+1 this looks awesome. Hoplites can now use an appropriate shield and still get their ass kicked as you downblock. Hoplites a nice idea though. Just a shame they can only thrust
It's not the thrust only that's a shame, it's that holding downblock can block a thrust anywhere in the body. Balance > Realism, I know, but of all attacks a thrust is most dynamic.
A left or right strike may be high or low, but it's still coming from the left or right, and can be blocked with a small adjustment, so the animation makes sense. Same with over head, it may be slightly left or right, but it's still coming from overhead. But thrusts, thrusts can be anywhere, arm, legs, feet, chest, face, gut, groin. It just boggles the mind that a single held down block at waist level would stop these strikes, over and over, like a magic force field.
The only fix is the change the down block animation so that it doesn't stay after it blocks a hit. You would have to block each time you got thrusted at. The problem with that is that so many people have gotten to be great players even WITH the broken mechanic that not having it would make spear/shield overwhelmingly over-powered.
