Lazy blocking

[HappyPhantom]

I use this against people who feint a lot. If they have a non-stabbing weapon it especially helps because then I only have to focus on two directions, sideways or up.

This.

[Phew]

Always makes me mad how often people swing around my shield blocks when I am facing right at them, then they block the wrong damn direction with their weapon and still block my swings.

It's been suggested before, but a mechanic that rewards shielders for correct directional blocking (by giving the same lateral coverage as a weapon block and/or delivering a brief stun) would be an awesome addition.

[MURDERTRON]

I think the angle that using the opposite block protects from is harder to judge.  It may also make it harder to counter attack or block the next strike because now your camera is off center.

Always makes me mad how often people swing around my shield blocks when I am facing right at them, then they block the wrong damn direction with their weapon and still block my swings.

It's been suggested before, but a mechanic that rewards shielders for correct directional blocking (by giving the same lateral coverage as a weapon block and/or delivering a brief stun) would be an awesome addition.

Shielders have it easy enoug as it is.  In order to add an benefit like this, you would have to punish them somehow for not blocking the right way.  Most likely in the form of recovery time.

[Necrorave]

I do not do this often, although I tend to make it a "Mistake" move or if I get hit with block stun.

Its a panic reflex for me at this point.  It rarely happens, but it's good to know in those split second moments.

[Phew]

Shielders have it easy enoug as it is.  In order to add an benefit like this, you would have to punish them somehow for not blocking the right way.  Most likely in the form of recovery time.

I can't find the thread, but I think the OP that first suggested this idea said reward a correct block direction with reduced damage to shield and a very brief stun to the attacker (just enough they can't successfully spam a followup attack), and punish an incorrect block direction with additional damage to shield and the same brief stun to the blocker.

A cool idea that would make shield usage less boring, but it'll never happen (WSE etc).

[Sandersson Jankins]

Lazy-blocking is extremely valuable for a polearm player fighting multiple enemies, or specifically a longspear/pike player fighting off a single spammer. Try to tap-block a steel pick or HBS spamming you and you're gonna get wrecked, but you can lazy-block them pretty well, leading into a block nudge.

[Ubereem]

^ classic man we said almost the same shit. yea i learned when i used pike for a few gens. sometimes was more fun just to block haha watch them spam their hearts out

I don't think someone uses it intentionally since it's actually harder to do than normal blocking.

i beg to differ. the lazy block imo is easiest way to block multiple attacks at once and/or a single 2h spammer. basically with the lazy right side block(left side doesn't work as good) you can block both a left and right attack at the same time from multiple attackers, as long as you keep the lazy block basically in the middle which means you'd be looking slightly left

I can't find the thread, but I think the OP that first suggested this idea said reward a correct block direction with reduced damage to shield and a very brief stun to the attacker (just enough they can't successfully spam a followup attack), and punish an incorrect block direction with additional damage to shield and the same brief stun to the blocker.

A cool idea that would make shield usage less boring, but it'll never happen (WSE etc).

i think it would make shielders gods. lots of people can already block like ninjas so imagine a shield that stuns the enemy every time you successfully block?

[Gurnisson]

This seems to really fuck up when trying to block horse slashers though. I just turn any block in between me and the incoming slash but I've had it cut straight through a bunch of times.

Even more fun when you're 1h cav and slash some guy in the back, but since he's doing a side-block against the guy he's fighting, he magically blocks your hit. crpg logic

[DaveUKR]

I don't think someone uses it intentionally since it's actually harder to do than normal blocking.

That was actually one of the reasons I survived in gangs using my first person view. In ancient times I made calculations and had a result of 270 degrees blocking technique for side swings and something close to 180 degrees for stabs and overheads. Won't work for shields, it's always something like 180 degrees with any of them.

[Phew]

i think it would make shielders gods. lots of people can already block like ninjas so imagine a shield that stuns the enemy every time you successfully block?

There is already a brief stun/delay/whatever you want to call it on some attack animations after they are successfully blocked, to encourage the attack/block paradigm and discourage "spam". The only people this would affect would be the hiltslashers that abuse animations to chain a followup swing after being blocked.

[Vodner]

I'm not entirely sure spam is something that should be discouraged. People can already block quite well, so making it impossible to sneak in hits would likely lead to even more fights ending with somebody getting bored.

[Phew]

I'm not entirely sure spam is something that should be discouraged. People can already block quite well, so making it impossible to sneak in hits would likely lead to even more fights ending with somebody getting bored.

In proposal I mentioned, shield blocking in the incorrect direction would make you more susceptible to being "spammed", so this would probably result in more opportunities to spam, not less.

It's a moot point, because pigs will fly before devs do anything like overhaul the shield system. Maybe sometime after they add goat, sheep, platypus, etc. mounts.

[San]

Only problem I have is how to know if you've stunned them or not. From my experience with block stun, it's just not very good without the proper amount of cues.

[Phew]

Only problem I have is how to know if you've stunned them or not. From my experience with block stun, it's just not very good without the proper amount of cues.

Block stun is indeed a strange mechanic; you don't really get any obvious cues whether you are on the giving or receiving end. I still can't really distinguish block stun from lag. For this reason, not many people really exploit it, which is probably good. More cues would just further empower strength builds.

I think people that use bar maces and similar are confident that their held attacks will block stun, so they just always follow up held attacks with a regular attack without stopping to block in between. But if you use a claymore or other "mid weight" weapon, you probably don't dish out block stuns reliably enough to really exploit it.

Obviously the "directional shield blocking" idea would require new shield block animations (for each direction), which is another reason it'll never happen in cRPG.

[Vodner]

In proposal I mentioned, shield blocking in the incorrect direction would make you more susceptible to being "spammed", so this would probably result in more opportunities to spam, not less.

The only time most players are going to be missing blocks with any regularity is in a large group fight, where I feel the extra stun would largely hinder the primary role of a shielder.

I would love increased shield damage for missed blocks, and decreased (or completely nullified) shield damage for correct blocks. I've suggested it before a few times. People seemed interested, but it would require a significant investment of time and effort to implement properly (with visual and auditory feedback). I don't imagine we're going to see anything of that scale this late into the life of the mod.

I even made a suggestion on the TW forums a while back, but I doubt anything will ever come of it.

Only problem I have is how to know if you've stunned them or not. From my experience with block stun, it's just not very good without the proper amount of cues.

Having game mechanics without proper feedback is always lousy. Block stun, hold bonus, and speed bonus are the most significant examples I can think of. Everybody grows accustomed to them eventually, but it takes far longer than it would with proper cues.