This is something that came up in the "Great Shield Improvement Thread." But I wanted to make it more visible, because I really, really like the idea. ------------------------- The Idea: ------------------------- Change the way block works. If you do NOT have a shield, block reduces basic damage by 50%, and exotic damage by 25%. If you DO have a shield, block reduces basic damage by 75%, and exotic damage by 50% (like it is now.) This makes using a shield an important part of your defense, if you rely on to help mitigate damage. For characters who focus on or , (or who just ignore defense) this doesn't really change anything. To make the benefits of a shield apparent, I further propose that the "block" text which appears on a successful block be adjusted to read "shield block" if you are holding a shield. Giving a bit of feedback that block acts differently with and without a shield should suffice to educate players. There are plenty of other good ideas in the original thread - but this one really jumps out at me as a really straightforward, simple & effective.
http://community.gaslampgames.com/threads/the-great-shield-improvement-thread.3267/ Only adding this in case at a later date the thread is not easily visible. If you add this to your post I will delete mine Mr_Strange.
I believe that this, along with actually mechanically attaching Shield Bearer's stat bonuses to having a shield in your hand, would go about half the distance toward putting Shields on par with Dual Wielding (where it's supposed to be.)
