Blocking and Perfect Blocks



The act of stopping an attack with a shield or magick shield is known as Blocking.

Once the core skills Deflect (Fighter and Assassins) or Reflect (Mystic Knights) are learned Perfect Blocks become available - these are well timed blocks that can reflect damage back to an attacker, with strong a knockdown effect.

Blocks
Holding the shield in front serves to block many attacks including melee, arrow, and some spells such as Ingle.

Stamina recovery is halted whilst blocking, and every block also drains a little stamina.

Blocks can be broken by either attacks that are too strong, or when stamina is totally exhausted by blocking.

Each shield or magick shield has a innate blocking ability - this factor is not improved by other armor or equipment, or by increased stagger resistance. The augment Periphery improves the blocking ability, and sometimes enhancing a shield helps as well.

Standard blocks with a shield cannot inflict debilitations with a Rusted Shield or Rusted Magick Shield. Enchanted shields do not generally damage or inflict secondary effects either - however Magick Shields enchanted with counter type spells will return elemental damage to attackers, even if the reflect skill has not been learned.

Perfect Blocks
To be able to Perfect Block Fighters and Assassins must have learned the core skill Deflect; and Mystick Knights must have learn the core skill Reflect.

Shield bearing characters with only the basic core skills Defend or Repel are unable to perfect block at all.

A Perfect Block activates when the [block] button is depressed at the precise frame when an enemy attack connects with a character's Shield or Magick Shield. Success is signified by a white flash and a brief time-dilation effect ("slow-motion"), both of which differentiates a regular block from a Perfect Block. Unlike regular blocks, Perfect Blocking expends no Stamina.

The ability to successfully Perfect Block without being overwhelmed is affected in the same way as the guarding power of the shield affects the ability to normally block. If the guard is broken whilst attempting a well timed block the 'white flash' effect of the blocker will indicate the good timing, but secondary effects will generally not be triggered.

Perfect Blocking will cause a strong knockback effect to small and medium sized enemies in front of the shield, whilst the effect on larger foes can cause staggering and will eventually contribute to a knockdown. Even with an un-enchanted shield a reflected melee blow can cause significant damage to the assailant.

Fighter and Assassin
For Fighters and Assassins a Perfect Block with an elementally enchanted shield such as a Scorched Pelta or Dragon's Roost has a less powerful and dramatic visual effect than that of a Mystic Knight's elemental riposte, but it still damages the enemy, causes knockback and can inflict elemental damage. An enhanced Rusted Shield can also inflict torpor or poison with enough perfect blocks.

Elemental damage can be temporarily bestowed on Assassin- or Fighter-wielded shields via enchantment buffs. The existing element of an enchanted shield such as a Scorched Pelta or Lambent Shield can be temporarily overwritten with an elemental buff from a Mage, Sorcerer or Mystic Knight.

A permanently enchanted shield has strong debilitating power - however this power is much reduced when the shield is temporarily over-enchanted. (See Elemental Debilitation.)

Broken perfect blocks do not inflict debilitations or damage.

Mystic Knight
A Mystic Knight that Perfect Blocks with a shield enchanted with a Counter, Riposte, or Feint spell will trigger a powerful Elemental counter in addition to a very powerful knockback effect - see Mystic Knight Shield Counters.

A Magick Shield's inherent elemental property, such as a Thunder Kite Shield or Lustrous Greatshield has no real effect on the damage or effects from a perfect block. The shield cannot be enchanted by spells from a supporting Mage or Sorcerer (such as Fire Boon) -such spells only affect the Knight's primary weapon.

However both enchanted and unenchanted shields can be given a useful elemental enchantment with a Mystic Knight's elemental Enchanter, Riposte, or invocation spells; in addition to the other specialised Magick Shield spells.

Broken perfect blocks for Mystic Knight will not trigger riposte spells, but can still inflict elemental damage when the shield has been enchanted with a counter type spell, just as is obtained from normal blocking with the same spell.