Shields should provide some defense against missiles

[Blitz]

I find it weird that shields provide zero defense against missiles - at least those found till about the beginning of Ep2. Isn't it odd that they do exactly nothing right now? You'd assume that they do something especially because there's already a skill (Phalanx Shield)...and it's logical..

[fallen]

Good feedback, you can start to find shields that provide auto-block on their own in E3.

[Blitz]

Mar 10, 2015 15:04:03 GMT -5 fallen said:

Good feedback, you can start to find shields that provide auto-block on their own in E3.

Interesting. Does that stack with Phalanx shield?

[fallen]

Yes! Like SP Drain, the ability to have shields with AutoBlock was a pretty recent addition, and it is on our very long to-do list to make those powers available earlier in the game. But, everything is below E4 on the priority list atm.

[Cory Trese]

Always exciting to see a feature request for something we added a few months back.

Shows the scope and depth of the game!

[slayernz]

Blitz does have a point though - if anything, just the size of the shield would be enough to stop a small percentage of shots fired at you, even if you didn't do much with the thing. The +parry of shields should also translate to defense against physical ranged weapons. Happy even if they are weak dice rolls.

Yes, there should be magical shields that do more than physical range protection, such as magical protection, or making it so you can wield a 2H weapon and the magical shield.

If you wanted to go one step further, shields would actually be good basic weapons. They are often used in melee as a club, or blunt-edged weapon as well as a defense against attack.

[fallen]

Any shield effect on ranged attacks will be represented through Auto-Block.

[tenbsmith]

Fair enough, a game can only be some complex and deep.

Does shield auto-block effect both physical and magical attacks?

[anrdaemon]

Only if it is a missile attack.

[fallen]

Any attack (magical or mundane) that is 2+ range.

Does not effect curses.

[contributor]

I would definitely encourage adding the auto-block thing in earlier. It probably reeks havoc from a balance perspective, but from a realism perspective, it has always been hard to swallow the idea that a big chunk of wood or metal between you and someone shooting arrows at you, would't provide any defense.

[anrdaemon]

"Realism" is the least sensible argument in discussion about game rules.

[fallen]

Hehehe yes ... it is a magical fantasy land

As mentioned above, we're looking forward to trickling SP Drain and Autoblock back down into earlier episodes.

All things lower priority than E4.

[contributor]

I beg to differ, it is clear that all games require the suspension judgement and are not intended to be a simulation (unless of course they are a simulator type game), but games also borrow from the real world and are deepened by their fidelity to the real world. Unless the game is intended to be satire or just silly, the degree to which it more closely plays off of reality the more engaging it can be and the more believable the world can become. The best game worlds are plausible even if we know they couldn't happen within the real world that we know. But this is just one's person's opinion and maybe it's not mainstream. I seemed to be the only one who watched the 2nd Hobit movie and laughed when the dwarves were floating on molten metal on metal shields and carts without being seriously burned. It was so implausible that it just reminded me that I was in a theater watching a silly movie rather than keeping me engaged in the actual story.

[fallen]

Mar 11, 2015 17:46:49 GMT -5 fallen said:

Hehehe yes ... it is a magical fantasy land

The tongue is in the cheek my friend