Paladin Shields

So... has anyone mathematically figured out if using a buckler vs a kite is more mitigation over time? Also lets toss in the Noct Hoplon too, just for the math on it.

Testing with the Shiva Shield has left me wondering why I use the High Allagan Shield at all.

I've not done any parsing yet, but I will be showing some numbers from Coil tonight.

Has anyone else had any numeric results yet?

Because Block is checked before Parry, the total mitigation of the Shield Types depends on how much Parry you currently have, as each class of shield dilutes your parry rate by varying amounts.

A Buckler has the highest block rate and therefore the lowest Parry rate. Therefore, it's good for low Parry builds.

A Kite shield is the middle of the road. It is the best option if your Parry rate is roughly equal to the Block Rate.

A Tower Shield has the lowest block rate. Thus, it is also okay for high Parry builds.

The formula for block rate appears to be close enough to 0.1 * block rate + 10 to just use it for simple demonstrations. Let's calculate total physical mitigation rates at 2 different values of Parry.

1. 341(base)
Parry Rate: 10%

Diamond Shield: Block Rate 325 * 0.1 + 10 = 42.5% block rate.
57.5% of hits not blocked are parried at a 10% rate = 5.75% parry rate.
Total Mitigation Rate: 48.25%

High Allagan Kite Shield: Block Rate 211 * 0.1 + 10 = 31.1% block rate.
68.9% of hits not blocked are parried at a 10% rate = 6.89% parry rate.
Total Mitigation Rate: 37.99%

Noct Hoplon: Block Rate 129 * 0.1 + 10 = 22.9% block rate.
77.1% of hits not blocked are parried at a 10% rate = 7.71% parry rate.
Total Mitigation Rate: 30.61%

2. 600
Parry Rate: 29.43%

Diamond Shield: 42.5% block rate.
57.5% * 0.2943 = 16.92% parry rate.
Total Rate: 59.42%

HA Kite Shield: 31.1% block rate.
68.9% * 0.2943 = 20.27% parry rate.
Total Rate: 51.38%

Noct Hoplon: 22.9% block rate.
77.1% * 0.2943 = 22.69% parry rate.
Total Rate: 45.59%

Important things to consider:
1. Bucklers reduce damage less than Parry does when it procs a block. Therefore, you'd actually want to Parry more often for maximum mitigation.
2. Kite Shields reduce more damage than Parry does when it procs a block, but not by too much. Therefore, it doesn't really matter which one it hits.
3. Tower Shields reduce far more damage than Parry does when it procs a block, but at a low rate. Thus, a high Parry rate helps to counterbalance it.

Without running simulations and whatnot, I think that Kite Shields are the best all around shield if your Parry is high. If you're running low Parry and just want to block things more often, go for a Buckler because a low Parry rate can't be hurt much by the dilution and some mitigation is better than none. Towers are in an odd place. They're absurdly powerful under Bulwark and they allow Parry to do the most work out of all of the other Shield Types. I'm not sure if it would be better than Kite or Buckler in most situations; it might be a highly situational choice.

Thanks for the numbers, I'm finding I prefer the Buckler to the Kite Shield. I'm only mitigating 3% less than a Parry with it, and it happens so often, I'm pushing 200 DPS in a pure Vitality spec.

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Originally Posted by Donjo

A Kite shield is the middle of the road. It is the best option if your Parry rate is roughly equal to the Block Rate.

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How do you calculate the Parry rate from the current number?

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Originally Posted by Zohar_Lahar

How do you calculate the Parry rate from the current number?

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You honestly don't... It's mathematically dumbfounded how badly parry ends up scaling. Currently it's supposed to be 1% for 13 Parry rating points, but testing has found it to be significantly worse off. Like, closer to 75-100 per 1% parry.. =(

Yea I have a dreadwyrm sword with the shiva shield. I see block on nearly all of the physical damage received a lot lol. The damage blocked is 24% which low compared to parry which is around 27-29% depends if you wear strength accessories but damn I see it quite often

Something to keep in mind with the diamond shield, with bulwark up it has a 100% block rate. So it may only be 24% reduction, but with bulwark up it's giving you a more powerful, physical only rampart for 15 seconds.

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Originally Posted by Cabalabob

Something to keep in mind with the diamond shield, with bulwark up it has a 100% block rate. So it may only be 24% reduction, but with bulwark up it's giving you a more powerful, physical only rampart for 15 seconds.

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Sadly, that's not true. At all. Flatten can go through it, some miniscule % of the time. I have had it happen while I was learning T13 a while back.

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Originally Posted by ZDamned

Sadly, that's not true. At all. Flatten can go through it, some miniscule % of the time. I have had it happen while I was learning T13 a while back.

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Oh really? That's a shame, I only used it for a short time after I got it but I never saw it fail to block under bulwark, are you sure you didn't just activate it too late? I'll give it some testing on a larger sample size when I get a chance.

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Originally Posted by ZDamned

You honestly don't... It's mathematically dumbfounded how badly parry ends up scaling. Currently it's supposed to be 1% for 13 Parry rating points, but testing has found it to be significantly worse off. Like, closer to 75-100 per 1% parry.. =(

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That makes it impossible to know if a kite shield block rate equals parry rate.