather because of specific training to protect against that. Barriers such as the ones you're suggesting to me are definitely for blocking incoming damage more than anything, tricks of the mind should be a counter to such.

Yeah, that's understandable.

Dice rolls aside. I'll only add that due to what we know, even repairing a barrier does tax some focus. So even if they do not shatter it, a success wouldn't mean no harm comes to the barrier, if that makes sense.

I'm fine with saying something along the lines of being able to repair a barrier one or two times before it'd break on impact regardless and he'd have to create a new one.

Well, I'll say at the very least that like Youkai, barriers have an upfront cost and a lesser maintenance cost. I'll leave it broad in saying that a personal shield is not difficult or costly to create and maintain but a large one capable of protecting a wide area is. Domes are also more costly than walls or barriers that only really protect from an incomplete angle.

Understood.

I do not think you should be able to crush someone with a barrier, if someone unwelcome is unable to fit within a barrier's bounds, I think they should be forced out rather than significantly harmed. 

I also will add as another example of what shouldn't be possible for barriers is that I do not think you should be able to say cut off air flow with a barrier and suffocate someone.

However, trapping someone within a barrier is fine.

Understandable and I'm cool with this as well, however, if I do capture someone in the barrier and I want to expand or shrink it without exactly crushing them in any way is that possible? Like the barrier itself having a bounds by which it could shrink because stopping due to lack of space.