(Suggestion) Changes to the "Guard" Shield Mechanic.

I have a problem with Gladiator. I want to be a tank and Gladiator is the most tank like class, but the shield mechanics, specifically the way the "Guard" abillity works is very awkward and clunky. To the extent that I find it not worth the effort, and concentrate on more healing instead.

So I think shield blocking should be either (1) on a Random Number Generator like parry or (2) a mode that you can enter into.

(1) With a RNG, shield would block randomly depending on your skill level, and all other shield abilities would have to be be activated.

(2) If they went with a mode, you'd switch between battle and defensive modes:
*Battle Mode = 100% of your attack power and NO blocking and No shield abilities.
*Defensive Mode = 25% of your attack power and 100% of your blocking potential and access to your shield abilities.

Blocking potential would be determined by skill level and the shield size (maybe larger shields defend better (NOT 100%), but reduce movement speed, and smaller shields do not defend as well, but do not hamper movement). So in defensive mode you'd be in a state of permanently blocking all attacks (you could still take damage, again skill and shield size would matter), and would still be able to attack and other actions from behind the safety of your shield. However, you'd loose 75% of your attack.

This could work for all classes that can use shields. But please do away with putting your shield down after every attack dealt to you or during and after you take any action. In defensive mode, your shield would always and at all times be raised so that you'd always have that 75% reduction in attack, and 100% of your blocking potential.

I'm just tired of investing stamina into Guard and spending half my time when my shield should be blocking, completely exposing myself to attacks. It makes it feel like a waste of time and a misuse of my stamina.

I disagree. The fact that you need to manually handle guard and as such tactically allocate stamina to your actions in order to keep it costantly up, adds a little bit of challenge to the usually rather brainless role of a tank.

Guard is one of the best things of the gladiator class.

I hear what you are saying about making the class more invloved. I am not against it. I loved being a ninja in FFXI and maintaining shadows was a full time job. My problem is with the way this mechanic works. If they could change it to make it better, more streamlined, and less awkward, then I'd be up for that as well. Just making this suggestion because I simply cant stand the way its implelented. So yes, bring on the challenge of a technical class, but leave awkward mechanics at the door.

BTW, with option 2 of my suggestion it would make it more involved because youd need to swap between stances according to the situation. You won't be doing much dmg in defense mode, so you might need to switch gears in order to help put out more damage. Maybe to help down the mob faster, maybe to increase enmity?

I wouldn't mind having to put up guard every so often if they had an icon or some kind of other onscreen visual to let you know when your shield was up, since enabling the message in the chat log enables a ton of other chat log messages I don't want. Evasion has a visible sidestep effect along with an Evade message come up over your character in case you're in motion or in the middle of animation frames that interrupt the evade one. It's hard to tell sometimes when you are Guarding or not depending on when you click on actions since your animations will override the "shield up" stance. Probably the best idea i can think of is hitting Guard when I'm not in active mode. You will go to active but your shield won't be up.

I could be ok with the current system with some tweaking. I like your idea Estellios about having a status icon. That would be a step in the right direction. I'd also like to see a small increase on how long shields stay raised, nothing large, maybe 30 seconds added to the base? This would make it feel more worth while and less of an annoyance/pointless act. Lastly, I'd like them to ensure that while "Guard" is in effect that your shield is always up so that you are not exposed durring an attack or spell, or after you are attacked be an enemy. I just need to have a smooth, streamlined, and intuative mechanic, that feels worth the effort and stamina.

Guarding is like the only the real thing to GLA. What we have to constantly stay on top of and prioritize... and you want to make that less relevant? Make bland class even worse? I can't agree.

We should also make the game play itself while we're at it. Then we can be uber productive.

Don't put words in my mouth. I am a huge opponent of botting, and 3rd party programs that basically do all the work for you.

Maybe its just me but the current mechanic feels lacking, and NOT worth the effort. So much so that I barely use my shield and concentrate more on curing and keeping hate and doing damage. Maybe I am not expressing myself correctly, and I will be the first to admit that I don't have all the answers. However, I really think the guard mechanic is an abomination. Its not like I want it removed. It just that it feels so worthless.

You want more involvement? I wouldnt be opposed to a True Action approach Like an upcoming MMO. In which case you'd have to actively block attacks as they came. (Still think I want the game to play itself?)But the current system to me seems like a half-hearted effort. Like a true action mechanic that doesnt work or fit the pace of a much slower battle system...... at all. Its like they just threw something together.

I guess I expected more people to feel like I do. I have to say I am rather shocked that anyone would like the guard mechanic at all. I mean idk what else to say? I want to be a tank and the guard mechanic is killing it for me. If this game had an option for ninja tank, I'd do that instead. It would be far more entertaining, engauging, and involved than Gladiator. And I would be rewarded for my effort. But with Gladiator, its like I'm using an awkward and cluncky guard mechanic, that tries to be true action but is limited by content and battle system. All this and it is neither effective nor entertaining.

The main issue I find with the current guard mechanics is the stamina cost. Your shield just went down, you're in an "Oh shit" situation, your shield abilities are on cooldown, and you're out of stamina. You try to put up the shield, and what do you get? Nothing, because you're still charging your stamina bar. Congratulations, enjoy your stay on the ground. As a matter of fact this is an issue with all of the "emergency" abilities: they eat up too much stamina, so in the end, you either end up unable to use them, or just not bothering at all. The ridiculous stamina costs would be the key thing I want fixed in terms of shield and tank abilities.

The only other complaint about guard is, like stated above, duration and how it's really difficult to keep track of it in the heat of battle. You either end up letting the shield drop and miss a Phalanx, or not hitting your standard attack as much as you'd like and as a result not have enough TP for your Phalanx or Feint. Either give us an icon to show guard duration, or allow us to refresh guard before duration runs out.

Why not make it like shadows for nin in FF11 where it blocks a certain amount of times. After 3 successful blocks, your guard goes down. That is more manageable than just a set time and its something players can plan and look out for.

I like that idea as well.

I'd really like to see more opinions on what to do about Guard, even if its people that like it as is. I'd also like to know, why they like it and how they think it benefits them. On the other hand, I would definately like more opinions on how to "fix" it.